Why do planars have poor bass extension?


I've been wondering about this. Is it because the excursion is limited because of the tension of the diaphragm & low BL limits its excursion?

On a related note, what techniques do companies like Magnepan use to get more bass out of their low-frequency drivers? Do they put bigger magnets in the grid than would be feasible for the midrange? Heavier diaphragms?

Finally if anyone knows a good reference for learning about the TS parameters of planars and if/how such calculations differ from dynamic speakers, that would be awesome!

Thanks all!
sideshowgabe
except that I would not describe good cone bass necessarily as "boom-boom-boom"
Mapman, I suppose your key phrase here is "good cone bass"! How many such speaker systems exist today? Most of the speakers in the market are indeed boom-boom-boom. In relative terms only a few do bass well/correctly & many of them are from yester years....

However it may be easier in general to coax better dynamics out along with good bass articulation ala planars using many common amplifiers out there with cone bass done well than with planars...
you mean it's easier to match an amplifier to a cone driver speaker than a planar speaker?
"Mapman, I suppose your key phrase here is "good cone bass"! How many such speaker systems exist today? "

I suppose what is considered good is subjective, but I would say many if set up well and driven well with the right amp.

"you mean it's easier to match an amplifier to a cone driver speaker than a planar speaker?"

I'd say smaller, less powerful, and accordingly less expensive amps in any particular line might be found to fit the bill better in general with many box designs compared to planars. At least that is what I have experienced.

Newer high performance amp technologies like Class D switching amps where you essentially get a bigger high performance amp in a smaller package might help render that distinction as more of a moot point though I suppose.
If the bass area is large enough they can have a lot of bass. My Apogee Duetta Signatures have very impressive bass and the bigger Apogees had even more.