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Why side-woofers are not more common?

rogu3

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Subwoofers have motors behind them that take up a lot of space. So you may not be able to put two back to back without a fairly wide cabinet. If you end up with a wide baffle anyway, you're kind of reducing the point of having the subs on the sides.

I think most side firing designs have multiple woofers with smaller motors and voice coils to address this problem. Multiple woofers mean more surface area and therefore less excursion necessary to generate low frequencies at high DBs.
 
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BrokenEnglishGuy

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BTW, i don't even know how call this triple opposed sub
But its looks like the best idea for a sub in a real room
persona-sub-woofers-silver-woofers-metal-work-silver-metal-work-cabinet-aria-blue.png
 

ErVikingo

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robwpdx

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It's just a relatively new idea.

The bigger the cone, the bigger the mounting board and the depth. Then the bigger the cone the more problems with rigidity and the bigger the voice coil to move it. It is often easier to fit it on the side of the cabinet. Barefoot made a name for themselves with the opposed force-canceling design which sure others use. The days of big 15" drivers indoors in smaller rooms in the main cabinet are fading.
 

Chrispy

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LFE is Low frequency Extension which does mean, the deepest bass.

I'm not asking the Bass range. Im asking for use these opposed woofer for subwoofer purpose, not for bass range purpose. Only 20hz-100hz.
LFE actually stands for Low Frequency Effects and is a specific channel in a multich recording (the .1 channel). I think separate subs are a better way to go generally, and dual opposed subs can work well.
 

kemmler3D

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I think the main reason you don't see a lot of commercial designs with dual opposed woofers is it's expensive. You spend 2x on what might be your most expensive component.
 

MattHooper

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I have a set of speakers with side firing woofers (Aerial 8b). They are awesome and great for a narrow room. I find them more finicky to place because of the direction of the woofers. Nothing that an hour, good bourbon and some great tracks hasn't solved in my last 2 homes.

I've found speakers with side-firing woofers to be finicky as well. (Among them I've had Audio physic Virgo, Libra, Scorpio). Though I love the AP brand in many respects, I've tended to steer clear of speakers with side firing designs.
 

restorer-john

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LFE actually stands for Low Frequency Effects and is a specific channel in a multich recording (the .1 channel).

Exactly.

I also wish people would stop referring to conventional woofers as 'subs' or 'subwoofers'. The entire term was for frequencies below what a conventional woofer was capable of accurately reproducing.
 
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Axo1989

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Audio Physic did pairs and quads of side-firing woofers for many years, starting in the 1990s iirc. KEF have done them for a considerable time also. You can do a narrow baffle with a deep box to get the required volume.

My Audio Physic Codex have a single sideways-mounted woofer (250 mm or 10" crossing over at 100 Hz) inside the cabinet and 'firing' through ceramic foam base and front vents (front and back waves separately). For the larger Aventera and Cardeas models which came later, they designed a very flat and spiderless 275 mm/11" driver and fit a pair of them back-to-back in the latter model.

22_final__large_full.jpg
 
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BrokenEnglishGuy

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Audio Physic did pairs and quads of side-firing woofers for many years, starting in the 1990s iirc. KEF have done them for a considerable time also. You can do a narrow baffle with a deep box to get the required volume.

My Audio Physic Codex have a single sideways-mounted woofer (250 mm or 10" crossing over at 100 Hz) inside the cabinet and 'firing' through ceramic foam base and front vents (front and back waves separately). For the larger Aventera and Cardeas models which came later, they designed a very flat and spiderless 275 mm/11" driver and fit a pair of them back-to-back in the latter model.

View attachment 303494
Seeying the AP codex i always wonder where is the 9.8'' woofer... If you can shot a picture ut would be amazing, because AP doesn't show much information about his products
I mean where is...
1691202344964.png
 

Axo1989

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Seeying the AP codex i always wonder where is the 9.8'' woofer... If you can shot a picture ut would be amazing, because AP doesn't show much information about his products
I mean where is...
View attachment 303496

They used to show more photos, here's one from a while back:

AP Codex section.jpg


It isn't obvious. You can see there the bass driver is mounted on its own small box, the front fires into the cabinet volume and vents through the front port (the square of open-cell ceramic foam you can see here, but usually obscured by the front glass panel) which is basically the way the back of a normal bass-reflex driver works. The back (which is effectively the front) fires into the small box then out the bottom of the speaker, also through ceramic foam. I tried sliding the bass driver/box out for a better look but the internal wires aren't long enough.

audio-physic-avanti-lautsprecher-stereo-37389.jpg
 
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pablolie

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Exactly.

I also wish people would stop referring to conventional woofers as 'subs' or 'subwoofers'. The entire term was for frequencies below what a conventional woofer was capable of accurately reproducing.
Not to nitpick. But "Sub-Woofer" seems to accurately capture the fact you're aiming lower than a regular woofer. :)

I have never researched if side- of front- or bottom-firing is better for a sub -apologies for using one of your non-approved terms :)-, since we kinda know setup and positioning is everything with subwoofers. I do however have a soft belief that separation is advantageous merely because it allows for more setup flexibility. That said, I am waiting for the LS60 to come out in racing red color. :-D
 
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BrokenEnglishGuy

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They used to show more photos, here's one from a while back:

View attachment 303500

It isn't obvious. You can see there the bass driver is mounted on its own small box, the front fires into the cabinet volume and vents through the front port (the square of open-cell ceramic foam you can see here, but usually obscured by the front glass panel) which is basically the way the back of a normal bass-reflex driver works. The back (which is effectively the front) fires into the small box then out the bottom of the speaker, also through ceramic foam. I tried sliding the bass driver/box out for a better look but the internal wires aren't long enough.

View attachment 303503
thats the thing i dont understand... the woofer is pointing at.. the wall of the cabinet? xD i mean is not like there is a grille just in that position... is literally a wall
seeying that photo from below, it might be understable if the woofer would point to below the box... but instead is pointing at the side
 

Axo1989

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thats the thing i dont understand... the woofer is pointing at.. the wall of the cabinet? xD i mean is not like there is a grille just in that position... is literally a wall

Yes, no grill. Remember it's effectively the back of the cone in that configuration. And it's <100 Hz so more like an in-cabinet passive sub.

But I was sceptical at first, as you are. Listening to them compared to the earlier Virgo model with bass drivers on the side walls, I think the Codex is a better sounding speaker, and better in the deep bass.
 
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BrokenEnglishGuy

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Yes, no grill. Remember it's effectively the back of the cone in that configuration. And it's <100 Hz so more like an in-cabinet passive sub.

But I was sceptical at first, as you are. Listening to them compared to the earlier Virgo model with bass drivers on the side walls, I think the Codex is a better sounding speaker, and better in the deep bass.
Nice! It is weird to me hehe
Can you post some pic from your lovely setup
 

hex168

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From 1993:

 

sarumbear

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LFE is Low frequency Extension which does mean, the deepest bass.
I'm afraid you are wrong. LFE is short for Low Frequency Effect, not Extension. It is a separate channel on film soundtracks where the low frequency sound effects are recorded.
 

egellings

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A huge driver begins to need a correspondingly huge box.
Since low bass is not directional, does it matter where on the box the woofer is placed, if the x-over frequency is low enough to not allow the woofer to generate directionality cues? Maybe aesthetics is a good enough reason for woofer placement.
 

fpitas

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Since low bass is not directional, does it matter where on the box the woofer is placed, if the x-over frequency is low enough to not allow the woofer to generate directionality cues? Maybe aesthetics is a good enough reason for woofer placement.
I have nothing against side woofers. I was addressing OPs question about the bass drivers being relatively small. It is true that a larger side woofer will get directional at a lower frequency, all things being equal.
 

egellings

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From 1993:

I heard those speakers. They were excellent. Bass response was exceptional.
 
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