When people say ported enclosures are "louder", what does that mean?

[Umbra]

I've read that if you hear sub bass playing from far away, chances are you're hearing a ported enclosure. I understand the differences between ported and sealed, but I'm looking for some clarification - what does "louder" mean? Does it mean that you feel the low notes hit harder inside the car or would you be able to hear it from further away?

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[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

think of a blowing into a pop bottle. If you blow just right that pop bottle will resonate with sound, that is at given frequency. You could say that bottle naturally resonates at that frequency. A ported subwoofer enclosure works the same way they are designed to naturally resonate at a given frequency, the size of the box and the size of the port are what determine the frequency it will resonate at naturally. So when you hear notes that are near that given frequency you hear what we like to call gain. Basically it's louder at those frequencies near its natural resonate. A sealed box if a sealed box is designed properly for a subwoofer it should play a flat response, meaning no gain at any frequency. What does that mean? Well it means a sealed box wont have any gain so nothing will make it louder, however this means that it plays sounds more accurately. So we like to say ported enclosures are for SPL (sound pressure level/loudness) and sealed boxes are for SQ (sound quality). If you like listening to rap and low bass notes generally you will enjoy a ported enclosure with gain at low freqencies. Most audiophiles are into SQ sound quality, they want to hear every instrument with its own place in the music. They don't want extra gain, they want it to sound as close to real instruments as possible.

Others can add to this I really didn't explain a whole lot but that's the basic difference.

 

[JFOODSTAMP 10+ year member]

Here is a simpler way to understand it. When any speaker plays when it moves forward you get sound and when it moves backward you hear sound. A sealed sub box only makes the time the speaker moves forward audible and using the rear wave as suspension. With a ported box you use a port which can be multiple shapes but most commonly is round or rectangular that allows you to tune and allows you to release the rear wave of the speaker playing so it can be louder at certain frequencies than a sealed box

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

It means it's louder. How dafuq else you want this explained?? If you can't understand louder, you're probably fighting an uphill battle being in this hobby.

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

being ported doesnt necessarily make it louder. you know how a gun shot is louder than a hand clap or how a shout is louder than a whisper well thats what louder means.

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

Lul, moar deebeez.

 

[TrillGates2k6]

Ported boxes have a harder "HIT" and sealed boxes have more of a "BOOM";

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Hahahahahahah oh god this is prime.

 

[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

lord have mercy

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, he was spot on.

 

[Dmac1991]

lmfao son said how a shout is louder than a whisper

dead

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

Ported boxes are not "louder". A ported box usually has a shorter passband wave and has frequency peaks but also looses it output quicker when played below it's F3/-3db down point . A sealed box usually has a wider passband and the passband wave below the -3db down point is not so much of a slop and you usually don't loose output as quick with played below it's tuning frequency. It all depends on what the boxes are tuned for and also what type of music you are listening to.

 

[murph 10+ year member]

Manna it bout dat bandpass box with da LEDs in it I been known to be herd 3 miles away

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Manna it bout dat bandpass box with da LEDs in it I been known to be herd 3 miles away

Dem duals doe

 

[Beatin' 10+ year member]

Ported boxes are not "louder". A ported box usually has a shorter passband wave and has frequency peaks but also looses it output quicker when played below it's F3/-3db down point . A sealed box usually has a wider passband and the -3db down point is not so much of a slop and you usually don't loose output as quick with played below it tuning frequency. It all depends on what the boxes are tuned for and also what type of music you are listening to.

wtf is this? Of course ported is louder all the way to tuning.