sealed vs. ported boxes

[Jsimp15]

ok...pretty self explanatory subject...is this prefference or does it depend on subs? let me know...
Joel

[Haibane]

You have more control over what the subwoofer puts out in a ported box, it can be louder, or just set lower... Lots of factors. Sealed just plays what the sub is plays... not the loudest.

[sr20de4evr]

it's both preference and it depends on subs

ported = teh bestest!

[ToyTundra]

I went with sealed to keep the box smaller and hopefully less noticable in the backseat. But ported does sound better IMO.

[loismustdie]

it depends on your preference, and depends on the sub, some subs cant play in a ported box(well they will be dammaged), but the reason for the sealed is to increase sound quality, now ported raises the db's somthing like 3 or 4, but is less sq oriented so it wont sound as crisp. so it gets louder. if you are building them yourself, i would reccomend sealed because they are much easier.or if you are haveing someone make it for you, have them make is ported so it gets louder.

ported doesn't effect sq that much in my opinion though, my friends bazooka tubes are ported, and they hit clean and low.

[bumpinstang77]

How exactly do you go about tuning ported and slot ported boxes? I've always heard to make the port the same length as your sub then there's people talking about my box is tuned to this exact number of Hz. Do I hae to get one of those programs to do it? Also how big are ports supposed to be in diameter for about 500 watts rms each for 2 12's?

[Haibane]

port size is not based on the wattage sent to a subwoofer. You have to give us a frequency you want it tuned to for those 2 12"s, different companys suggest different frequencys. Most car audio shops, who like spl, suggest 34hz at about 3 cubic feet for any subwoofer(single). I would go to a local shop and they will draw up plans and build it for you if you do not want to go through the hassle of using a program etc.

[Jamaal]

it depends on the subs

me i have a vented bandpass box custom built by myself

and it knocks the box down

the reason why i chose to built a vented bandpass box is cuz its in a tahoe and with no trunk, there's no vibration.... and becuz its in a bandpass box its gon knock harder b/c its already in that glass

[Haibane]

Bandpass sounds like shit though...

[Jamaal]

shitting me

gotta know what you doing

[Haibane]

Yeah, well how many frequencies can you actually hear?

[sr20de4evr]

a properly built bandpass box CAN sound good, but:
1) they're very hard to get this perfect
2) you still won't get anywhere close to a flat response, it will look like someone turned up a bass boost at one frequency and left the rest normal, as opposed to a ported box tuned low that stays VERY flat down to the tuning freq where it drops off dramatically.

[bumpinstang77]

I haven't heard a bandpass that sounds good yet. Also out of ported and sealed..which is louder and which is deeper?

[Haibane]

PORTED is louder and deeper if tuned that way.

[sr20de4evr]

ported is louder, by about 3dB
If the ported box is tuned low (<30Hz) it can be 6dB or more louder than a sealed box down low, however a sub's response in a ported box falls off VERY fast just after going below the tuning freq. So if you want it to hit low, tune around 25-30Hz and call it a day.

Basically, it's hard to say that a ported box gets deeper, since a sub in a sealed box can just keep going down and down with the output slowly reducing, while in a ported box it will stay relatively flat down to the tuning frequency and then die off fast. Generally speaking though, a low-tuned ported box will hit lower with MUCH more power behind it vs a sealed box, mixed with cabin gain the lowend (<35Hz) can sometimes be a little overbearing, but it's nothing a little tuning can't fix.