# If I replace the speaker in my subwoofer will it sound less boomy?



## goodears (Jan 2, 2013)

I have an older subwoofer, Mirage PS-10. Driver is blown (I've tested it. It is.) If I find a newer driver that will match the enclosure (it is sealed not ported and no I don't know what to put in it), will it sound less boomy with a newer driver?

It is what it is? Just an old boomy sub? No matter which driver's in it?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Unfortunately there's no way anyone can really answer that, because there are a multitude of things that could cause a sub to sound "boomy". It may have been room placement, how it was tuned, how high the gain/volume was set, a poorly engineered sub or some combination of all.

Replacing a driver isn't simply unbolting one and putting another in it's place though, because you have to match the parameters of the driver to the enclosure size and type, as well as the amp's capabilities. It can be a bit tricky, and getting it right isn't a guarantee.

It sounds as though you may not have been terribly happy with it from the beginning, so perhaps purchasing a new sub is the way to go instead.


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## fbov (Aug 28, 2008)

This is one of the few times when it's truly possible to help a man with a box. 

Get a box simulator. I use Unibox (Excel-based), WinISD is a popular stand-alone program, and there are on-line calculators for designing speaker boxes. Most all start with a driver and predict response based on either box size, or system "Q" or Qtc. You will always need: Vas, Fs and Qts, total driver "Q" from the speaker's spec sheet Note the different subscripts - Qts is for driver, Qtc for a driver in a box. 

Qtc determines the frequency response, and values above ~0.7 have a peak in their low end response that becomes "BOOM" at high values, but there's little change in response until 0.9-1.0 and higher. While you really need to read a book, sites like this give you a basic idea how Qtc affects sound quality (table part way down).
http://diyaudiocorner.tripod.com/dilemma.htm

Any driver whose parameters you enter will give you a box size/Qtc pair. The trick is to find a driver that yields the desired Qtc at the desired box size. Using this calculator and a Dayton RSS265HF driver...
http://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Calculator/Box/

Vas = 45 lts
fs = 26.2 Hz
Qts = 0.44 
Qtc = 0.7 
...yields a 1.04 cu ft, or 29.4L internal box volume. 

From here, there are questions of power handling, sensitivity/achievable loudness, etc., but at least you've got a box/driver that provides the desired response.

HAve fun,
Frank


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