Is db important in subwoofers or is it how much watts they get that makes it hit hard?

Question

how come high end subwoofers like kicker L7 or even competion subwoofers have like mid 80s db's but u turn around and get a cheap brand putn out like 95 or 96 db's is watts first important then db's

Answer 1

I would think the DB's more than the watts.

Answer 2

I love it, whoever came through and rated everyone down but didn't respond, you lazy SOB lol.

here's and extended explanation

no            Free air reference efficiency.

This is given as a percentage. I find it more useful to look at the reference efficiency than to look at the manufacturers sensitively figures. A lot of the sensitivity figures quoted are useless and inflated, some manufacturers don’t even quote the no, they just give you their sensitivity figures, what does that tell you. The no figure is the efficiency of the driver before the manufacturer has put it into a box and decided the sensitivity figure for it. For bass drivers no’s of around 3.8% to 5% are good, the driver would have a sensitivity of around 97.9 to 99.2 dB for the 5% driver. More common are no’s around 1.8% to 3.8% and these drivers would not be as efficient. An no of 1.8% would give a sensitivity of 94.7 dB and 3.8 % would be 97.9 dB. The figures quoted here are for 1w/1m. You will find that drivers with high xmax figures do not have high no figures. Because they have longer voice coils which are heavier for the motor to move they are less efficient. So unless you really need that extra output and can justify the extra expense of buying an amplifier that can really move the cone to it’s limit you might as well use smaller amps with more efficient drivers. You will never get the same amount of output from a driver with less xmax, but you will get more output for the same input power from a more efficient driver with a smaller xmax. If you never really drive your speakers hard then the use of the more efficient short voice coil, low xmax models would save you cash on the cheaper driver in the first place and the less powerful amp needed to get the most out of these drivers. You would also have the benefit of less weight. If you drive your speakers very hard and need the maximum output for the size enclosure they are in then you will need to use the less efficient longer voice coil models that have big xmax’s. You will also need the budget for the big amps you will need to move these beasts, most need over 1000 watts to get them near their xmax limits and because of their lack of efficiency, it’s not until you drive them hard that you will get the benefit of extra output over more efficient drivers. If I only had 500 to 750 watts to give to each driver then I would use the more efficient lower xmax drivers. If you use low efficiency big xmax drivers in this situation you will not get as much output and I could come along and make more noise with the same amp power using more efficient drivers costing half as much. If I drove my speakers with over 1000 watts each then I would use the less efficient bigger xmax drivers. You will get the most output from drivers like these but you really have to push them for that little bit extra. You can explain it like this. If I go to my local club and their small disco system is driving a 100 watt amp into some efficient 15” and horn type cabs, I would be amazed at the volume being produced. I would be thinking if I brought in one of my big 18” ported cabs that has a driver with an xmax of 10 mm and connected it to there 100 watt amp I would probably not even here the 18” driver. The difference is that they have a very efficient 100 watt drivers and they being driven to their maximum, they will never get any more volume out of there system, not even if I bring in a 1500 watt amp. But if I brought in a 1500 watt amp and connected it to my big 18” ported cab and turned it up I would probably shake the venue to bits. But I bet I would need around 500 watts just to equal their 100 watts before I really started to make more noise than them.

Answer 3

DB means little-DBM or DBA means more.  DBM are directly interchangeable with Watts , particularly RMS watts.   PUMPO watts are worth little-1/10 Watt RMS.   DBA is not a power measurement, and thus is worth little, but it's what the testing authorities use for exhausts.  Do some study and learn the differences, then you will understand more than most salesmen, and be aware of what's junk & what's not.

Answer 4

both are important.

the L7 isn't the most amazing subwoofer ever, like everyone seems to thing. but for a sub u def. want 87+ db.

watts is balls, guts, power, loudness.  and a lot of "cheap" brands jsut aren't as well known, like Cadence. most dealers who sell Cadence and Sounstream and others like that dont use massive amrkup, like on Kicker because its so sensationalistic