Actually, (and I am not a sound expert), I believe the enclosure behind the speaker is needed to avoid cancellation of the sound wave. The front and back sound wave (almost) cancel each other out, and so the overall volume of the speaker is cut-down. It also helps to make the enclosure behind the speaker in an odd shape or put something in it to avoid "standing waves", which may cause a booming bass/resonance.
When I tested the speaker for the RS-1 I completed earlier this year, there was a significant difference between the speaker out in the open and when I put it in the enclosure. Not only was the sound louder, it also had more bass to it. I happen to aim mine down through the truck opening of the engine, but the enclosure is absolutely completely sealed off. I prefer to aim the sound down so that it disperses through the scenery and you can't tell where the speaker is located on the engine. The SHS NW2 engine I own has the speaker in the front of the engine and it, too, sounds good and I couldn't detect where the speaker was until I actually opened up the engine. When all else fails, study how manufacturers make/design the speaker system to your home stereo system. Unless you're using ribbon-based speakers, an enclosure is required to have any kind of volume and bass. Generally, the larger the enclosure, the lower the bass frequency produced by the speaker. Note, though, that the enclosure typically "colors" the sound produced by the speaker. A couple of reference links: - http://www.mrdccu.com/curriculum/speakers.htm - http://www.tonystrains.com/download/loco_acoustics_design.pdf - Peter (amateur stereophile). On 07/05/2011 5:21 pm, Edward Sauers wrote: > Pieter, > > I hear this argument all the time but I am not sure about it's validity, the > purpose of an enclosure is to push all the sounds out the front of the > soeaker because without the enclosure the sounds can wrap around the speaker > and bounce back into the cone thus causing distortsion. Would this be the > same results if the speaker is pointed downward? wouldn't the sound waves > bounce back into the cone and cause reduced bass? I have all my speakers > pointed upward and they all sound good to me. > > Ed Sauers > -- Peter Vanvliet ([email protected], or [email protected]) Houston, Texas "It is easy to give up; anyone can do that..." http://pmrr.org/ (my model railroad - RSS feed <http://pmrr.org/rss.xml>) http://fourthray.com/ (my company) http://houstonsgaugers.org/ (model railroad club) -- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
