what are radiator subwoofer

[austinpetemo]

ive had this suggested because they are really loud. and it kind of interests me because i cant seem to figure them out. how does it work when it doesnt have a magnet or a voice coil? please explain it in a way that a non-technical savvy person such as myself can understand

[frigginchi]

It's a speaker without a magnet or voice coil. It use the air pressure of the active speaker to move. Sound like dookie :(

Get something in a band pass enclosure if you want some bump in your trunk.

[Rallysman]

AKA Passive Radiator.

They're good at increasing enclosure volume without making said enclosure much bigger. they're absolutely worthless on their own and need a decent driver (sub) to make them somewhat effective. That's about it.

It's more of a gimmick than anything. If they were worth their weight you'd see them much more often in commercial products.

[austinpetemo]

an explanation that i read is that it adds onto your encloseure to complement the bump and sound of the subwoofer using the airpressure. its interesting. especially since it doesnt require an amp

[Rallysman]

If you're limited on space they might be worth it, but isobaric push-pull probably has the same output with less space. Of course the passive radiator is less expensive, but it's also less efficient (if space is a concern).

[austinpetemo]

so would it be worth $30 to put one on your system? or will it make no significant difference

[frigginchi]

Poop:(

[Rallysman]

so would it be worth $30 to put one on your system? or will it make no significant difference

Without knowing any details it's impossible to say.

[austinpetemo]

well. i mean do you think getting one would be worth the money?

Posted on mobile.aquariacentral.com

[Rallysman]

well. i mean do you think getting one would be worth the money?

Posted on mobile.aquariacentral.com
Did you even read my last post?

[tekonus]

I believe he's going from the this (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209923) point of view.

Honestly, dude? Cheap parts sound cheap... period. Like someone else in this thread already said, if they were worth it you would see a lot more of them, and all your friends would already have them so you would know how they sound. Save your money till you can afford a system that is worth it and you won't be embarrassed to open your trunk and show what you've got. :p:

[frigginchi]

That's the kind of junk you don't want in your trunk.

[austinpetemo]

so its better to get a ported sub enclosure?

[coach_z]

sounds like a worthless piece of junk to me.

i think you should start doing some of the following things to further your research on a system for your car. 1) join an audio/car audio forum, 2) get some books/magazines and see what people are doing, 3) call up crutchfield and talk to a sales rep and see what the two of you can piece together for the amount of money that you want to spend, 4) go to your local car audio shop and talk to them about things you can do.

[xsdbs]

so its better to get a ported sub enclosure?
This depends on the type of music that you will be listening to. Ported enclosures are able to add 3dbs mor to the audio output from the enclosure at the same power as a sealed enclosure. Ported enclosures are real nice for most music other that rap. Sealed enclosures work best for rap because of the seal from the box helps control the woofer a bit. A ported enclosure is a much more difficult design of a box to build and has to built right on to specs for a certain woofer while sealed boxes can be built less than perfect, also there are several different woofers made that will work in the same size enclosure. For instance most 12's will work well in a box as small as .88 cf and up to about 1.25 cf where as a sub made for a ported enclosure has to be specific for a certain box size.
Also when using a ported enclosure you need to make sure that you use a subsonic filter close to the tuning point of the enclosure because the woofer will be out of control under the tuning point of the enclosure, this will cause the voice coils to heat up quicker and either fry the skeaker or posibly damage an amp.
Band pass boxes are not so great either , they are known as for being loud but only for a narrow band of bass note. They normally need to be used with a very strong midbass section, ex: if you have a pair of 12's in a bandpass box they really need to be backed up by a good set of 8" mid bass or several 6" midbass speakers. (if you care about musical tonality).
The passive radiator has tried to make its day in car audio but has really never taken off. They have been used more in home audio and are usually mounted on a panel facing a back wall or uderneath a box about 3-4" off the ground.
All in all for the cost you should go with a sealed enclosure and a couple sets of good quality coaxials or triax speakers... unless you are into sound quality and there is a lot involved.

[dundadundun]

That's the kind of junk you don't want in your trunk.


sounds like a worthless piece of junk to me.

i think you should start doing some of the following things to further your research on a system for your car. 1) join an audio/car audio forum, 2) get some books/magazines and see what people are doing, 3) call up crutchfield and talk to a sales rep and see what the two of you can piece together for the amount of money that you want to spend, 4) go to your local car audio shop and talk to them about things you can do.
i agree with the above.

you'll get the best sound out of seperate boxes though. don't do left and right it won't do justice. do left and right with each type.

imo insulation is a big key to great sound. good seals in the car, styrofoam style boxes inside car panels behind midrange and tweeters keep restrike from canceling sound out. polyfill increases sound and cancels out unwanted reverb from subs. dynamat cancels out rattles and such that will become annoying interference at louder volumes.

for a cheap easy solution to bass... on the cheap of course... nothing professional... bass tubes work great. add to that a small sealed box and your range of sound won't be limited.

imo shakers and passives are gimmicks.

[l3lhsl3]

A speaker enclosure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker_enclosure) using a passive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passivity_%28engineering%29) radiator usually contains an "active driver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker)" (or main driver), and a "passive cone" (or drone or passive radiator). The active driver is a regular driver, and the passive is typically the same or similar, but without a voice coil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_coil) and magnet assembly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker#Driver_design). It is only a suspended cone, not attached to a voice coil or electrical circuit. The passive radiator usually has some means to adjust its mass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass), thereby allowing the speaker designer to change the box tuning. Internal air pressure produced by movements of the active driver cone moves the passive radiator cone as well.
Passive radiators are used instead of a reflex port (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_port) for much the same reasons—to tune the small volume and driver for better low frequency performance. Especially in situations in which a port would be inconveniently sized (usually too long for practical box configurations). They are also used to eliminate port turbulence and reduce motion compression caused by high velocity airflow in small ports (especially small diameter ones). Passive radiators are tuned by mass variations (Mmp), changing the way their compliance interacts with motion of the air in the box. The weight of the cone of the passive radiator should be approximately equivalent to the mass of the air that would have filled the port which might have been used for that design. Passive radiators do not behave exactly as do (more or less) equivalent bass-reflex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_reflex) designs in that they cause a notch in system frequency response at the PR's free air resonant frequency; this causes a steeper roll-off (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roll-off) below the system's tuned frequency Fb, and poorer transient response. Due to the lack of vent turbulence and vent pipe resonances, many prefer the sound of PRs to reflex ports. PR speakers, however, are more complex to design and likely to be more expensive as compared to standard reflex enclosures.
The frequency response of a passive radiator will be similar to that of a ported cabinet, with two exceptions. The system low frequency roll-off in a passive radiator design will be slightly steeper, and will have a notch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-stop_filter) (dip) in frequency response (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_response) due to the Vas (compliance, or stiffness of the speaker cone) of the passive radiator. The goal in designing a passive radiator is to adjust the tuning so that this notch is below audible levels.

[austinpetemo]

ok. so for a kicker sub. (not sure as to which size yet) i should build my own sealed box, and what should be IN it?

[l3lhsl3]

ok. so for a kicker sub. (not sure as to which size yet) i should build my own sealed box, and what should be IN it?


you dont use passive radiators in car systems atleast i would never?

u need to build a box to the speakers specs and they need to be enclosed separately (spacer in center of box ) or u can wire one backwords haha

[frigginchi]

Here you go:

http://www.crutchfield.com/learn/reviews/20040427/subs_amps_guide.html

[The Zigman]

Passive radiators have their place, and its not in a subwoofer enclosure.

the purpose of these is to add bass to a full range box without changing the impedance of the enclosure, and having to add extra drivers.

They will produce low frequecies but are powered by the mid/low rannge driver in a sealed enclosure. So if the mid driver is notvery good, and has a small displacement the dont expect alot from the passive radiator.

Years ago I had a high end set of Kicker sidekicks that used 8" passive radiators with 6.5" mid drivers. They sounded awesome, but they werent subs.

If you want the low sub bass pnch, and you cant afford a set of 15" L7's then get a 12" kicker comp.

What kind fo music do you want to listen to with this system?
What sort of bass are you wanting to produce?

Different types of enclosures produce different tones and resonances.

I had a 12" Comp in a folded horn sub box that was unbelievable.

[dundadundun]

ok. so for a kicker sub. (not sure as to which size yet) i should build my own sealed box, and what should be IN it?

kicker makes subs of different levels for different applications. you really should choose or make your box according to those specs or close to get the best sound out of each.


you dont use passive radiators in car systems atleast i would never?

u need to build a box to the speakers specs and they need to be enclosed separately (spacer in center of box ) or u can wire one backwords haha

thank you!

to me it's just like the bose wave "bubbles" in the their woofer box. the difference is it really paid off and improved the sound and traveling distance for bose. after that they could concentrate on clarity and a smaller speaker so you could hide it anywhere. that makes it attractive to their target audience.

[Raseru]

Before you go and by anything you might want to sit down and plan every thing out like:
1-What type of music you mainly listen to?
ie: a 10 or a 12 inch sub in a nice sealed would be better for overall bass reproduction like pop,rock or jazz(not saying a 15, 18, or 21 inch sub cant do it) as to where a those later subs are more sub-bass like for bass heavy songs(not saying an 8, 10, or12incher couldnt do it)
2-What type of budget do you have?
3-*PLAN FOR FUTURE UPGRADES* (ive seen a lot of people waste money, by skipping this step including me and ive been building and installing car audio systemsfor YEARS)
4-Make sure you shop around an read reviews on products you are looking at (you want the best BANG for your buck not the best Name!!!)
5-Type of vehicle?(subs are louder in an open cargo area than in a trunk car with the same setup)
5-Space Limits(im in the middle of a build with (3)3k rms amps two custom built 18" subs (6)batts (3)alternaters (2)1k rms amps one for mids and one for highs, and multiple tweeters and midranges. im competing next year:naughty:)

There is A WHOLE LOT more other things to take into account with car audio just do those 5 basic steps i mentioned above and dont buy anything because someone said it was loud because its THEIR opinion!!!!


P.S 100watts is louder than you think it is!!!!