Sealed vs Ported Sub Boxes

When you are looking for a sub box, you may be confused with the differences between a ported sub box and the other types available. A sealed sub box will work best for certain systems, and ported sub boxes for others. Here is a quick overview of the main differences between these two.

Sealed Sub Box

This is the most common, and versatile type of sub box is the enclosed and sealed sub box. This enclosure style is ideal for an application anywhere that space might become an issue. During some cases, a recommendation for a subwoofer box will be half of the ported recommendation would be. These have more of an advantage over the ported, and band pass enclosures because of the overall sound clarity that you would get with these.

Using a sealed subwoofer box gives you a tight, accurate, and clean bass response, and there is also a flat frequency response curve for the music that you listen too. This box is usually recommended for some listeners looking for sound quality that can be heard clean, and across the entire frequency band. These subwoofer boxes are best suited for someone who would like to conserve space within their vehicles or wherever they are putting the boxes.

Ported Sub Box

Another name for a ported sub box is a vented sub box; this means that the enclosure box has a hole in it to let the air within it escape. Usually this is for louder types of music, it is twice the size of an enclosed box, and the air chambers within the enclosed box are much larger. These are tuned to use a certain frequency range that can be determined by the port length, width, and diameter of the enclosed box. This can be made in several configurations using a rounded, or slot that is usually narrower and taller than normal ones. Each one of the subwoofers has a specific frequency that is designated to run at its maximum output. The user is also able to modify the frequency waves by using the ports on the sub box.

This box usually puts out a lot of sound, but eliminates the quality of the sound by doing so. Depending on the amount of Hz the subwoofer is set at; you are able to adjust the box to give maximum output without having to sacrifice the quality depending on the bass levels as well. If you run the box at around 33Hz, you will have more of the quality that you are looking for without the loudness that you could get by running it at a higher interval. These boxes are also able to be made by the user giving them more of a chance to customize it to their liking. This can be an advantage over the sealed box, but not much to do with the size that they are since they cannot fit in smaller places.