ported or sealed box?

[spazsubaru]

right now I have two 12 inch comp kickers in my 07 impreza sedan, backseats are out and subs are facing in. they hit really hard right now but I want more, and I'm thinking about buying a ported box. I've heard they will hit lower and louder..but yet sealed is a cleaner tighter bass. what are peoples thoughts of what I should do? I have a 820watt amp powering them, will be getting a 1000watt amp eventually to fully power them.

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

[sperry]

Protip: when you post about Subaru car audio crap in OT instead of the proper forum, the only responses you're going to get are knocks about how hard your moms box hits when it's ported.

Just watch.

[PearlRex11]

I've heard the same as you. Ported or bandpass reproduce sound best but sealed has more of a crisp punch to it. Imo sealed is more for if you are wanting to feel the kick from the bass.

[somebody else]

MP3 is for ****in' deaf people.

[Tweeter]

Have you sound proofed anything? If not sealed, if so ported.

Take a video for us.

[CRAZYHAWK]

Originally Posted by somebody else

MP3 is for ****in' deaf people.

Agree if ripped at 32K. Try ripping at 192K.

[gunz4me]

First off, I wouldn't call 820 watts to 1000 watts an "upgrade". Granted, this is assuming both amplifiers are capable of delivering RMS power versus max power. My general rule for upgrading power is I won't do it unless I am doubling the RMS wattage. An exception to that general rule is when I am going for maximum channels in the smallest footprint available, like the JL Audio HD900/5.

As for ported versus sealed, that is a end user preference, nothing more. A properly designed ported enclosure can sound great and offer significant advantages over a sealed enclosure. But the key is PROPERLY DESIGNED. That means one has to take into consideration the environment the subwoofers are installed in, the subwoofers themselves, then come up with the proper enclosure for the environment. Sorry, but one isn't going to obtain decent results from haphazardly purchasing a ported enclosure from one of the many pre-fab manufacturers out there.

The reason sealed enclosures are commonly used is that they are easier to implement. Generally sealed enclosures are more forgiving if one botches the volume by a couple of fractions of a cubic foot. Do that with a ported enclosure and results will vary.

For example, I purposely tuned my Digital Designs 1508 enclosure lower at 33 Hz to smooth out the modeled 50 Hz bump. That was the worst mistake I made because I now realize that I need that 50 Hz bump to overcome the 50 to 60 Hz exhaust drone. Oh well, live and learn as it will only take materials and time build another enclosure to address the issue.

[Davenow]

Originally Posted by CRAZYHAWK

Agree if ripped at 32K. Try ripping at 192K.

If you have a seriously high end system, anything less than 320 will be hard to tolerate. The better the stereo, the more it will reveal the flaws in a recording.


I started actually only downloading lossless rips and converting them to regular CD audio, because you could even hear the difference between 320 and a normal CD on my stereo.


But lets put it into perspective. I had, if you paid full retail, somewhere like 8k in gear, and the installation, 70+ hours EASILY.








As for OPs question, sealed will ALWAYS sound better. Yes a properly designed ported box, matched perfectly to the speaker, can sound great. A properly desingned sealed box will ALWAYS sound better, but it wont be as loud. Kicker comps arent that great of a speaker to begin with, so if sound quality is a big concern, I would make sure whoeever builds the box knows what they are doing. This means more than "has built a bunch of boxes before" The materials used, the shape, and the internal structure of the box all matter. It isn't just a "box" It has to be the right size (most important) and then a good design. Beware of people who use PVC pipe or those cardboard tubes as the ports. 99% of the time the just have a straight in and out design, which will just create a **** load of port noise, making a not great speaker sound even worse. I don't mean to slam your gear, Just trying to be realistic.

In my case I wanted the volume, but not at the cost of quality. So I added power and another speaker. I ran 3 12" Image Dynamics 12s in a 3 chamber sealed box, 1.1cu/ft per speaker, powered by an 1100 watt amp, which meant each speaker got somewhere around 350RMS. It hit hard enough that it was physically uncomfortable and you could feel it when you breathed. It also blended seemlessly into soft jazz. Best of both worlds.


If how good it sounds is important, and you can afford it, either add more power, or better yet, add another speaker AND more power, and stay sealed.

[Davenow]

As for your 820 watt amp, or the 1000 watt amp, can you tell us what brand/model those amps are? I can think of several 500 and even 300 watt amps, that will take a large sized dump all over 95% of "1000 watt" amps.

[spazsubaru]

Originally Posted by gunz4me

First off, I wouldn't call 820 watts to 1000 watts an "upgrade". Granted, this is assuming both amplifiers are capable of delivering RMS power versus max power. My general rule for upgrading power is I won't do it unless I am doubling the RMS wattage. An exception to that general rule is when I am going for maximum channels in the smallest footprint available, like the JL Audio HD900/5.

As for ported versus sealed, that is a end user preference, nothing more. A properly designed ported enclosure can sound great and offer significant advantages over a sealed enclosure. But the key is PROPERLY DESIGNED. That means one has to take into consideration the environment the subwoofers are installed in, the subwoofers themselves, then come up with the proper enclosure for the environment. Sorry, but one isn't going to obtain decent results from haphazardly purchasing a ported enclosure from one of the many pre-fab manufacturers out there.

The reason sealed enclosures are commonly used is that they are easier to implement. Generally sealed enclosures are more forgiving if one botches the volume by a couple of fractions of a cubic foot. Do that with a ported enclosure and results will vary.

For example, I purposely tuned my Digital Designs 1508 enclosure lower at 33 Hz to smooth out the modeled 50 Hz bump. That was the worst mistake I made because I now realize that I need that 50 Hz bump to overcome the 50 to 60 Hz exhaust drone. Oh well, live and learn as it will only take materials and time build another enclosure to address the issue.

you basically answered all my questions..I found someone selling a ported box for 30$. I'm buying it and ill play around with my amp while the subs are in the ported box and once again in the sealed then ill decide which one I like more. if I "remember" ill make a video of it all. only reason I was upgrading the amp is because the one I have now over heats constantly.

[thumperf350]

gunz4me definitely knows what he is talking about. on another note i used to build woofer boxes for recreation and competition use. slot ports are my favorite. very accurate with relation to sealed, sound great but a lot more work and mathematics goes into building them. also we rarely stuck to manufacturer's recommendations on volume or tuning frequency.

[spazsubaru]

pioneer is the 820watt..was looking at a alpine for the new amp. what brands are you thinking about?

[rdowner22]

Originally Posted by spazsubaru

pioneer is the 820watt..was looking at a alpine for the new amp. what brands are you thinking about?

what is the rms rated at? that is continuous power. You know those cool 1200 watt walmart sony xplod amps?! Totally awesome! just follow what everyone is saying, you seem to be in good hands!

[spazsubaru]

Originally Posted by rdowner22

what is the rms rated at? that is continuous power. You know those cool 1200 watt walmart sony xplod amps?! Totally awesome! just follow what everyone is saying, you seem to be in good hands!

lol those amps suck I'm aware

[Turbopit]

Originally Posted by spazsubaru

you basically answered all my questions..I found someone selling a ported box for 30$. I'm buying it and ill play around with my amp while the subs are in the ported box and once again in the sealed then ill decide which one I like more. if I "remember" ill make a video of it all. only reason I was upgrading the amp is because the one I have now over heats constantly.

but was that box built for the smae make/model of sub that you have?

[spazsubaru]

Originally Posted by Turbopit

but was that box built for the smae make/model of sub that you have?

Yes I have a custom box I bought and had made. Very happy with it. The cheap 30$ one was a pos..so I decided to spend more for a custom