How does OB effect efficiency?

**Kevin Haskins** · 03 July 2008, 14:07 Thursday

In the midrange, not at all. It is at low frequencies, where you start to get significant cancellation that the efficiency plummets.

**krips** · 03 July 2008, 19:01 Thursday

Interesting. I figured the backwave would act like a second driver and add 3db. Can anyone explain why this is not the case?

**Saurav** · 03 July 2008, 19:09 Thursday

Because it's out of phase, so it cancels the front wave, it doesn't add to it. This effect is more prominent as you go down in frequency, as the wavelengths in question become longer than (and thus, wrap around) the baffle width.

At least, that's my rough understanding. I would suggest spending some time at the following sites:

musicanddesign.com - musicanddesign Resources and Information.

https://www.musicanddesign.com

musicanddesign.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, musicanddesign.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

Linkwitz Lab - Loudspeaker Design

https://www.linkwitzlab.com

Design and consultation in electro-acoustics. Fundamental concepts of sound reproduction in rooms. Detailed design information for DIY construction of a subwoofer and an open-baffle speaker with exceptional fidelity. Dipole loudspeaker design for true to the original sound reproduction with minimal room interaction.

Those two cover pretty much everything you need to know about dipole speakers. Some of it gets kinda heavy with the math, but when I first started reading them I used to skip over that and just try to understand the concepts. Now I'm slowly getting into a little bit of the math as I'm trying to design my own speakers.

How does OB effect efficiency?

How does OB effect efficiency?

Comment

Comment

Comment