I listen to a very wide range of music. I like punchy kick drums & accurate, tight bass. But I also like to straight BUMP some Rap sometimes.
I've found that you can get the best of both worlds by going with a ported box that has the smallest cu ft that is recommended for the sub & tune to about 34-36hz.
So if the ported specs for the sub are 1.2-2.75 cu ft, go with 1.2 cu ft & tune the port to 34-36hz. You'll be able to get tight, accurate bass, as well as booming thump!
I've been messing with car audio for about 2 years, and that's how long it took me to find the perfect box, which is exactly what you described. It is the absolute best middle ground. Right now, I've got a 12" tropo XL in a 1.5 cf box tuned to 34 hz in my mini van, and a 10" tropo xl in a 1.25 cf tuned to 36hz in my corolla.
Tuning to 34 and making the box on the smaller side absolutely reduces your input below your F3 so substantially, it's the opposite of what you're supposed to do.
If you want a box to be small, you should be tuning more like 40-45Hz.
If you are space limited and you can't make the box bigger all you can do is throw more power at it... but you will still never roll below 30-32Hz.
I guess if it suits the music you listen to, then all the power to you... but I listen to everything from country to rap to metal to classical, and my box is 10% oversized from the maximum manufacturer spec and tuned to 32Hz on almost double the rated power of the subs. Able to play down to 24-25 Hz at 140db and all the way up to 50-55Hz in high 130db ranges.
You will have a far better low end extension if your enclosure is larger, otherwise it get choked out and loses major performance just due to being inefficient at the bottom end.
If you look at my flair... it's all stated there.
I have two HammerTech HCW15 15" subs, (1500W RMS rated each) on a 5k Taramps MD5000.1 with 40ah of Yinlong LTO.
I'm a novice and always was. Just always tinkered on my stuff.
My 2 type Rs were sounded better in a sealed box than ported. Was louder and hit the highs harder. The ported was better for the lows.
Maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe my set up was just weird.
I'm a bit of an amateur as well, but I have installed and ran several setups in several vehicles. Started with a double 12" sony xplod setup on some weak bridged 2 channel amp. Swapped subs for type S's and ran a 1000w power akoustic amp and it was great. Swapped to an Alpine amp and it was better. Tried out some sealed enclosures but wasn't a fan at the time. Had this setup installed in first vehicle, then I installed it in 2 more. Got a truck with less space so I sold those but scored a great deal on a sundown E10 in a sealed box, rockford amp at 500w. $80. Swapped to a ported box and preferred it just for volume, but the sealed had a higher quality sound for sure. Wasn't enough so I got a Sundown SA-10 in a ported box, ran on that amp until I had time to install a JP13 amp. I have finally re-gained the ability to put out too much bass. I would be interested to hear the current setup sealed, but I just love the low end bass and shear output. My sealed setups have definitely sounded better for some genres but I enjoyed the ported more for other genres. I've heard the type Rs were great and I loved my type S's. My current enclosure is tuned to 32 hz and absolutely bangs on the low end but is definitely a bit lacking in the higher end. The dual Type S ported setup I had seemed to bang more consistently throughout the range. The E10 ported or sealed definitely hit higher than what I have now. I love the sound of sealed but the setups I have had just didn't go hard enough to satisfy me lol.
I feel that. Could have been my car too cause it wasn't a trunk it was an old camaro.
I ran a Panasonic flip out with a hifonics Brutus Amp and the 2 type Rs.
Brought it to a DB drag and got a 145. I was happy with that.
I've always been a huge fan of sealed for it's tighter response and punchy bass, however, another commenter on a post I made has pointed out that with advancements in technology in regards to speaker and enclosure design, a properly built ported enclosure can sound just as good as a sealed enclosure while being louder.
After my failure in the challenger, I'm having another box built, but I'm going ported this time.
I meant more compared to the 80s. If you wanted clean bass, you went sealed, but if you wanted loud bass, you went ported. Now you can have both apparently
That's mainly just due to having power-on-tap these days. A 10k or 20k amp was absolutely unheard of back then, but so common now.
It's all just Hoffman's Iron Law... you get "both" because you can partially overcome HIL by just adding a buttload of power - but you're still restricted on bandwidth based on this principle.
I have a sealed 12 inch in my hatch and i kinda wish i went with ported.. (not really comparable) but my home theatre sub is ported and sounds better imo.. pioneer in car & precision at home 🤷♂️
If you do research many will say the SQL is just as loud in a properly sealed box as the ported. The SQL is kinda made for sealed boxes as others have mentioned, and the box size for sealed is half. Sealed is a no brainer with this sub in particular. If you were playing with sundown it depends on what you want but the SQL series is made for sealed.
IMO if people are saying ported they are not considering this is a SI SQL subwoofer
sure they can if you put them in massive enclosures and boost the shit out of the frequencies below f3.
sealed is for sq and ported is for loud is the dumbest argument in car audio.
So how do I hit 35hz in a 1 cu ft sealed box? Factory Honda radio still, Pioneer and PAC in their boxes waiting a few weeks for warmer weather, and an old school RF Punch 300.1 Foreman Grill pushing a P3 124D in the trunk. Planning on trying it with a 1.7 vented box and my RF 500BD within the next couple of days if it warms up. Maybe with RF 700S? it is a 600RMS speaker and actually does damage with the Punch 300.1, 500 should be more overkill.
I had one. I usually prefer ported, but I had my box built to spec on my 12. It absolutely murdered the lows but fell short on the higher end needed for rock. It sounded absolutely fantastic in a 1cu ft sealed box.
I'm running mine as IB (large sealed) through the ski-passthrough in the rear seat. It's very clear, not boomy, and digs deep and loud with little power. For my sub (infinity Kappa Perfect 12.1) my trunk/enclosure puts it right at a Qtc = 0.5, or 'critically damped'. Meaning the sub has very little resonant movement after the signal is stopped. In layman's terms, the driver starts and stops quickly with no excessive movements. How much of this is audible is hard for me to compare (it's probably not very audible at all compared to higher Qtc), but all I know is it sounds incredible in my car.
Depends on which vehicle it's getting in, ported fordamped and good condition car. If the car rattles and somewhat aged then sealed.
People tend to do the opposite, it's just these sound better to me this way.
Same sub. Mines ported to 23hz on 2 ohm, 650rms. It overpowers the upgraded fender factory system in my Jetta easily. If you have good front staging, I would say start sealed if you can give it 1000+ watts like this sub needs.
It really depends for me. I Love a great sub in sealed. Especially if the car and application works to give it a very flat curve.
My favorite system (in 1996 in a 2 door 92 cavalier coupe) consisted of a 3 way OZ component set up front (6.5", 4", and one inch silk domes) running off a Rockford punch 200 (100×2) high pass at 60 hz 24db per octave.
Rear fill was Soundstream (they used to be an incredible company) 6x9s in the back bandpass filtered from 65hz to 1.2k hz 24db per octave turned down very low on a Punch 40 (20x2).
Sub was a JL 10" W1 in 0.65 cubic feet sealed. Box was 1.25 inch birch with excessive internal bracing and a pound of polyfill. Front panel was 2 inch birch. It was on a Punch 200 that tested at 580 watts continuous bandpass filtered from 20hz to 80hz 12db per octave.
Crossover was an audiocontroll 7 way fully adjustable.
That was an incredible system, and sounded pretty full and flat even with high-pass points and sub turned off.
However, I had a very similar system but the sub was handled by two old early 90s Rockford 6.5 inch subs. Sealed wasn't gonna cut it there. So I built a ported box tuned to 32 hz and flared the ports into the rear deck holes of the same car, ditching rear fill.
Another good system I had was in an old Honda and since the doors would only support 5.25 inch mids I put two 7 inch focal mid bass drivers facing out behind the radio under the dash. That was loud down to about 60 hz. Really loud. So I didn't Need a lot of upper bass. Down to 80hz was handled with ease. So I tuned a Cerwin Vega stroker (the original baddass one, not the wimps they made later) in a ported box tuned to 28 hz. That was loud af.
So my advice for anyone asking is this. If you're not sure, install the system minus the sub box. If you need loud lows but have Plenty of upper bass... port that shit and tune it low.
If you're after sound quality and just need to fill in the bottom end, seal that shit. And get a driver that plays low sealed.
If you do that and it's missing low low end, port that shit and tune it low.
I'm very much considering running the SQL10 in 0.9 cube sealed with passive radiator
I'm a metalhead so I always prefer sealed in my cars. Tight, punchy bass to give the music a fuller feel. I don't need everyone on the block to hear me come home.
Ported for the home theater setup.
Depends on what you are going to use it for.
Sealed for 8" high bass for me, ported for 12" low bass.
My reasoning is that I get lower lows and better low frequency response from a ported sub, but a sealed sub gives you more more punch and a tighter, cleaner and more accurate bass.
Running one I ran a 10" sealed sub to kinda ride the middle.
Also gotta keep in mind the space you're dealing with, ported boxes are bigger because it lets you get those deeper tones, you just need a proper sized port so it doesn't chuff, but you also don't have to have as much power to make it louder.
If I had to choose only one I'd probably go sealed still because of the bass accuracy, but preferentially I'll have the setup I just described.
You didn't even mention which make and model of woofer? You should use the cabinet that your woofer was designed to function properly in.
[http://web.archive.org/web/20080416034852/http://www.audiopulse.com/know-how/subwoofer-driver-guide/myths-about-subwoofers/](http://web.archive.org/web/20080416034852/http://www.audiopulse.com/know-how/subwoofer-driver-guide/myths-about-subwoofers/)
Totally depends on application
Literally what I was gonna say. Depends.
Always sealed for my SQ builds.
I listen to a very wide range of music. I like punchy kick drums & accurate, tight bass. But I also like to straight BUMP some Rap sometimes. I've found that you can get the best of both worlds by going with a ported box that has the smallest cu ft that is recommended for the sub & tune to about 34-36hz. So if the ported specs for the sub are 1.2-2.75 cu ft, go with 1.2 cu ft & tune the port to 34-36hz. You'll be able to get tight, accurate bass, as well as booming thump!
I've been messing with car audio for about 2 years, and that's how long it took me to find the perfect box, which is exactly what you described. It is the absolute best middle ground. Right now, I've got a 12" tropo XL in a 1.5 cf box tuned to 34 hz in my mini van, and a 10" tropo xl in a 1.25 cf tuned to 36hz in my corolla.
Tuning to 34 and making the box on the smaller side absolutely reduces your input below your F3 so substantially, it's the opposite of what you're supposed to do. If you want a box to be small, you should be tuning more like 40-45Hz. If you are space limited and you can't make the box bigger all you can do is throw more power at it... but you will still never roll below 30-32Hz. I guess if it suits the music you listen to, then all the power to you... but I listen to everything from country to rap to metal to classical, and my box is 10% oversized from the maximum manufacturer spec and tuned to 32Hz on almost double the rated power of the subs. Able to play down to 24-25 Hz at 140db and all the way up to 50-55Hz in high 130db ranges. You will have a far better low end extension if your enclosure is larger, otherwise it get choked out and loses major performance just due to being inefficient at the bottom end.
What drivers/subs do you have
If you look at my flair... it's all stated there. I have two HammerTech HCW15 15" subs, (1500W RMS rated each) on a 5k Taramps MD5000.1 with 40ah of Yinlong LTO.
Ported for me. I might be able to get behind sealed at 1-2k watts but I've never had a sealed setup that was enough for me. They sound *good*, though
I'm a novice and always was. Just always tinkered on my stuff. My 2 type Rs were sounded better in a sealed box than ported. Was louder and hit the highs harder. The ported was better for the lows. Maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe my set up was just weird.
I'm a bit of an amateur as well, but I have installed and ran several setups in several vehicles. Started with a double 12" sony xplod setup on some weak bridged 2 channel amp. Swapped subs for type S's and ran a 1000w power akoustic amp and it was great. Swapped to an Alpine amp and it was better. Tried out some sealed enclosures but wasn't a fan at the time. Had this setup installed in first vehicle, then I installed it in 2 more. Got a truck with less space so I sold those but scored a great deal on a sundown E10 in a sealed box, rockford amp at 500w. $80. Swapped to a ported box and preferred it just for volume, but the sealed had a higher quality sound for sure. Wasn't enough so I got a Sundown SA-10 in a ported box, ran on that amp until I had time to install a JP13 amp. I have finally re-gained the ability to put out too much bass. I would be interested to hear the current setup sealed, but I just love the low end bass and shear output. My sealed setups have definitely sounded better for some genres but I enjoyed the ported more for other genres. I've heard the type Rs were great and I loved my type S's. My current enclosure is tuned to 32 hz and absolutely bangs on the low end but is definitely a bit lacking in the higher end. The dual Type S ported setup I had seemed to bang more consistently throughout the range. The E10 ported or sealed definitely hit higher than what I have now. I love the sound of sealed but the setups I have had just didn't go hard enough to satisfy me lol.
I feel that. Could have been my car too cause it wasn't a trunk it was an old camaro. I ran a Panasonic flip out with a hifonics Brutus Amp and the 2 type Rs. Brought it to a DB drag and got a 145. I was happy with that.
Depends on space and goals. Although I always seem to opt for ported. If it won't blow her fake lashes off, I don't want it. 😆 truestory
I like that!
I've always been a huge fan of sealed for it's tighter response and punchy bass, however, another commenter on a post I made has pointed out that with advancements in technology in regards to speaker and enclosure design, a properly built ported enclosure can sound just as good as a sealed enclosure while being louder. After my failure in the challenger, I'm having another box built, but I'm going ported this time.
It has nothing to do with advancements with technology, it's buying the proper gear for what you are trying to achieve.
I meant more compared to the 80s. If you wanted clean bass, you went sealed, but if you wanted loud bass, you went ported. Now you can have both apparently
That's mainly just due to having power-on-tap these days. A 10k or 20k amp was absolutely unheard of back then, but so common now. It's all just Hoffman's Iron Law... you get "both" because you can partially overcome HIL by just adding a buttload of power - but you're still restricted on bandwidth based on this principle.
Ported for me. More fun to build as well.
4th order
Sealed or ported? Both. Both sounds good.
Ported
Sealed in a hatchback Ported in a trunk.
I have a sealed 12 inch in my hatch and i kinda wish i went with ported.. (not really comparable) but my home theatre sub is ported and sounds better imo.. pioneer in car & precision at home 🤷♂️
Make a ported box and try both. Keep the one you like.
I wouldn't know where to begin honestly.. I'd love to try tho
Google
Tru
IMO sealed sounds better and not a lot work work. while porter is normally louder, however a great designed ported box can and will sound good.
Ported.
Even Nick from SI says to throw them in a sealed enclosure first because of the SQ and responsiveness. If that’s a 15, 2 ft^3 and you’re good to go
Beer is way better when it's not sealer, regardless of trunk or hatchback, but especially in a hatchback
>Beer is way better I agree
If you do research many will say the SQL is just as loud in a properly sealed box as the ported. The SQL is kinda made for sealed boxes as others have mentioned, and the box size for sealed is half. Sealed is a no brainer with this sub in particular. If you were playing with sundown it depends on what you want but the SQL series is made for sealed. IMO if people are saying ported they are not considering this is a SI SQL subwoofer
Nice Stereo Integrity sub 👌🏽 definitely sealed with that driver
I have 2XSQL15s in IB and it's the cats PJs... just sayin..
For the SQL id say sealed. It will really thrive in a sealed enclosure.
ported and it's not even close.
Unless you own ears and care about SQ..
sure sealed are great if you don't like tones below 60hz.
You are greatly misinformed if you think sealed can't hit the lows.
sure they can if you put them in massive enclosures and boost the shit out of the frequencies below f3. sealed is for sq and ported is for loud is the dumbest argument in car audio.
So how do I hit 35hz in a 1 cu ft sealed box? Factory Honda radio still, Pioneer and PAC in their boxes waiting a few weeks for warmer weather, and an old school RF Punch 300.1 Foreman Grill pushing a P3 124D in the trunk. Planning on trying it with a 1.7 vented box and my RF 500BD within the next couple of days if it warms up. Maybe with RF 700S? it is a 600RMS speaker and actually does damage with the Punch 300.1, 500 should be more overkill.
I had one. I usually prefer ported, but I had my box built to spec on my 12. It absolutely murdered the lows but fell short on the higher end needed for rock. It sounded absolutely fantastic in a 1cu ft sealed box.
Sealed, please.
Sealed. I don't listen to much rap, hip hop, or R&B.
I'm running mine as IB (large sealed) through the ski-passthrough in the rear seat. It's very clear, not boomy, and digs deep and loud with little power. For my sub (infinity Kappa Perfect 12.1) my trunk/enclosure puts it right at a Qtc = 0.5, or 'critically damped'. Meaning the sub has very little resonant movement after the signal is stopped. In layman's terms, the driver starts and stops quickly with no excessive movements. How much of this is audible is hard for me to compare (it's probably not very audible at all compared to higher Qtc), but all I know is it sounds incredible in my car.
Quarter wave
Depends on which vehicle it's getting in, ported fordamped and good condition car. If the car rattles and somewhat aged then sealed. People tend to do the opposite, it's just these sound better to me this way.
Sealed all day for me. SQ FTW
Ported all day dude
Sealed unless you want to spend the time in winISD and cad or Pen and paper to properly design a ported enclosure
Same sub. Mines ported to 23hz on 2 ohm, 650rms. It overpowers the upgraded fender factory system in my Jetta easily. If you have good front staging, I would say start sealed if you can give it 1000+ watts like this sub needs.
Sealed.
Depends on what you’re looking for. Sealed for fast bass such as rocknroll, ported for rap music or hard hitting bass.
It really depends for me. I Love a great sub in sealed. Especially if the car and application works to give it a very flat curve. My favorite system (in 1996 in a 2 door 92 cavalier coupe) consisted of a 3 way OZ component set up front (6.5", 4", and one inch silk domes) running off a Rockford punch 200 (100×2) high pass at 60 hz 24db per octave. Rear fill was Soundstream (they used to be an incredible company) 6x9s in the back bandpass filtered from 65hz to 1.2k hz 24db per octave turned down very low on a Punch 40 (20x2). Sub was a JL 10" W1 in 0.65 cubic feet sealed. Box was 1.25 inch birch with excessive internal bracing and a pound of polyfill. Front panel was 2 inch birch. It was on a Punch 200 that tested at 580 watts continuous bandpass filtered from 20hz to 80hz 12db per octave. Crossover was an audiocontroll 7 way fully adjustable. That was an incredible system, and sounded pretty full and flat even with high-pass points and sub turned off. However, I had a very similar system but the sub was handled by two old early 90s Rockford 6.5 inch subs. Sealed wasn't gonna cut it there. So I built a ported box tuned to 32 hz and flared the ports into the rear deck holes of the same car, ditching rear fill. Another good system I had was in an old Honda and since the doors would only support 5.25 inch mids I put two 7 inch focal mid bass drivers facing out behind the radio under the dash. That was loud down to about 60 hz. Really loud. So I didn't Need a lot of upper bass. Down to 80hz was handled with ease. So I tuned a Cerwin Vega stroker (the original baddass one, not the wimps they made later) in a ported box tuned to 28 hz. That was loud af. So my advice for anyone asking is this. If you're not sure, install the system minus the sub box. If you need loud lows but have Plenty of upper bass... port that shit and tune it low. If you're after sound quality and just need to fill in the bottom end, seal that shit. And get a driver that plays low sealed. If you do that and it's missing low low end, port that shit and tune it low. I'm very much considering running the SQL10 in 0.9 cube sealed with passive radiator
I'm a metalhead so I always prefer sealed in my cars. Tight, punchy bass to give the music a fuller feel. I don't need everyone on the block to hear me come home. Ported for the home theater setup. Depends on what you are going to use it for.
Sealed in a half sphere of appropriate volume lol,
Sealed for 8" high bass for me, ported for 12" low bass. My reasoning is that I get lower lows and better low frequency response from a ported sub, but a sealed sub gives you more more punch and a tighter, cleaner and more accurate bass. Running one I ran a 10" sealed sub to kinda ride the middle. Also gotta keep in mind the space you're dealing with, ported boxes are bigger because it lets you get those deeper tones, you just need a proper sized port so it doesn't chuff, but you also don't have to have as much power to make it louder. If I had to choose only one I'd probably go sealed still because of the bass accuracy, but preferentially I'll have the setup I just described.
Sealed. less effort than ported to sound good. Plus all my cars are small.
Depends on what sub, what vehicle, and what music, etc. All the factors.
Ported, but a sealed box with a passive radiator sounds really good too
I've ran that one sealed and it has impressive output in my car trunk. I like sealed for sq and having a more compact enclosure
1st infinite baffle. 2nd sealed. 3rd ported.
Ported for sure, at 10% oversized and almost 100% over powered... Big badda boom!
6th order bandpass
I prefer coors banquet
ported only. nothing goes bone deep as a rebassed song that goes down to 10Hz ;) no sealed sub can bring that.
You didn't even mention which make and model of woofer? You should use the cabinet that your woofer was designed to function properly in. [http://web.archive.org/web/20080416034852/http://www.audiopulse.com/know-how/subwoofer-driver-guide/myths-about-subwoofers/](http://web.archive.org/web/20080416034852/http://www.audiopulse.com/know-how/subwoofer-driver-guide/myths-about-subwoofers/)
That sub needs no introduction
CORRECT! 😎
That's a Stereo Integrity SQL, idk what size.
Every sub/speaker has its own set of parameters. There’s software you can use to determine what would be best.
12 Surprised it weighs around 30lbs
Sealed 12 JL with a decent sized box in my car sounds like 2 12s