which is better, sealed or vented?

For anyone (Jeff) who wants to look at T/S parameters or other info quickly, here is a list of car audio manufacturers:

http://www.ht-audio.com/audio.htm#Driver%20Manufacturers

I keep that in the favorites and can usually find info in about 5 seconds.  Here is the page that lists the parameters for this sub:

http://www.orioncaraudio.com/subwoofers/sub_H2_series.asp#

Looking under the column "H2 12.2"...Fs is 30.54 and Qes is 0.62.  So dividing Fs by Qes gives us an EBP of 49, which is begging to go into a sealed enclosure.  Along with that, a check on the Qts shows that it is on the high side at .58 and that confirms it.

*Wait*...let's look at this again.  You said "at 2 ohms each", so you must have the DVC 4 ohm models.  Correct?  In that case, the EBP is 51, which is borderline sealed or vented.

I agree with Jeff on his initial impression.  SQ, in a van, and other quality components around it....I'd work up the perfect sealed enclosure if it were me.  In fact, that's a very pretty behind on that sub

....so I believe I would also try to find a way to show it off!  Now where was that post about a part plexi - part MDF box?  (Sure beats the hell out of the old days when the best thing you could do for a van was to put in shag carpet...)

On the other hand, one amp will not provide the power you want for SQ with two of these.  It's bad enough that you're running a Directed at 1 ohm and are looking for SQ....so, with that said, you will need two of those amps to power these and it still doesn't look like enough.  I see 600 watts to each whether it's a 1 ohm load or a 2 ohm load, according to the CEA chart listings on http://www.directed.com/audio/amps/default.asp#digital.  Orion says that for SQ you should power at between the RMS and peak ratings....between 2000 and 2500 watts per sub...

...which points now to using a ported setup to enhance decibel-to-power ratio.

Personally, I wouldn't buy H2's for an SQ install, but if I were to buy one I would definitely go ported. Those things handle some power, but aren't the most stable subs. I like what Jeff said about ported enclosures. With the *proper design* you can get good SQ and still be loud. SQL if you will. Many people that say ported boxes tend to be peaky and boomy probably didn't buld a proper box in the first place. Low tuned boxes are very sweet IMO and can please the majority of people.