Which way to face subwoofer?

[Nexus1155]

Hey, i've been wondering this, if you have a subwoofer in the trunk which would be the best way to face it based on bass/sound quality.... Towards the trunk, towards the front, etc etc... I think ive heard some talk of it..

[sportin83]

i would fire it up or to the rear to get best sound

[talnlnky]

sedan = towards the rear.
Liftback = rear or straight up

you always want to load the bass wave off a surface before it gets to your ears... it helps focus the wave .... think about it as condensing, or concentrating it like what a funnel does with water.... thats what you do when you bounce the wave off a surface first.

[*MAD DOG*]

Have it facing towards the back of the car. That what my installer recommends.

[Nexus1155]

Thanks guys, what i was thinking too, I'm making another stealth enclosure after my oops i had with my last one with the first layer of fiberglass cracked on a bed of nails and it screwed up the whole plug....

*MAD DOG* damn you had alot of posts before we got hacked... i wonder just how much was deleted now kinda makes me pissed.... haha so much useful info!! but we get to make threads all over again!

[sportin83]

hackers suck there was alot of good info lost that we all have to put back up

[dlinkwit27]

Due North

[PetersRedYaris]

Hey, this thread helped me as well. Thanks dudes...

[talnlnky]

Hey, this thread helped me as well. Thanks dudes...

thats what forums are for...glad you found it useful.

[battleversiontc]

sedan always face rear with a sealed box
hatch backs toword the rear with a ported box

sedan with ported no such a good idea
hatch with ported alot more bass due to the fact you can use the air space in the car since your trunk is also connected to the interior without any blocking this is why majority of the suvs and trucks run ported

[talnlnky]

sedan always face rear with a sealed box
hatch backs toword the rear with a ported box

sedan with ported no such a good idea
hatch with ported alot more bass due to the fact you can use the air space in the car since your trunk is also connected to the interior without any blocking this is why majority of the suvs and trucks run ported

people run ported cause they care more about absolute volume (as in sound) than cargo area.

[battleversiontc]

people run ported cause they care more about absolute volume (as in sound) than cargo area.

not really true some subs out there require it to be in a ported box and not a sealed one

[Nexus1155]

i like sealed, i dont think ive ever made a box that wasn't so i don't know the difference in sound... i just like the car not rattley

[dlinkwit27]

Due North

really? not a single person found that funny? :iono:

[talnlnky]

not really true some subs out there require it to be in a ported box and not a sealed one

require is a very strong term.... I've yet to see a driver that sounds like absolute poo unless in a ported box.

Yes, the QTC, Vas, and Fs do have a great effect on if the sub is best suited for ported or sealed, but with virtually any sub on the car audio market you can get decent results with either.

a QTC of .4 or lower means ported would be great
A QTC of .4-.6 means Sealed would be best
and anything above .6 means IB would be best... but IB really is the same as a giant sealed box.

most car audio subs have QTC's in the range of .4-.55 as the best way for stereo companies to make money is to make it work in BOTH types of boxes and have a broader market sector.

[talnlnky]

i like sealed, i dont think ive ever made a box that wasn't so i don't know the difference in sound... i just like the car not rattley

ported will generally gain you 3dB, and have a similar (slightly better response)... if you build the box right.

sound dampaning is for the rattles you have in cars... expensive.. but helps alot

[battleversiontc]

require is a very strong term.... I've yet to see a driver that sounds like absolute poo unless in a ported box.

Yes, the QTC, Vas, and Fs do have a great effect on if the sub is best suited for ported or sealed, but with virtually any sub on the car audio market you can get decent results with either.

a QTC of .4 or lower means ported would be great
A QTC of .4-.6 means Sealed would be best
and anything above .6 means IB would be best... but IB really is the same as a giant sealed box.

most car audio subs have QTC's in the range of .4-.55 as the best way for stereo companies to make money is to make it work in BOTH types of boxes and have a broader market sector.

well heres proof do your homework before you come back with what you have to say http://www.ddaudio.com/dd/caraudio/enclosureInfo/boxSize_hiEff.asp
try putting this in a sealed box and tell me it doesnt sound like poo when in a sealed box i install these everyday and we build the boxes and all of them a required to be ported higher watt subs sound better in ported and sound like poo in sealed. lower watt subs sound better in sealed boxes. the whole theory of a port is to tune the sub to a certain hz and provide more air space to give a deeper bass tone a low hz depending on the port length and wood density and air space every sub out there has a different air space requirement and not all boxes that are universal actually within a spec of what the sub needs there for the only way to get the correct air space is to build a box with the specs they recommend

[talnlnky]

well heres proof do your homework before you come back with what you have to say http://www.ddaudio.com/dd/caraudio/enclosureInfo/boxSize_hiEff.asp
try putting this in a sealed box and tell me it doesnt sound like poo when in a sealed box i install these everyday and we build the boxes and all of them a required to be ported higher watt subs sound better in ported and sound like poo in sealed. lower watt subs sound better in sealed boxes. the whole theory of a port is to tune the sub to a certain hz and provide more air space to give a deeper bass tone a low hz depending on the port length and wood density and air space every sub out there has a different air space requirement and not all boxes that are universal actually within a spec of what the sub needs there for the only way to get the correct air space is to build a box with the specs they recommend

I think you'd have an easier time arguing that a sub can be sealed, but not ported... as some lightweight cones & suspensions can be way to easily overwhelmed by the pressures found in ported & bandpass enclosures.

I almost ran a DD sub about 5 years ago... yeah... they get loud. they are beastly subs meant to get loud and ARE NOT known for having any sound quality characteristics....(read: they sound like poo regardless). They'll survive anything short of a nuclear blast. They also have a bad rap of having published T/S specs as much as 50% off from reality.

I am the first person to argue that each sub plays optimally in a specifically designed box. I don't think the point of a ported box has anything to do with giving the sub more air space... that's not the point, thats just often a requirement.


Like I said before... the overwhelming majority of car audio subs can play in both.... DD makes up an extremely small percent of the audio market. They are a brand for enthusiasts who are into getting very loud.

I'm perfectly happy to talk speakers with you over pm, or even AIM or e-mail.... I don't really want to hijack this thread tho.

[TheRealEnth]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dlinkwit27 View Post
Due North
really? not a single person found that funny?

I found it funny if it makes you happy =D, i found it funnier when noone responded to it. I was like WTF when i first read it

[battleversiontc]

When choosing a subowofer box, the decision between sealed and ported will determine how the final install will sound. The general rule for this choice is fairly simple.

Sealed subwoofer boxes generally are much smaller than ported enclosures. If you're limited on space, it would probably be a good idea to go with a sealed enclosure. Not only is there a size difference, but there is also a difference in sound between the two enclosures. Sealed enclosures tend to produce tight, accurate bass and have a flat frequency response curve. They are also generally the enclosure of choice when looking for a SQ (Sound Quality) oriented setup.

Ported boxes can get very large and have many varying factors that will determine their size and sound output. Ported enclosures produce louder bass than sealed enclosures, and allow you to tune the box to a specific frequency to determine how the bass will sound. Higher tuning on a ported box will get louder, but at the expense of sound quality. Lower tuning will still get louder than a sealed box, and at the same time will yield fairly good sound quality. For more information on choosing the correct tuning for your ported subwoofer box, please see our article called "Choosing the Correct Tuning".

Port area and port type also plays a role in ported enclosures. Too little port area for the subwoofer box can result in port noise, which can severely detract from the sound quality of your setup. To much port area can also have a negative impact on the sound quality. However, if your goal is to get loud and not care about sound quality, then a ported box, tuned high, with a large amount of port area is the way to go.

[talnlnky]

When choosing a subowofer box, the decision between sealed and ported will determine how the final install will sound. The general rule for this choice is fairly simple.

Sealed subwoofer boxes generally are much smaller than ported enclosures. If you're limited on space, it would probably be a good idea to go with a sealed enclosure. Not only is there a size difference, but there is also a difference in sound between the two enclosures. Sealed enclosures tend to produce tight, accurate bass and have a flat frequency response curve. They are also generally the enclosure of choice when looking for a SQ (Sound Quality) oriented setup.

Ported boxes can get very large and have many varying factors that will determine their size and sound output. Ported enclosures produce louder bass than sealed enclosures, and allow you to tune the box to a specific frequency to determine how the bass will sound. Higher tuning on a ported box will get louder, but at the expense of sound quality. Lower tuning will still get louder than a sealed box, and at the same time will yield fairly good sound quality. For more information on choosing the correct tuning for your ported subwoofer box, please see our article called "Choosing the Correct Tuning".

Port area and port type also plays a role in ported enclosures. Too little port area for the subwoofer box can result in port noise, which can severely detract from the sound quality of your setup. To much port area can also have a negative impact on the sound quality. However, if your goal is to get loud and not care about sound quality, then a ported box, tuned high, with a large amount of port area is the way to go.

a ported box can sound just the same as a sealed box if designed properly.. YES I am talking both about the frequency response, and the "tightness" which is also called group delay.

the tightness of a sub is more determined by the Le of the sub... and in a ported box... also the size & tuning of a box. Higher the tuning, the worse the peak in group delay (less "tight" so to speak)... also.. the smaller the bigger the box, the bigger the peak... Generally, anything 30hz and below though doesn't really matter so if you tune below 30hz your peak won't be nearly as bad as if you tune at 40hz like DD's website suggests doing... which is anything BUT sq... .even in a car environment the cabin gain can't make up for that high of a tuning.

[dlinkwit27]

I found it funny if it makes you happy =D, i found it funnier when noone responded to it. I was like WTF when i first read it

thank you! now i feel loved :wub:

[Nigal]

I have to carry so much crap in my trunk for work that I found pointing it straight up where the most free air is sounds best. The box wasn't breathing well with stuff stored right in front of the baffles.