Seas Woofer Waterfall Diagram Explanation

corElement

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Hi

I have this waterfall diagram from a manual which im trying to understand but still in the learning process, could someone explain it for me if they understand it please?

The left one is the unit I'm trying to understand the sonic qualities of.

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Waterfall plot = frequency response at different times.

Frequency response is achieved by a step response, at time t=0 in anechoic chamber (no reverb).
When the input signal dies, there is still movement in the speakers - that generate sound.
This is captured by the waterfall plot (sound across the frequency spectrum at different times).

IMO, ideally there should be no sound out when then input signal has stopped. Which means the waterfall must be abrupt and sharp at all frequencies.

Incidentally, the hi-fi sound is associated with midrange and hi end being tack sharp = waterfall should fall immediately.
Lo-fi equipment try to sound like hi-fi by increasing the hi-end - but our ears can still detect the loss of sharpness of notes (because of a slow waterfall).

(Which also explains why hi-fi speakers having "less presence" still manage to sound clearer and sharper than the "more present" lo-fi speakers)
 
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That's very interesting and I can relate to what you mean. Quite interesting indeed.

Hmm so let me try to understand and explain, please correct me if I'm reading it wrong.

Compared to the conventional one, the left ones waterfall is showing....

- An extremely sharp drop...which would mean.....it's very fast unit?
- A tiny spike between the low on the left and mid in the middle meaning a ringing/leaness to the lower mid / upper bass freq's ?
- While overall on the waterfall chart the fact that most of it is empty signifies a good quality unit with high precision sharp control?
 
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1. yes
2. left pic or the right one?
3. yes

However, its very important to note than the "steepness" can be easily manipulated in a graph. If I choose to mark 1 ms intervals, the waterfall will be very gradual, however, if I mark 10 ms intervals, the waterfall may become steep.

So you need to see how many -dB/ms at each frequency.


Regarding the "ring" at certain frequencies. Some people actually prefer the ringing or resonance especially at lower frequencies. It gives a more weighty sound, and the ears are more forgiving.

Coupled with the fact that in natural music, the bass transients are never as fast as hi-hats - so you never have music that will test the speakers to reveal the inaccuracy in the low end.
 
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