by theprodigy79 » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:54 pm
Depends on what kind of sub you have... Certain subs are more oriented to sealed boxes, while others perform more naturally in ported enclosures... Most subs will do fine in both enclosure types, but for reference, what do you have?
As far as musical types listened to... It really depends on what you want to get out of the sub... A 10" sub will hit sufficiently with hip hop / rap, but it will not hit the lows that many Oakland artists or southern bump hit... 12"s are more of a compromise for hip hop, while still allowing enough accuracy to meet the needs of other music types such as rock, fast beat techno, etc...
Since you already have a 10, as I said, you should be fine with it... As for box types, the sealed box will give you a tighter roll off and expand your low frequencies... The ported enclosure (assuming you have one properly made to accomodate your specific sub) will hit louder within the tuned ported frequency range (and cause more resonance as well), however it will not hit the same lows or have as tight of a roll... Subs in ported enclosures tend to be able to thump quicker and harder, but this is not guaranteed...
For you, and the types of music you listen to (e-40 and the like have a lot of low roll rather than hard, fast beats), I'd recommend going with the smallest sealed enclosure your sub will allow... The less air space you have in your box, the louder and tighter your sub hits... You will lose some roll in return, however it's a compromise you gotta make (and it will still roll better than with a ported enclosure). You will also have a higher all around power handling with the sealed enclosure (meaning through all frequencies)...
Another perk of the sealed over the ported in our cars is the fact that they (as I previously mentioned) don't resonate as much... considering our cars are rattle boxes, this DRASTICALLY cuts down on musical interference and keeps it clean sounding.
Hope I've helped!
-James
'04 Solara SE Sport V6, all TRD + CP-e, gone but not forgotten... '09 G37S Sedan and '88 Supra Turbo project
. boom boom boom!
