Question on enclosures.....

[MingisDew31186]

Is it better to have a completely sealed enclosure or ones with the air holes in them?

[zlexiss]

try http://www.diysubwoofers.org/

for a good primer on the tradeoff between sealed and ported boxes.

In short:

Sealed: better response (punch), better power handling at low frequencies (efficiencies)

Ported: better and louder (+3db) sound within the design range, lower cutoff frequency

-Jeff

[96firebird311]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by zlexiss:
Sealed: better response (punch), better power handling at low frequencies (efficiencies)<hr></blockquote>
I agree with most of that, but sealed box are not more efficient then ported boxes. Just for the record.

Sealed: Smaller box. Has a smooth rolloff at all frequencies. (One note does sound much louder then another) Outstanding group delay. (Tightness) They DO have more power handling. Much more forgiving on building error AND user punishment.

Ported: The biggest thing is that they have more low frequency extension. (hits those lower notes) But they require a larger box. Much worse group delay, (sloppy) but if you design properly, you won't even be able to notice the difference. It will be a bit louder then with a sealed box. You have to be a little more careful when building. Measure, then measure again.