Choosing an enclosure
If you're planning to build your own enclosure and are confused in what type of enclosure best suits your needs. This section of the website will help you choose what enclosure fits your needs. There are many different type of enclosures. The two most common used enclosures are sealed and vented enclosures. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the two different type of enclosures. Although their are more then just these two enclosures available, we only support the two enclosures stated.Advantages of a sealed enclosure
- High power handling capability
- Great transient response
- Tolerant of minor enclosure size variation
- Easy to construct
- Smooth roll-off (12dB/octave)
Disadvantages of a sealed enclosure
- Requires a woofer with a long excursion for better low bass frequency response.
- Can have lower sensitivity than a ported enclosure.
- While playing at high volume and the enclosure is small, the woofer is not in an ideal cooling environment
- Reduced low bass frequencices as compared to a properly tuned vented enclosure.
Advantages of a vented enclosure
- Increased output around vented tuning
- Higher power handling above the port tuning frequency
- Extended frequency response
- Magnet is in a good cooling environment
- Handles higher bass frequencies with less distortion
Disadvantages of a vented enclosure
- Vented enclosure transient response is not as good as a sealed box because of the resonant effect of the vent tuning.
- Midrange sound coming from inside the enclosure through the vent can produce unpleasant sound coloration.
- Loss of cone movement control below vent tuning, which can result in high distortion and mechanical failure of the driver.
- Lower power handling below the port tuning frequency.