WATCH BEFORE YOU BUY | Which SUBWOOFER Should You Choose? - Sealed vs Ported Subwoofers 

I wanna be able to hear it and feel it

imo i want a clean sound that doesnt rattle but you can still hear it

I want that rattling

Nope an open BaffLED using the Trunk (if there is one) will do more damage...

My SEALED house speakers generate far more Vibrational bass, than my Ported speakers. The Port does not change make the speakers any more powerful. The Magnet strength, Coil strength, are what create the strongest potentials. The Subs shown here, are not for Car Audio. They are for home theatre, and possibly also to add depth to music. Unless you live in the middle of the country... you cant blast High Air Pressure Subs, in a typical apartment. Furthermore, Its Immoral, to blast Car Subs in the City. People live in the apartments above the storefronts... and it Ruins these peoples Sanity, and Lives. It also ends up dragging down property values... when the local Drug dealer parks their car, and keeps blasting their sub, at 3am. Keep pushing people like myself... and you will find out, just what can happen...

Ported Is mainly made for and sold by musicians. A frequently purchased subwoofer is, for example, the Yamaha HS8S and JBL LSR310S. Then a ported turns out to be better 🤔

Yep that what he said, well designed engineered ported box will sound same if not better than sealed

How would you determine if a chassis ist best for sealed or ported? I've read that if fs/Qts is around 50, it's best for sealed while a value around 100 is best for ported. What do you think about that?

@@doemaeries This is called EBP and it's a good starting point but you can still make a high EBP driver work, the box size might just not be optimal. If you already have the driver you can make it work you just need to model it and see what you're in for. If you don't have the driver yet it would be best to buy the driver to fit the style of box you want to build.

@@algniazdo 100%

Until you get to extreme high end and then only sealed make sense

I was thinking the same. Like the old Kenwood ported sealed box I used to have.

You forgot to mention the fourth type of sub. The douchebag. The DB comments unnecessarily on videos that aren't discussing the subject they think it is.

It behaves like a ported sub with a steeper rollof

It's not a combination, the port is replaced with a pr

"slot loaded" (not resonant tuned like altec and ATC ports), isobarik, transmission line, open baffle, and varovents exist too. the frequency response of passive radiators is more peaky

Put some rubber washing machine pucks under them and your sub won't move again;)

I always used sealed boxes, my last had 2 JL w3s nice and clean. Miss them.

Are you sure those ports were properly engineered? Probably not.

Oddly enough, Ford used the trunk space in the Taurus to be a 'box' to help with bass. There were two 6x8 speakers in the rear shelf standard but there was also a spot for a 6x9 speaker that was meant to be used with the JBL systems that were optional on those cars. I didn't have the JBL system in my Taurus, just the MACH audio, but with some work I managed to add a line driver before the main MACH amp. The line driver had a subwoofer line out which I ran to a small (300 watt) sub amp and a 6x9 speaker I added in the rear shelf. I didn't have it loud but it added quite a bit of low end bump. Depending on what I was listening too the inside of the car would shake at a moderate volume. I miss that car and the system (I kept the components.) The factory Sony system in my Fiesta just can't compare.

A good sub of any size can produce punchy bass. I have three 21 inch subs in my theater that can reproduce anything from 15Hz to 200Hz with no problem. When you go to a concert and hear the quick drum bass it is from ported 15 or 18 inch subs, just for reference.

Which svs...? Ultra 16?

@@Stan_the_Belgian no way possible it was a 16 ultra. The 16 ultra would lay waste to that Martin Logan 10…

@@benboyer2776 agreed but he's talking about a large ported svs...

@@Stan_the_Belgian maybe pb1000😂

@@benboyer2776- design and quality components matter. That Martin Logan was probably much more expensive too. I went from a huge 400w sub to a REL (T2) 10” with passive radiator that was better at basically everything. Music and movies. It was more $$$ of course.

We'll let him know 😄

@@KantoSolutions What's the best subwoofer to get with my Kanto TUK's?

Subwoofer sealed is better to Bass sound. For drum sound is better subwoofer ported 🔊👍

You’re def not the only one

it is similar like vented regarding the frequency characteristic. but there is no port noise and you maybe have a tiny bit more dampening which leads to more accuracy.

Equalization does not magically make the negative go away. Ported subs go lower, louder, more efficiently.

@@dizzywow yes, but the sealed enclosure can now go deeper with the dsp. You are correct on the efficiency though. You definitely sacrifice volume.

​@@aktionp20 Closed subwoofer is old crap crap ass technology is developing that is not done anymore

@@kotim1142 sealed is and always will be better for sound quality. No phase reflections like with a ported. Very minimal difference to the ear but it is there.

@@aktionp20 it is full crap not good much worse little brat A closed subwoofer heats up more than a ported subwoofer because it has an air hole It's an old technique and invention, Technology is moving forward and developing better Owl head Yes I know

I have one as well, and it has a crossover to limit the bass going to my Genelec mains. Sounds great.

This is not always true ive had both sealed and ported i promise you if you put a dual or single skar sdr 12 in your care you will be so much more happy than with sealed ive had and used both and I still have one bc it gets deeper sounds better and it still articulate and musical but loud you don't have to give it all 1200 watts if u dont want put it at the volume you like

In my personal opinion both sealed and ported are in the past but less ported than sealed because passive radiators are a perfect balance you get deeper and louder than sealed and just as small without having to worry about port noise

@@valorantorion1588 Car subs with passive radiators have had their niche for a long time but never really picked up. Why do you think that is the case? No, they're not the same size as sealed boxes and they have almost exactly the same problems as basreflex subs. The car audio market is dominated by basreflex subs because they're so efficient and people want to install as few extra batteries as possible. It's as simple as that. Maybe electric cars will change that.

Ported enclosures are far superior but the trade off is that they're way more expensive and need more space, specially if you want a well made box. But I ported enclosure will be way louder than a sealed enclosure and will be more efficient. If you like loud bass, 100% vented.

@@valorantorion1588 0

Put a bottle of ice water near the port to chill it out. It will thank you...

1. Class D 2. Plate itself is a cooler, some amps have heatsinks on the outside 3. There's a significant amount of air inside the box, in a lot of cases its capacity is more than enough to cool down what's needed

they manage tho

with a modern class D amp the cooling is not a problem at all.

Frequency below tuning will damage the speaker.

You ported it too high

means down firing

That is my experience as well, when testing subs the REL with a passive driver sounded the tightest and is roughly the size of the Kanto :)

@@jedics1i cant stand port chuff. Thats the worst part of porting.

not exactly... passive radiators have uneven frequency responses. If you want more QUANTITY out of sealed... just add more power + EQ or drivers. I DESPISE boomy flabby bass. The first time bass wowed me was infinity 4 1/2" 2 ways! the bass was soooo tight and fast, if not chest thumping. I'll take quality every time

Adding a dampening material to a sealed sub effectively lowers it's tuning frequency. It doesn't inherently change the sound.

And the boom from a sealed sub is usually still exciting and impactful (vs not having a subwoofer)

that's what I thought of

A passive radiator essentially mimics the effect of a port so would have the same advantages/disadvantages musically. However, the passive radiator makes it MUCH easier to tune the box (change sizes, change weights, etc) without having to build a port. It eliminates chuffing as well.

Can you explain to me ‘academic audiophile’ vs ‘exhibitionist audiophile’? I have only ever heard of ‘audiophile’.

@@kylesmith9048 It is actually a term I borrowed from a forum convo. They orginal poster seemed to associate an academic audiophile as a person with scientific and acoustic theory competence while referring to an exhibitionist audiophile as the individual who enjoys showing off their sound signatures. It was more in reference to car audio however. Exibition being like bassheads with loud over the top systems and academics being tailored to the sq guys seeking studio level reproduction.

My choice of drivers is Vifa.

@@marcelmolenaar5684 They make very good and affordable drivers!

Literally thought so until I saw this comment😂😂😂

There's a saying with subs... they can be good, small, or cheap - pick two. Since you want good bass in a small space you'll have to spend more on a powerful amplifier and a sub that can handle high wattage. For you're application you'll want a shallow mount sub in a sealed box to save on space. I heard good things about Sundown to I modeled their SD-4 10″ D2 in WinISD and you can get down to 40 Hz at -3 dB in a 1 cuft box which is pretty great - if you have the ability to increase box size you'll get louder bass in the lower frequencies.

@@KantoSolutions Yeah I gotcha. I really wish there was a way I could put 2 12” JL W7’s in that truck. That’s my favorite subwoofer ever I had one in my Escalade.

This was my question to.

I have almost this setup in my vehicle, I have one box ported to specs, and one box sealed to specs (same model sub). You do kind of get the best of both worlds, but it is more of a middle ground. I get more low end with one of them ported, but not as low if I had two ported. And, I get better response and punchiness with one sealed, but not as good if I had two sealed.. So a middle ground.

I know more car audio and that sounds like maybe a 4th order box? I could be wrong though

@@dr.jellyfinger8132 I was going to ask what a 4th order box is, but I Googled it and wow, there’s a whole science behind it! I think it is a 4th order box, but its build is a bit different from the images on Google

That's awesome, hope you enjoy it!

How you felt about the crossover, do you still hear vocal in the sub?

This might help you decide www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/svs-pb-1000-pro-sb-1000-pro/conclusion

well the phase control is usually what is used when the bass frequencies are fighting against the higher frequencies..you'd use the phase to more or less invert subwoofer polarity so instead of starting forward then back..it will start backwards then front so that way it will play ALONG not AGAINST the same frequencies the speakers and subwoofers intersect at ..i wouldn't even consider 6.5 inch be qualified as a subwoofer..more of a woofer ...but it will only sound punchy because of its lack of lower bass capabilities

The benefits are it is capable of lower frequencies and produce more sound with less power although less accurate. Typically if you listen to mostly rap music and or dubstep you may want ported. If you listen to a variety of music types or mainly drums sealed is the choice. IMO

@@SSMan-jo6tf problem with sealed is you need a lot of power. A 800w 12" ported sub easily outpaces my 13" 1000w sub. Both have pros and cons.

@@SSMan-jo6tf It also depends on your primary use for the sub such as listening to music vs watching movies on your home theater.

You are not disagreeing with him. If you aren't restricted volume wise, there's no replacement for displacement. You need that displacement for ported subs. Personally though, I think having dual sealed is better than a large single ported sub ( ie 2x SB-3000 vs 1x PB-4000)

*fewer

No. The reason is clear. You need a new enclosure. And if its fit is the next question. A donkey is not a race horse.

Our product manager's first sub was a servo controlled Yamaha YST-SW120 and they miss it dearly!

Unless a manufacturer explicitly states that you can block a port, then it is not safe to do. Most ported subs that can be blocked also have a switch to change the sub's tuning.

mmm that might be possible due to the type of material used in the passive membrane that produce the sound..i think betterones use a thin aluminium slab glued to the inside part of the passive radiator. so it dampens unwanted vibrations of the membrane.

Compressing the air is what all sound does. Low notes are more obvious due to the size of the wave and overall power. The same effect can be had with any subwoofer enclosure.

You are Totally wrong about that.

@@johndough8115 no I'm not

@@uwebaganz5144 I have a ported sub, that I got cheap at a thrift shop. I can hear the port distortions immediately. I also used to own Ported house Speakers. Then I got a pair of sealed speakers. Those ported speakers immediately went to the Curb. It was so much of a difference in sound quality and clarity, that I almost wept at how much I had been missing.. and how Trash the bass sounded in the ported speakers, compared to the Sealed. I have probably owned about 25 different speakers. Its a hobby, and obsession for me. Ported speakers are Trash, Period. They distort the sound, and image.

@@johndough8115 then your sub is trash, my ported sub does not make any port sound or distorts, i made the sub myself with a port that opens on both ends and the construction of the enclosure is well made, also a decent driver is important, sealed box is easier to construct but not better in any case

@@uwebaganz5144 1) Your particular build, is NOT how standard ported speakers work. They use specifically designed (Tuned) tubes, at specific lengths, with the specific diameter and end-flare. The reason for the port like this, is to make an automatic bass frequency sound, any time that air moves out of it. (Hence, the bottle blowing example) Your use of much larger squared ports (NOT TUNED !!!) and use of TWO ports... is COMPLETELY different from standard Ported speakers / Subs. In fact, that design, is closer to an "OPEN BAFFLE" design, rather than calling it a "Ported" design. Hence, why you do not experience typical Port "Chuffs" , and typical port Distortions. But your design misses the entire Point of the Port... which is the Artificial Lowered Bass sounds... that are only created by that specially designed Port hole. Hence, again... making your sub, more like an Open Baffle sub. Which makes your entire Argument, Completely Nullified. And yes, the drive does matter. But put the best drivers into a REAL ported design... and you will still get CHUFFS and Distortions. As for whether Sealed or Open Baffle is better... is a whole other story. Sealed speakers produce plenty of strong vibrational bass. But you will need a very powerful driver to overcome the compressed air. Such a driver will be less efficient requiring much more power, to driver it. Open-Baffles have less natural distortions, as the air is only being limited by the sides of the box. A more efficient driver could be used, as a result. That said, Im not sure that the overall vibrational bass impact, will be as "Tight". And there will probably be a lot more potentials for room distortions, as the bass will be traveling in two different directions at the same time. You will also increase the likelihood of dust and grime getting lodged into the drivers... causing future distortions. Every design has its particular positives and negatives.