Originally posted by Mish
It all has to deal with the transfer function of the car. Most cars are set up so that the subs work best facing the rear. My 5th gen is like that. If I fire the subs forward, the roll off of the subs is very high and I don't get much deep bass. The bass is tight and accurate, but there isn't much sub bass at all. Firing the subs backward (toward the trunk) gives a better low end frequency response to the subs and also gives more volume. The bass isn't as tight per say, but still sounds good.
To find out for sure about your car, the only way to do it is to try it.
Mish
Thanks Mish!
Thats what I thought and have been told; that facing boxes backwards with the subs firing toward the trunk actually allows, in theory, a "bass wave" to develop and then roll back into the passenger cabin of the vehicle, in essence "coupling" the bass; I never understood how this could apply to a vehicle like a sedan or coupe with a fixed, closed trunk---I always wondered where the bass could actually go in a closed trunk such as that. I would figure that vehicles such as SUVs and hatchbacks would benefit most from subwoofer systems because the rear is all open---the bass could just flow right into the passenger cabin.
Are these thoughts valid? What are your opinions on closed-trunked coupes and sedans vs. SUVs and hatches with regard to sub boxes and the way the bass carries and hits?