which is better ported or sealed box for subs?

[eternityz]

which is better ported or sealed box for subs?

[Wayne]

prefer sealed :D

[eternityz]

whats the different between them? as in the sound quality

[peejayy]

SEALED:
more responsive
larger enclosures (SONY, ALPINE & RF subs)

PORTED:
"boomier" bass
generally louder*
loss of response
smaller enclosures

because sealed enclosures are under constant pressure, the sub will require more power to produce the same output as a similar ported enclosure. Carryin on the same point, ported enclosures do not resist the movement of the sub. However the pressure of a sealed box makes the sub more responsive and "punchy"

[mr ©harisma]

which is better ported or sealed box for subs?

6th order bandpass ftw!

Yellow or Blue?
Canon or Nikon?
Surf or Bodyboard?

You will get an opinion on all but at the end of the day if you don't mention that the colour is for a babies room etc the opinion you get will mean nothing unfortunately...

You mentioned SQ, I have heard plently of good sealed and ported boxes, key is to build them right. What subs you got? EBP will play a minor role into what style of box you use however these days most subwoofers are flexible enough to sound good in both.

[peejayy]

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v203/137/0/829895047/n829895047_2231169_5608.jpg

FTW!

[OMG.JAI xD]

SEALED:
more responsive
larger enclosures (SONY, ALPINE & RF subs)

PORTED:
"boomier" bass
generally louder*
loss of response
smaller enclosures



Ported boxes are actually bigger.
if youre talking about ebay made ported boxes then maybe they are smaller, but trust me, theyre not good.
A ported box requires a computer or some formula to be tuned at a certain frequency response. A hole in a box, sadly, makes it "ported".
word should be "vented".
cause a circular port in a box without proper design can actually degrade a sub.
"Ports" are usually rectangular, and on the side of the box with a certain depth and certain lenth into the box.
Cylindrical ports are also used, but not common on an everyday vehicle, as they take the most space and are quite abit pricey to be properly tuned.

Sealed and ported are actually the same "loudness"
And depending on the setup. Sealed can sound more louder than ported.
Ported can be more resonant.
Reason why i say sealed can be louder is because a ported box can produce lower frequency notes more efficiently than that of a sealed. Lower frequency sound less loud to the human ear.

A sealed box will produce more of a thump sound.
A ported box will produce more of a doof sound.

My actual thoughts.
If you want sound quality, go for a sealed box.
If sound quality to you is more doof and have everyone hear it outside. then go for ported.
and if size is a concern. i recommend 12"
both sealed and ported, its the most responsive size for sound quality and doof.

(doof being SPL, sound pressure level)

[peejayy]

thansk for clearing alot of that up. ^^ listen to him.

I was basing my comment about Ported boxes being smaller than sealed boxes on the user manual that came with my sub:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/peejayy/Picture3.png

For the 12" sub;

SEALED: 573x368x236 Volume = 32.7Lt or 1.15CuFt
PORTED: 521x355x208 Volume = 23.5Lt or 0.82CuFt

[DC5TYPER]

thansk for clearing alot of that up. ^^ listen to him.

I was basing my comment about Ported boxes being smaller than sealed boxes on the user manual that came with my sub:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/peejayy/Picture3.png

For the 12" sub;

SEALED: 573x368x236 Volume = 32.7Lt or 1.15CuFt
PORTED: 521x355x208 Volume = 23.5Lt or 0.82CuFt

The figures you have given us are NET volume. That is the volume of the box without the volume of the sub and the volume of the port. Thus the reading of the ported is smaller. In reality the ported box will always be bigger because if you added the volume of the port with the volume of the box. The ported box will be bigger.

It is a little misleading the way SONY has provided those specs to the consumer.

[peejayy]

hmm, thanks for clearing that up! silly sony....

[eternityz]

i got a MTX thunder 4500 12" =\

heres the pic, abit dodgy using my camera phone at night
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn254/nguyentranv/sub.jpg

[eternityz]

box is massive =[

[peejayy]

i had the same problem, util i decided to do everything from scratch. Made me a false floor and a custom enclosure. Its slealed and a little smaller volume wise than spec, still sounds great :D

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q186/peejayy/bootinstall_corner_bor.jpg

[eternityz]

how long did it take you to do that?

[Wayne]

im wondering what is the best volume for the JL w7 12" in sealed and ported.. i heard my friend said it need to be very big to maximize its performance.. =)

[peejayy]

how long did it take you to do that?

half a day or so. Ive got all the tools and i'm pretty handy with DIY fabrication though. If you havent done this kind of stuff before id double that and dedicate a whole day...

if you wanna see more of my audio set up and how its evolved, visit my progress thread (http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1959022#post1959022)

[DC5TYPER]

i got a MTX thunder 4500 12" =\

heres the pic, abit dodgy using my camera phone at night
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn254/nguyentranv/sub.jpg

That box makes any basic entry level sub sound mad!

Ive got that same box running a cheap JBL 12inch and I can hit 139db and sound really good around the 30-40Hz Range.

Box is just under 2cuFt and port is tuned around 35-37Hz.

Mtx built a really good box.

[amurray]

its all down to preferance... for " bigginers " a sealed box is probly a better option. make a box to meet manafactures specs u cant go wrong.. but. if u know how to build a box and tune the port then i would go ported... my everyday music box in my civic is tuned to 50hz.. and due to the shape of my car it works really well. also does 147db lol.

[TYP32]

Ported or sealed enclosures.. its like asking do you want sound quality or db, with both boxes built correctly, the sealed enclosure will be better for sound quality. All depends on what results you want. If you want tight, deep bass forget either and build an aperiodic membrane box. Obviously something you can only build for certain vehicles.

[arverson]

sealed for me because of its simplicity. making a sealed box is easier when you're fibreglassing a custom box that moulds into the rear corners of the boot ;)

theres no wrong or right tho. both work well, just depends on the application & sub.

[peejayy]

Ported or sealed enclosures.. its like asking do you want sound quality or db, with both boxes built correctly, the sealed enclosure will be better for sound quality. All depends on what results you want. If you want tight, deep bass forget either and build an aperiodic membrane box. Obviously something you can only build for certain vehicles.

That is Hardcore. Just did some googling to find this about Aperiodic Membrane Boxes:


4.9 What is an "aperiodic membrane?" [CD, DK]


An "aperiodic membrane" is one part of a type of subwoofer enclosure.
It is an air-permeable sheet which has frequency-dependent acoustical
resistance properties. The original design goes back to Naim, for use
in home systems, but has been applied by several individuals and
companies in car audio.

The completed system will be aperiodic, which means it will prove to be
over-damped with a Q well below 0.7. In contrast, the most commonly
used sealed enclosures have Qtc's in the range of 0.8 to 1.1 which are
considered, by definition, to be underdamped. When improperly used, a
high-Q system may have poor transient response, nasty peaks in
frequency response, and high rates of roll-off. Aperiodic systems will
feature excellent Aperiodic systems are characterized by better
transient response, flatter frequency response and somewhat extended
low frequency response.

Another benefit of the system is that you can pretty much choose
whichever driver you'd like to use, as long as they are big. The
Thiele/Small parameters (which would normally determine what kind of
box would be used) are taken into consideration by the membrane
designers so that the response is extended and overdamped, regardless
of the characteristics of the driver.

Physically, the aperiodic membrane isn't for every car. It requires
sealing the trunk from the passenger compartment in an air-tight
manner, as well as sealing the trunk from the outside for best results.
The drivers are then mounted into the baffle between the passenger
compartment and the trunk, as would be standard in an
infinite-baffle/free-air set-up. The aperiodic membrane is then placed
either in front of the driver or behind the driver, depending on the
type. When mounting behind the driver, the membrane is used as the
rear-wall of a very small box which the driver sits in (as in Richard
Clark's infamous Buick Grand National). So, in short, it's not
suitable for trucks, jeeps, R/V's, or hatchbacks.

You should probably only get an aperiodic membrane if you've got money
to burn, lots of amplifier power, some big subs, a sedan, a desire for
trunk space, and no wish to boom. If your tastes lean towards
bass-heavy booming, as opposed to well-recorded acoustic instruments,
you're not going to be pleased with the result.

[EGB18CT]

also depends on if the woofer is suited better a ported or sealed enclosure.

[TYP32]

yea peejayy, not alot of people have heard bout aperiodic membrane enclosures, my guess is only those in the industry and a hand full of tech curious bass-heads have heard of them. I've only ever built 2 ap boxes in my time, both sounded fantastic, both in sedans tho. They were used in comp cars, both cars cleaned up, sound quality only tho. There is no way you will pull competitive dB out of ap boxes.

Glad to have suprised you with somethin new, but yea, you probably wont see them too often.

[eternityz]

i went to elizabeth(SA) autobarn, check the sealed box for 12", they said it cost $90.

i cant really build myself a box im bad with cutting timbers and etc :S

[tron07]

im wondering what is the best volume for the JL w7 12" in sealed and ported.. i heard my friend said it need to be very big to maximize its performance.. =)

12W7 needs 1.375 cu. ft. / 38.94 liters sealed enclosure to achive Qtc of 0.792.

I will make it slightly bigger then that to lower the Qtc more.... 1.4cu.ft is not that huge... its big, but I dont consider it very big... :p

[Wayne]

yeah.. i tried 1.375 on my previous car.. not the civic.. hehe.. becoz my previous ar is quite small.. now planning to try on this civic as the rear side have big space.. so thinking to enlarge it.. so u using it? thanks..

[tron07]

make it to 1.4cu^ft, put a deflex pad behind the sub, add some polyfill or accoustic sponge... and oooo la la......

No I am not using it.... used to have a 12W0 long time ago, planing to get 12W6v or the new TW5 with the new HD amp... waiting to see more reviews before deciding. It does not justify for me to spend so much to get the w7 due to the very minimal SQ improvement over the w6, however if you want it loud, then its okay.

[Wayne]

nono.. sq fans here.. hehe.. what HD amp u mean? from JL?

anyway.. TW5 have good reviews.. but never have chance to audit it.. hehe.. but is that made in china?

[_matt07]

if ur trying to choose which then it depends more on what type of music u listen to:-

ported has better doof-doof bass lines and suit rnb more
sealed has a more punchy sound to it but can be better for dance music