Ported or Sealed

[maz087]

which do you guys prefer?

[Kwando]

i've always liked the crisp sound of a sealed enclosure. it depends on what subs you are using also.

[maz087]

two of these

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=14217

[STIBungy]

Depends on how much power you are going to give the sub. Ported boxes are more efficient and produce louder responses than sealed boxes. However, sealed boxes produce a more accurate bass response.

[maz087]

well, they are going into my honda civic and i really want a crisp hard bass and not something thats going to over power the rest of my speakers and rattle my trunk to hell. i have more than enough power to run the subs and my speakers through a 4 channel amp and 2 500/1 mono amps.

[preludeshfan]

actually your all wrong! everyone thinks sealed boxes are tighter and more accurate. in fact it's simply not true. the fact is that ported boxes actually have less cone travel than sealed boxes do. therefore if designed correctly and tuned properly will have tighter more accurate bass. more output with less watts and play considerably lower than sealed boxes. and also contrary to popular belief can be just as small as a sealed box. the reason is i guarentee you that i can get more bass from a single ported sub and make it play lower than 2 sealed subs of the same size using 2x the space.

the problem is that over the years there have been a lot of caraudio "know it alls" working at stereo shops that dont know and havent took the time to learn anything about subwoofer design. they unfortunatly seem to be the ones reguarded as "experts" on the subject.
if you want a good box built send me a message. ask anyone here what they think about the boxes i design.

[djet820]

sealed boxes are worthless, they barely pump out any bass. go ported. Why are you running three amps if you don't mind me asking?

[floored4door]

I have always liked the sound of sealed boxes. I think they sound great. I have never been a fan of Ported boxes but if what PreludeSh claims I am sure he know what he is talking about. So be openminded about it. Seems that PreludeSh should be the one to build your box.

[HONDA GHANDI]

Hey Kevin is the powermouse still available?

[john]

I've always been a fan of sealed boxes. You can get more volume out of a ported box, but I really like the accuracy/tight bass that a sealed box produces.

However, I've never built a box, and Kevin is the man when it comes to enclosures... :)

[djet820]

My one kicker in a custom ported box was perfect, it even hit accurately. Only time I had problems with it was when I was listening to some Drum&Bass or some really fast rap, the bass would hit too fast.

[preludeshfan]

Hey Kevin is the powermouse still available?

technically NO but only because i have little time to build them anymore. your wife is in the same business as me im sure you can relate. however if someone is local and willing to wait for me to build one and i dont have to ship it anywhere i might consider it. but only while supplies last. i think i have about 4-6 10's left and about 4 8's left in stock.

[HONDA GHANDI]

How much for two 10 inch? And how long?

[preludeshfan]

How much for two 10 inch? And how long?


well if you want the dual 10 inch with no lighted amprack dual 10 (mouse ) i can build that in a day easy and ready to go. the power mouse on the other hand might take a couple weeks considering the amount of time i would have to make it and the fact i need to get covers etched and such. the guy i use for that is currently sick sounds pretty bad. dont know when he gets back to work to do that part for me.

the dual 10 mouse would be $600 and a power mouse dual 10 would be 750.00

[GSX59]

Ported all the way, unless you're going small. But I don't like the 10's anyway. :king:

[aQuarius26]

I've always had 12's and i prefer SEALED since it gives you a much cleaner note and overlall "crisper" sounding music. ported is sloppy.

[john]

Ported is only sloppy if the enclosure is 'substandard'.

[djet820]

Ported is only sloppy if the enclosure is 'substandard'.
Werd.

[preludeshfan]

I've always had 12's and i prefer SEALED since it gives you a much cleaner note and overlall "crisper" sounding music. ported is sloppy.


if you think sealed gives you a crisper cleaner sound than a correctly designed ported box you may have gunk in your ears.

[GSX59]

if you think sealed gives you a crisper cleaner sound than a correctly designed ported box you may have gunk in your ears.

You're an ass! You must have no clue what your talking about or you're willing to spend several hundred dollars for good ported box! :fu:

[djet820]

You're an ass! You must have no clue what your talking about or you're willing to spend several hundred dollars for good ported box! :fu:

lmao not only will his hit cleaner/crisper then yours, it'll be louder, more accurate and he'll do it with 8s.

[preludeshfan]

You're an ass! You must have no clue what your talking about or you're willing to spend several hundred dollars for good ported box! :fu:

look pal. be carefull who your calling an ass! i was trying to be nice, now your pushing your luck. 16 years experience tells me otherwise. i dont see you running around building your own subs and i dont see you holding a patent for any subwoofer designs.

i have no clue what im talking about? HA! HA! people who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones! wheres your credentials making you the expert? i bet im 2 times your age. therefore have 2 times the experince on this subject matter.
so go :fu: yourself.

go home TROLL!

[GSX59]

look pal. be carefull who your calling an ass! i was trying to be nice, now your pushing your luck. 16 years experience tells me otherwise. i dont see you running around building your own subs and i dont see you holding a patent for any subwoofer designs.

i have no clue what im talking about? HA! HA! people who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones! wheres your credentials making you the expert? i bet im 2 times your age. therefore have 2 times the experince on this subject matter.
so go :fu: yourself.

go home TROLL!

Yeah, okay! You think your a B.A. because you are older than I am. I think you are a little backwards buddy! Besides not everyone can afford to spend the money for an upper class ported box you rich :cry: !!

And :fu: !!!

By the way, nice comment about the house D.B.

[GSX59]

I'm still right!

[acuratsx03]

Yeah, okay! You think your a B.A. because you are older than I am. I think you are a little backwards buddy! Besides not everyone can afford to spend the money for an upper class ported box you rich :cry: !!

And :fu: !!!

By the way, nice comment about the house D.B.


youre a fool... this guy made his own line of subs and boxes and you think you know more than him? youre the one whos backwards, waaay backwards.

[GSX59]

youre a fool... this guy made his own line of subs and boxes and you think you know more than him? youre the one whos backwards, waaay backwards.

Why do you think he didn't answer. You could not buy a ported box that sounds better than a sealed unless you spend atleast a couple hundred dollars more.

By the way, what do you know about it?

[stu]

Why do you think he didn't answer. You could not buy a ported box that sounds better than a sealed unless you spend atleast a couple hundred dollars more.

By the way, what do you know about it?
Hey look, another case of some kid running his mouth like he knows everything.

[john]

Right on.

[preludeshfan]

Why do you think he didn't answer. You could not buy a ported box that sounds better than a sealed unless you spend atleast a couple hundred dollars more.

By the way, what do you know about it?

i didnt answer because your a little punk ass fucking kid with a big mouth that seriously needs to be taught a lesson and a little respect.

i figured it was a waste of my time to type anything in responce because i knew from past experience kids like you just have to be right or they wont shut up.
and i was right this was a waste of my time. if you want to be a tough guy how about you get out from behind the computer screen and put your smart ass remarks within arms reach of me?
your problem is that you think just because i didnt answer you that you are right.
the fact of the matter is, your still wrong, your still an ass and you still need a beating. the only thing that has changed is that you have now provoked me into spelling it out for everyone else to read.
take a hint, drop it before you end up putting your own foot as well as mine in your mouth.

[acuratsx03]

i didnt answer because your a little punk ass fucking kid with a big mouth that seriously needs to be taught a lesson and a little respect.

i figured it was a waste of my time to type anything in responce because i knew from past experience kids like you just have to be right or they wont shut up.
and i was right this was a waste of my time. if you want to be a tough guy how about you get out from behind the computer screen and put your smart ass remarks within arms reach of me?
your problem is that you think just because i didnt answer you that you are right.
the fact of the matter is, your still wrong, your still an ass and you still need a beating. the only thing that has changed is that you have now provoked me into spelling it out for everyone else to read.
take a hint, drop it before you end up putting your own foot as well as mine in your mouth.


;OwnEd;

[djet820]

Why do you think he didn't answer. You could not buy a ported box that sounds better than a sealed unless you spend atleast a couple hundred dollars more.

By the way, what do you know about it?

COUPLE HUNDRED?!?! For somebody that thinks they know so much, you're fucking shopping at horrible places. Why would you spend so much on a gay prefabbed ported box? You're probably one of those kids who go off of how big the magnet looks, how many peak watts a sub holds and so forth. Shhhhhhhh before you make more of an ass out of yourself.

[TedR719]

GSX59 :smashfrea

[floored4door]

COUPLE HUNDRED?!?! For somebody that thinks they know so much, you're fucking shopping at horrible places. Why would you spend so much on a gay prefabbed ported box? You're probably one of those kids who go off of how big the magnet looks, how many peak watts a sub holds and so forth. Shhhhhhhh before you make more of an ass out of yourself.

hahahaha ;OwnEd; Its like those stupid kids that we refer to as "dreamers" That come into a car audio store only to "dream" and ask stupid questions like how much watts do those speakers push? Got me? How fast are your tires? LMAO ;OwnEd;

[GSX59]

i didnt answer because your a little punk ass fucking kid with a big mouth that seriously needs to be taught a lesson and a little respect.

i figured it was a waste of my time to type anything in responce because i knew from past experience kids like you just have to be right or they wont shut up.
and i was right this was a waste of my time. if you want to be a tough guy how about you get out from behind the computer screen and put your smart ass remarks within arms reach of me?
your problem is that you think just because i didnt answer you that you are right.
the fact of the matter is, your still wrong, your still an ass and you still need a beating. the only thing that has changed is that you have now provoked me into spelling it out for everyone else to read.
take a hint, drop it before you end up putting your own foot as well as mine in your mouth.

Who's running their mouth now? And a maybe if you didn't think you are some scary B.A. then you might think that, well how much did you spend on a good ported box, because if you would spend over a couple hundred dollars on it then my point is still right. I said unless you want to spend a lot more money for a good ported box, the sealed will be better. I never said that sealed was better in the long run. You could spend double or more of the money to buy a ported box that sounds better, but for the money sealed is better.

You're one to talk about hiding behind a computer buddy. By the way, one good reason we couldn't get a fight is b/c there's a good several states between us Dip Shit!

Most times, the people who want to start fights can't live up to their own big mouths anyway. And I wasn't even trying to start anything with you. I just disagree, and that is pretty much the point of a forum, is to discuss your opinions and debate somewhat, so calm down a little.

[preludeshfan]

Who's running their mouth now? And a maybe if you didn't think you are some scary B.A. then you might think that, well how much did you spend on a good ported box, because if you would spend over a couple hundred dollars on it then my point is still right. I said unless you want to spend a lot more money for a good ported box, the sealed will be better. I never said that sealed was better in the long run. You could spend double or more of the money to buy a ported box that sounds better, but for the money sealed is better.

You're one to talk about hiding behind a computer buddy. By the way, one good reason we couldn't get a fight is b/c there's a good several states between us Dip Shit!

Most times, the people who want to start fights can't live up to their own big mouths anyway. And I wasn't even trying to start anything with you. I just disagree, and that is pretty much the point of a forum, is to discuss your opinions and debate somewhat, so calm down a little.

i dont think you got any of what i wrote. i dont spend any money on boxes because i design them myself. and it doesnt cost much more for a ported box. it does however take more design time to make them correctly.
for someone with 30 some posts you sure run your mouth off a lot. as you can see from the number of people that also had somthing to say to you in this thread your sure not making any friends.
maybe you need to step off and drop it.

[GSX59]

I understand what your saying, but most people do not have the time or the experience to make their own boxes. You've been doing it for a long time so it's probably easy for you to make them. But for the people that have to buy them, unless you have more money to spend on ported, I think the sealed is a better buy.

[todd300zx]

ok i'm new here but i read this thread and I have my 2cents to pipe in. I have been doing DB drags here in colorado for 4 years. I have come to the conclusion that the difference between ported adn sealed is that sealed have crisper sound for Sound Quility events and ported have the ability for the higher end SPL that is what you need for DB events. I run 2 jl 10W7 in a ported phase 7 box designed by my friends at car toys in northglenn who also store sponsor me for small things I may need until I can get a corporate sponsorship. I hit 164+ DB's on a regular basis in my '97 eclipse with a jbl 600.1 amp running both and no caps. With my old setup I had 2 12" in a sealed box and they only hit 154db max with 1200w to each. That was in a jeep though so alot more room for bass to travel. But in SQ events I was scoring very high with that setup, I also had Bostons all arounf for mids and highs.

[preludeshfan]

ok i'm new here but i read this thread and I have my 2cents to pipe in. I have been doing DB drags here in colorado for 4 years. I have come to the conclusion that the difference between ported adn sealed is that sealed have crisper sound for Sound Quility events and ported have the ability for the higher end SPL that is what you need for DB events. I run 2 jl 10W7 in a ported phase 7 box designed by my friends at car toys in northglenn who also store sponsor me for small things I may need until I can get a corporate sponsorship. I hit 164+ DB's on a regular basis in my '97 eclipse with a jbl 600.1 amp running both and no caps. With my old setup I had 2 12" in a sealed box and they only hit 154db max with 1200w to each. That was in a jeep though so alot more room for bass to travel. But in SQ events I was scoring very high with that setup, I also had Bostons all arounf for mids and highs.


the reason you have come to that conclusion is for 2 reasons.

1. most shops including places like car toys dont know the first thing about anything technical when it comes to building boxes. they simply follow the manufacturers instructions that came with the woofer as to the size of enclosure and tuning frequency. unfortunatly since most manufacturers want to win the prize for having woofers that play in the smallest enclosures they seldom account in their designs for the vent velocity in their designs.
consequently they usually reccommend too small of ports and also use the wrong tuning frequency needed to attain a flat incar responce.
but your right SPL setups are usually ported. it only makes sence because of the fact that rather than wasting accustical energy into the box. porting the enclosure will yield at least another 6-10 db especially if you tune the box for the resonant frequency of the driver for the given enclosure size and resonant frequency of the sub.
however you can have a far flatter responce curve and much fatter bandwidth if you CORRECTLY design the enclosure and tune it for that speciffic sub as well as the airspace of the car it is to be used in.
a sealed sub has a 6db roll off no matter what sub you use or what box you install it into. a ported box will always have a lower f3 and a 12db per octive roll off. if you use a passive radiator setup you can get even steeper cutoff at approximatly 24 db per octive roll off and get almost perfectly flat responces down into the 20 hz range. these types of enclosures require carefull matching of the passive radiator and carefull planning of the sub you use to get good results.

2. reason 2 that people think sealed subs are tighter and more accurate is simply because the vast majority of people dont know tight controlled bass when they hear it. it's called a placebo effect. everyone sooner or later becomes victom to this concept. because most people dont understand exactly how a ported enclosure actually works. simple observation tells them that because a sealed sub's cone movement is held constant by the volume of air trapped inside the box it must be tighter, right?
well truth be told that in a ported application the cone is actually held more accuratly and controlled in a ported box because of the fact that when the cone moves (particularly at the tuned frequency) the air in the port actually moves in the same direction as the cone. in other words when the cone is moving outwards the air in the port also travels outwards of the box. when the cone moves into the box so does the air in the port. it is actually this fact that actually causes a quantity of air to be subtracted or added to the enclosure giving the sub more resistance to moving than a sealed box.
this has another effect. a ported box can handle more power with less cone travel than a sealed box. the less cone travel you have the more windings of the voice coil you keep in the magnetic gap. whenever you have enough windings within the magnetic gap to compleatly fill the height of the gap plate you will have a sub that responds more linearly than you do when the sub travels outside this limit.
a sub who's voice coil windings travel outside the magnetic gap is known to have exceeded its XMAX limit and the sound reproduced becomes nonlinear or distorted.

since sealed boxes have a fixed qualtity of air the sub is allowed to travel outside its xmax much more easily than the ported box would allow with the same amount of watts applied.
therefore sealed boxes exhibit more distortion than ported boxes do.

there is also another unique property to a ported box. frequencies above the tuned frequency will cause the air to eventually stop moving in or out of the port because the sub is changing directions too fast for the air movement to keep up. when this happens the enclosure is effectivly sealed. even thought there is a port present.
on the contrary frequencioes below the tuned frequency will allow the sub to travel in excess of the xmax and you will have far greater cone travel than a sealed box. the trick is to choose a subwoofer and tuning frequency as well as an enclosure that will all work in harmony that when the sub would reach this condition of excess cone movement it only happens at frequencies below the the usable frequency responce or bandwidth that would ever be sent to the sub. the easiest way to fix this is with a subsonic filter that wont allow any frequencies to be sent to the sub below this point.

so in closing. if you CORRECTLY design a ported box they are in every way as tight and crisp as any sealed box. in fact more so, they have more SPL and can be flatter responce than sealed.

note the word CORRECTLY as in most people who poesses this knowledge about subwoofer design and theroy can make better income using their skills and understanding on the subject matter in better employment positions than a typical car stereo installer. unfortunatly since a carstereo installer is what is required to install your stereo they would have you belive that in fact they are most knowledgable on the subject. in fact would go so far as to say that they might even be an expert on the subject.
the problem is that when you spend your carrear learning backyard subwoofer designs handed down from installer to installer and sales person to sales person and eventually to the consumer you eventually begin to belive yourself and your own theroys. as long as someone else doesnt come along and school you on the facts you will go on beliving what the masses say.

i know subwoofer theroy better than most. since you are into SPL competitions try out these facts. my dual 10 Power Mouse that i invented and was selling all over the US during the years of 2001-2003 was hitting 157+db at the dash of any open cockpit car such as yours. at the same time maintaining a perfectly flat in car responce from 17-117 hz with only 750 watts per driver. 2 10" drivers to be exact. your current setup does 164.db but ill lay 1000 bucks that says it does that at 1 frequency and not across the entire bandwidth. also because my design was in fact a CORRECTLY designed, tuned and sub matched bandpass enclosure it had almost 0 distortion at any frequency.

now i ask you with all this information i hope clearly spelled out for you. who are you going to belive? someone who obviously knows the mechanics behind the design and has spent a better part of 1/2 their life (im 34) learning and experimenting with computer designs and desigining and developing their own subs , boxes and built a business with this knowledge?

or are you going to belive some highschool dropout working at a carstereo shop that doesnt know basic algebra or anything about physics and has been a carstereo installer for some number of years that only has the phrase "sealed is more accurate than ported" to back up their knowledge.

trust me when i tell you that yes i was a stereo installer for a good many years. but my knowledge on the subject has taken me to higher levels than a car toys employee.
belive me if any of the people who have so poorly uneducated you on this subject actually could back what they know up with anything worthwile they wouldnt be working in a dead end carrear installing carstereos. if they had any knowledge on the subject or physics. if they had any real education on much of anything more than how to cut 6 square peices of wood on a table saw and glue them into a 3D shape to make a box. they would be achieving so much more in life with their skills than they are currently able to attain as an installer.

[todd300zx]

great reply. i am glad that john put me onto this site. i appreciate the time put in to your post.

but... alot of people don't have the experience that you do in the field. me being one of them. we all try to do the best we can with the resources (monetary or intellectual) we have access to. I would love to get the most out of my system and kill the extremeres with a small setup but I don't have the knowledge or money to do it.

[preludeshfan]

great reply. i am glad that john put me onto this site. i appreciate the time put in to your post.

but... alot of people don't have the experience that you do in the field. me being one of them. we all try to do the best we can with the resources (monetary or intellectual) we have access to. I would love to get the most out of my system and kill the extremeres with a small setup but I don't have the knowledge or money to do it.

if you enlist my services i guarentee you that because of my lack of overhead expenses and my access to vitrually anything at wholesale prices (including warranty) it wont cost anywhere near what you have already invested and im sure that the results will be pleasing as well no matter what you decide to do. i can do pretty much anything mild to wild.
send a PM if your interested. im in the springs. many have made the commute already from as far away as longmont for my services.
i am only doing installs more or lessas a hobby these days as i am a full time insurance agent running my own agency. so carstereo builds are confinedto the weekends for the most part.