sealed vs ported

[black magic]

I'm having a really hard time choosing between the two. I'm gonna be mounting 2 12" subs (MM2142) inside this box and power them both by a single C500.1 mono amp. I'm also not sure whether or not to get DVC or SVC. I'm thinking of sticking with the DVC incase i decide to add another sub or 2. as for the ported vs sub, i've heard subs pound in both enclosures, ported seems to have more bass but also rattles more. any advice?

[RuSsMaN]

Ported will provide a lower F3 but rolloff like a waterfall below it, all things equal and be easier to drive. Sealed will provide a better SQ and while in most cases a higher system resonance - but the rolloff will be more gradual, more natural around 6db/oct, and require more power.

[MacLeod]

Russ is right.

Ported work great at the specific frequuency that theyre tuned at but arent all that stellar below that and can be very "one-noteish". However a ported box will generally be a smidge louder than a sealed.

While a ported can be made to sound just as good as a sealed box, they are much less forgiving of design and contruction flaws.

Basically if youre wanting the best SQ, stick with sealed. If youre wanting the max SPL, then a ported may be for you.

[black magic]

Thanks guys. I think i'm gonna go sealed, i've been looking at ported designs and its alot more difficult to build... also, this is my first real system and i have no experience. i suppose i'll start off with sealed and we'll go from there. i'm not worried that i wont like them because i listened to a pair of sealed inifity's today... i must admit, they sounded quite nice.

[Manilaboy]

How about having a an 8-inch momo in small sealed box in the cabin wired to the front channel for sq, and having a 12-inch in a ported box in the trunk wired to the rear channel for that extra low end bass? Any ideas on how this would sound?

[najahaja]

IMHO, the 12" would drown out the 8"

I myself would recommend sealed, for the reasons stated above.

If you want lots of bass, go for bandpass :) (just invest in a POWERFUL amp)

[eloplayspolo]

I had the same question a while back for the 2 10s i got, and the guy pretty much said what mac and the guy above did, if u listen to rap, go ahead and go ported, but if u listen to everything, get sealed.
if u arent dynamating there is no way u should go ported.
as far as the 8" with the 12" unlesss u are going to run them at diffrent frequencys, i dont think it would be worth it.

[Manilaboy]

Thanks for the inputs guys, actually I was thinking of running them at different frequencies. For the 8-in sealed maybe a subsonic cut at 35hz and lowpass at 80hz @-12db slope for faster response on the footdrums. And a lowpass of 35hz at -12db on the 12 inch ported.

I figured its just like having a "4-way active setup" with the 12-inch handling the low end bass, the 8-inch handling the midbass, the mids handling the mids, and the tweets taking care of the rest. Will this possibly work?

[Deadof_knight]

ported enclosure are typically 3db louder than the sealed counter part with the same woofer, As for sound quality ported plays well until it reaches the ports tuned frequency then after that its drops off fairly quick, The sealed IMHO sounds better because you can hear the diference in the individual notes of the bass , IE SOUNDs BETTER , but with a small cost if you want the 3db back then you have to double the mass moving or double your power.