[got wake?]

Originally Posted by awesomebase

Well, I thought the whole point of boards was to share information -- if everyone already knew everything, than there would be no point in having these discussions. So, with that, I'm not picking on anybody, and certainly not trying to pick a fight, but in the spirit of a good discussion, I gotta say that anybody that knows anything about speaker building and getting a nice flat response from their crossovers knows that it is pretty much accepted that a 3dB increase/decrease means double the volume. Look at charts from even the pros and you'll see that they all strive for a flat response for a well-balanced speaker -- usually nothing more than 1 or 2 dBs difference across the entire spectrum (in a 2 or 3 way speaker) for anything resembling a professional product.

I'm not going to debate whether this is applicable to horns or not, but people should know at least what is accepted as industry standard. Even the SPL meter did its job and made the point. All I'm saying is that whether or not you "feel" like its double the volume, a 3dB increase is considered as such. This will avoid a lot of confusion when you talk with others about more important things like your truck's speakers and amplifiers.

Your subwoofer example is greatly simplified... you're not saying whether the subwoofers are independent arrangements, connected in series or in parallel and how that affects your resistance and power requirements from your amplifier (i.e. ~ 1,2,4, or 8 ohms depending on, again, your arrangement). But I do get your point. I'm just saying, our ears may not confirm what tools designed for this purpose confirm. Two independent horns should be 3dB greater than one and that was confirmed. It may not "feel" like that to us, but much like an earthquake, a 3.6 (on the Richter scale) doesn't feel like it is double the power of a 3.5 earthquake, but it is. I'm not a retail custom-speaker designer and I don't do SPL competitions as I prefer quality of sound, not quantity. Don't take my word for it though, check out Wikipedia or get on the boards at audioholics and make your case (I've been there for 8 years now).

a 3 dB increase does not mean double the volume. i don't know of anyone, besides you, who considers it double the volume. a 1 dB difference isn't even enough of a difference for most people to hear there is a difference. click the link Swatdude1 posted. here's a quote taken right from it, so you can't say that it was from some link have:
"Experimentally it was found that a 10 dB increase in sound level corresponds approximately to a perceived doubling of loudness."

twice as much power is 3 dB's, but that does not equate to twice the loudness or volume.

i'm not about to use wiki for a reference, since there is plenty of incorrect information on there. i've been on car audio forums for years, so that is nothing new. anyone on there that says 3 dB's is twice the volume/loudness, i wouldn't take any of their advice. i'll stick to the 12volt insiders forum since carsound is getting dead these days.

but feel free to post a thread asking if in fact 10 dB's equates to about twice the volume to someone who knows what they are talking about. i usually keep my discussions between engineers and manufacturers.

the subwoofer comparison removes the variables and simply compares cone area and wattage only for the purpose of easy comparison.

and in reference to SQ, i've been doing that for years, since i stopped SPL competition after i destroyed my old car. and a few years of judging SQ comps, i know a thing or two about it.