Every car is different, you would have to try it unless you find someone who did. I move the box around in every car I put one in, but since they are daily drivers I am not going to build/try different box configurations. Most often it is subs to rear and ports up or rear because the box was made that way.
One car I had was a hatchback and worked the best I have seen a box I did. It had a pocket in back corner behind the wheel well. Box filled the floor and had a 10 on each side firing into that pocket. Then had a big port on top right in the middle...box was kind of flat and square just tall enough for a 10. Of course it was 4cf for two 10s also so it goet down there. I've never noticed a problem with the port canceling out the sub, usually the sub stops doing that much when the port kicks in. What matters the most is what bass you have in the listening postion; subs will often sound different at different places in the car or trunk.
One car I had was a hatchback and worked the best I have seen a box I did. It had a pocket in back corner behind the wheel well. Box filled the floor and had a 10 on each side firing into that pocket. Then had a big port on top right in the middle...box was kind of flat and square just tall enough for a 10. Of course it was 4cf for two 10s also so it goet down there. I've never noticed a problem with the port canceling out the sub, usually the sub stops doing that much when the port kicks in. What matters the most is what bass you have in the listening postion; subs will often sound different at different places in the car or trunk.
This is what he said after I asked him to see if he can change the port location:
Hi,
I can change the design and have the port in the center, no problem at all. It will give you two chambers with a net yield of 1.771^3ft each firing into a single center port. This is the beauty of custom work, I can build your project to suit your needs.
Talk to you soon, JD
And after I suggested the ports on the front on each side:
Good Morning
Changing the design to the one you sent me the picture of will even out the flow for you. You seem to be looking for good, tight, deep bass throughout the vol. level, and allowing each sub to work from its own chamber will do this for you. The bass will keep a very good "Sound Quality" about it, yet still hit hard and loud when you want it to. The dual 1.5" ports will also increase your output a db or two. Keeping the tuning at 32Hz will also help the enclosure couple with the car and give you smooth response.
Talk to you soon, JD
So. I guess I'll let him do what's best....I've just seen so many middle ported boxes that I wanted something with a different look but if one of the others would work the best then I will just have to roll with it...
Hi,
I can change the design and have the port in the center, no problem at all. It will give you two chambers with a net yield of 1.771^3ft each firing into a single center port. This is the beauty of custom work, I can build your project to suit your needs.
Talk to you soon, JD
And after I suggested the ports on the front on each side:
Good Morning
Changing the design to the one you sent me the picture of will even out the flow for you. You seem to be looking for good, tight, deep bass throughout the vol. level, and allowing each sub to work from its own chamber will do this for you. The bass will keep a very good "Sound Quality" about it, yet still hit hard and loud when you want it to. The dual 1.5" ports will also increase your output a db or two. Keeping the tuning at 32Hz will also help the enclosure couple with the car and give you smooth response.
Talk to you soon, JD
So. I guess I'll let him do what's best....I've just seen so many middle ported boxes that I wanted something with a different look but if one of the others would work the best then I will just have to roll with it...
I'm not a professional sub box maker but IMO I just like one big port over two smaller ones if possible. I like to keep it all mono and one enclosure not divided....but that's just me. When you separate anything if it plays different you lose bass and it seems the best way to me is to keep them together. I always test and make sure visually best I can the subs are playing/moving the same to catch any driver difference. Maybe someone else can add more detail to differences you are looking at. I like to use least power I can for subs, so maximizing output/efficiency is what I always look at long as it can be tuned the way I want, which is hitting 30Hz and up and maybe below like my IB can now. I even try to keep subs on same plane and close together if I can...that tends to save room anyway.
Just a update...Talked with him last week and I made the decision to go with just the 1 open chamber for both subs and the 1 port on one side of the enclosure so that it could give me a extra 2db. It will still be tuned to 32hz and I got him to increase the width of the enclosure a little bit and take off some of the depth as I didn't want it to take up too much trink space, I think I got him to shorten it by 3". Anyways, sent him the money and he is building it this week for me and should be able to ship it by next week.
Meanwhile, I found sort of a spot on the tone charts that I'm satisified with the bass response for now and that was a tone of 25hz that I used to set my gain on my amp with. It's very low and sounds quite nice with the rock music. Some songs better than others of course but that's what you run into. The only thing I've done now is adjusted my low pass frequency up a little bit from 60hz to see if I can let in some of the higher frequencies and see if that might help out with a little bit more bass response. Other than that, I asked the guy's advice on a good hz tone and what might be a good one for the tuned 32hz enclosure (Being as the port is tuned at 32hz) and he said:
Good Morning
I would wait till the new enclosure get to you, (should be ready to go very soon), and once you have it loaded, they i would start working it. i would start with the gain at around 30Hz, and work my way through to app. 45/48Hz. Run through it a couple times until you find the tone that best suits you. THEN
, put a different song in and listen to how it hits, if it sounds good, you found your sweet spot. Even though the enclosure is tuned at 32Hz, you may find that it hits perfect for your style music at 41Hz.
Talk to you soon, JD
He really seems to know what he is talking about so I'm pretty much good to go until I get the ported box and can see how that sounds in my car then. Will keep you posted....
Meanwhile, I found sort of a spot on the tone charts that I'm satisified with the bass response for now and that was a tone of 25hz that I used to set my gain on my amp with. It's very low and sounds quite nice with the rock music. Some songs better than others of course but that's what you run into. The only thing I've done now is adjusted my low pass frequency up a little bit from 60hz to see if I can let in some of the higher frequencies and see if that might help out with a little bit more bass response. Other than that, I asked the guy's advice on a good hz tone and what might be a good one for the tuned 32hz enclosure (Being as the port is tuned at 32hz) and he said:
Good Morning
I would wait till the new enclosure get to you, (should be ready to go very soon), and once you have it loaded, they i would start working it. i would start with the gain at around 30Hz, and work my way through to app. 45/48Hz. Run through it a couple times until you find the tone that best suits you. THEN
, put a different song in and listen to how it hits, if it sounds good, you found your sweet spot. Even though the enclosure is tuned at 32Hz, you may find that it hits perfect for your style music at 41Hz.Talk to you soon, JD
He really seems to know what he is talking about so I'm pretty much good to go until I get the ported box and can see how that sounds in my car then.
Will keep you posted....Also depends on what tune means, your port frequency is often -3db and so you will not hear much under that. You still have cabin gain and all that, but that is typically the lowest frequency the box will actually make, and you should set the subsonic under that someplace if you run a lot of power. But yeah, it will depend on the car a lot and how you place the box, so you kind of have to try it out.
Update
The enclosure was delivered yesterday and it looks great!!! JD, the builder, did a great job on it. It's made out of 3/4" MDF-UL. Not regular MDF, still MDF but it's a new brand. UL stands for Ultra Light. Still has the toughness of MDF wood but it's just made out of a lighter material. The box only weighs 47lbs and he can easily save on shipping cost cause the wood is so light in nature (He makes all his enclosures with it). Anyways, it looks great and I will put it in on Sunday cause that's when I can get a chance to do it.
Quick question guys...The ported enclosure has 1 port and it's designed to be on the right side of the box. Do you think it will hurt the performance of the box if I flip it over and have the port on the left side? I'm thinking that might give me more bass feel on my side of the car, the drivers side...?? NO? I wouldn't think it would make any difference as it's open chambered inside but I just want to make sure....
The enclosure was delivered yesterday and it looks great!!!
JD, the builder, did a great job on it. It's made out of 3/4" MDF-UL. Not regular MDF, still MDF but it's a new brand. UL stands for Ultra Light. Still has the toughness of MDF wood but it's just made out of a lighter material. The box only weighs 47lbs and he can easily save on shipping cost cause the wood is so light in nature (He makes all his enclosures with it). Anyways, it looks great and I will put it in on Sunday cause that's when I can get a chance to do it. Quick question guys...The ported enclosure has 1 port and it's designed to be on the right side of the box. Do you think it will hurt the performance of the box if I flip it over and have the port on the left side? I'm thinking that might give me more bass feel on my side of the car, the drivers side...?? NO? I wouldn't think it would make any difference as it's open chambered inside but I just want to make sure....
it should not make a huge difference what side the port is on. the bass should be invisible in a way that you can't identify where it is coming from when tuned properly. if your front speakers are up to the challenge they should blend in seamlessly with the subs and give you a feeling that the bass is actualy coming from in front of you. the trick is not to set the x-over on the subs above 80hz or so, lower is better if your fronts can go that low to match up with the subs.
it may actualy be better to have the port on the right to get that seamless ever-present bass effect. Good Luck!!
it may actualy be better to have the port on the right to get that seamless ever-present bass effect.
Good Luck!!Put the enclosure in on Sunday and it defiantly improves the sound but I'm looking for a little more punch. I know it sounds better on some songs compared to others but I still want it a bit more cleaner and harder hitting and I need more power for that, not different subs as I can adjust the gain to a lower level or adjust the bass boost on a higher wattage amp lower, or adjust the frequency and it will sound cleaner and louder. So, I've decided to look at another amp...Might be able to get one today. Looking at a Alpine MRP-M650. That should give me the power I want and need. I called Crutchfield yesterday and asked them why their wattage ratings on the subs I have say 50-300rms while JL says in their manual and on their site 150rms per sub and they indicate not to go no more than 200w on the thermal range. Crutchfield said that JL came back to them a couple weeks later and told them they seriously underrated their subs and they can handle up to 300rms per sub and that they haven't updated their site or manuals to reflect this. Good news for me as it looks like I was underpowering them a little then. So I decided to go this route instead of trying different subs as I don't think that's going to give me that punch and there is nothing wrong with the subs I have now. I think it will be a perfect combination with that amp and these subs. It won't draw more power from what I can gather. I'm running a A/B class amp that is rated 430w for 2ohms at 14.4v and requires a 60amp fuse and nothing has happened to my electrical system or anything wrong. The Alpine is a Class D, meaning it will run more efficiently and draw less current than the one I have now and give me 170w more power (I will set it for 550w which is 275 to each sub and +68w per sub in power)...Plus, it has 2 30a fuses for a total of 60a which is the same fuse rating as the one I have now. From what I saw on Perry's wire site, it will be drawing 8amps less current. Like I said, if I had no issues with running a A/B amp like I have for the past 2 months, this should be no problem as well. I will give it a go and if my headlights dim, then I can either get a bigger cap or I will just resell the Alpine and put my other amp back in and just be content with that. It's worth a shot and if everything is fine, I will resell my amp I have now and get some money back from it. Will keep you posted.
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