Car Audio Speaker Boxes Article
When deciding on the right car audio speaker boxes to house the subwoofer of your mobile audio system, there are two enclosure types best suited for the majority of automobile subwoofer applications: the sealed box and the ported box.
Sealed car audio speaker boxes, also known as Acoustic Suspension enclosures, are airtight containers that separate the front sound waves that come out of the cone from the rear ones. This maximizes bass output by isolating the sound waves so they don't cancel each other out. Sound pressure is trapped in the box and restricts cone movement. These car audio speaker boxes provide excellent damping and reasonable power-handling. A sealed box provides clean and accurate bass with good low-end extension.
Ported car audio speaker boxes have a specially tuned vent/port that allows air to flow in and around the area behind a subwoofer so the rear sound wave interacts with the front sound wave. Ported boxes usually give better reproduction of low bass than sealed boxes. By allowing the air to move inside the box-and thereby changing its resonant characteristics-the port reinforces low-frequency response, increasing the efficiency of the subwoofer. Ported car audio speaker boxes provide added low bass output, bringing out the deepest end sounds and giving more output no matter what amplifier wattage.
You do need to calculate how much space you have in your vehicle when determining what type of car audio speaker box to get. Typically, ported car audio speaker boxes are larger enclosures than sealed boxes. Be sure to consult your subwoofer manufacturer in order to determine the recommended box size. As a general rule of thumb, for optimal performance, a single 10-inch subwoofer requires a ported box with 1 to 1.5 cubic feet of internal volume; a 12-inch subwoofer requires 2 to 3 cubic feet.
SuperCrewSound provides a full array of car audio speaker boxes, both sealed and ported.
Sealed car audio speaker boxes, also known as Acoustic Suspension enclosures, are airtight containers that separate the front sound waves that come out of the cone from the rear ones. This maximizes bass output by isolating the sound waves so they don't cancel each other out. Sound pressure is trapped in the box and restricts cone movement. These car audio speaker boxes provide excellent damping and reasonable power-handling. A sealed box provides clean and accurate bass with good low-end extension.
Ported car audio speaker boxes have a specially tuned vent/port that allows air to flow in and around the area behind a subwoofer so the rear sound wave interacts with the front sound wave. Ported boxes usually give better reproduction of low bass than sealed boxes. By allowing the air to move inside the box-and thereby changing its resonant characteristics-the port reinforces low-frequency response, increasing the efficiency of the subwoofer. Ported car audio speaker boxes provide added low bass output, bringing out the deepest end sounds and giving more output no matter what amplifier wattage.
You do need to calculate how much space you have in your vehicle when determining what type of car audio speaker box to get. Typically, ported car audio speaker boxes are larger enclosures than sealed boxes. Be sure to consult your subwoofer manufacturer in order to determine the recommended box size. As a general rule of thumb, for optimal performance, a single 10-inch subwoofer requires a ported box with 1 to 1.5 cubic feet of internal volume; a 12-inch subwoofer requires 2 to 3 cubic feet.
SuperCrewSound provides a full array of car audio speaker boxes, both sealed and ported.