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Not All Bass Sound Alike In this post, I’m evaluating the bass characteristics of four 8″ woofers. The woofers are assigned bass duty in a 3-way system. The mid-high section is the Swallow-BC. All the woofers are crossed electronically at 200Hz with a 24dB/oct electronic crossover, so essentially, it’s a hybrid 3-way I’m listening to. The Swallow-BC is passive while the 8″ woofers are active. Since it’s virtually impossible to measure the “sound” of bass, this evaluation is purely subjective. My aim is to find the woofer with the best bass reproduction. By that, I mean bass clarity, articulation and attack/decay. Deep bass, 40Hz and below, is not my priority. That is for movie lovers. In music, it’s the upper bass. The woofers I’ve lined up are: Thruster THW835 The Thruster THW835 is from a Parts Express Buy-Out. At only $19.88, this woofer is a steal. Even though it is listed as a subwoofer, it is more suited as a woofer in a 3-way.
The enclosure is 24 liters with a 2″ diameter port having a length of 2.25″. This results in a F3 of 51Hz. The Bass Reflex response is in Fig 1. GRS 8PT-8 This GRS 8PT-8 is actually meant for professional use. Priced at $22.90 at Parts Express, she is one of the most affordable 8″. Her T/S shows she’ a suitable contender for this shootout.
As it so happens, the GRS 8PT-8 can be loaded with the same 24 liters box having the same tuning. The predicted bass response is above (Fig 2). HiVi M8a For years, this HiVi M8a has been a torn in my side. I tried her in various 2-way designs but was never truly satisfied. Hopefully in this 3-way, the M8a will shine.
For this evaluation, I found she sounds best in a 35 liters bass reflex tuned to 30Hz with a 2″ PVC tube having a length of 6.5″. With this tuning, the bass tightened up significantly (Fig 3). Peerless 830869 Believe it or not, I’ve had this woofer since 2013. Like the M8a, I tried her in various 2-way designs but she never swept me off my feet.
It took many tests to find the sweet spot for this 830869. I finally found her bass sounds best with a 20 liters enclosure tuned to 45Hz. The port is a 2″ PVC tube with a length of 4.7″ (Fig 4). How Do They Match Up? Thruster THW835 – Bass performance is slightly above average. Considering it has a Qts of 0.27 and a System Q of 0.435, it’s rather disappointing. I expected more. Perhaps she’ll improve with a smaller 20 liters box. At 24 liters, she doesn’t make me sit up. (5.5/10) GRS 8PT-8 – This woofer is slightly more articulate. Her lower bass is similar to the Thruster. With a Qts of 0.52, the 8PT-8 is actually more suitable for a Sealed Box but you’ll lose the bass. (6/10) HiVi M8a – I can’t remember how much I paid for the M8a but I’m sure it’s more than twice that of the GRS8PT-8. The Bass quality is audibly superior over the Thruster and the 8PT-8. Articulation is much better. What is outstanding with this M8a is the bass notes have more weight and kick harder. It never sounded like this until I loaded her with a 35 liters bass reflex tuned to 35Hz. (7.5/10) Peerless 830869 – The 830869 is the most articulate of the lot but doesn’t go as deep as the M8a. An observation I made with this 830869 is she needs to be played louder for her to come alive. Definitely not for soft background music (BGM). The M8a on the other hand, handles BGM perfectly. (8/10) Summary There you have it. If you’re on a budget, go for the Thruster THW835 or the GRS 8PT-8. If you want better bass and have more money to spend, pick either the HiVi M8a or the Peerless 830869. Unfortunately, the M8a seems to have vanished. I’m not sure whether HiVi is still producing them. The closest is the M8N. It looks similar to the M8a except for a stamped metal frame. The M8a and the 830869, on the other hand, are cast frames. Throughout the auditions, the woofer boxes were raised 17″~24″ away from the floor for best bass clarity. The Swallow-BC sits on top of the woofer enclosure. |
June 6, 2023Drivers Evaluation
