sealed or vented
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=25840
Printed Date: July 05, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Topic: sealed or vented
Posted By: skylark
Subject: sealed or vented
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 2:26 PM
i have 2 kickersolobarbic l7 15's now i have an question about the type of enclosure should i get the sealed one made just for these subs or the vented one which looks the same but has vented ports. what will hit harder sealed or vented both are made just for these subs
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goingcrazyonsound
Replies:
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 3:24 PM
A vented box will provide you with a boomeir sound usually good for rap. A sealed box will provide you with tighter bass then a sealed but I dont know how much the difference would be with a sealed box compared to a ported since they are 15" subs. Also a vented box makes a subs continuous power handling go down about 100 watts.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 3:24 PM
These subs prefer to be used in a sealed enclosure. They will operate in a ported enclosure, but it is a mighty big one at that. Your best bet is to stay sealed, it will give you great sound and good low extension.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: skylark
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 3:33 PM
so im better off getting an sealed box but why do i keep seeing all them vented boxes like they are suppoes to be better ------------- goingcrazyonsound
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 3:38 PM
Because most people are only interested in how loud they can make something instead of how good it sounds and how low it can go. A ported enclosure will play louder, especially near the tuning frequency, but below that, the sealed enclosure will hand it it's a$$. Should you go with a sealed enclosure you would be well advised to get yourself a subsonic filter to help protect the subs from damage. Most guys on this site are a little more geared towards good sound but can also switch to SPL mode if asked. Should you want to get loud, go with the big ported enclosure. Two 15" drivers no matter what kind of box is going to play loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage, if this is important to you, then go with the sealed box, get more music for your dollar and play your music responseably.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: sbrock
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 6:19 PM
skylark wrote:
so im better off getting an sealed box but why do i keep seeing all them vented boxes like they are suppoes to be better
the reason you keep seeing vented boxes is because they are better and aparently if you are going with two 15s then you want a lot of bass if you only wanted SQ you would of probly just got one 10 so if this is the case then you need to go ported I would suggest about 4 cuft per sub with the ports tuned between 35-40 hz
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 6:27 PM
Ported boxes arnt always better. They dont have as flat frequency response as a sealed box and they lower your subs power handling. Just because some one has two 15s dosnt mean they need a ported box. He should't need to go ported in this case because he should already get tons of output without the loss of powerhandling ,the larger box size ,and not as flat response. Think how big a ported enclosure would be if each speaker needed 4 cubic feet of airspace! STICK with sealed.
Posted By: sbrock
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 6:31 PM
I know exactly how big it would be I build boxes everyday for peoples vehicles and a car like that has room foor 3 or 4 15's so he should have no problem getting 8 cuft in that paticular truck all old school have huge trucks and why do you say the subs loose power I have never heard anything like that before
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 6:46 PM
This car has like a 6 body trunk, 12 if you chop them up, so yes the airspace is there. It does not mean that you have to use it though. The poster needs to decide what kind of response he is after, loud and obnoxious bass or decent flat response that will still play loud (and two of these will play loud no matter what). Subs lose power handling below the tuning frequency, this is part of the reason that a subsonic filter should be used and is in fact recommended from Kicker for these subs. Power handling of these subs and for most subs at the tuning frequency and below goes right out the window, a sealed enclosure will handle the power much better. As frequency drops the sub gobbles up much more power, it takes way more power to hit a 40 hz note with authority as it does a 80hz note. Yes this sub in a ported enclosure will wail, no doubt, but the sealed will yield better overall results. It is up to the user to decide. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: sssssss27
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 7:23 PM
Don't those subs have an EBP below 45 and isn't it a general rule of thumb that if the EBP is below 45 sealed enclosures are a better bet? I modeled it in WinISD Pro and if you have a 14.446 cu. ft. box and tune the port to 18.22 Hz you should get a really nice flat response to at least 20 Hz.
Posted By: sbrock
Date Posted: February 04, 2004 at 8:34 PM
forbidden I really like your responces it seems you know what you are talking about in your post and I have to agree sealed does handle more and it definetly depends on what the owner prefers I guess I personaly prefer the obnoxious bass you are refering to but everyone is different thats why there is so many choices in this business (car audio)
Posted By: skylark
Date Posted: February 05, 2004 at 4:20 PM
thanks for the advice im going with sealed because of the amp i have mostly because to many people complain about audiobahn i and bass and good sq thats why i took the audiobahn subs out and replaced them with kickers because kicker is an better brand but audiobahn makes better amps then their subs so hopefully it will pound because the four 15's that i had hit hard i know four an fact they was the loudest system i ever had and thats after i had 4 12's in my car that were dvc eclispe runinng off an mtx 1500 d class amp so maybe i lucked out with the audiobahn subs but rule of thumb 4 15's are louder then 4 12's including high end subs
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goingcrazyonsound
Posted By: customsuburb
Date Posted: February 05, 2004 at 4:34 PM
Just because a sub has a larger driver dosnt mean its for sure going to play louder then 4 12s. It all depends on what brand ,what amp is driving them ,box etc. Just because you have had 3 or 4 different systems dosnt mean you know that all 15 inch subs beat all 12 inch subs.
Posted By: skylark
Date Posted: February 05, 2004 at 5:03 PM
ya i know but i have had many systems from 8 tens in an wagon to 6 12's 8 15's so i believe im speaking from experience but my point was about the above subject the 4 15's out pounded the eclispe 12's now i have seen and heard cars with 2 tens out pound 2 15's so im not going by size or brands because i have had good brands and garbage brands but i know how to make them sound good for a few weeks before the saying kicks in you get what you paid for
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goingcrazyonsound
Posted By: Teken
Date Posted: February 05, 2004 at 7:11 PM
skylark wrote:
but i know how to make them sound good for a few weeks before the saying kicks in you get what you paid for
LMFAO . . .
========================================================
BTW: I agree with everything Forbidden has stated. Perhaps one day all the boomers will fade away. So as, the hobby wont always be looked upon as immature tone deaf imbecils, which have nothing better to do then to show off . . . 
Regards
EVIL Teken . . .
Posted By: Paradigm
Date Posted: February 06, 2004 at 1:44 PM
Teken] wrote:
QUOTE=skylark] but i know how to make them sound good for a few weeks before the saying kicks in you get what you paid for
LMFAO . . . ======================================================== BTW: I agree with everything Forbidden has stated. Perhaps one day all the boomers will fade away. So as, the hobby wont always be looked upon as immature tone deaf imbecils, which have nothing better to do then to show off . . . Regards EVIL Teken . . .[/QUOTE] Exactly. ------------- VEHICLE: 2002 GMC Sonoma ZR2
Alpine CDA-7940
AudioControl EQT x2
JL Audio 1000/1
JL Audio 10W6 (originals) x3
Kicker ZR120
Kicker ZR460
Polk GXR-6 x4
Polk GXR-4 x2
Posted By: skylark
Date Posted: February 06, 2004 at 2:29 PM
i like showing off but unlike the other showoffs when you look in to my trunk everybody jaws drop because i put everything in nice and neat with no wires showing and i build amp racks since im now learning how to fiberglass everything is gonna be even better. but my point is i like loud music and bass if people dont like it then they are just plain old plus i take pride in my car from the tvs to the ps2 installed and the big boy rims and candy paint job so why does everybody hate i like the high end stuff but im from minnesota so we only get 4 months of nice weather to clown so if my money aint right i will buy cheap sh*t but i have not done that in four years ya i know i messed up with audiobahn but i still believe in their amps plus i got 4 12 inch eclipse sitting around i believe in sq but give me a break i wear an hearing air so im never gonna be able to tell the difference between sq and garbage i just go by the trunk rattles cuz i hate that.....................................................showwing aint never gonna fade away because i love pulling up to people and watching them roll up their windows and cussing under their breath
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goingcrazyonsound
Posted By: Paradigm
Date Posted: February 06, 2004 at 2:34 PM
So you enjoy being an inconsiderate clown?  Ah, kids... ------------- VEHICLE: 2002 GMC Sonoma ZR2
Alpine CDA-7940
AudioControl EQT x2
JL Audio 1000/1
JL Audio 10W6 (originals) x3
Kicker ZR120
Kicker ZR460
Polk GXR-6 x4
Polk GXR-4 x2
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: February 06, 2004 at 3:36 PM
"Clown" is not the word I would use.
Posted By: Teken
Date Posted: February 06, 2004 at 5:53 PM
skylark wrote:
i like showing off
LMFAO... I like your honesty
skylark wrote:
i believe in sq but give me a break i wear an hearing air so im never gonna be able to tell the difference between sq and garbage i just go by the trunk rattles
You know . . . I actualy had to read over that statement (3) times . . . You were born with a certain amount of hearing impairment, or lossed it, do to unknown circumstances.
Yet, even though your hearing is faultering, and is not the same as others. You will simply continue to ground pound, and and assault your remaining ear drums with SPL which will certainly erase what little hearing you have left !
That Sir, is simply moronic, stupid, and above all else lacking in gray matter in your mellon.
skylark wrote:
showwing aint never gonna fade away because i love pulling up to people and watching them roll up their windows and cussing under their breath
LMFAO . . .  You know, for everytime I have heard or read someone who thinks they are louder than the next guy.
I wish they were close to me, as I would simply drive ahead of them and pop my rear trunk with my linear actuator and shatter your windshield with track 1 of Ascent.
The cannon shots would shatter your windshield in 1000 pieces !!! Now, that you felt my vibes, does that neccessarly mean its still OK???
What ever floats your boat . . .
( Hope you understand my point, that just because you can do a thing . . . Does not mean you should !! Because one day, you will pull up to me and ground pound, and you will be the one being pounded )
Regards
EVIL Teken . . .
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: February 06, 2004 at 9:04 PM
I bet you guys did not know that I have a natural hearing loss as well, definitely due to playing my stereo too loud when I was younger but mainly due to ear infections when I was younger. I currently have a 18db loss in both ears, if I have a ear infection now of any type, not even a hearing aid will help me. I will never recover my hearing, and you Skylark already have hearing damage and are now trying to make it even worse, and you will make it far worse, to the point that hearing aids will not help you if you continue on this path. I am ready for a change of careers, I still enjoy doing this and have taught and learned from many, but the one thing that may keep me from my chosen career, should I make it, is my hearing. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
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