sound_matters

Bazooka introduced the new larger EL, however it's only 50 watts more powerful than the EL8A. I heard that you have to tenfold your wattage to hear an increase in SPL of 2x. The ear can only hear a difference in sound up or down in volume in 3dB increments. Is it really worth it to go for the 100 Watt model? Any thoughts on this?

mfenske

You're close but a little off. A doubling of power will TYPICALLY (not always) result in a gain of 3db. To be twice as loud you need to increase by 10db. Finally, the ear is able to discern about a 1db difference. Personally, I'm not a Bazooka guy as I think you can find better for the money but ultimately it's your car. Mark

H8me

watage has very little to do with how loud a speaker playes
the number you want is sensitivity rated in Db
if a speaker that requires 200 watts RMS has a sensitivity of 83Db, and another speaker 250 watts rms with a sen. of 83Db with the same wattage thay will play the same volume that extra 50 watt is not enough to make a big diffrence the watage and sen. i gave are for the el woffers u stated

mfenske

WHAT??? Spell check homie! I have no idea what you are trying to say here. If you are talking about the efficency (sensitivity) of a speaker you are right that two speakers given the same amount of power the more efficent would be louder....Maybe. I think what we need here is a lesson on the basics of sound and audio. The sensitivity rating of a speaker doesn't necessarily determine the output of a speaker. How you ask? Take two speakers with the same amount of power and sensitivity but one is a 8" woofer and the other is a 15" woofer. The 15" woofer will be louder as it's able to move more air due to a larger cone (this is the "sd" on box building formulas and t/s parameters). The other factors affecting the ultimate output of a speaker are things like the size of the cone (sd), excursion (xmax, xmag, xmech), and lastly the amount of power it's fed. The larger the displacement of the cone in combination with the further the cone travels (more power makes it move further) makes a speaker louder. Finally, the power ratings on a speaker are typically recommended maximums and are by no means the amount of power required to make a speaker operate. Mark