Sealed vs Ported Sub Boxes

[CB7Nub]

Well I listen to all types of music, from trance, dubstep, hardstyle, to classical, jazz, heavy metal, rock, rap you name it. If I ever get a proper sub setup I want to be able to listen to jazz and have a nice touch of bass not car rattling bass, but at the same time I want to be able to blast some dirty low bass, also play really fast and tight bass that you hear in hardstyle.

For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O2SA...el_video_title

Anyways I was told sealed is better for fast and tight bass that you would see in most techno and rock, while ported is better for rap. What would you guys recommend for this type of setup?

I was just thinking 10's for now, but not sure if one or two would be sufficent for my needs. I basically want to be able to play bass that is fast and crisp but low while having the ability to blast dirty low bass in rap and have nice light bass you'd hear in jazz.

What do you guys think?

[sonikaccord]

Ported does everything sealed does but more efficiently when designed correctly.

[islandhopper]

Ported does everything sealed does but more efficiently when designed correctly.

Go on...

[Sarthos]

True. But ported also generally requires a much larger box.

[Noridetoolow]

Typically a ported box hits harder at a certain frequency range and rolls off hitting less harder on other bass notes. The tuning of the box (box design) determines how steep the curves are. A sealed box is usually best for a more consistent frequency range across the board. If you do sealed, make it perfectly square for each sub if you can as that and size are the factors that matter most in a sealed box. Also though, give each sub its own enclosure, sealed from the other subs....and i dont mean separate boxes but make sure each is separated within the entire sub enclosure. This is not as true for ported boxes which again can be built in tons of ways but all depends on design and tuning....to get a ported box RIGHT....requires software or plans provided by the sub manufacturer. GL

[gloryaccordy]

I am personally partial to sealed boxes. They can hit down low like a ported but they will have much flatter + more natural response. They're also much lighter.

My suggestion would be to do a 15" in a 1.5 cu ft sealed box. You get the higher efficiency of more surface area, the down low response of big volume, the tight + sharp response of a sealed box and relatively low weight for the performance you get. Even a cheap 15" will do work and won't take up much room in your trunk. I had a 15" in my last car and really liked it.

Portable boxes only make sense if you're willing to make the following sacrifices: big added weight & custom wood work. I am not sure there are too many well designed "off the shelf" ported boxes out there.

A good combo between the two is a sealed box w/a passive radiator... but again that takes a lot of planning. Out of the box you can't go wrong w/a single sealed 15"

[sonikaccord]

Typically a ported box hits harder at a certain frequency range and rolls off hitting less harder on other bass notes. The tuning of the box (box design) determines how steep the curves are. A sealed box is usually best for a more consistent frequency range across the board. If you do sealed, make it perfectly square for each sub if you can as that and size are the factors that matter most in a sealed box. Also though, give each sub its own enclosure, sealed from the other subs....and i dont mean separate boxes but make sure each is separated within the entire sub enclosure. This is not as true for ported boxes which again can be built in tons of ways but all depends on design and tuning....to get a ported box RIGHT....requires software or plans provided by the sub manufacturer. GL

^^^This,but I want to add on to it.
Ported boxes do have a harder roll off than sealed at 24dB/oct vs 12dB/oct, but the response can actually stay flat longer before it rolls off a little after tuning which translates to more efficiency down low. So if you tune low, you can get a nice response in the car. This coupled with the cars transfer function (cabin gain at roughly 12dB/oct starting at ~60Hz) tends to exaggerate the lower octaves and obscures the higher notes.

The "boominess" or "sloppiness" comes from a peak in tuning more than likely due to bad tuning and/or design. The car's environment adds to that and you just have mess coming out. Also this peak is high at maybe around 50-70Hz...I think, I have to look that up.

This is also a gift because lower notes are perceived as less loud to the ear and we must play them louder to match a higher frequency at the same volume level.

The sealed box roll off plus cabin gain will sort of "cancel" each other (gain at 12dB/oct and roll off of 12dB/oct) and will lead to a more flat response in car and allow you to hear the higher pitches more with less gain on the low end. Again the ear is not sensitive to low frequencies so some people may feel the sub is lacking nuts. Plus sealed is smaller and easier to make without messing up.

There was a site that let you see the transfer function of different boxes but I forgot the name of it. It was a cool online calculator too .

[gloryaccordy]

I think that calculator was one of these

[sonikaccord]

Found it:
http://www.ajdesigner.com/fl_subwoofer/subwoofer.php

[F20A CB7]

I bought a 15, and sold it, glad I did, 2 much bass man, to much, it was heart stoppin, id rather have something small, like a 10in in sealed box with a remote to turn the bass up and down from the amp.

I like amps with sub controllers. Not all songs sound good with a lot of bass. Being able 2 turn a knob instead of messin with the headunit 2 me is easier.

[CB7Nub]

Alright so most likely I'm going to go with a single 10" in a sealed box and see how I like it. I don't have really overpowering bass, but it would be nice. I'd rather have a nice hard hit that is crisp than distorted bass overall. But I guess I'll see how it works down the road.

[gloryaccordy]

I bought a 15, and sold it, glad I did, 2 much bass man, to much, it was heart stoppin, id rather have something small, like a 10in in sealed box with a remote to turn the bass up and down from the amp.

I like amps with sub controllers. Not all songs sound good with a lot of bass. Being able 2 turn a knob instead of messin with the headunit 2 me is easier.

You just didn't have it set up right man. My 15 sounded natural as hell... all it did was extend the low end and let the bass get louder in proportion to the volume. You shouldn't to mess with a bass knob... if you have a good amp/sub/box a good initial setup should be it.