Message: Who here prefers the bandpass over the sealed or vice versa? I've got a dual 12" sealed box now and it hits pretty good but when I'm really slamming it, I can "hear the speaker" so to speak...that's about the only way to explain it. Some people told me that bandpass was the way to go and then some people tell me that bandpass sucks. Right now in this box I've got a pair of those new Bazooka subwoofers but I'm looking at the ABP12 Audiobahn bandpass box. Anyone have any idea if one will hit harder than the other? Will I be going uphill, downhill, or staying about the same in sound quality with this change?
Message: I personally love the sound of a sealed box. I can't speak for all types of set-ups, but over the years of building sub boxes, I think a strong hard thump sounds MUCH cleaner and clearer than any bandpass I've ever heard. Plus it requires less space in your vehicle (usually).
Message: Bandpass and ported enclosures will give you more SPL, but they sometimes have a "peaky" response that can be hard to tune. Bandpass enclosures also have a boomy sound to them. They take up a lot of space too.
Sealed boxes are easier to build and use up less space. They are known for that tight bottom end with no boomieness. Usually produce a much flatter response as well.
Bottom line...if you're lookin' to go "boomin down da block" go with the bandpass...if you want a nice, tight, response with accurate reproduction of the bass go with a sealed.
Message: Personally, I like sealed boxes myself... for reasons stated before: (smaller, accurate, and better power handling)
If you have a "big" vehicle and you like alot of "boom" then the bandpass is for you...
However if you have a Dak where space is somewhat limited, I would think that a sealed box would work out much better in this application. Just make sure to have a really good amp to push your speakers with clean power.
I've always built small sealed boxes for Kicker or
MTX drivers. These produce nice smooth, deep bass.
I hate the "huffing" you get from ports and
band-pass designs. One way around that is to use a
large, narrow slot instead of the standard port
tube. But tunning and overall response is hard to
predict, so I'd stick to simple and sealed. They
always hit hard and stay small. If you want more
volume just add more drivers and/or a bigger amp.
Message: It all depends on what kind of music you like if you listen to rap alot you would be better of with that banpass but if you like a veriety of things you should get a sealed or ported. ported would hit harder than a sealed but you would need more amps top push it.........
Questions we gotta ask is... "What kind of 15s do you have"? and "What size enclosure do they need to go 'bandpass' versus 'sealed'".
If you go sealed, then you can send more power to them without the fear of damaging the speakers. Also as stated above, sealed boxes tend to control the sound a bit better as well (not as "boomy" as a ported or bandpass box)
Ultimately it is still up to you and what you hope to accomplish with your sound system. Personally, I would still go sealed.
Message: You put two 15s in a bandpass box you might have to sit on the hood. A 15" sub requires 3-4 cubic feet of space when using a band pass box, much less two of them.
There really is no need to go ported/bandpass with 15s, they work very well in sealed boxes.
Message: I have two MTX roadthunder 2's I am not sure what size boxes they would need. I don't even know what kind of power they can handle. I tried to find out but the audio shop where i lived couldn't find the right numbers for them
Message: 12" woofers are comfortable in 1 - 2 cubic ft. boxes. Feed them as much power as you can afford, don't worry about maximum power handling. The will sound like crap once you reach their peak capacity.
Message: There is a good write up in this months Car Audio magazine about the differences between boxes...Pick upo the issue, it should answer all of your questions.
there is no right or wrong..it depends on your preference your subs and your amp.
It says that a bandpass would "filter" out any distortion in your subs output, but that in turn will kill your subs fast being that you dont hear it and know that you should turn the gain down
Definitely go sealed... For one thing, with 1400 watts of power, a sealed box will handle alot more power than a bandpass will.
Man... you really plan on spankin' those bad boys huh? What kind of amp do you have? Is it an AudioBahn or something like that?
BTW, you probably will want to turn the gains down (way down) on that amp... unless your speakers are rated at 700 watts per speaker. Or else you are gonna be burnin' those guys up with that kind of power.
Message: I think many of you are confusing bandpass with ported. I personally do not like bandpass and I only like sealed where space is hard to come by and the sub is built for it.
"Bottom line...if you're lookin' to go "boomin down da block" go with the bandpass...if you want a nice, tight, response with accurate reproduction of the bass go with a sealed."
Usually -- for most people, but a ported box can be very tight and accurate too, easily. It's low bass extention is better AND it had a 3dB gain.
"If you like the deep bass, and lots of volume then you should stick with sealed boxes"
Ported sounds better than selaed at the lower bass freqs, MUCH better.
"Definitely go sealed... For one thing, with 1400 watts of power, a sealed box will handle alot more power than a bandpass will."
Yes, they do, but why use extra power to gain a while couple more decibles, that just puts you into a higher competition category, more strain on your electrical system AND costs more AND is a bigger (physical wise) amp -- usually. Ported is a much more efficient way to go.
I bet I can I make a ported box sound JUST as good as most sealed boxes, SPECIALLY prefabs. Their only real downfall is they are considerably larger and takes some math.
Sealed is not my favorutie by any means, but a VERY well designed aperodic box owns any competition.
If he has 1400 watts to play with, what 2 speakers do you know of are going to play "controllably" at 700 watts each in a ported box? Those speakers will be bouncin' off the walls in there. LOL
First thing... a true "ported" (versus bandpass.. I know the difference BTW) box is gonna be ALOT bigger than a sealed box. Usually 3.5 cubic feet per speaker and up versus 1 cubic foot and up for sealed. A 7 cubic foot box (and up) is a big mofo... to say the least.
How much room does the back of a Dak have again for a big box? Not much from what I have seen, unless you are using the full backend of a Quad Cab to do this.
Now granted... a tune ported box will sound GREAT at its tuned frequency, but will sound like crap at other frequecies. I just prefer sealed cabinets just because they have so many advantages such as reduction in space required and better power handling capabilites. And they just sound better "in general" playing conditions.
But to each his own... if you wanna take up the whole back seat/trunk/bed of your vehicle... then by all means go right ahead. It wouldn't be the first time someone has done that. But if you ask for opinions on the topic, then according to what everyone has said, "sealed" would be preferred in this particular application by most of us (it seems based upon previous responses).
Message: "If he has 1400 watts to play with, what 2 speakers do you know of are going to play "controllably" at 700 watts each in a ported box? Those speakers will be bouncin' off the walls in there. LOL"
My point WAS, he would not NEED that much. That is a major plus. Specially for people who do not want to upgrade their alternator, go to bigger wires and use more power overall. Remember compression BTW. The increase in most subs from half their rated RMS to full is not a great increase, not at all. So that increase in doubbling a subs power, lets say a Kicker, I would not expect much more than 5 more dB legal.
"Now granted... a tune ported box will sound GREAT at its tuned frequency, but will sound like crap at other frequecies"
Hell no; you must not heard a very good box.
Yes, I am aware that this type of enclosure is not for a dakota, specially a regular cab, but I was just pointing out many things I believed to be wrong and needed correcting.
So, YES, go with a sealed in your truck, I will do the same once I payoff my truck this next year.
"I just prefer sealed cabinets just because they have so many advantages such as reduction in space required and better power handling capabilites. And they just sound better "in general" playing conditions."
I belive them to not be better in general for sound, but not in experience. It is way easier to build a sealed than a ported box.
Message: I have a three way box right now, but i have the low pass turned on on the amp. The box takes up most of the back seat in my truck now. I have about four inches to lean the seat back. I would definetly like something smaller for more room. I don't want to have to give up the boom that i do have. If anything i would like to get more. I have even heard a nice pair of Kicker 10's that had more rumble in the same type of box. Just cost is my problem. What is BTW anyway?
Message: xplikt...what you pointed out were not necessarily "fallacies"...but just a differing "opinion" on the question at hand.
Stating that these were "fallacies" would imply that the prior statements were absolutely wrong... and they were not. But according to your opinion, you found that you can make a comparable box in the ported/bandpass style:
Which sounds better? Sealed, Ported, or Bandpass? (Opinion... based upon application)
Which is larger/smaller? (Fact: Sealed is gonna be smaller per given speaker and still sound very good.)
Which handles more power? (Fact: Sealed per given speaker is gonna handle more power for the given space.)
Which is why I said "to each his or her own". They both can sound really good given certain circumstances... but for this particular application I still have my personal opinion on which is better to be in a Dakota.
Honestly, to make your ideas work... you'd probably need a much bigger vehicle or make a much larger sacrifice in cabin space to make it worthwhile to do.
Message: It wasn't about the specific vehicle, but the theory of ported enclosures.
"Which handles more power? (Fact: Sealed per given speaker is gonna handle more power for the given space.)"
Umm, yeah, but I was pointing out that you don't HAVE TO use that much power. You doubble the RMS power to a sub, if that particular sub even handle the extra heat. The increase will be very little and not very economical at all in terms of dB per watt/money. That would just be to push as much as you can through that one sub; more for competition purposes than a DD.
"prior statements were absolutely wrong"
T-H-E-Y W-E-R-E
FALLACY: "Now granted... a tune ported box will sound GREAT at its tuned frequency, but will sound like crap at other frequecies."
FALLACY: "but can also kill your subs quicker."
FALLACY: And they just sound better "in general" playing conditions.
(Is that in Car or Home Entertainment?)
Of course he should go with sealed in his Dokota, doesn't take an EED to figure that one out, but I was just sticking up for ported types of enclosures. They sound boomy because good ole people like Raptor make some sh!t mass-market prefabs or they made the box too small, or they like it like that.
"Which handles more power?" Yeah, but my question is, why use more power when you wouldn't have to?
Message: Wow.. I didn't know that you were the "ported box sound authority" around here...
Somebody call "ported box services", we got a "loose" one runnin' around on here...
BTW... if the dude ALREADY has a 1,400 watt amp.. then why wouldn't he want to use it? (that is...if he can find a way to fit it into his truck... which if he builds a custom box, shouldn't be a problem.)
Prior statements wrong... I D-O-U-B-T I-T, but you just wanna prove your points so I'll just leave it at that.
I guess you just have alot more room in your ride to mount a big @ss box in the back... either that, or you just like having the extra weight of a large speaker box to keep the wheels down in the winter (hee hee.. just kidding)
Ok ok.. enough of this... another dead horse getting beaten. I'm done with it. My opinion STILL hasn't changed though. So keep on playing with your ported box and I'll just keep my sealed one and never the two shall meet...
Is that cool with you? Hopefully it is... (too much effort has already been expended in this thread).
I was speaking on "real world" terms, but since you wanna go all "theory" on us.. sheesh. Just keep on being the "Devil's advocate" cause I'm done.
Message: You still never got the point through that I was not speaking directly about him and his situation, that was already answered; to build a sealed.
That's fine that your OPINION hasn't changed, neither has mine, but maybe we've opened up someones eyes to the ingorance that was being spread about ported enclosures... or the god-like box known as SEALED.
Don't get soo pissy.
Your dodgedakotas.com ported box sound authority,
Mike
Message: markm, I agree that you should stick with the sealed box for your application. Although I agree that ported, vented, bandpass boxes are excellent given the right application. I think your real problem here is your amp. Sony stuff just isn't all that they would like you to believe. If you are looking to change something, trade in your amp for a PPI, Pheonix gold, or something in that category. Not too expensive, yet much better than the xploding POS. If you have the 6000's go with a good 800 watt amp that is rated mono @ 2 ohm stable, if you have the 8000's you might want to go with 1000 watts. That will solve your volume problem.
Message: I am not to fond of sony crap either. This amp is better than the 400 watt mobile authority that I had before. Plus it was free. Cost is a very big problem for me. I would like to go with an amp that has more power for if I get my hands on better speakers latter. So should I stick with the 15's or downsize to 12's?
Message: UM....... Adam...... did that help you out any?
markm.... If money is a problem..... keep the 15s and run them in a sealed..... unless your competing, you won't miss the loss of dbl and youll have leg room and beer money (but dont drink and drive!) The amp will do fine for now. Got the same surfboard amp droped to 1 ohm and is still doing its thang. NOT DEFENDING OR BURNING SONY CORP. but the amp will do the thang (whatever that is!)Just dump the amp to 2 ohms when hooking up the 15 and you should still get the same bass registered in the buttdbl machine! (its next to the a$$dyno) Do remeber that the buttdbl machine will always be off by "my eyeballs wont stop shaking" to "MY HEART.....GASP>>DIE" or 2-5 dbls so remember that
btw= by the way
Subject: Bandpass or sealed?
RE: Bandpass or sealed?
RE: Bandpass or sealed?