Ok, Im having this conversation on another board right now and I might have my facts completly wrong here, but seeing as I am not getting any explanation from the people telling me Im wrong Im comming back to the reliable side. I was always under the impression that whenever possible you should have the sub and port on the same side so they are facing the same direction, play off the same surface and are somewhat equal distances away from the listener. Basiclly what I am being told now is that on the same side as the box or on the top wont make a difference. Some one throw me a bone here. i have no Problem being wrong so long as I know why Im wrong.
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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
From what I understand...as long as they are not in excess of 36" apart and they are both outputing to the same airspace, you are okay. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it. At least until someone of merit contradicts me LOL.
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The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.
John | Manteca, CA
Even when they are projecting in different directions? Are you saying that bass is non directional enough that 90 degrees off axis wont make a difference?
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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
IMO. Even with them facing opposite sides. With say the port facing forward, the sound from the woofer is still radiating from where the woofer resides (can't post images to help). Therefore the sound waves from the front and back are not that far apart. I would imagine that if the woofer is then a couple of feet from the rear of the vehicle, that could possibly then radiate sound waves that would end up causing significant cancellation. That's why you want to keep the port and the woofer (same as all woofers in a multiple woofer setup) within 36" of each other. Closer would be better. Mind you...I have some real world, some formal electronics training, and LOTS of reading on this forum and other sites. But I do not have the expertise to back this up scientifically. With some of the posts that I've seen between DYohn and haemphyst, they would probably be better on the scientific end of it.
I DO know that you want them as close as possible to avoid as much cancellation as possible...but top and front or side to side shouldn't matter too much if they are close enough and directed to the listening area through the same general path. In other words, you don't want to have the woofer pointing through the seats and the port having to go completely around the box and up through the rear deck adding another 3' to 4' of effective distance before the sound waves meet.
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The Flakman
I feel strange. I have deja vu and amnesia at the same time.
John | Manteca, CA
Ideally the port should be on the same baffle as the driver for most car stereo installations. Cancellations due to multiple reflections off the vehicle's components are minimized and the installation is simplified this way.
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