ported or sealed sub box

[gbang007]

im looking at getting a new sub......around $500. should i go sealed or ported? what brands are good?

[Slow96GSR]

You should be able to get a custom built box not a pre-fab for that much. Ported is what we use for more of a sound quality and sealed for loud, hard hitting bass. Also how much space do you have. Normally a ported box takes up more space than a sealed box.

[DeViLiSs]

when i was talking to the Rockford fosgate sales rep, he said that when dealing with ported box you have to be fairly specific in the box dimension, other wise you could cause the sub to get damaged or not perform at its full potentional. so unless you going to follow the exact box dimension that come with the sub specs, get a ported otherwise get sealed, but you also have to consider your boot space, type of sound that you want (as Slow96GSR mentioned) But go and listen to both types if you can, and hear the difference for yourself, Good luck

[Vinnie]

Ported is what we use for more of a sound quality and sealed for loud, hard hitting bass. Also how much space do you have. Normally a ported box takes up more space than a sealed box.

strange, i was under the impression ported was more for SPL used and sealed was for SQ... For example the Focal sub im gettin recommends only sealed enclosures as do most of the other focal products and they are definately and SQ oriented product...

when i was talking to the Rockford fosgate sales rep, he said that when dealing with ported box you have to be fairly specific in the box dimension, other wise you could cause the sub to get damaged or not perform at its full potentional. so unless you going to follow the exact box dimension that come with the sub specs, get a ported otherwise get sealed, but you also have to consider your boot space, type of sound that you want (as Slow96GSR mentioned) But go and listen to both types if you can, and hear the difference for yourself, Good luck

you have to be correct with ur measurements regardless of what type u get in order to obtain the desired sound... but with ported the port as well needs to be the right size for the box to work harmoniously with the sub... in addition to ported and sealed enclosures there is also bandpass. in any case jus make sure u adhere to the recommended enclosure sizes outlined by the manufacturer as that is what it is designed to operate in. here is some more info on the different types of enclosures from FHRX:


Sealed
Basically as far as sealed is concerned, the relationship between the characterisitics of the speaker being used and the volume of air inside the enclosure dictates the how well the sub will sound. When the enclosure is bigger, the air spring limits cone motion less and allows the system to play lower and with flatter overall response (lower Qtc) at the expense of power handling. Problem is if you go too large you start to compromise efficiency in order to gain the additional low frequency extension. On the other hand, making the enclosure smaller will cause the air spring to exert more control and limits cone motion at low frequencies which increases power handling but does not let the system play as low and produces a more peaked response (higher Qtc). For most half decent speakers there is a range of enclosure volumes that will produce high quality sound. Changing the enclosure volume within that range can fine-tune the sound to best suit the tastes of the listener. Of course other factors effect this but this is close enough.

Ported
Depending on the sound you desire, you tune a port to a certain frequency to achieve better bass response around that frequency. The tuning of the port there must be done using careful calculations which take into consideration the enclosure volume, the resonance of the port and the Thiele / Small parameters of the sub into consideration. Using these we attempt to delay the rear output wave of the speaker just enough so that when it comes out of the port it is close to being in phase with the wave being produced by the front of the sub. So with that in mind, you can see how, by altering the port length and diamter, we tuned the port to a certain frequency. The reason ported enclosures are generally considered louder is that when we utilise the work of the rear of the cone we gain double the bass, or 3dB over a broad range of frequencies. Again there are other things to consider and explain like the sub unloading below the port tuning but that is another thing...

Bandpass
With bandpass enclosures the woofer no longer plays directly into the listening area. Instead the entire output of the subwoofer system is produced through the port or series of ports. In a conventional sealed or ported enclosure the low-frequency extension is controlled by the interaction of the speaker and the enclosure design but the high frequency response is a result of the speaker's natural frequency response capability unless limited by a crossover. In a bandpass enclosure the front of the speaker fires into a chamber which is tuned by a port. This ported front chamber acts as a low-pass filter which acoustically limits the high frequency response of the subwoofer system. The name "bandpass" is really pretty descriptive in that it refers to the fact that the enclosure will only allow a certain frequency "band" to "pass" into the listening environment.

ultimately, as mensioned, go and try and get a listen to both so u can make an informed decision about which u like best, obviously keeping space constraints in mind.

[Slow96GSR]

With a sealed box I can build the box to half what specs say and run a butt load more power thru it. Ported can't really do that, thus why we run spl with sealed boxes. Although some subs and cars like a ported box. It really depends on what it's going in, what sub and what other parts you are using.

[94_Accord]

when i was talking to the Rockford fosgate sales rep, he said that when dealing with ported box you have to be fairly specific in the box dimension, other wise you could cause the sub to get damaged or not perform at its full potentional. so unless you going to follow the exact box dimension that come with the sub specs, get a ported otherwise get sealed, but you also have to consider your boot space, type of sound that you want (as Slow96GSR mentioned) But go and listen to both types if you can, and hear the difference for yourself, Good luck

this is true.. with my old system, i had 2 subwoofers in one custom box, however the box specs were too small for the subs and in turn there was a noticable loss of power and the quality was not as good. in deciding on ported of sealed, a lot of the subwoofers you buy now a days will tell you the recommended box for their best results, whether it be sealed or ported.

[DSNTGR8]

iv'e got dual ports baby!!!

[SPL77Civic]

With a sealed box I can build the box to half what specs say and run a butt load more power thru it. Ported can't really do that, thus why we run spl with sealed boxes. Although some subs and cars like a ported box. It really depends on what it's going in, what sub and what other parts you are using.

WTF kinda crack are you on buddy??

For SPL, a ported box will give u extra output over a sealed box running the same amount of power.

The loud cars around the world are running ported or bandpass enclosures.

On Topic, u can't just decide to go ported or sealed.......the sub will determine what type of box you need, as not all subs are suited to ported applications and likwise with sealed, some will work in both types, but generally will prefer one or the other.

[tune2look]

every sub has its optimal sizes for vent and sealed.
some subs that performs best in other then sealed or vent, usually have their own box which will out reach your budget.
Go to an audio store and have a listen to each kinds.

dont just get fooled buying a heavy ass sub that can shake the shop wall....
sub $100 subs can sound very very nice if matched up nicely....