do boxes really make a big difference?...
 

I just hooked up my orion xtr pro 12" with a kenwood kac-929 amp but with a pretty small box...dunno what size. Its not as loud as i thought it would be; i was wonderin if the box would make a large difference in the sound? and is there anything else i can do to make the sound more deep and clean? thx

absolutly the box has everything to do with it. a larger box will give you deeper bass but if you get a ported box designed for that sub and port it correctly it will potentially have 3-6 db more than you have now and will also go significantly lower. 3-6 db would be equivelent to running 2 to 4 times as much power as you are runnng now.

if you want a correctly aligned box designed to fit your car check out my website in the link in my sig. i have a page that allows you to design the box you want, add features, make comments about how you want it and we will build it for you.

Re: do boxes really make a big difference?...
 

a box doesn't just make "a" difference, they make "thee" difference. you have to make sure to get a box that is withing about a 1/4 ft within the specs provided my the manufacturer. So if you sub is meant to be in a 1.75 cu ft. ported enclosure, going with a 2.0 cu ft. wouldn't hurt it too bad, but going with a 2.75 cu ft. enclosure would sound like :booty: Find out what the specs for the sub are and make sure you get a box that is compatible so your sub will sound like it should

Oh yes, the box is everything. I have always made my box to the specs given by the sub manufacturer and never been disappointed. Some points:

- Always use at least 3/4" MDF or thicker for a box.
- Never buy prefab. They are made with cheap ass particleboard and are never properly designed.
- Only mess with a box outside of the manufacturer's specs if you really know what you're doing. Even a 0.5 cubic foot variance can make a huge difference.

Bass Mechanic: A ported box will not go lower than a sealed box, quite the opposite. A ported box cannot go lower than the tuning frequency of the port you put into the box as you lose cone control below that frequency and can blow your sub. That's why many D-class amps come with a switchable subsonic filter now. Sealed boxes go way lower than a ported box, but a car's resonant frequency is generally around 40 to 45 Hz so for SPL it's a moot point. Most SQ setups use sealed boxes as you have a smoother response curve and can go a lot lower, which really helps in RTA.

-Diabolik

what about a box that is too small?

Where can i get a sealed or ported box specifically made for my orion xtr pro 12? can i buy it at like good guys or should i order it?

q logic makes any size of sub box. check them out

ummm NO! your compleatly wrong about that statement.
a ported box goes considerably lower than a sealed box and has far less cone travel than a sealed box. also has less distortion because of less cone movement and has more SPL than a sealed box because of the added area of the port.
http://64.33.27.187/bmimages/tempweb/jlcomp.jpg
here is a responce graph that has a JL audio sub as an example. notice that the sealed box has an F3 of 50 hz while the ported box has an F3 of 34hz if my math is correct i belive the ported box has considerably lower frequency responce than the sealed box. it also has a gain of 3db over the sealed box over about 75% of the usable frequencies.
if i showed you an incar responce (and i can) of this example you would find that the ported box maintains the SPL at 35 hz with a 5-6db gain over the sealed box.
also the point of porting a box is not to tune it to some off the wall frequency. you pick a frequency that compliments the woofer and the box. as you can see in this example the tuning frequency is at 29.31hz but it still has more output and less cone travel than the sealed box until it comes to about 22 hz. this is where a subsonic filter is used to prevent the cone from getting excessive travel. also notice that the cone travel does not even reach the xmax limit until 20 hz. there is still mechanical limit available below 20hz.
unless you plan to listen to elephant calls in the sub 20hz zone there is really no need for a subsonic filter in this example. most all music does not contain program material that falls below 20 hz. a subsonic filter is good added protection but not a requirement if you design the box correctly.

just a little FYI.. i have been building boxes for over 15 years. and have recently designed a subwoofer box that has broken all the rules for what typically you expect from different types of boxes.
usually a sealed box is the tight accurate box design, ported are known for extended LOW frequency responce and bandpass boxes are known for good SPL but not so good of SQ.
my computer designed subwoofers and computer designed bandpass boxes have combined all 3 aspects into one box. the box happens to be a bandpass but if you ask anyone that has heard it they will all tell you the same thing.. it is simply awesome!
i belive there is are 2 members on this board that will attest to that fact.
thanks for your time.
Kevin

I for one will atest to this. If you want you can read my review here https://www.honda-acura.net/forums/s...threadid=20550 about Bass' boxes. They are simply great and he sure as hell knows what he is talking about.

if its too small, it'll sound like :booty: