Ported vs Sealed

[Bigalowmaggot 10+ year member]

How would this sub sound http://cgi.ebay.com/Kicker-CVR10-10-CVR-Dual-2-ohm-SUBWoofer-Chrome-New-06_W0QQitemZ140014212771QQihZ004QQcategoryZ39777QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem with metal music and ported box?

 

[Big Dee 10+ year member]

I'd go with ported unless space is a factor. Properly designed ported subs have very, very good sq, that's including upper bass. They actually have less distortion at upper bass frequencies than sealed, but sealed subs do have better transient response.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

just go with whatever you think sounds best for you, for me if since i listen to alot of rock/metal/hardcore music i use sealed so the bass is accurate and deep. sounds awesome //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

I not saying sealed boxes have better SQ all the time, but they do most of the time. An "average" car will have a transfer function giving you a 12/octave boost from 60 and down, sealed boxes have the exact opposite effect, making a gererally flat responce in a car. Granted, if you know your cars exact transfter function you may be able to get something more accurate going ported, but for 99% of the population, you won't. For some a ported box may sound better, but it's very unlikely it's more accurate. There's a differnence between sound quality and quality of sound, dont' forget that.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

very true //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Big Dee 10+ year member]

I not saying sealed boxes have better SQ all the time, but they do most of the time. An "average" car will have a transfer function giving you a 12/octave boost from 60 and down, sealed boxes have the exact opposite effect, making a gererally flat responce in a car. Granted, if you know your cars exact transfter function you may be able to get something more accurate going ported, but for 99% of the population, you won't. For some a ported box may sound better, but it's very unlikely it's more accurate. There's a differnence between sound quality and quality of sound, dont' forget that.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

I didn't realize that cabin gain was so great and matched to sealed enclosures.

In this case then, yes the sealed would have better sq, but it is not from any inherit design flaw of a ported box. I'm used to home applications where ported boxes work wonderfully for sq and spl.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

yes, depending on room size you may not get much lowend help in a home, so generally a sealed box wont' do much more than give you a terrible low end responce.

 

[kngadrok 10+ year member]

Yes I'm stupid, but could someone explain,

There's a differnence between sound quality and quality of sound, dont' forget that.

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to me

Last edited by T3mpest : Today at 02:30 AM.

 

[luvinthebass 5,000+ posts]

hmm i think he means sound quality from the sub and the the quality of sound i think he means the sound the sub makes... i don't know lol just a guess

 

[fived 10+ year member]

wasting DB's going sealed.. go ported

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

As long as you have a very low group delay, low tuning, and a touch of EQ...you wont be able to tell the difference besides an average 3-6dB extra from the ported enclosure. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

Yes I'm stupid, but could someone explain,
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to me

Last edited by T3mpest : Today at 02:30 AM.

haha, let me give explain

SQ: Reproducing a recording accurately. Meaning it sounds just the way it was recorded with all frequencies at the proper volume levels

Quality of sound: Music souding the way you want it to. For some of my friends having 45 hz and down being 30db's higher than the rest of the music sounds good. They dont' really like treble so they stick to stock speakers in terrible mouting locations. Do their systems reproduce sound the way it was meant to be, NO. Does it sound how they LIKE it to, yes.

See, SQ and quality of sound are two totally different things!

 

[klepto 10+ year member]

A sealed enclosure will generally sound very accurate and have decent low-end extension - at the cost of overall output.
A higher tuned ported enclosure trades off SQ for overall output, as there's a peak in the frequency response around the tuning frequency. Lowering the tuning frequency can flatten out the hump in the response and give a more balanced sound that blends in easier with the front stage.

With a lot of double kickdrums and very fast transients, I'd probably recommend a sealed enclosure, with a relatively high Qtc (around 0.8).

Whats Qtc?

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

As long as you have a very low group delay, low tuning, and a touch of EQ...you wont be able to tell the difference besides an average 3-6dB extra from the ported enclosure. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Low group delay comes from correct tuning, not low tuning. Look at the group delay on a plot for a low tuned RL-P or a low tuned Assassin 8. Tuning the box properly is what matters. You will get much more accurate sound from tuning the box to what is right for the sub, even if that tuning is in the 40 hz range, than just arbitrarily tuning it to something in the high 20s or low 30s.

What is Qtc?

It is total quality factor of the dirver installed in the enclosure. It describes the damping of the enclosure and the shape of the response curve. The "best" large room response curve is described by a Qtc of .707. It has no response peak and rolls off smoothly on the bottom end. It will give the best low end extension without sacrificing control of the cone. A smaller box leads to a higher Qtc. A higher Q will give you a slight bump in the response around resonance and then roll off below that at a slightly higher rate than the .707 Q box. Because of the effect of cabin gain in the car and the improved damping as well as decreased box size of the higher Q box, that is what is usually suggested for in car use. Around a .9 Q will provide goo power handling, accurate response and good low end extension in the car.

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

Tuning isnt the only thing that affects group delay.

The side of the box has a large affect on group dealy. Actually, the size of the box is more important on the ammount of group delay than the tuning. Tuning has more of an affect on where you have the most delay.

So to correct you, low group delay comes from correct tunning and size of enclosure.