Ported Box - Sub Power Handling

[FullThrottle7 10+ year member]

Ported Box Power Handling

In a ported box setup, I understand that the cone of a subwoofer is able to move more freely, which would make the sub reach its full excursion at a lower power level. Is there a simple way to determine the amount of power to send a sub in a ported box to make it near its performance limits without ruining the sub? I'm assuming the more airspace the box is, the less power it will take. For reference, how much power would be safe to send an MTX Thunder8000 12" (500 watts RMS) in a 3ft^2 box. If the tuning frequency/port size matters, lets say tuned to 35hz (I think thats about normal tuning for daily driver, if not please correct me).

I hope to get a setup similar to this in the next few weeks and would like to start shopping for an amp that will put out just the right amount of power. I would obviously like to get the loudest, deepest bass out of the setup as possible, but not for competition purposes, so I need some good input on boxes. Thanks for the help.

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[FullThrottle7 10+ year member]

Isn't that about the same as a sealed box will handle? I thought 3 cu. ft. was a pretty good sized box, which would really diminish the power handling of the sub. Does this just mean a 1.5 cu. ft. sealed box could handle around 700 watts or something?

 

[bigred78797 10+ year member]

Most of the excursion takes place in the lower fequencies, meaning that if you didn't have the sub sonic filter that jmac suggested then yes the sub woofer would reach it's excursion limits with less power than a sealed because it lacks that air suspension. You just have to tune the box right for ported enclosures. It also depends greatly on the sub.. as always. Some subs just weren't meant for ported enclosures, i believe those typically have a looser suspension.