Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions VP150 vs M3(x2)

How would two M3s side by side compare to a single VP150 in terms of loudness at a given dB?

M3 is 92dB / VP150 95dB - (1w/1m In room)

at a given dB? Do you mean which would be louder if you sent the same signal at the same output level to either the 2 M3s or the VP150?

That's the question.

One VP150 would always be louder than one M3. I would guess by 3dB.

Not at the same dB, it wouldn't...

At the same wattage, it probably would be.

My first post should have been "at same watt".

I have been told that if I buy a second EP500 and stack my 500s, they would be 6 dB louder than a single EP500.

Do small speakers work the same?

If you wire the 2 8 ohm M3's in parralell to your amp it would give your amp a 4 ohm load, each speaker would get the same wattage as if you were only running one M3. So at 1 watt, you'll be running both M3's at 92 dB each.

This is the same as doubling the power, which means a 3 dB increase. This is not the same as doubling the loudness, which is 10 dB. I'm not sure technically why co-locating subs gives 6 dB, probably due to the walls in the room. But I think the answer is 95 dB for 2 M3's wired in parallel. Wired in series would be worse off.

You're going to level balance everything anyway right? What I wonder about is the effects of wave cancelation from the dual M3's near each other.

Maybe this is why it's reccomended to put dual centers above and below the screen, separating them by a few feet- but not spreading the center channel out side to side.

Using separate amps connected with "Y" to pre/pro.

One amp for VP150 above screen and one amp for twin M3s below.

Why 2 M3s? One M3 would not equal one VP150 but 2 M3s would. Right or wrong?

BTW. Thanks for the replies. Just trying to learn something.

Maybe it would be better to use the "Y" to split the signal to an used channel. Then calibration would be easier and this would be moot.

From DYI Audio forum:

<<Two speakers hooked up to a single channel will increase 3 dB over one speaker hooked up to a single channel.

I believe that two identical speakers, each powered by a separate amplifier channel playing at 1 watt, will play 6 dB louder than one speaker powered by a single amplifier channel playing at 1 watt.>>

And I would have guessed only 3 dB instead of 6, but again- I'm not sure why co-located subs give an increase of 6 dB.

If your amp supports 4 Ohm loads, then I think you'll get the same power out of one amp with the M3's in parallel, versus separate amps each driving a single M3. Either way the power doubles, yielding 3 dB.

Of course I've been wrong many times. I'm thankful for any clarification so I can learn more. That's the fun part of this hobby, learning something new