I know it shouldnt, but my ported box sounds better to me.........

[lebomb 10+ year member]

than my sealed box. I understand that many will argue the opposite (I have in the past) but my ported box just sounds better to me. I just enjoy my music better with more impact in the bass region I guess. My sealed box sounded good, but lacked the impact I was looking for.................... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

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[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Ported boxes can sound just as good as a sealed box, just depends on the desired output and frequency response.

 

[JohnBlayz142 10+ year member]

I think ported sound better....I like the low end extension with a ported box.

 

[lebomb 10+ year member]

I switched to a sealed box from a ported box tuned at 40Hz.....I like the ported box, but went to sealed for more accuracy. It sounded great, but didnt have that gut wrenching rumble and impact. Apparently I missed that. Put my JL into a new ported box, and dayum......I now know what I was missing. My sub is probably not as accurate as it once was, but it sure in the hell came alive.

 

[Naledge503 10+ year member]

You had it tuned to 40Hz. There is a significant difference between 40Hz ported and sealed. IMO, You should stay ported but tune it lower.

 

[lebomb 10+ year member]

You had it tuned to 40Hz. There is a significant difference between 40Hz ported and sealed. IMO, You should stay ported but tune it lower.

My box now is tuned to 38hz.....but in car response is actually around 32-34hz.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

Putting a sub in a ported enclosure does not make it any less accurate. Many subs will sound much much better and have a better frequency response when taken out of a sealed enclosure. Many subs that favor a ported enclosure will have very little low end extension and sound peaky in a sealed enclosure.

How a sub sounds is very dependent on the sub and the enclosure, not just the enclosure.

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

Ported boxes can sound just as good as a sealed box, just depends on the desired output and frequency response.

people underestimate the sound of ported boxes, or they dont know any better and jump on a uninformed ignorant bandwagon.

my two tens ported in my last setup sounded better than any one of the many sealed boxes we tried in it. bass response was unreal, accuracy was better, overall frequency range was greater. and the funny thing was, the box was only designed for a single 10" and two was just tried for fun. it was tuned high and way too small and it sounded out of this world.

now that i am on a little kick, some people think way too much into car audio. everyone uses numbers and forumlas to predict how things are going to sound. well, all that is BS, just like a dynometer. you never know how things are going to do in real world situations. sometimes things run awesome on the track, put it on the dyno and it doesnt make any sense. those numbers in car audio are the same idea. they are a tool to get you in the ball park, but there are so many factors that often times they are used out of term. go out there and just play. you discover things that you may not have ever found any other way.

 

[lebomb 10+ year member]

Putting a sub in a ported enclosure does not make it any less accurate. Many subs will sound much much better and have a better frequency response when taken out of a sealed enclosure. Many subs that favor a ported enclosure will have very little low end extension and sound peaky in a sealed enclosure.
How a sub sounds is very dependent on the sub and the enclosure, not just the enclosure.

I concur......my JL was very....ummmmm, lets see......MELLOW in the sealed enclosure. It has much more depth and impact now. Its not even close.

 

[XTRProBoy 10+ year member]

Who told you that the ported box "shouldn't" sound better than the sealed one? Depending on the driver, a properly designed and built ported box can easily sound better and be more efficient than a sealed box.

 

[vladd 10+ year member]

ported enclosures can sound great, and sealed enclosures can get loud. It's just not that easy to get them that way(not that it's hard either, just a bit more picky).

Personally i've yet to year a ported setup that i like the sound of (from an sq perspective). Does that mean they didn't sound good? no, just that I prefer the sound of a well designed sealed setup. Many people prefer different sounds, never let someone tell you something always sounds good and something else always sounds bad

 

[wolfman1966 10+ year member]

i've only been into car audio for about a year now, but I've always heard that ported boxes get LOUDER than sealed. Thats why my 2-8's are going into a box with 2 ports tuned to 35hz

 

[Mugen 10+ year member]

i've only been into car audio for about a year now, but I've always heard that ported boxes get LOUDER than sealed. Thats why my 2-8's are going into a box with 2 ports tuned to 35hz

What 8"s do you have? They'd probably be better tuned at 40hz.

 

[bri487 5,000+ posts]

i've only been into car audio for about a year now, but I've always heard that ported boxes get LOUDER than sealed. Thats why my 2-8's are going into a box with 2 ports tuned to 35hz

be careful when using two ports in one box. it is easy to make a mistake when calculating a port dimension. its not hard, just a common mistake.

 

[Justintoxicated 10+ year member]

ported enclosures can sound great, and sealed enclosures can get loud. It's just not that easy to get them that way(not that it's hard either, just a bit more picky).
Personally i've yet to year a ported setup that i like the sound of (from an sq perspective). Does that mean they didn't sound good? no, just that I prefer the sound of a well designed sealed setup. Many people prefer different sounds, never let someone tell you something always sounds good and something else always sounds bad

I agree, thats my experience as well. I tried a poarted box built not only to the sub, but to the vehicle. Swapped subs around anyways etc. The sealed box sounds better. even though it's less than 1/2 as loud. When I put on a SQ CD with very tight accurate double drumb beats etc, it in every way sounds better than the ported. The proted isnt bad, and it sounds great with rap which isn't usualy recorded too well anyways, but for accuracy and having the sub blend with my frontstage I'll stick with SEALED. I'll just add more subs and power if I need more output.

I heard some great SQ coming from a TC 15 a while back, but it lacked the ability to play ALL music well. The box was ported too low, and it was awesome to listen to, but it didn't hit the higher bass notes very well.