Home sterio, speakers

Question

iv made two units for my home sterio, what would be better for bass during movies and music, having a open unit with a hole or a closed unit?

i watch different types of movie, thats not important

but i lisen to lots of rock and metal music..

Answer 1

A ported enclosure and a sealed enclosure have different properties so it depends what is most important to you. A ported enclosure will be smaller for the same frequency response but due to the port the response is not as flat as a sealed enclosure. A sealed enclosure has a flatter response and the capability of reaching deeper than ported because there is not the steep drop off below the tuning of the port. But to reach deep with a sealed it needs to be big. If space is no limitation go with sealed every time. If box size is a concern a properly designed ported enclosure is the best way to go.

There are many programs available to help you design both ported and sealed enclosures, some of them free. Plus there is the ease of building a sealed enclosure compared with a ported one.

The bottom line is it depends which factors are important to you as to which one you will pick. One thing I can say is that a home built sub will outperform a store bought one by a large margin and cost much less doing it.

Due to the cost of shipping, manufactured subs are all on the small side so the vast majority are ported. With no limitations sealed is the better way to go. But we don't all have unlimited room for our speakers. This is a decision you have to make for yourself. There are pros and cons for both enclosure types. I'd suggest you visit some good AV forums and check out the DIY sections. I've listed two of my favorites below, Home Theater Shack and the AVS forum.