Indecisive, Sealed or Ported, Opinions?

[s.abushaikha]

As some of you may know from my last threads, I'm very in decisive. I cannot decide between ported, or sealed for my next setup. Ive never heard a sealed setup, I've only heard my own Skar prefab ported. Whatever I choose next will be a custom made box. I know the drivers matter a lot, but depending which enclosure I choose determines which woofers I buy.

I mainly listen to Hip-Hop/Rap and R&B, however with my current setup I feel like its very peaky, and some songs sound really nice but some lack or sound sloppy. Im attracted to the idea that everything sounds clean and smooth on sealed.

I almost want to get the supplies and make a sealed box for my 10"s just to see the difference in sound, but I also know that my current box is a prefab and not a good representation of ported.

Should I just jump straight ahead and build myself a dual 12" ported box tuned low to like 32hz to try to smoothen the response and keep the roll of lower. Or do I find a good driver with a lower Fs, for sealed and built a decently sized sealed box that rolls off lower as well.

I do see videos of sealed tearing up cars like its ported. Im not looking for numbers or readings, I want quality, but also sounding good with the type of music I mainly play, and having deep depth to the bass. (My seats don't go down by the way) Why is it that so many people prefer the ported sound over sealed if I see sealed being able to get super low and retaining a lot of quality

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[Old_Slapper]

What care are you putting this in?

Most hip hop listeners prefer a ported Enclosure can sound three times louder than a sealed. Also, with the proper box size and port frequency, a ported can sound as smooth as a sealed. In the end, you choose the box that will give you the sound you want. It also greatly depends on the vehicle, subs, and amp you have.

 

[s.abushaikha]

What care are you putting this in?

Most hip hop listeners prefer a ported Enclosure can sound three times louder than a sealed. Also, with the proper box size and port frequency, a ported can sound as smooth as a sealed. In the end, you choose the box that will give you the sound you want. It also greatly depends on the vehicle, subs, and amp you have.

2013 Lexus GS350 non ML

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

This is just my take... typical 808 bass machines will produce bass in the sub bass range between 20 - 60hz and sometimes a bit higher like near 80hz. That's a decent range to cover for a sub box. Ported are typically tuned to a specific frequency and sound good there... also the cab will make some frequencies sound good too. I know that ported will sound good with a lot but not all bass music. Different groups like lower or higher bass.

I would grab two 15" subs and slap them in a sealed box with a bunch of power. 15's so they will reach low while being loud and sealed so they will play high. Done right and it should cover a broad spectrum of hip hop and bass.

 

[Old_Slapper]

This is just my take... typical 808 bass machines will produce bass in the sub bass range between 20 - 60hz and sometimes a bit higher like near 80hz. That's a decent range to cover for a sub box. Ported are typically tuned to a specific frequency and sound good there... also the cab will make some frequencies sound good too. I know that ported will sound good with a lot but not all bass music. Different groups like lower or higher bass.

I would grab two 15" subs and slap them in a sealed box with a bunch of power. 15's so they will reach low while being loud and sealed so they will play high. Done right and it should cover a broad spectrum of hip hop and bass.

15 would be nice, but do you think, because the trunk is almost sealed, that the small space would cancel out the subs? That would have to be a huge box. The only cab access is the ski hole. Maybe if he ported the rear deck.

Also, he wanted smooth sound. The 15 might be a little sloppy for that.

 

[s.abushaikha]

This is just my take... typical 808 bass machines will produce bass in the sub bass range between 20 - 60hz and sometimes a bit higher like near 80hz. That's a decent range to cover for a sub box. Ported are typically tuned to a specific frequency and sound good there... also the cab will make some frequencies sound good too. I know that ported will sound good with a lot but not all bass music. Different groups like lower or higher bass.

I would grab two 15" subs and slap them in a sealed box with a bunch of power. 15's so they will reach low while being loud and sealed so they will play high. Done right and it should cover a broad spectrum of hip hop and bass.

15 would be nice, but do you think, because the trunk is almost sealed, that the small space would cancel out the subs? That would have to be a huge box. The only cab access is the ski hole. Maybe if he ported the rear deck.

Also, he wanted smooth sound. The 15 might be a little sloppy for that.

Yes I currently have the ski pass open and there is a 9/10” opening where the factory sub used to be.

 

[Jimi77 5,000+ posts]

Most people go ported, especially for hip-hop, rap, techno, etc. I wouldn't sweat it too much as you can always change the enclosure.

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

I want to leave an example. I listen to a lot of different music and I love old school rap and bass music. Sir Mix a Lot's song Testarossa has some very good low bass notes but also has some high bass notes that tickle your chest. My ported enclosure with two RF P3 10's hit the low notes with authority but the high bass notes disappeared. The only enclosures I heard that hit the high and low bass was a sealed 4-12 box and a single 12" 6th order enclosure.

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

15 would be nice, but do you think, because the trunk is almost sealed, that the small space would cancel out the subs? That would have to be a huge box. The only cab access is the ski hole. Maybe if he ported the rear deck.

Also, he wanted smooth sound. The 15 might be a little sloppy for that.

Smooth is always tough.

 

[s.abushaikha]

Most people go ported, especially for hip-hop, rap, techno, etc. I wouldn't sweat it too much as you can always change the enclosure.

That’s what I’m thinking if I should just build a custom ported box. However the subs I was looking at require a lot of air space 2-2.25 ft3 each and the box would be quite large and I can’t shape it to my trunk quite how I’d like. Wondering if I should stick with a higher model Skar instead of the American Bass XR’s I was looking at.

 

[s.abushaikha]

Smooth is always tough.

Then again I have nothing to compare to. All I know is the sound of my own setup.

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

Kicker still make the Solobarics?

 

[Old_Slapper]

Kicker still make the Solobarics?

Yes sir. And they are still some of the hardest hitting subs out.

 

[s.abushaikha]

This is what I really wanted. But if I’m going ported I would probably have to extend it out toward the metal holders right there which isn’t an issue. Just wondering if I’d offset the woofers and slot to the right or slot through the center and two separate chambers.

Or aeroport towards the top so it kind of aligns with the original sub opening?

 

[Old_Slapper]

That’s what I’m thinking if I should just build a custom ported box. However the subs I was looking at require a lot of air space 2-2.25 ft3 each and the box would be quite large and I can’t shape it to my trunk quite how I’d like. Wondering if I should stick with a higher model Skar instead of the American Bass XR’s I was looking at.

Skars are nice. The American Bass XR's are not the greatest, for the money. Any brand that doesn't provide the cone surface and the Xmax is a little questionable. For the same money, get some L7R Solo Barics or the NVX VCW12's. Those sound really good and they push a lot of air. The L7R's have bigger surface area with 17.5mm of Xmax, but the NVX's have 23mm of Xmax. I'm too lazy to do the math to find out which pushes more air.