i cant decide between ported or sealed for my JL 12w7. I have never heard the sealed just ported, so I need some opinions. Thanks

PORTED!

ported but tuned low. around 28-32hz

If you have the resources try both. I built a sealed and a ported box for my new sub and ported has more output while the sealed box played the notes more accurately

It depends on the sound that you want. If you want the bass to hit hard keep it sealed. If you want to bass to hit lower and travel then I would port it. Keep in mind that you'll need a bigger box if ported as ported requires more space.

^^concur, cant say it any better!

It depends on the sound that you want. If you want the bass to hit hard keep it sealed. If you want to bass to hit lower and travel then I would port it. Keep in mind that you'll need a bigger box if ported as ported requires more space.

i'm gonna have to disagree a little bit.

some subs can hit hard in ported boxes. a good sub, ported in the perfect enclosure can have SQ rivaling a sealed box. the sub i have right now is the best sounding (SQ wise) sub i have ever heard to date. it's a Dayton H.O. ten inch sub in .7 cubes net(net meaning after displacement of the sub and port) tuned to 30hz. it has the most impact(hardest hit) out of any sub i have heard or used to date. it also still drops loooowww and gets plenty loud for an SQ install. the Dayton also has a wild side if pushed with some power.

so ported can be awesome if the sub is right for it and it is put in the right enclosure.

IMO, if you're all about SQ, then do sealed, with airspace at the large end of what JL recommends for that sub (for a Q of ~.7). If you just want to pound it and disturb the neighbors with SPL, then go ported.

IMO, if you're all about SQ, then do sealed, with airspace at the large end of what JL recommends for that sub (for a Q of ~.7). If you just want to pound it and disturb the neighbors with SPL, then go ported.

again... like i said, ported can sound good if done correctly. it's not just for kids wanting to disturb the neighbors. if done right it can sound as good, if not better than a sealed enclosure. i consider my goal in my setup to be SQ and my box is ported. also ported will be a bit louder, which lets you run the amp at a lil lower gain and have even more headroom which is always good for SQ. ported, tuned for a flat response, can sound very good.

this thread has some good true info about ported enclosures. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31580

Has anybody ever compared a W7 in sealed and ported?

I think we were talking about JL and not SQ. JL will need a lot more space ported. I use to run three JL W6s ported on my prior ride (Eclipse) and it took the whole trunk. And yes, I ran the sub sealed for the first month or so before porting the box. I personally like the subs (box) ported.

Here's the eclipse ported. http://www.fangmichael.com/cgi-bin/hobbies/hobbies.pl?action=eclipse

On my current ride I run one RE SE 10" ported. Nice clean bass without waking up the whole neighborhood.

run ported to achieve a flatter response.

IMO, if you're all about SQ, then do sealed, with airspace at the large end of what JL recommends for that sub (for a Q of ~.7). If you just want to pound it and disturb the neighbors with SPL, then go ported.

again... like i said, ported can sound good if done correctly. it's not just for kids wanting to disturb the neighbors. if done right it can sound as good, if not better than a sealed enclosure. i consider my goal in my setup to be SQ and my box is ported. also ported will be a bit louder, which lets you run the amp at a lil lower gain and have even more headroom which is always good for SQ. ported, tuned for a flat response, can sound very good.

this thread has some good true info about ported enclosures. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31580
I wasn't implying you can't get good SQ from a ported sub, so please don't misunderstand and/or misconstrue my comments.

My response was directed specifically to the OP, in reply to his question regarding the 12-W7, and it doesn't necessarily pertain to other subs, such as your Dayton.


run ported to achieve a flatter response.
Would you explain that, and does that only apply to the 12-W7, or do you feel that's the case for all subs?

I tend to disagree with that statement, at least w/o more rationale to qualify it.

How can anyone suggest what's "best" without asking a few very important questions???

What do you listen to?
What amplifier will be driving the subwoofer?
Who is the installer? What's the installer's skill level?
What are the most important criteria: SPL / Output? Sound Quality? Volume of the enclosure?
What's the rest of your system?

Generally my answer would be a simple, sealed enclosure for a few reasons. The response is very predictable and linear. There won't be a radical change in response when the windows are opened on the car. The power handling, especially at lower frequencies is greater. The enclosure will be smaller in volume - and in a tC, space is at a premium. It's the simplest construction.

Of course, depending on how the owner answers the questions above, the type of enclosure could change...

Read more about why there is no "perfect enclosure" here:
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=146

^ Thanks, you're always so good at explaining these things! :)

i like the way sealed enclosures hit and how they sound and the smaller power requirements, (basically everything rocketgyrl said lol) but i really really LOVE the way ported boxes sound plus i really like the flat reponse that you can get with a ported box. granted i'm just re-iterating what robyn is saying but the box size is a major problem, the tc's hatch is pretty small and if your car is daily driven at all you'll want space.

basically answer the questions robyn asked and we'll have a better idea of where to guide you.

Sealed boxes can take more power than ported enclosures. However, this does NOT equate to higher SPLs (within their respective operating frequencies). The ported box is about 3dB more efficient, but below the tuning frequency, there will be a severe roll off in output...twice as fast as sealed. Sealed enclosures will have a faster transient response, provided the "Q" is kept within tolerance. Ported boxes are generally about 1.5X the volume of a sealed enclosure.

See? Trade-offs....

PLEASE READ THE JL AUDIO LINK!!!

...twice as fast as sealed. Sealed enclosures will have a faster transient response, provided the "Q" is kept within tolerance.
Hmm..."twice as fast"? Below F3, sealed rolloff is 2nd order and ported is 3rd order, which I'd always considered to be "1.5x as fast". Of course you might be considering other factors (electrical, not just acoustic), which is why I ask.

Totally agree on the latter point, which is why I suggested sealed with a Q of ~.7 for SQ, as that usually provides the flattest response. It seems a lot of people may not be considering factors such as 'group delay', ripple, tuning freq vs driver fs (and more), when designing ported enclosures. If they did, I think many who say they're seriously interested in SQ would go sealed over ported.

Whoops....12dB/oct vs. 18dB/oct is 1.5X. DUH! My bad..going too fast!

run ported to achieve a flatter response.

good idea! i plotted out my response (out of car response) in winisd. tuned the box until i got the flattest possible response. my F3(-3db point) is at 28hz (once again, on paper out of the car). i am guessing i still have a lil extra on the bottom cause of cabin gain and transfer function and all. i want an RTA. sometime this spring/summer i will get an RTA setup and have some fun/headaches.

I was a ported fiend for about 6 years then tried a sealed and was blown away.

I love sealed now.
Yes all the ported boxes were made to spec and i subtracted sub and port displacement.

Ported sounds good to me but I like sealed for everyday.
Ported for crusin

The thing with WinIsd is that it doesn't calculate for cabin gain. So what you see in winisd will not reflect when you have it in the car.

agreed but you'll get that with both sealed and ported but winisd is a good starting point

The thing with WinIsd is that it doesn't calculate for cabin gain. So what you see in winisd will not reflect when you have it in the car.

trust me, i know. my current setup is a lot flatter than my last.

Don't know if this would help the discussion or not. There was talk about flatter response earlier.

http://forum.realmofexcursion.com/showthread.php?t=14947