My old sub/box combo is better sounding than my new???

[Usualsuspect 10+ year member]

I had a custom sealed box built for a Massive Audio Kilo 104 600w RMS...I have 500w rms going to it...gains at about 40%...that's all I can get before it kind of bottoms out...I'm of the opinion the box is .8 cu ft, but the "pro" that built it says its 1.0 cu ft?? by external measurements its .8, but he insists the internal measurements put it at 1.0.... Anyways I have had it for about 3 weeks and today I thought to myself that it really doesn't sound as good as my old setup....so I put my old box back in ...its a cheap prefab .75 sealed box with 1 10" Type-R....and low and behold its louder and seems to play across the frequency spectrum better...it just sounds better overall....I'm totally bummed seeing as how I paid $150 for the box...Is it possible that the box is shaped incorrectly? its a rear firing box larger at the bottom than at the top....seems like there is no space behind the sub for the sound waves to go?? I don't know....can a box be shaped incorrectly?? the prefab is also rear firing but there is more space behind the woofer...its not as wide and skinny as the custom box.

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[Milk Mayne 10+ year member]

For starters, your Type-R is a better sub. Secondly, you shouldn't have paid $150 for a sealed box, the difference between a prefab sealed and a custom sealed just isn't going to be much. When people mention having a custom enclosureade, generally they're talking about a ported box designed with around both your speaker and the vehicle. Best thing I can say is lesson learned, you could've had someone on here build you a GOOD custom enclosure for about what you paid. Or invest in some tools and do it yourself next time.

I'd also go ahead and put the Type-R in the box you had built. It should at least be a little better than what you currently have it in.

 

[Usualsuspect 10+ year member]

Yeah...I ventured that I boned it on the sub....I should have just bought the subs that everyone recommends on this site....I was just trying to be an "individual"...I am disappointed in the Massive Audio Kilo 104 (unless it needs to be in a vented enclosure or something like that)...I'm supplying it plenty of power and it just has kind of a narrow range where it sounds good....