i recently heard that some subs sound better in sealed boxes but i wasnt sure if that was true. i was told alpine type-r's and kicker L7s both produced deep clean bass in sealed boxes. is this true? if so, what other subs sound good in sealed boxes?
If you want sound quality go with sealed if you want spl (sound pressure level) more bass,then go with ported/vented.You gain about 3db in a ported/sealed box.Just make sure that it is built to the subs specs.
Any sub will have better sq in a sealed box. Some sub's however have better sq than other's, like the Kicker Solobaric's aren't known for there sq. The Type R's on the other hand, have good sq.
"Any sub will have better sq in a sealed box." Not necessarily true. The suspension Q of a subwoofer is what determines what enclosure a sub will work best in. Subs such as those from Eclipse, Digital Designs, etc are optimized for ported enclosures, and sound excellent if the box is tuned for it. The majority of high end home audio speakers and subwoofers use ported boxes, ported boxes actually offer lower distortion than a sealed box due to it's higher mechanical power handling, plus a lower downpoint, allowing the subwoofer to play flat to a lower frequency. The problem in a car is that the cabin gain causes a ported box to have a larger hump in the frequency response. The only thing that a sealed box excels in is group delay and transient response, but a ported box controls the subwoofer cone better and can produce just as good or better results SQ wise if done properly. Lower bass is more authoritative in a ported box, down to the tuned frequency and a little below. There are certain points that you just can't hear any difference in group delay and transient response, ALL your speakers are out of phase to a small degree, regardless of enclosure. The tweeter, midrange or midbass, and subwoofer all respond differently. The ultimate SQ "enclosure" for a car is the Aperiodic membrane IMO. It has the transient response of a large sealed box, but it mechanically dampens the subwoofer at resonance, making a totally flat frequency response, and meanwhile creates a critically damped system, meaning it has total optimal control over the driver, when the signal stops, the sub stops with minimal overthrow. The membrane also lowers 2nd and 3rd order harmonics when installed over the front of the cone. The only downfall is that it is less efficient than sealed and requires more power. Ryan, consult the manufacturer to see what will work best, or get a program like WinISD to see what box produces better results.
Some how I knew you were going to say that.:-) I was just speaking sub's in general. Over all, most sub's have better sq in sealed inclosures, I think?:-)