Was told something at local car audio place today that I think it completely wrong...

[nightendday]

Ok, so I may be way off here, but if I am, tell me.

I was talking with an employee at the local shop, and he was going on about his ported 15" box being tuned to 35hz. He was telling me that there was no "peak" in the frequency response, though I'm fairly sure that's extremely unlikely. I told him I wanted to tune mine to 25hz, as according to WINisd, that would give me the flattest response from my current drivers. He proceeded to tell me that tuning the box that low would "blow my subs" by forcing them to hit lower notes than their free air resonance frequency. Am I way off here, or is he completely, 100% wrong, and completely not understanding how the port works.

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[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Ok, so I may be way off here, but if I am, tell me. I was talking with an employee at the local shop, and he was going on about his ported 15" box being tuned to 35hz. He was telling me that there was no "peak" in the frequency response, though I'm fairly sure that's extremely unlikely. I told him I wanted to tune mine to 25hz, as according to WINisd, that would give me the flattest response from my current drivers. He proceeded to tell me that tuning the box that low would "blow my subs" by forcing them to hit lower notes than their free air resonance frequency. Am I way off here, or is he completely, 100% wrong, and completely not understanding how the port works.

opcorn:im tuned in for this information also.@pro-rabbit should give us his expertise since he builds boxes for a living..He should know

 

[nightendday]

As far as I understood, the lower tuning will even out the response on lower freq's, where as tuning in the 35hz range, atleast in the case of MY subs, gives a 5db boost at 35hz, +3 at 33/37hz etc..

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

That's retarded. Fs is not a minimum frequency a sub can play before it blows up, and boxes don't force subs to play anything. Flat response is not something most people understand. When it comes to subwoofers, most people only care how loud it is. I'm sure his 15" ported at 35hz is bangin, but he has no idea why. And that's totally fine, I just hate when people spread BS. Just leave it at "**** yo, my 15 is slammin! Your lower tuned box is wack. It's not nearly as loud as my shizz!"

 

[nightendday]

That's retarded. Fs is not a minimum frequency a sub can play before it blows up, and boxes don't force subs to play anything. Flat response is not something most people understand. When it comes to subwoofers, most people only care how loud it is. I'm sure his 15" ported at 35hz is bangin, but he has no idea why. And that's totally fine, I just hate when people spread BS. Just leave it at "**** yo, my 15 is slammin! Your lower tuned box is wack. It's not nearly as loud as my shizz!"

I build Guitar cabinets and guitar effects pedals in my spare time, so I knew he was wrong based on my knowledge of those applications... Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some integral subwoofer knowledge... Frustrates me this guy as a better job than me, when clearly this is him..

 

[Durango03 10+ year member]

Go back and fuck with him.. that ways makes those type of people feel better:naughty:

 

[Trippymane 10+ year member]

And how do u guys know that in his setup 35hz wasn't required for flattest response? Model up a HDC3 15.... then tell me that tuning to 35hz doesn't provide the flattest frequency response.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

And how do u guys know that in his setup 35hz wasn't required for flattest response? Model up a HDC3 15.... then tell me that tuning to 35hz doesn't provide the flattest frequency response.

Cabin gain/res freq of vehicle all play into that as well.

For daily I like 35-38Hz with HDC's in all the vehicles I've done them in...

 

[dumple 5,000+ posts]

Sealed boxes are for men

 

[SPLaudio 5,000+ posts]

he is sooo wrong, dont go back!

 

[Better-Action 10+ year member]

He was just trying to move some product. He is wrong. But 35hz is good middle ground tuning for most subs. I prefer 30 or below for most applications though.

 

[BlurredVision 10+ year member]

And how do u guys know that in his setup 35hz wasn't required for flattest response? Model up a HDC3 15.... then tell me that tuning to 35hz doesn't provide the flattest frequency response.

The same with the XFLs I believe. I didn't keep mine long enough to do an real testing thou

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

opcorn:im tuned in for this information also.@pro-rabbit should give us his expertise since he builds boxes for a living..He should know

First, I do not build enclosures for a living. Never have, sorry if you got that impression. All though we do sell a large number of enclosures online, it is only a small portion of what we do.

Second, tuning that low is only useful in home theater setups where you can take advantage of various sound effects that get that low. However in mobile electronics it is not very usable unless all you play is chopped and screwed music.

Tuning of an enclosure through winisd or any other program is based on an open area, not taking into account how it will load into a car. Since every vehicle has diffent peaks and nulls the "perfect" enclosure will quickly become non perfect once installed.

As for the guy suggesting damage may occur. He is likely going on the idea of surpassing the mechanical limits. Which shouldn't be an issue if the enclosure is designed properly.

 

[nightendday]

First, I do not build enclosures for a living. Never have, sorry if you got that impression. All though we do sell a large number of enclosures online, it is only a small portion of what we do.
Second, tuning that low is only useful in home theater setups where you can take advantage of various sound effects that get that low. However in mobile electronics it is not very usable unless all you play is chopped and screwed music.

Tuning of an enclosure through winisd or any other program is based on an open area, not taking into account how it will load into a car. Since every vehicle has diffent peaks and nulls the "perfect" enclosure will quickly become non perfect once installed.

As for the guy suggesting damage may occur. He is likely going on the idea of surpassing the mechanical limits. Which shouldn't be an issue if the enclosure is designed properly.

All fair enough, now, "Use" is a pretty objectionable term, lots of hip hop has bass under 30hz, mostly for the "feel" of it. And if my choices are tuning to 35hz and have the huge freq boost, or 25hz and have the flatter response, I would go with the flatter response then do what I can to control the nodes and freq problems in the car it's in.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Sealed boxes are for men

quiet men //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif