i know alot of people ask about ported vs. sealed but i was wondering if for a MTX 9500 would going through all the trouble of making a ported box be worth it..im going for spl and im asking if i made the box ported would the 3db rise in spl be really nocitable?
no, +3dB is equal to twice the power, but not twice the audible volume. +6 to +10dB is roughly equal to twice the audible volume. you will however see a big difference going to a ported box, which is what you really want to know, and yes it's worth the hassle to do it. I prefer ported boxes in cars for most typical applications, and for SPL, you're looking at +3 to +5dB gain if the box is tuned well and made with adequate volume, positioned right, powered well, etc..
it'll sound better with that sub too.. looking at it's QTS and EBP.
If you want this for daily use and music, avoid bandpass enclosures. While you can get a lot more gain from one, they are larger, and usually tuned too high to sound that good. They don't hit very deeply, just louder. The ported box will give a more musical response.
Efficiency Bandwidth Product (EBP) EBP = Fs / Qes 50 or less = best used in a sealed enclosure. 50 - 90 = flexible enclosure options. 90 or greater = best used in ported enclosure. -OR- Qts < 0.30 - ported Qts = 0.30 - 0.50, use ported or sealed. Qts > 0.50 sealed