Should I go from 1 ported to 2 sealed?

[blazian87 10+ year member]

I have a 12" Fi Q in a ported enclosure with 2 12" passive radiators. It's about 2.5 cu ft net volume tuned to around 30 hz for SQL purpose. I'm very pleased with how it sounds right now but want to go louder. I'm currently running the AQ2200 amp at 1 ohms to get full potential. Most of the time I have my gains pretty low and it's quite loud already. I think it sounds just fine with about 1500W without distorting. I have 2 extra Fi Q's laying around and I can't make up my mind. Everyone keeps saying 1 ported will be louder or that 2 12's will be about similar output. There's many variables to this because if I go with 2 sealed, then I will be running it at .5 ohms. I will be putting them in around 1.6 cu ft each, which is on the bigger side already. It's the most I can fit in my trunk. I have a singer h/o alternator installed already and XS 5100R battery under the hood. If I decide on the 2 12's at .5 ohms, I will add a XS D2400 battery that I have laying around to my trunk. The whole reason I'm doing this is to maximize my power and space that I have.

I cannot fit a 15" in my trunk so it's either stay 1 12" ported or go 2 12's sealed. Ultimately, it has to sound good or else getting louder doesn't mean anything to me. What changes do you think I'll be hearing switching to this setup? Will I lose those deep lows but gain more up top? Will I be louder overall?? Will I have better SQ? Any input is appreciated.. I really need as much advice as possible on this..

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[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

Chances are you wont gain anything, maybe a little top end bass but you will prolly lose some of the low bass.

Only gains I can see is going with 2 10s ported or going with a higher powered 12.

If you have a sealed box just thy it but I doubt it will give you what you want

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

damm.. That's what I was afraid of.. I might be better off keeping what I have.. I don't have a dual sealed box for it.. so I don't wanna go through all the trouble just to find out it's not what I want. In what cases will a sealed enclosure be louder than the ported? I would have to be running like 4000w on 2 12's? or like 3 10's sealed? 4 8's sealed? I'm talking about ideal boxes and everything compared to the 1 12" ported that I have..

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

any more opinions?

 

[bumpasauras 10+ year member]

Me thinks that the risk/reward is not there to justify going with 2 sealed at .5 over 1 ported at 1 ohm I know the 2200 will do .5 but it will be workin it's azz off. 2 fi q's in a sealed box will be "punchier" but they will not hitting the lows like the ported will. What about 3 tens ported?? What kind of vehicle are we workin with??

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Me thinks that the risk/reward is not there to justify going with 2 sealed at .5 over 1 ported at 1 ohm I know the 2200 will do .5 but it will be workin it's azz off. 2 fi q's in a sealed box will be "punchier" but they will not hitting the lows like the ported will. What about 3 tens ported?? What kind of vehicle are we workin with??

yea i figured it's not really worth the trouble. I don't wanna lose those lows so I'm gonna keep with what I have.. i have a 04 toyota corolla.. the most i can fit is probably 32"w 15" h 17" d.. Would 3 ten's ported be significantly louder? Will it dig deep like my 12? What if I went with 3 10" dayton HO's ported tuned to 30hz, would that be louder than what I have now?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

I checked today.. It's more like 36" width.. so that would mean I could probably fit 3 10's ported. If I ran them at 1.33 ohms with my amp with roughly 600-700w each.. would it be louder than my 1 12 ported? Anyone know?

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

what viechle is it going in ? and how does the trunk allow bass in to the cabbin of the car ?

im not saying tear up your viechle - but have you thought about doing 4th order ported in to the cabin of the car - eliminating the bass output from the trunk entirely ?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

what viechle is it going in ? and how does the trunk allow bass in to the cabbin of the car ?im not saying tear up your viechle - but have you thought about doing 4th order ported in to the cabin of the car - eliminating the bass output from the trunk entirely ?

Yea I have thought about it.. It's way too much work and I like how my amps and DSP is setup right now.. I don't really wanna rearrange everything.. My car is a 04 toyota corolla.. I'm basically letting the sound reflect through the trunk back into the car. I'm still leaning towards the 3 10's ported idea.. Not sure if 3 Dayton HO's would be louder than 1 12" Fi Q. I do want SQ but I want it to be louder than what I have now. Like maybe 3 db's? Is that too much to ask?

 

[n8skow 10+ year member]

All things being equal, two 12's sealed should have the same 'peak' output as one 12 ported (near it's tuning frequency). In addition, 2 woofers are going to have more sensitivity at low volume versus the single. You would also have a shallower roll-off above and below Fc, effectively widening your bandwidth (good for SQ purposes).

There's a few variables here that are more difficult to account for though:

1. The air volume available for 2 woofers versus 1 is going to affect the Fc and Q of the system (are those woofers suitable for a sealed enclosure?)

2. The power difference going from 1-ohm nominal to .5 nominal

3. Are you going to be able to mount the woofers on the same plane side-by-side?

 

[n8skow 10+ year member]

On paper, a 3db gain would require either doubling your available power - or doubling your cone area.

Gains can also be made with a more efficient enclosure - however it may have some undesirable trade-offs...

Yea I have thought about it.. It's way too much work and I like how my amps and DSP is setup right now.. I don't really wanna rearrange everything.. My car is a 04 toyota corolla.. I'm basically letting the sound reflect through the trunk back into the car. I'm still leaning towards the 3 10's ported idea.. Not sure if 3 Dayton HO's would be louder than 1 12" Fi Q. I do want SQ but I want it to be louder than what I have now. Like maybe 3 db's? Is that too much to ask?

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

yea i figured it's not really worth the trouble. I don't wanna lose those lows so I'm gonna keep with what I have.. i have a 04 toyota corolla.. the most i can fit is probably 32"w 15" h 17" d.. Would 3 ten's ported be significantly louder? Will it dig deep like my 12? What if I went with 3 10" dayton HO's ported tuned to 30hz, would that be louder than what I have now?

You'd like that setup.. Do it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

take out your spare tire and do 2 12s ported. Thats my next build for my 03 rolla.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

take out your spare tire and do 2 12s ported. Thats my next build for my 03 rolla.

How is taking out my spare tire going to make it easier to fit 2 12's ported? you're saying make it shape to the bottom of the trunk to get a little more space? Seems like a lot of custom work and I actually want to have my spare tire in there just in case. I still need space to fit a XS D2400 battery in the trunk. and besides, wouldn't 3 10's be louder or about the same output as 2 12's when they're both ported?

 

[n8skow 10+ year member]

Why aren't you able to do 2-12's ported?