helotaxi
5,000+ posts
Kilroy was Here
"Tuning to the 20's" is not a recipe for a good sounding ported sub system either. Many subs simply sound better tuned higher than that. Mistuning an enclosure (too high or too low) for a sub will lead to it sounding like trash. FACT. There is an optimal combination of enclosure volume and tuning frequency for optimal smoothness of response for a given driver (that will also provide acceptable transient response and group delay), just as there is an optimal sealed volume for maximum smoothness of response. Depending on the sub, it my be perfectly possible for the ported response to be very linear and the sealed setup to exhibit some peakiness (even the optimally smooth alignment may not be that smooth). The exact opposite is also possible. Other considerations are transient response for a given response curve and group delay. The enclosure may exhibit a very linear response curve but the poor transient response or huge group delay may result in a horrible sounding setup. All factors must be considered.
