2008 Yaris sedan ‘S’ sound deadening project.

[Shinare]

I was going to ask why one would pick sealed over ported and googled it and answered my own question. :) Heres what I found:

Sealed Vs Ported Subwoofer Boxes

So you are ready to start building your car audio system? Where to start? Well a good place to begin is with the subwoofer enclosure. There are many types of enclosures for every vehicle and listening style and each has its advantages and dis-advantages. As just a general rule of thumb it is important to make sure your subwoofers will match the chosen enclosure so I recommend knowing what you are planning to run before starting. So for instance before deciding on a subwoofer box you will want to check what the recommended airspace specifications are for that model. Now we will discuss a few different options available for enclosures.

Sealed Subwoofer Boxes:
The most common and versatile type of enclosure is sealed. This style enclosure is ideal for any application where space is going to be an issue. In some cases a sealed recommendation for subwoofer box will be half of what the ported recommendation is. They also have the advantage over ported and band pass enclosures in terms of overall sound clarity. A sealed subwoofer box will deliver a tight, clean and accurate bass response and have a flat frequency response curve. In general a sealed box will be for listeners looking for sound quality driven system that is clean across the entire frequency band.

Vented & Ported Subwoofer Boxes
Next up are ported or vented enclosures, “ported” & “vented” are synonymous, it just means the enclosure has a hole in it to let air escape. You know that guy you can hear from 2 blocks away? Well he is likely running ported box. This style enclosure will likely be about twice the size of a similar sealed box since the airspace inside the chamber is much larger. Ported enclosures are tuned to a certain frequency range which is determined by the port length, width and diameter. The port can be in several configurations such as rounded or a slot which is narrower and taller. Each subwoofer will have a specific frequency they are designed to run at for maximum output. Depending on what you plan to use the enclosure for it can be tuned to various frequency ranges by modifying the port.

In general most competition SPL vehicles tune to high frequencies around 45Hz or higher. This setup would be designed for absolute maximum output but sacrificing a great deal of sound quality. A ported box tuned 25Hz will still allow your system to hit the ultra low bass notes while still keeping sealed like sound quality. The disadvantage is the enclosure will then have a fairly flat frequency range. And then the most common frequency range found usually in pre-built ported / vented enclosures is around 33 – 35Hz. At this frequency the enclosure will still deliver much more bass output than a sealed box but at the same type with still retain most of the sound quality. In other words you will get the best of both worlds with a ported box run at about 33Hz.


Bandpass Subwoofer Boxes
And last but not least are Bandpass enclosures. These are a hybrid box version and combine the features of a sealed and ported sub box into one enclosure. They are generally the hardest to build and design but offer some unique advantages. Bandpass enclosures are all about efficiency. How they work is a subwoofer or subwoofers in some cases are mounted inside a dual chambered box. One chamber is sealed and the other is ported / vented. The sound waves travel from the sealed subwoofer chamber though and out the port. This allows for a much deeper sounding bass and will be tuned to a narrow frequency band which creates a very aggressive sound. Not all subwoofers will work in bandpass enclosure so make sure you research or check the manual first.

[derickveliz2]

I got this from Image dynamics forum when I was asking for an advice between sealed or ported in my sedan:

1) when ever you place a sub in a box ( ported or sealed ) in the trunk of a car you will have to deal with the transfer function of the volume of air in that trunk.
Simply put larger the trunk thicker and heavy the lower octaves sound plus the notes feel lethargic.

2) A direct input to the cars interior is the best approach for best overall SQ but not necessarily what some people want in the bass tone ( to flat sounding to their ears )


D.

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

Looks nice! Herb...

Please let us know how they compare to the ported box.

D.

Will do! Since Sonic and I are both in CA, I should have it later this week. I'll try to get a pic of it up against the back seats so you can see how it fits. This one may be a better choice than that square one you were looking at.

Originally Posted by Shinare

I was going to ask why one would pick sealed over ported and googled it and answered my own question. :)

Good find. For the kind of music I listen to, I think the sealed box will sound better. We'll shall soon see...err....hear!

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

I'll try to get a pic of it up against the back seats so you can see how it fits. This one may be a better choice than that square one you were looking at.

From my statement above, about transfer function of the trunk ID recommended me to face the woofer up towards the 6x9 openings, so to me it doesn't matter the shape, it's about placement. (I know you have new 6x9 speakers there)

Maybe I'm going crazy on this one, but I will try and let you guys know!

D.

[_S7V7N_]

I have a pair of Kicker 12's and have them facing up towards the 6x9 openings, (6x9's removed ) maybe your outcomes will be different since your trunks are deadened but mine sounded okay at first, now i'm ready to face the box a diff direction. I think mine sounded best with the "ass" end of the box facing the rear seats and the subs towards the back of the trunk. I'm ready to also try a ported box, right now i have them in a 1.0 cubic foot per chamber sealed box. My Hifonics amp is fairly new so i haven't unleashed it on the subs yet, but i see some Type R 12's in my near future, with a ported box.

Oooo and i have a 4 day weekend comming up, so all i need is a saw, and i'm relocating my amps so i can play with the box placement.

[derickveliz2]

.

_S7V7N_ please let us know how it goes!

Enjoy your lonnnnnnnnG weekend.

D.

[cm_ls1]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

I got this from Image dynamics forum when I was asking for an advice between sealed or ported in my sedan:

1) when ever you place a sub in a box ( ported or sealed ) in the trunk of a car you will have to deal with the transfer function of the volume of air in that trunk.
Simply put larger the trunk thicker and heavy the lower octaves sound plus the notes feel lethargic.

2) A direct input to the cars interior is the best approach for best overall SQ but not necessarily what some people want in the bass tone ( to flat sounding to their ears )


D.

I tend to disagree with 2) - i have tried various ways and in a sedan as close to the opening of the trunk face rear is the best in most situation, least cancellation of bass.

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by cm_ls1

I tend to disagree with 2) - i have tried various ways and in a sedan as close to the opening of the trunk face rear is the best in most situation, least cancellation of bass.

I'm with you, but this is the first time I have a sedan, and haven't really play with it, the Bazoka tube it's facing backwards (per instructions) and sounds good to me (sorry, feels good jeje)

Maybe they mean that if you have a ported box and the port opens to the cabin, like I've seen in some applications. (I know and I remember this was SQcomp's plans long time ago)

To me, it's all about learning and trying new things!

We'll see how it works for Herb? maybe he would need to fold down one of his seats!

D.

[cm_ls1]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

We'll see how it works for Herb? maybe he would need to fold down one of his seats!

D.

Bass passes through the seats whether they a folded down or not, thats not the problem, the issue here is if the wavelengths of the bass cancel each other out, of course i would suggest trying both and see what sounds best

Imagine that the vertical line on the left is the back of yourbsedan, the red line is the bass coming out of the sub, the yellow is it reflecting, what you want is these lines to overlap or the sound will cancel each other out reducing bass.

So the last image is your ideal scenario

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by cm_ls1

I would suggest trying both and see what sounds best

Your ideal scenario

Cool, I will try (once I get a box for the IDQ12, it's going to take me some time though)

Thanks
D.

[Herbicidal]

So is this illustrating that the 'opening' for the sub is facing the back of the rear seat? Or should the opening face towards the back of the car? Apparently I'm directionally challenged. Thanks!

Originally Posted by cm_ls1

Bass passes through the seats whether they a folded down or not, thats not the problem, the issue here is if the wavelengths of the bass cancel each other out, of course i would suggest trying both and see what sounds best

Imagine that the vertical line on the left is the back of yourbsedan, the red line is the bass coming out of the sub, the yellow is it reflecting, what you want is these lines to overlap or the sound will cancel each other out reducing bass.

So the last image is your ideal scenario

[derickveliz2]

Originally Posted by Herbicidal

So is this illustrating that the 'opening' for the sub is facing the back of the rear seat? Or should the opening face towards the back of the car? Apparently I'm directionally challenged. Thanks!

Yeah it took me a couple of seconds too, I usually do sections going the other way, but the image shows the sub facing towards the back of the car.

D.

[Herbicidal]

Originally Posted by derickveliz2

Yeah it took me a couple of seconds too, I usually do sections going the other way, but the image shows the sub facing towards the back of the car.

D.

Thanks, I was planning on facing it that way. The angle of the sub box (I think) will fit up nicely against the angle of the backseat. Whoever sits there will get a back massage!

OH! And I just received an e-mail from Sonic saying free shipping on all orders over $20 between now and Friday the 17th (within the continental US)!

[Herbicidal]

Received the new subwoofer box yesterday and WOW! It has a much smaller footprint than the ported box. Right now, the ported sub box is facing sideways, so based upon those previous graphs, I probably have it facing the worst possible direction. Live and learn. I'll take a side-by-side comparision picture this weekend and post it. If I like it, I'll end up getting more of my truck space back AND lose some weight. I'll try to remember to weigh the boxes without the speaker and see what the difference is. Probably just a couple of pounds at most.

[Herbicidal]

This past weekend, I pulled the Alpine 10" Type-R sub from the larger, ported box and installed it in the smaller sealed box. I am able to re-position the smaller box so that it is facing the rear of the car and the back of the box is snugged up against the back of the rear seats. I had to elevate the box about 3 inches so that the back would fit against the rear seats as there is an angled piece of hard foam (kind of hidden by the trunk carpet) at the base of the back seats in the trunk. To keep it from sliding around, I picked up some ultra-heavy duty Velcro and used it to help secure the sub box from shifting around.

Then I spent some time re-tuning the amps and new HU. WOW!!! What a difference! I'm feeling more of a 'punch' with the new sealed box, plus now it is oriented the right way AND it takes up about 1/2 the space of the ported box. It's a win-win! The ported box was facing side-to-side, not the best way, but gave me more trunk space. I have pictures, just haven't pulled them off the camera yet. I'll try to do that in the next couple of days. Kind of crazy right now with the holiday's and all that.

[derickveliz2]

.

Way to go Herb!

Looking forward to see the pictures!

Feliz Navidad!

[Herbicidal]

Thanks Derick! Same to my friend! And to your family.

On a slightly different note (no pun intended) I noticed this morning on the drive in to work (still dark out) that my headlights were pulsing in time to the music. First time I've seen this happen! I didn't think the volume was THAT loud! I was at a stop light waiting for it to change when I saw the headlights pulsing. This one particular music track has a TON of deep bass and it was definitely working both the amp and the subwoofer. I backed the volume down a few clicks and that reduced the pulsing effect. Obviously I'm not going to notice this during the daytime. Are there any inexpensive mods that I can do to eliminate the pulsing of the headlights? Besides turning down the volume?

[derickveliz2]

BIG 3

Let me check and I'll see if I can get a set of cables ready to install and how much they cost, and if you want them I'll send them to you.

D.