What are Passive Bass Radiators?

Timestamps:-

0:00 - 0:08 - Introduction
0:09 - 0:34 - What are Bass Radiators?
0:35 - 1:18 - How did a Bass Radiator design come into picture
0:19 - 1:38 - An example of a typical speaker with speakers drivers and bass radiators or "drone cones"
1:39 - 1:52 Why are they called "Passive" Bass Radiators? Hint : they use Air Pressure inside the cabinet
1:53 - 3:01 - Benefits of Passive Bass Radiators and brands which employ Bass Radiators in some of their home theater speakers
3:02 - 3:31 - Drawbacks of a Passive Bass Radiator
3:32 - 3:44 - Some examples of speakers where Bass Radiators are used
3:45 - 4:22 - Shop for Speakers on www.ooberpad.com

Passive bass radiator is commonly seen in many speakers today, especially portable Bluetooth speakers. However, not many people fully understand what they are and what purpose they serve.

In this video, we will demystify passive radiators and explain everything in detail. Make sure to watch this video till the end to get a complete understanding of the speaker component.

Now, let’s get started and understand what exactly passive bass radiators are.

Simply put, a passive radiator is a drum-like driver without a magnet or voice coil. It is usually made of a lightweight cone attached to a moving surround in a frame.

Passive radiators work by moving air in sync with the woofer or subwoofer in response to sound waves produced by the active driver. This enhances the bass output and extends the low frequency response of the speaker.

In contrast to a ported design, passive radiator does not use a port or vent for managing air pressure inside the cabinet. Instead, the radiator itself takes care of controlling airflow and cabin pressure.

Now let’s look at some of the main benefits of passive bass radiator:

Increased bass extension - By resonating sympathetically with the woofer, passive radiators allow speakers to reach lower frequencies than otherwise possible. This significantly extends the bass response.

Reduced distortion - Passive radiators help control cabinet pressure more linearly than ports. This lowers distortion and makes the bass tighter and more articulate.

Compact enclosures - Speakers with passive radiator can be made more compact while still delivering strong bass. This is ideal for portable Bluetooth speakers.

Better time alignment - The passive radiator's output is better aligned with the woofer's output timing-wise. This improves the phase coherence in the crossover region.

Weather resistance - Unlike ports, passive radiators have no opening. This makes them inherently resistant to water and dust ingress.

Greater efficiency - Passive radiator improve bass output efficiency by up to 3 dB compared to equivalent ported designs.

As you can see, integrating a passive radiator into a speaker system has several acoustic benefits. This is why many speaker manufacturers are adopting this design.

Passive radiators are commonly seen in portable Bluetooth speakers from brands like JBL, Anker, Sony, Bose and others. They allow substantial bass in a compact form factor.

Higher end home theatre speakers are also using them instead of ports. Some examples are speakers from Klipsch, KEF, Monitor Audio, and Paradigm.

The size of the passive radiator depends on the enclosure volume as well as the targeted frequency response. Most portable speakers use a 3 to 5-inch diameter passive radiator.

Home audio speakers can have 8-inch, 10-inch or even 12-inch passive cones to reproduce ultra-low bass down to 20 Hz. The radiator is tuned by optimizing its mass and suspension compliance.

Proper integration with the woofer is vital for good performance. The radiator must see an optimized acoustic load from the enclosure and amplifier. Advanced computer modelling is used to design passive radiator systems.

Passive radiator do have some limitations as well. The increased motion can potentially cause durability issues over time. Higher excursion requirements may also limit maximum acoustic output.

Careful engineering is needed to ensure reliable performance. Additionally, passive radiators can be more expensive than simple ports. However, the advantages outweigh the downsides in most cases.

We hope this video has helped you understand what passive bass radiator are and how they enhance bass response. If you are looking for speakers with this advanced design, check out Ooberpad.

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Music: zeropage - Ambiphonic (The song is permitted for commercial use under license “Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)“”)