The Mach 8 XL’s concept is not about forcing each driver to behave as a true full range unit. The eight 6.5 inch drivers are mechanically tuned and acoustically loaded in such a way that their effective bandwidth is naturally shaped by damping and enclosure interaction, creating a smooth mechanical transition rather than a traditional electrical crossover. This approach spreads the workload progressively across the array, so each driver operates well within its optimal range instead of covering the entire 7 octave span equally. In practice, the upper drivers tend to contribute more to the midrange, while the lower ones handle more of the low mid and bass energy, creating a natural and gradual frequency distribution across the array. And regarding Xmax, while each individual driver may not have extreme excursion, the combined displacement of eight cones results in a very large total volume of air moved, providing strong, fast, and well controlled bass without relying on long throw woofers.
Regarding bass extension, the 20 Hz figure in the specs is indeed likely around −4 to −6 dB, but that’s still comfortably within the range needed for large scale orchestral works. In classical symphonies like Mahler or Beethoven, there are virtually no musical notes below 30 to 35 Hz. Frequencies under 30 Hz occur mainly in church organ pieces or film soundtracks, not in traditional orchestral repertoire.
For an orchestra to sound natural and powerful, what really matters is balance, control, and linearity between roughly 40 and 200 Hz. That’s where most of the fundamental energy and perceived dynamics of the orchestra reside. If the bass in this range is clean, fast, and well controlled, the sense of scale and weight comes through fully even without true 20 Hz extension.
Subwoofers could certainly extend the bottom octave, but that’s a matter of taste rather than necessity. The design’s philosophy emphasizes coherence, speed, and phase purity over sheer subsonic reach, a different but equally valid approach.