I'm wondering if anyone has ever been lucky enough to hear a slot loaded design such as this one , sound as fast and clean as a sealed design ? I have a customer that longs for the extra output and bump of a ported design , but he wants ZERO overhang , perfect tone , and perfect transients ..... Sheesh !
I've heard some **** GOOD slot loaded enclosures , but never one as accurate or fast as a great sealed sub with lots of power on it .....
Thanks
What you are asking for is more a function of how well
you are capable of identifying a subwoofer that is both:
1) truly compatible with vented enclosures
2)capable of true linear (read: low-distortion) performance
Bearing in mind that basically every manufacturer is going to claim "our sub will work great in a ported box!", you have to dig a little deeper.
The reality is, when a manufacturer designs a subwoofer that will "work in either sealed or vented enclosures", what they are really doing is compromising that subwoofer so that it works OK - but inherently not
great - in either enclosure.
Most fundamentally, high motor strength, low Qes (and Qts), higher Fs subwoofers work best in vented enclosures (and there are ones on the market with good, linear motor and suspension curves!).
And conversely, for a sealed box sub, you want a low Fs sub with a lower motor strength (so as not to raise the system resonance, in box)... higher Qes and Qts. And in this case, you really want one with a long throw (hopefully linear) motor and suspension, because that's your only means to loudness. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif
If you have a "middle of the road" Fs, "middle of the road" motor strength", and a "middle of the road" Q-values, it's easy to see how that's not really
ideal for a vented box. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif
What you want, to impress your customer, is to:
1) design them an enclosure that suits their frequency-response, and loudness goals, fitting in a space they can live with - a slot vented box sounds like a winner.
2) make sure you get them into a subwoofer that's truly ideal in a vented enclosure, with low distortion / high linearity.
I have a final comment too...
"Sound quality" is very much relative to the listener's experiences.
I can't tell you how many times I've dealt with a customer who claims they want it "loud AND clean" - and what they really mean is "make my doors blow open".
Just something to ponder. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif