Excursion or surface area?

If you were looking for bang for the buck and were choosing between more cone surface area (i.e. more subs) or fewer subs, but with higher excursion, which way would you go?

For example, would you go with 6 "cheaper" 15s or only one or two high-end 15s if you were running between 2kw and 4kw (RMS of course).

depends on the sensitivity too. What are your sub choices your thinking of? Would make it alot easier to help you lol. Also you talking way different classes. What vehicle and what is your goal?

sensitivity is analogous to the motor's strength, meaning how much it responds to a given voltage and current input. Higher sensitivity means the motor moves farther in response to a given power input. Xmax (excursion) is how far the motor can physically move. Xmax is what limits SPL since acoustical output is determined by how much air is moved. The swept volume of two similarly sized drivers will be greater in one with higher Xmax, and therefore it is capable of higher output levels. It might take more power to get it there, but that's all.

You also have to consider cone area. If you used the SAME woofer and same power 2 vs. the 6. The 6 would be 2.5 times louder than the 2. so 4.5 db or so. Everything being the same.(power, enclosure size per sub, porting)

You would want to figure which way (which combo) at the power it will be giving will move the most volume. Then you would also need to consider space and placement. If you can give them ideal enclosure volume and port volume as well.

I would go with 6 because the 2 would have a lot of catching up to do. Plus everyone loves a wall full of subs.

Depends how "bargain" the bargain woofers are though. If they had a low sensitivity and low xmas you could very well be just as good with 2. Again if you didn't have the space the 2 could be better or because of the bargain woofers power handling vs. the 2 good ones. Yes that is a LOT of cone area to have to come back on, but that doesn't mean without a doubt 6 is better to go with. Ask tony and his 20 woofer build lol.

I wouldnt look at sensitivity too, much. Ive been reading up on some of it and it really has no saying with subwoofers because it is take at a high frequency.
A test i saw was on the same sub: motor, spider, cone, all that with just the coil changed out from copper to aluminum. the copper had a 6db lower sensitivity, but the copper coil was 3 to 5 or more db louder on notes 45 or 50hz and down.

I would look at a combination of cone area, excursion, and motor strength, I did a build with 20 of the hfi hifonics 12s. and ive done a build with 4 of them all times they were quieter than a simple 2 12 or 1 18 setup with more excursion and more motor strength.

I agree not to get hung up on sensitivity, simply a small piece. It is actually one of the most lied about specs there is too lol. Right next to Xmas and power handling(ie. cheap china companies)

My students hate it when I answer a question starting with "it depends" but I also know that most questions need to be answered since there is never really one magic bullet. So, please, stay patient with my questions and keep your views, experiences and opinions coming.

That's mainly why I started this thread. In teaching a geometry enrichment class, I use a lot of real-world applications. The group I currently have is basically a bunch of 16 year old boys, over half of them have some upgrades done to their cars/trucks.

I wish I would have had a cool math teacher.

rob t wrote:

I wish I would have had a cool math teacher.

my math teacher is dead