Difference between 10 inch and 12 inch woofer

[MikeO]

A possibly stupid question but given two speakers that use the same tweeter and midrange but one using a 12 inch woofer and the other a 10 inch woofer, what would the major differences in sound be. Would the 12 inch provide deeper bass or just move more air and sound larger in a big room.

The reason I ask is that I purchased a pair of Yamaha NS 670s on the weekend and they sound great. Just wondering if you could expect more from the 690 in a small room. The NS 690 uses a 12 inch woofer as opposed to the 10 inch on the 670.

 

[kfa888]

2 inches

 

[MarkAnderson]

There are no stupid questions, but here's a couple stupid answers:

The easy, smart-ass answer: 2"

The more constructive (but also more subjective) answer: all other things being equal, the larger diameter woofer should move more air and, thusly, provide deeper (and possibly louder) bass response. As for which one sounds better in a given room - not a clue. - Mark

 

[MarkAnderson]

I need to hire someone to do my typing!! :gigglemad - Mark

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

I need to hire someone to do my typing!! :gigglemad - Mark

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

 

[foetusized]

If my arithmetic is right, the difference is around 35 square inches of surface, which is the important figure, as it is the surface of the cone that moves the air.

Other things do come into play, such as cabinet size, ports, and crossovers, so without listening to both models its hard to tell what the difference will be -- Foe

 

[Tom Brennan]

Can't say for certain. Depending on box size, woofer specs and such the 12 might go deeper or might be simply louder. It might even be deeper and louder. Maybe.

 

[Soran]

first difference your woofer is bigger and can use more power to push the electrons away, but second difference your box is probably bigger, a larger resonance-box gives a larger sound, good for bigger rooms, but also in smaller rooms the quality should increase. (if the box is perfectly adapt for the 12 inch)

 

[piece-it pete]

If my arithmetic is right, the difference is around 35 square inches of surface, ... -- Foe

Dingdingding! Use math at work, or it is just part of the techie/geek part of this hobby ?

(disclaimer: present company excluded. well, if one thinks there is no techie/geek aspect to said hobby one is free to delude oneself lol)

Live long and prosper,

Pete

 

[foetusized]

Dingdingding! Use math at work, or it is just part of the techie/geek part of this hobby ?

I have a BS with a mathematics major and computer science minor, and do database query programming at work. In other words, I do the mathematics and let the computer do the arithmetic usually, which is why I qualified my answer :yes: -- Foe

 

[packrat]

For a given box size and type and for a given SPL in your room, the larger woofer will aways have less displacement. This could mean the larger woofer could have lower distortion or the ability to play a little bit louder, or both. If these are 3-ways, I'd go for the 12" woofer version, unless the box size gets to be too large.

 

[bigphil]

i'd definately say that size makes a difference, from a non-scientific, just from experience point of view, 12" woofers are louder, deeper, but a bit more sluggish. 10" are a bit softer, but tighter, more precise, not as deep... of course all these things depend on magnet size, cone material, speaker model, etc etc etc... so my opinion is probably way out of line

 

[RussinOhio]

I think what matters most is how any given 10 or 12 inch woofer is built and the designers intention on how that driver is used within the system. A case in point:

My Altec 19 speakers have 15" woofers, but I've heard some 12" systems that go MUCH deeper in the bass freq.


Russ

 

[hoahao]

The 670 is a smaller box size then the 690. The manual I got got my 690's is the same as for the 670's; theres a blurb on both of them. The freqancy response charts are next to each other and show that the 670's roll off sooner and have a bit less out put.
Oh and ...

690's = 96db / one meter 4 watts input

670's = 96db/ 1 m 6.3 watts input

 

[Hilltroll67]

i'd definately say that size makes a difference, from a non-scientific, just from experience point of view, 12" woofers are louder, deeper, but a bit more sluggish. 10" are a bit softer, but tighter, more precise, not as deep... of course all these things depend on magnet size, cone material, speaker model, etc etc etc... so my opinion is probably way out of line

Based on what I know about the AR3a and the AR5 - same tweeter and mid, AR3a 12" woofer in a larger box than the 10" woofer AR5 - there is nothing out of line about your opinion. The only thing I'll add is the value in considering how well the woofer-to-midrange crossover works. AR had marginally better success with the 10" woofer.

Bob

 

[dnewma04]

All things being equal, there will be no difference in the apparent speed of a 10" woofer and an 18" woofer. The primary concern when looking at driver speed from a technical standpoint is inductance. From a perceptual standpoint, some people find that drivers that play deeper sound slower, but only because they are playing lower bass notes.

 

[kfa888]

A 12 inch circle has 113 sq inches of area, a 10” circle has 78.5 sq inches of area, 34.5 sq inches difference.