hunt

i am new with this stuff ...... i don't know what kind of box i need ported, sealed, bandpass

i listen to hip-hop and rap so i want something that will play that style of music the best

also my car is a mazda mx3 so the trunk is accessable from the backseat ... sort of like a hatch


any suggestions..

imported_Bruce Fee

i know if you have a full trunk, you don't need a box, you can setup the woofer to use the base as a trunk.

the more bass bounces before coming to you, the better.

for a hatchback, if you don't want to spend a lot, you can get a decent bass cannon which is a cheap and dirty way out.

the best thing to do of course is go to a proffessional place where they will have or design something specifically for you car.

one of my friends did that with his 240 and it's amazing.

it's better to get a good quality 200watts rms amp and speakers than a cheap 500watts rms amp and speakers.

just my experience, which is probably pretty limited compared to other people here.

imported_loudsubz

dude, really, its ok if you don't know 100% what your talking abut but don't go and post up those ideas, people might listen to them and ruin good equiptment, for all we know he may just throw the sub itself in the trunk and play it free air.

imported_Thrill_House

I agree 100% dont post your idea's unless you have a fairly thurough knowledge of what your talking about, not just what some friend did. Personally in a civic hatch I have tried many different configurations; ported, bandpass, sealed, and i have had all of them firing in different positions. The one I have found that I like the best and that works well in my civic is a small sealed inclosure which i built into the spare tire cavity (though you can just use a regular sealed box) which fired straight up at the roof. Its the loudest encolsure ive had in the car and because its sealed its the tightest punchiest one to, and it does still play fairly low. Either way, no matter what car I always prefer sealed, even the best designed ported encolsures still sound to boomy to me and dont have a nice smooth rolloff like a sealed enclosure. The other disadvantage to a ported box is that they generally need to be much larger than a sealed enclosure to be efficient and proper sounding.

Whiplash

running sealed atm and definitely am looking to go ported..
from what i've seen?? you want spl go ported over sealed...just be sure to get the specs on the enclosure right on the money and hold on ..

imported_Rasper

...going ported is like having a free aired sub plying in no box at all. You get modderate sound, but no low down frequincy, also in a ported box, you sub is running free, and that means that youll be spending more money on subs, than on cd's. You see a free running sub is not controlled by box presure, and soon the coil inside gets hot, up to a pione where it melts the coper whire

A sealed box is basically the best way to go, you have more base, more sound vibration, and best of all, its low down. For the type of music you listen to, it would be perfect. Because the sub is controlled through presure in the box, it will last longer, given you dont over stress it, or play it into distortion

Your box must also be according to specification, for the type of sub you using... i.e infinity kappa need a 35lt box.....but visit

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/boxcalculator.asp

to calculate your box size.

Im running 2 boston generator 15inch subs in a 60litre box, and its still to small. is pushin 1.12 bar of presure with them in one non ported box.
You should know, that there is way more to this than just a box.......there are amps, crossovers, equilizers and whiring to take into considiration....this all plays a big role.

good luck

imported_loudsubz

dude

like I said, its ok if you don't know what your talking about, but don't try and make some stuff up, because people are listening to others and misinformation is killing you..

thanks.

scarlemthug

ummm a ported enclosure wont play as low as a sealed enclosure but it has way more output lower in the frequencies than a sealed box which is why most people associate ported enclosures with allowing the sub to hit those "low-notes".

I personally prefer to go sealed, i have my 2 15's running sealed and wouldnt have it any other way. Now a properly designed and built ported enclosure CAN sound good but it depends on alot of stuff. I have never really had good experiences with using round ports, all my good experiences with ported enclosures have been the long slotted style ports which for some reason sounded alot better.

if it was me id pick up like 2 10's or 2 12's and run them in a properly sized sealed enclosure against the back seat firing to the rear or even to the rear and slightly up.

imported_loudsubz

chris i thought you knew... port CAN play as low as sealed, sometimes even have better low end extension...IF built right...

Ive had ported, sealed, and bandpass before, always enjoyed ported they played good and sounded nice, its not for everyone though, some like sealed.

scarlemthug

yeah ported can play as low if built properly and tuned low but from what ive seen and read sealed boxes will play lower than most ported enclosures but they dont have the same output.

Id like to see someone build a proper slot ported enclosure but everyone goes with the round ports.

But for the best of both worlds i think an ABC box would be the way to go:P

imported_loudsubz

nothing wron with round ports, a port is a port, slot ports just allow more area because of their shape

scarlemthug

yeah, for some reason the slotted ported enclosures have sounded better than any of the round ported enclosures........too many variables though to make a judgement.

ironballs

you like hip hop go slot ported. louder and more bass response imo. now for the argument of distortion and over heating, if you have quality equipment and build your box to recommended specs, power it with the right amp, your subs will be fine. now having said this if you have crappy subs they will sound crappy no matter what box you put them in. you get what you pay for...ultimately, you're not going into competition seeing how it sounds like this is your first setup, go out and buy a box(best buy futureshop) try both sealed and ported, return the one you dont like or build your own, its your car, your ears, we cant really tell you which is best for you. Good luck!

scarlemthug

you can make a cheap sub sound good in the right box

imported_kane2k

Yep. I bought 2 $49 MTX 10" subs from Futureshop and built a ported box to the exact specs that were provided and it sounded great. I've since switched to 2 Kaption 10's in sealed boxes and the bass is better and more even but nowhere near as powerful.

A ported box will give you approximately a 3 dB gain at the frequency that you tune it for. You can tune it for the peak response of the speaker if you want SPL, you can tune it to reinforce the weak spots of the speaker if you want sound quality.

Sealed boxes generally play lower because there are big losses in a ported box below the port frequency. So if you tune your port for 40 Hz, don't expect much noise at 25 Hz. You can use the port to extend the low range of a sub by tuning it for a frequency lower than the sub can play strongly. You will still however lose low end below this value, unless there is more at play than a simple port.

Going ported is most definitely not like having the sub play free air. There is a pressure interaction between the air inside the box and the air outside that causes the gains that I described above.

Overall, if you don't want to spend much, go with the ported box and some cheap to midrange brand name subs which don't require much power to be loud. You can tell which ones these are by looking at the sensitivity. I'll give the formula for figuring out how loud your subs will be at the end of the post and that will tell you the factors you have to look at to get volume.

This will give you the most bass for the buck. If you feel like dropping a bunch of money on a system then go to a more expensive sub and then pick between ported or sealed.

OK here's how you can tell how loud a sub will be before you buy it.

First you need the sensitivity of the speaker. This will usually be in the 100 dB range. This tells you how loud the speaker will be at a distance of 1 meter when powered by 1 watt of RMS power. This is your base value. For every multiple of 10 in RMS power, you get to add 10db. So if you have 10 watts add 10 db, 100 watts adds 20db, 1000 watts adds 30db. A ported box will add 3 db. Each additional speaker adds 3 db as well.

So my orginal system, which cost me very little was really loud, here's why:

Sensitivity = 90 dB, rated power 100 W RMS, 2 subs in ported boxes.

So I had 90 + 20 + 3 + 3 = 116 dB

Any speaker that you check out will have these specs available.

imported_loudsubz

kane2k:

Good post.

I don't know too many woofers in the 100dB rang, most sit around 88,89,90,91,92 etc.

As for your calculation I get about 119dB output

imported_kane2k

Yeah the numbers owned me on that post, I've looked at too many today. I just meant that the number would be close to 100 as opposed to being 5.2 or something.

imported_loudsubz

is all good, wasnt worth posting anyways, most people don't even pay attention to it unless your a techie and like figuring out stuff mathematically...

either wayy good explanation, pretty much clarified some of the "myths" posted above

imported_Rasper

I found this for you in one of my manuals.......hope it help you to make up your mind

All about enclosures:

Sealed boxes: For deep, precise bass
A sealed box is best for any music that demands tight, accurate bass. Expect flat response, deep bass extension and excellent power handling. Because a sealed box tends to need more power than a ported box, you'll need to use an amplifier with plenty of watts to get the most bass out of your sealed enclosure. Some sealed systems can give you great bass from a relatively tiny box, which helps you save space for luggage.

Ported boxes: For forceful bass
Ported boxes use a vent (called a port) to reinforce low bass response. You get more output than you would from a sealed box at any given amplifier wattage. Some people prefer the sound of ported boxes for rock, heavy metal, dance or any hard-driving music.

Bandpass boxes: maximum impact!
Bandpass boxes are a special type of ported box designed for maximum slam. The woofer is mounted inside a dual-chambered box, with the sound waves emerging from the ported side. The sound that comes out of the port is extra loud within a narrow frequency range. Because bandpass boxes are super efficient within that range, they tend to boom. Their aggressive sound is great for rap and hard rock.

Free-air subwoofers
A free-air system consists of woofers mounted to a board attached to the rear deck or placed in the boot against the rear seat. The boot of the car acts as an enclosure which houses the subwoofer. Free-air systems save space and have flat frequency response. The woofer must be specifically designed for free-air use.

vEXed

What do you plan on using for the subwoofer(s) and amp(s)?
How much space do you want in your trunk?
Do you want easy access to your spare tire?

RULE #1 - You get what you pay for.
Avoid buying things twice. Try to find a reasonbly priced system and avoid going with names like Pyramid, Lanzar, and Thump.
Go to Audio Video 2001, Future shop, or even Best Buy.

Each sub has a specific requirement for enclosures - Bandpass boxes would be your safest bet, but you should be okay with a nice sized Sealed enclosure as well.

I'm pretty sure 98% of passenger cars have trunks that are accessible from the rear folding seats. So you'll have to be a little more specific with your MX3.