How Come No One Makes an Acoustic Suspension Loudspeaker Anymore??

[parimento1]

I was wondering why seemingly no companies are making acoustic suspension loudspeakers anymore? I always felt that they offered the most accurate/tightest bass response of any loudspeaker design and are also easier to place, since there is no need to let the back port breathe. Anyway, just wondering. ALSO, which companies still manufacture acoustic suspension loudspeakers?

[Mag_Neato]

Ascend, in fact, makes one. The HTM-200 is sealed. I believe Atlantic Technology speakers are predominantly sealed designs as well.;)

[GirgleMirt]

Also the Sierra tower uses it, well for the mid at least ;)

I guess it's that most people prefer to have deeper bass and efficiency that a ported design affords.

The NHT 3 uses it... That's the only one I can think of...

[Mag_Neato]

I must add, I heard a $7,000/pr. towers from ADAM audio.They have 2 ports. They had some of the tightest, hardest hitting bass I've heard!

[RicardoJoa]

Comparing sealed vs ported, the ported will always go lower given the aproximate size woofer. I guess thats something consumer will look at as well. Imagine you are in a market of speaker, i wouldnt be suprised that people will argue a spec of f3 one over the other. Also, many tower have gone down size, so it would be more effient to built a woofer suitable for ported over sealed. In ghe old days the use large driver so they will likely hit lower without the port.

[curtis]

Also, enclosures are getting smaller/slimmer due to at least aesthetics. Because of this, to get comparable bass performance, porting is needed.

[DavidD]

With the exception of the Four, which is a hybrid, all the NHT speakers are acoustic suspension. However, the real story is in the implementation, whether it is a ported speaker or an acoustic suspension speaker.

[curtis]

However, the real story is in the implementation, whether it is a ported speaker or an acoustic suspension speaker.
Exactly!

[Dark Ranger]

I was going to mention the HTM-200 SE. :p I have a pair and am very impressed with the quality, speed, and tightness of low frequency output considering "only" 4" woofers and a -3 dB spec of 74 Hz (anechoic).


Comparing sealed vs ported, the ported will always go lower given the aproximate size woofer. I guess thats something consumer will look at as well. Imagine you are in a market of speaker, i wouldnt be suprised that people will argue a spec of f3 one over the other. Also, many tower have gone down size, so it would be more effient to built a woofer suitable for ported over sealed. In ghe old days the use large driver so they will likely hit lower without the port.

One of the benefits of acoustic suspension is a more gradual rolloff compared to ported speakers. With a sealed design, you've got a 12 dB/octave slope, compared to 24 dB/octave slope for ported speakers. Technically speaking, a sealed speaker should give a better extended response than a ported speaker (assuming two identical speakers/cabinets with the only difference being that one is sealed and one is ported). However, the ported speaker will probably sound like it has more bass due to the reuse of energy inside the cabinet.

I consider sealed loudspeakers (generally) easier to design than ported loudspeakers. With no venting, one does not need to worry about tuning the port (usually involving some math). Venting also brings up some addition concerns such as uncontrolled movement of the woofer below the cabinet tuning.

As a highly unscientific Apples to Oranges comparison, I have a pair of MartinLogan Motion 4 (ported, single 4" mid/bass driver) which are rated at -3 dB at 70 Hz and weigh in around 90 dB/2.83v/meter. The 200 SE pair actually has greater extension than the Motion 4 pair, even though it's sealed. With the MLs, the usable bass output rolled off pretty quick below the -3 dB point and didn't get much below 50 Hz in my room. With the 200s, I was actually getting output in the 30-40 Hz region. Of course, I am very aware of the shortcomings of this test and the varying capabilities between the two speakers. It was just for fun.

Remember that there are proper designs and poor designs. Just because a loudspeaker is sealed does not make it automatically "better" than a ported loudspeaker. There are issues to overcome with both designs.

As far as brands offering acoustic suspension designs, NHT seems to be one of the most popular right now and their products have good feedback (from what I've read). There are also some high-end companies still making sealed designs (e.g. Magico, McIntosh).

My $0.02 for today.

[RicardoJoa]

I was going to mention the HTM-200 SE. :p I have a pair and am very impressed with the quality, speed, and tightness of low frequency output considering "only" 4" woofers and a -3 dB spec of 74 Hz (anechoic).



One of the benefits of acoustic suspension is a more gradual rolloff compared to ported speakers. With a sealed design, you've got a 12 dB/octave slope, compared to 24 dB/octave slope for ported speakers. Technically speaking, a sealed speaker should give a better extended response than a ported speaker (assuming two identical speakers/cabinets with the only difference being that one is sealed and one is ported). However, the ported speaker will probably sound like it has more bass due to the reuse of energy inside the cabinet.

I consider sealed loudspeakers (generally) easier to design than ported loudspeakers. With no venting, one does not need to worry about tuning the port (usually involving some math). Venting also brings up some addition concerns such as uncontrolled movement of the woofer below the cabinet tuning.

As a highly unscientific Apples to Oranges comparison, I have a pair of MartinLogan Motion 4 (ported, single 4" mid/bass driver) which are rated at -3 dB at 70 Hz and weigh in around 90 dB/2.83v/meter. The 200 SE pair actually has greater extension than the Motion 4 pair, even though it's sealed. With the MLs, the usable bass output rolled off pretty quick below the -3 dB point and didn't get much below 50 Hz in my room. With the 200s, I was actually getting output in the 30-40 Hz region. Of course, I am very aware of the shortcomings of this test and the varying capabilities between the two speakers. It was just for fun.

Remember that there are proper designs and poor designs. Just because a loudspeaker is sealed does not make it automatically "better" than a ported loudspeaker. There are issues to overcome with both designs.

As far as brands offering acoustic suspension designs, NHT seems to be one of the most popular right now and their products have good feedback (from what I've read). There are also some high-end companies still making sealed designs (e.g. Magico, McIntosh).

My $0.02 for today.
Oh yea, i agree with you, i didnt mean that ported is better, just as with a lot of consumers, they are more sensitive with number and spec then anything. So a speaker with lower f3 might be "better" then another with higher f3 speaker. I think downsize plays quiet a bit in this discussion. I have a psir of old altec dual 8 in a sealed thats i always brag about, love the tight snappy bass thought my sierra hit lower, those are still pleasure to have.