3 ms·

Exposed, non-protected woofers looks cool - but I can imagine a butter-side-down Murphy's law event happening to me within a week of getting that thing...

mnw21cam 6y ago
Also, 4-inch woofers? That's pretty small to be attempting to produce any serious amount of bass. (Source: I made myself a bass amp for my bass guitar when I was a teenager. It had a 12-inch woofer, and needed it. I don't think speakers have broken the laws of physics quite that well in the intervening years.)
- dimnsionofsound 6y ago
  You’d be surprised what modern neodymium drivers in a well designed enclosure can accomplish bass-wise. Though you are right in that the laws of physics have not changed, and something has to give, usually what has “given” is the increase in power output of small amplifier boards, thus allowing DIYers (like myself) and manufacturers alike to throw more power into lower efficiency, but higher mass (and thus more bass in a smaller enclosure) drivers. With Hoffman’s iron law where you can have two of efficient, low, or small, it seems like efficiency is what has gone down to get more bass extension while keeping enclosures small-ish. I’d be happy to provide photos+construction details of one of the portable speakers I made, and frequency response measurements if you’d like, to illustrate this.
  - thelazydogsback 6y ago
    Reminds me of the venerable Radio Shack Minimus 7 -- this was truly a revolutionary product at the time at set the bar for "bookshelf" speakers for years.
  - mnw21cam 6y ago
    I you're on the button with the efficiency thing. My speaker only had a 50W amplifier, but it was quite capable of being loud in a large (capacity 600 seated) school hall.
- samatman 6y ago
  I believed the same thing, right up until I picked up a HomePod, which quickly cured me of it. Does it shake your chest? Not quite. Can it literally shake the windows? I mean, make actual windows produce an audible buzzing noise? Yes, it emphatically can. I would still choose a larger cone for a bass guitar, though; it's right there in the name.

mnw21cam 6y ago

Also, 4-inch woofers? That's pretty small to be attempting to produce any serious amount of bass. (Source: I made myself a bass amp for my bass guitar when I was a teenager. It had a 12-inch woofer, and needed it. I don't think speakers have broken the laws of physics quite that well in the intervening years.)

dimnsionofsound 6y ago
You’d be surprised what modern neodymium drivers in a well designed enclosure can accomplish bass-wise. Though you are right in that the laws of physics have not changed, and something has to give, usually what has “given” is the increase in power output of small amplifier boards, thus allowing DIYers (like myself) and manufacturers alike to throw more power into lower efficiency, but higher mass (and thus more bass in a smaller enclosure) drivers. With Hoffman’s iron law where you can have two of efficient, low, or small, it seems like efficiency is what has gone down to get more bass extension while keeping enclosures small-ish. I’d be happy to provide photos+construction details of one of the portable speakers I made, and frequency response measurements if you’d like, to illustrate this.
- thelazydogsback 6y ago
  Reminds me of the venerable Radio Shack Minimus 7 -- this was truly a revolutionary product at the time at set the bar for "bookshelf" speakers for years.
- mnw21cam 6y ago
  I you're on the button with the efficiency thing. My speaker only had a 50W amplifier, but it was quite capable of being loud in a large (capacity 600 seated) school hall.
samatman 6y ago
I believed the same thing, right up until I picked up a HomePod, which quickly cured me of it. Does it shake your chest? Not quite. Can it literally shake the windows? I mean, make actual windows produce an audible buzzing noise? Yes, it emphatically can. I would still choose a larger cone for a bass guitar, though; it's right there in the name.