How close do boxes usually need to be to the recommended box size?

[CAT MAN 5,000+ posts]

Because it sounds great! 

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 PM ----------

 

I wanted to try to make my own but it seemed a bit intimidating, is it a big task or not so much?

 

---------- Post added at 09:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 PM ----------

 

i liked your old video sig better...

need to spice it up once a month

 

[ckunke002 10+ year member]

There are enclosures that sound great that aren't sealed. They just take more work. Going sealed is basically throwing a woofer in the easiest to design and build enclosure. I mean out of all the enclosures, sealed for subs is at the bottom of the totem pole.

I don't necessarily have the tools or experience to try to build some big fancy box, and everybody that I know only go either ported or sealed. I don't really know of which other options there are...

 

[ckunke002 10+ year member]

need to spice it up once a month

So what is it with all the cats? It makes me lol

 

[duanebro 10+ year member]

I don't necessarily have the tools or experience to try to build some big fancy box, and everybody that I know only go either ported or sealed. I don't really know of which other options there are...

sealed is the smallest. easiest. and does lots of things right. but you need twice the number of subs to equal the output of a ported box.

ported. well this is what you see the most of. they get loud, are the second easiest box type to build and design. done right they sound good. bigger than a sealed box.

4 th order band pass, sealed and ported boxes with a sub in the middle. can be tuned for spl or sq. MUST be designed for one model of sub. (no off the shelf will be good examples of this type.) Normally slightly larger than a ported box. Fr is made for sq is closer to a sealed box. But loud as a ported box. lpf and ssf are not needed if designed correctly.

6th order bp. same as above but both boxes are ported.

Transmission line (TL) just search for it. Sounds great. normally bigger than a ported or band pass box. works differently than everything listed above.

horns, you have seen these right? very efficient, huge when used for subs. true horns are not used in cars much do to size.

tapped horns, puts the driver in the mouth of the horn, allows for a smaller horn, some times used in cars.

IB - like sealed but with a huge box. (ie the box is the trunk.) sq only, low power handling, need big subs and often eq

I'm sure I missed some. I got tired of typing on my phone, Google for more details I'm any of the types of boxes

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

There are enclosures that sound great that aren't sealed. They just take more work. Going sealed is basically throwing a woofer in the easiest to design and build enclosure. I mean out of all the enclosures, sealed for subs is at the bottom of the totem pole.

IDK man personally there is nothing that sounds more accurate than a precise sealed enclosure....flattest response possible usually.

 

[Wattser93 10+ year member]

A common misconception is that the manufacturer recommended box size is the optimal box. Often the manufacturer will recommend a box for a 12" that 1.7 ft^3 @ 38Hz, a box that will be very peaky and loud, and be small, but SQ/SQL is far from the goal of that design.

I would get a program like WinISD and try different boxes. The manufacturer of my sub recommends about 1.7 ft^3 at 36Hz, I found that 2.4 ft^3 @ 32Hz gave a much better response curve according to WinISD, giving me a mostly flat response, with a bit of a hump at 32Hz-36Hz (which I wanted). The manufacturer recommended box looked like a mountain range on the response curve in comparison, good for bumping mainstream rap and hip hop (like many people do), but sacrificing SQ as a trade off.

If you're happy with the way it sounds, then keep it. If you're going to build your own box, model it up before you make a decision. A bit of experimenting with WinISD will get you a much better sounding box than their recommendations. Their sealed is probably a good recommendation, but if you go ported, model it up and find what works best for you.

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

IDK man personally there is nothing that sounds more accurate than a precise sealed enclosure....flattest response possible usually.

It's because it's easy to sound decent.