Can you run a sealed and ported sub setup? and/or can you run two different sub sizes in the same setup?

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

No rush, when you have time.

Gotta get up at five am so nite nite. Catch ya Monday

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I'm only asking because I'm trying to find the best of both worlds. I'd like to have very punchy, fast, responsive bass, but yet I'd like to be able to hit the low notes.

A subwoofer is only required to cover 2-3 octaves, there is absolutely no reason that needs to be split into two different speakers or speaker sizes. Also, 'punchy bass' is midbass, not subbass, and is localizable by your ears so it should be in the front stage, not your trunk.

Sorry that some people here have Trump living in their head rent free and can't seem to get thru a car audio thread without bringing him up.

 

[Lasherž]

Exactly what Audioholic said, if you want to expand your midbass but your doors speakers sound like ass then sound deaden your doors and upgrade the front to expand downward, don't expand the back upwards unless you want to lose the low end which they're better at. You can get into complicated enclosure designs that allow a fairly flat EQ curve that expands that 3 octave limit, but you're better off letting your subs do what they do well and midranges do what they do well.

Also there's a big misnomer in the car audio community that subwoofer size is where you get your low range from. There are 8" subs that outperform 15" subs on the low end in their ideal enclosures, it's just not that simple.

You can have a 8" tuned higher enclosure and 15" tuned lower enclosure near each other but you're going to get frustrating overlap at the crossover or deal with a gap, it's better by all accounts to invest that money into deadening. Even OEM speakers will sound good (usually) in a well deadened door compared to great speakers in a hollow tin can of a door. Also if you have a good high power 15" speaker that's tuned low then most likely you're not going to have room in your trunk opening for other enclosures.

 

[20 hz bass machine Premium Member]

I'm late to this one but I feel I had to give my input/experience.
I thought just like you at one point. I even bought 4 15s and 4 8s with plans to do what you're describing. I posted on a car audio page and got absolutely torn to shreds for even asking. 4 years later I have learned a lot and I have an answer along with reasoning.
In general you don't want to mix different sub sizes. Doing so produces distortion because 2 sunb will produce the sound wave at different power levels. Not watts, simply the fact that the speakers are playing the same note and the drivers aren't equally matched.
I wanted system with all the punch of small sub in a sealed box accompanied by the deep low bass bigger subs are known for.
There are a few different routes you can go to achieve the sound you're looking for but in my experience a 4th order bandpass can be designed to meet your needs. With enough cabin gain you can play down onto the 20s while simultaneously having a tight punchy response.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

I can put a sealed box inside of a ported box for you. I can even put a ported box inside of a ported box for you.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Oh dang, old thread

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

I can put a sealed box inside of a ported box for you. I can even put a ported box inside of a ported box for you.

And add to that the ported box that the vehicle becomes with windows open, or sealed box with windows closed.

 

[SMH90]

Moved from an 8 inch to a 12, the difference is night and day in how low and deep the sub bas is now, on the other hand, I had to unplug the bass ports on my mid drivers (I use subs in my home setup with car amp and sub mixed with Denon audio speakers and an RCA receiver and a pair of Focal Audio 5'25" Auditor 130's.

Frequency range, I let the amp move up to 40hz which is the lowest my Denon speakers will hit (rated). The enclosure is set up at 34hz.


You can always turn up the bass so that your door speakers get moving and sound punchy, or run them on a separate amp as turning up the bass on the head unit will effect your subwoofer output also, which also means that if you adjust on the head unit, you may also need to adjust your sub amp again to get the desired bass range you requires for your own ears.