Sealed vs Ported - An Age-Old Debate?

It's exciting to meet someone who is passionate about bass. These people also tend to have their preferences. At Bassworx, we meet some people who swear by their sealed box setup; others who will only ever use a ported box. So which is best?

Fortunately or unfortunately, the answer is: it depends.

Regardless of what you use, it's important that you are at least using an enclosure to help produce a full sound out of your speaker. We've been at this for awhile and are proud to produce both sealed and ported enclosures that reflect our knowledge of sound engineering. The volume of our enclosures are designed to optimize the sound output of your speakers, regardless of the vehicle in which they are installed.

Long story short, a sealed enclosure is designed to create crisp, clear sound. With this type of box, your speakers will produce a "flat" response. Flat response means accurate sound. Your subwoofer will produce nearly the same level of loudness across every frequency. Ported enclosures create a deeper more booming sound, better for hip-hop & dubstep beats. Your sub(s) will produce a more distorted sound, which many people tend to prefer.

It really comes down to preference, and whatever way you shake it down, just play it loud...

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Car Audio Forums

For enthusiasts, working on their vehicle is a process of continuous improvement. New tires, suspension upgrades, fresh paint jobs or a installing a brand new sound system. When people get "into" cars, they develop a bug that often evolves into a passion. Passionate people talk about their passions and car audio forums are a great for enthusiasts to chat and share with other like-minded individuals.

A screenshot form the 12Volt forum

Technical discussions, troubleshooting, photo galleries, expert guidance, new technologies and product feedback are some of the great subject areas that get lots of useful content into the open when people care post their opinions and get some great tips. Folks love to share the latest upgrades to their cars, which provide great ideas for others who are working on their own systems.

Many threads are very specific which allow users to get very detailed in their discussions. At Bassworx, we can learn a lot about our customers based on the action and topics from the high-traffic forums.

If you're into cars, get involved in some online forums and continue growing your knowledge about car audio systems while feeding your love for great sound! Don't be discouraged if you're new to the 12-volt world - this is a great way to learn. See a list of popular forums below.

Popular Car Audio Forums

Car Audio Forumz - www.caraudioforumz.com
Car Audio Forums - www.caraudio-forum.com/forum/
12 Volt -  www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_topics.asp~FID~2
Talk Audio - www.talkaudio.co.uk/ipb/
Sound Solutions http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/

The Matrix

Three years ago now, we introduced an industry first…The Matrix.  Being a leader and innovator in enclosure design and manufacturing, one would expect that Bassworx be the first to develop a tool to help match a subwoofer to an enclosure.  As we all know, just because something fits in a hole doesn't necessarily mean it belongs there.  And I’m not referring to the infamous ‘rabbit hole’!

Joe Saraceno shows the Bassworx 'MATRIX'
that matches subs to enclosures.

Why wouldn’t you drop a sub into just any box?  Well, it’s simply a relationship thing.  All subwoofers are engineered using the same criteria of parameters…also known as Thiele-Small, or TS for short.  When you mash up all those specifications, such as free-air resonance, mechanical and electrical Q, compliance, magnetic flux, etc…etc…etc…you end up with an ‘acoustic transducer’…a speaker…or in our world, a subwoofer.  That said subwoofer will operate within a certain volume to reach it’s safe and optimum performance.  The Matrix will identify what is the ‘perfect’ enclosure to achieve this, as well as rank other enclosures with ratings of ‘great, good, or not recommended’.  If life could just be that easy!

A short year later, we took the Matrix ‘off-online’, sort of speak.  We developed an ‘app’ for the ever-popular iPhone and iPod Touch.  No longer did you need the internet to access our extensive woofer database.  This allowed the Bassworx Matrix for iPhone to be much more accessible to those who need it.  Our dealers now had the opportunity to empower their sales associates with a tool that aids in professionally building subwoofer systems.  And consumers can be sure the sales person will sell them what they need.

The MATRIX for iPhone

The Matrix, as we like to think of it, is there to make the lives of bass-heads that much better.  A happy woofer makes a happy boomer!  You can find this awesome tool on our website, www.bassworx.com/matrix.  Or, find the ‘app’ on iTunes…it’s FREE!

- Bruno Gomes

Looking for other car audio blogs? Here's some we like!

Car Audio Blog

Online Car Stereo

Welcome

Forget everything you thought you knew about "BASS". After re-inventing the box in 2002, Bassworx has brought the meaning of the word "loud" to another dimension. We’ve proven that you don’t need a custom enclosure to get maximum bass. Subscribe to our blog for a plethora of audio information.