IDQ Guru's

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

I have an IDQ 12 in a .9 cuft. sealed enclosure and while I am happy with the sound quality, I'd like to try it in a ported enclosure. I've noticed while searching this site that a lot of people who own IDQ's actually prefer the sound of them ported.

My question is this- Which size box and tuning frequency will retain the most sound quality?

I've tried asking this question several different ways and can't seem to get an answer from someone who actually owns, or has owned and IDQ. Can someone please help me out?

Thanks.

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[Freelander 10+ year member]

I don't own the IDQ but I would try a smaller like

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

I don't own the IDQ but I would try a smaller like
Okay since u don't own one don't make a suggestion. Specially since that box would be too big.

ID recommends 1.5cft tuned to 28hz. I would agree with that if u have the space.

 

[Freelander 10+ year member]

I said less the 2ft which 1.5 is less than 2ft. So for not owning the sub I made a pretty good suggestion on what to try.

PS: Just because ID reccomends 1.5 dont mean that going a little bigger will be bad. A recommendation is just that, not something that has to be followed 100%.

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

So, you'd suggest going with the largest enclosure that ID recommends? What are the benefits or drawbacks to going with the small or medium sized enclosures?

I've never had a ported enclosure. This is all new to me.

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

1.5cft @ 28hz is what they recommend for a large enclosure.

1.3cft @ 30hz for a medium

1cft @ 32hz for a small.

I think they know what they're doing and I would trust their recommendations.

28hz tuning will get ur allow better response for the lower frequencies (but generally doesn't get as loud as tuning higher), but at the same time since the enclosure is a little bigger in size it'll make up for the output u'd regularly get from tuning higher.

I love my low frequencies, and since u want SQ (general def for sound quality is getting the flattest response in all frequencies) tuning to 28hz would be ur best best. (unless of course u want to stay sealed)

The higher u tune the more output u'll get, since u have a IDQ im pretty sure u've got the flier that comes with the subwoofer. If not goto their site and check out some of the tech pages for the IDQ. They have a response graph and it show's u the different outputs between the sealed and ported.

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

Looking at the graphs, one would think the bandpass box would be the way to go for output, yet I've seen nobody ever mention it...

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

Looking at the graphs, one would think the bandpass box would be the way to go for output, yet I've seen nobody ever mention it...

well u also see the huge drop toward the low end compare to the other 2. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

You mean towards the high end, right? It seems to own both ported and sealed all the way upto 100hz, where they are about equal... But it looks like about another 7 or 8db's at 50hz and 10, or so at 70hz.

Interesting really... Why does nobody use these enclosures? Do they sound bad?

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

I've never tried my IDQ in a bandpass but I do enjoy it ported.

I tried it in 1 cube sealed, 3 cubes tuned to 28hz, 2 cubes tuned to 32hz and 1.5 cubes tuned to 30hz. So far, the 1.5 @ 30hz is by far the best sounding enclosure with a nice flat frequency response from about 35hz to 100hz in my room and it is really flat in car from 30 to 85hz. The larger enclosures were not as loud, as flat, and they didn't have as nice transient response as this one. The transient response is very similar to the sealed enclosure but with much better low end extension.

Again, I've never tried it in a bandpass but it fits my needs perfectly right now so I see no reason to change.

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

Thanks Immacomputer. You are one of the guys I had in mind when I said a lot of people seem to prefer the sound of them ported. I've been searching all the old IDQ threads and you are in most of them...lol.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

I love my IDQ and enjoy talking about it.

Thank you for searching!

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Its rare to find someone willing to mess with a bandpass enclosure. Prefab bandpass boxes have given them all a bad name, and generally speaking most people dont want to bother with the added complexity of a BP setup.

I REALLY enjoyed listening to my IDQ10's ported. Call ID directly and ask them, you're likely to get a Matt Boguart or other big name person on the line to help you personally. Ive never been anything but thoroughly impressed whenever Ive needed to call ID for help, they have the best peeps bar none.

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate the help.