Foam or rubber surround?

[B_Rad_NC 10+ year member]

Whats the main difference between foam and rubber surrounds? Ive noticed alot of the cheaper subs have foam surrounds. Just wondering the main difference between the 2 types of surrounds

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[boomin spl 10+ year member]

sound quality, overall spl,, cost all play into which surround is " better".

 

[vehementSPL 10+ year member]

SQ I heard is a factor with a rubber surround (sounds better) now if it is true or not not sure. And as far as SPL I am calling BS. I don't know scientifically BUT . DD non rubber. Shocker NON rubber .. re Non rubber. (but this is only if you were talking about rubber surrounds being better all around) you didn't say it out right but kinda looked like you implied

 

[MyFartsStink 10+ year member]

nothin. jl got foam, and its got quality. The only difference is durability

 

[bdawson72 5,000+ posts]

Lol

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

I wouldn't be worried about the newer foam surrounds having anywhere near the durability issues of the ones in the past - Advents and Boston Acoustics, for example, were known to have UV issues with their foam surrounds. But even with those, a simple refoaming job puts them back to work as good as new...

For me, the decision comes down to what the sub sounds like, not what the surround is made out of.

 

[Johnny Drama 5,000+ posts]

I wouldn't be worried about the newer foam surrounds having anywhere near the durability issues of the ones in the past - Advents and Boston Acoustics, for example, were known to have UV issues with their foam surrounds. But even with those, a simple refoaming job puts them back to work as good as new...
For me, the decision comes down to what the sub sounds like, not what the surround is made out of.

Ding, ding!

Now days both are proven to be reliable. So find a sub that sounds good to you and who cares what the surround is made of...

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

Only thing of recent could be color fade under a few years of direct sunlight I believe. Nick M gave a great explanation about 2 years ago.