I've been looking for a good site/forum that will help me along in my audio setup. I think this might be the one. What I'm wondering is what kind of box would my Infinity Perfect 12.1 subs sound better in? ported on sealed? and which way should i have them facing? toward the front or back of the car? i'm only asking because i want to design a box that will be more than less a permanent installation. any help and experience with these subs will be greatly appreciated. oh and if anyone is a very creative person and would like to help me out email me or hit me up on aim JZW12. thanks
Replies (5)
cplkittle on 12/15/2003 19:02:53
It depends on what you want- more hard hitting bass or lower bass. A sealed box will give you more punch, while a ported will give you more low end. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I did alot of research on boxes and wrote some articles in the DIY section that may be of some help.
Jack030 on 12/15/2003 19:13:01
thanks a lot. i would like more truck space so i'm thinking about a sealed enclosure but i want it to look good maybe with some plexi glass. is this a good idea for a sealed enclosure? and what about having a partition in the box so each sub has their own section? I'm better with my hands and building this stuff than knowing what i'm doing. I'll check out some of your posts and such. thanks
Swez on 12/15/2003 19:14:41
Yes, the articles are very good info so allow us to toot a horn a bit too.. hehe
Ported will generally go lower and have a bit more boom. Sealed is smaller, have a flatter response curve and more punch depending on the box design used.
Good all purpose sub you have here and those who haved gone with Perfect 12's are pretty happy with a sub that can get loud, but remain accurate too. Depends on your goals...
As for aimimg your sub... try several ways if possible then make you call. In most sedans, hatchbacks and SUV's, facing to the rear bumper usually sounds very good.
If you go ported, make sure there is adeqauate air space between the port(s) and reflective surfaces. If the port is too close to a hard surface, blocks the sound and you'll lose the benefits of a well ported box.
Swez
cplkittle on 12/15/2003 19:17:22
I haven't seen many sealed enclosures with plexi, not to say it couldn't be done... If you were doing a sealed enclosure with two subs, I would recommend seperating their airspace.
If you wanted to build a box with plexi, this is what I would recommend...
Build a trapezoid shape box, not square out of MDF. maybe with the top being 6-8 inches, and the bottom 12-14 inches, giving you a slanted face on the box (use airspace recommended for the sub). Instead of using MDF on the front, use plexi, or better yet, I would use 1/2" lexan. It is a little more expensive, but less likely to scratch or crack around screw holes. Mount your speakers in the lexan (sold by most glass companies) you can cut the holes out with a jigsaw, or have them cut them out for you for an extra buck or two. If you cut them out, make sure to put something down to prevent the saw from scratching the lexan. This will give you a box with a see through front, so you will probably want to dress up the inside with some type of fabric (crushed velvet, felt, vinyl) or paint it. Just make sure with a plexi or lexan front that it seals well where it is attached to the box, and since it is clear, weather stripping would not be recommended. As for facing front or back, you will have to experiment a little and see what sound you like better. With a sealed box, it shouldn't make a lot of difference being in the trunk anyway. If you make it pretty, I would face it to the rear so that you could show it off unless you plan to ride around with the back seats down.
curtis73 on 12/16/2003 00:23:49
My personal preference is always sealed. Even in my high-school-induced boom phase in the late 80s, I preferred sealed. I'm not edumacated on the math like these guys are, but I know the basics. What I usually ended up doing was going sealed for the accuracy and tightness, but making sure the amp and sub selection was of enough beefiness that I could get some more SPL from it. I could go ported or bandpass with alot less money and the same SPL, but I'd rather spend more cash on better stuff sealed and keep the SPL, but also get killer medium volume SQ. In your Cav, I'd face them back. Its not very far from the back seat to your ear, so you'll probably get deeper frequencies by facing them back. In my Beretta it was shocking how little bass I got when I faced them forward. I think you'll find much better performance faced back.
Replies (5)
cplkittle on 12/15/2003 19:02:53
It depends on what you want- more hard hitting bass or lower bass. A sealed box will give you more punch, while a ported will give you more low end. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I did alot of research on boxes and wrote some articles in the DIY section that may be of some help.
Jack030 on 12/15/2003 19:13:01
thanks a lot. i would like more truck space so i'm thinking about a sealed enclosure but i want it to look good maybe with some plexi glass. is this a good idea for a sealed enclosure? and what about having a partition in the box so each sub has their own section? I'm better with my hands and building this stuff than knowing what i'm doing. I'll check out some of your posts and such. thanks
Swez on 12/15/2003 19:14:41
Yes, the articles are very good info so allow us to toot a horn a bit too.. hehe
Ported will generally go lower and have a bit more boom. Sealed is smaller, have a flatter response curve and more punch depending on the box design used.
Good all purpose sub you have here and those who haved gone with Perfect 12's are pretty happy with a sub that can get loud, but remain accurate too. Depends on your goals...
As for aimimg your sub... try several ways if possible then make you call. In most sedans, hatchbacks and SUV's, facing to the rear bumper usually sounds very good.
If you go ported, make sure there is adeqauate air space between the port(s) and reflective surfaces. If the port is too close to a hard surface, blocks the sound and you'll lose the benefits of a well ported box.
Swez
cplkittle on 12/15/2003 19:17:22
I haven't seen many sealed enclosures with plexi, not to say it couldn't be done... If you were doing a sealed enclosure with two subs, I would recommend seperating their airspace.
If you wanted to build a box with plexi, this is what I would recommend...
Build a trapezoid shape box, not square out of MDF. maybe with the top being 6-8 inches, and the bottom 12-14 inches, giving you a slanted face on the box (use airspace recommended for the sub). Instead of using MDF on the front, use plexi, or better yet, I would use 1/2" lexan. It is a little more expensive, but less likely to scratch or crack around screw holes. Mount your speakers in the lexan (sold by most glass companies) you can cut the holes out with a jigsaw, or have them cut them out for you for an extra buck or two. If you cut them out, make sure to put something down to prevent the saw from scratching the lexan. This will give you a box with a see through front, so you will probably want to dress up the inside with some type of fabric (crushed velvet, felt, vinyl) or paint it. Just make sure with a plexi or lexan front that it seals well where it is attached to the box, and since it is clear, weather stripping would not be recommended. As for facing front or back, you will have to experiment a little and see what sound you like better. With a sealed box, it shouldn't make a lot of difference being in the trunk anyway. If you make it pretty, I would face it to the rear so that you could show it off unless you plan to ride around with the back seats down.
curtis73 on 12/16/2003 00:23:49
My personal preference is always sealed. Even in my high-school-induced boom phase in the late 80s, I preferred sealed. I'm not edumacated on the math like these guys are, but I know the basics. What I usually ended up doing was going sealed for the accuracy and tightness, but making sure the amp and sub selection was of enough beefiness that I could get some more SPL from it. I could go ported or bandpass with alot less money and the same SPL, but I'd rather spend more cash on better stuff sealed and keep the SPL, but also get killer medium volume SQ. In your Cav, I'd face them back. Its not very far from the back seat to your ear, so you'll probably get deeper frequencies by facing them back. In my Beretta it was shocking how little bass I got when I faced them forward. I think you'll find much better performance faced back.
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