Types of Subwoofer Enclosures
There are two fundamental types of subwoofer enclosures: ported and non-ported. Which style is best depends on the application, speaker size, audio source and intended effect. Even with such factors considered, experts may debate whether a ported subwoofer is significantly different than a non-ported box.
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Non-Ported (Sealed) Subwoofer Enclosures
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A non-ported, or "sealed", subwoofer enclosure is essentially just a box. A standard, no-frills, sealed subwoofer box will be roughly cubic in proportion, with a large circular hole on the face in which the subwoofer speaker is mounted. This inconspicuous, compact design can be installed or hidden almost anywhere in a car or home entertainment center, because a subwoofer is considered a non-directional speaker and does not need to face a certain direction or be centered in an installation.
Sealed subwoofer enclosures are generally used with single, large-diameter subwoofers. They provide excellent response for extremely deep bass tones. However, they may not be as loud overall as other enclosure types.
Ported Subwoofer Enclosures
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More complex than the non-ported design, a ported subwoofer enclosure doesn't look like a simple box... it looks like a box with a hole in it. A ported subwoofer box is usually more rectangular in shape, to accommodate the porting. The port is more of a pipeline than a simple hole, and the length and thickness of the pipe all play an important role in whether or not a ported box will be effective. The acoustic science involved in successful bass porting leads many DIY subwoofer-box builders to stick to non-ported designs.
Ported subwoofer enclosures, though more complex to build, are often more popular than sealed boxes because they tend to push impressive, consistent volumes across the full low and low-middle segments of the audio spectrum. This makes them popular in home theatre setups and live sound reinforcement applications. A port allows the subwoofer to move more air, making the subwoofer louder (or at least creating the perception of additional loudness to the human ear.)
Ported enclosures make the placement of the subwoofer more restrictive, not only because they tend to be larger or more cumbersome in design, but because the sound quality will suffer if you place the subwoofer with the port against a wall or object. Air must be able to move freely through the port.
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Bandpass Subwoofer Enclosures
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A bandpass subwoofer enclosure is a variation of a ported enclosure and also a variation of a sealed enclosure. A bandpass subwoofer box is a complex design intended to give the listener the best of both worlds. The subwoofers are completely sealed under a wall made of plexiglass or other material, and then the main box is ported. The idea is to create the low-end response of a sealed box design with the voluminous output offered by a ported enclosure.
Which Type of Subwoofer Enclosure is Best for Car Audio?
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To provide enough volume to overcome background noise, many car audio enthusiasts choose ported subwoofer enclosures. Others (especially those who travel primarily at low speeds or in quieter cars) opt for the clarity of a sealed box. Sealed boxes are also often used by those who run only a single subwoofer and by those who value the fidelity of the low-end tones more than the overall volume.
A bandpass subwoofer enclosure is seen as ideal if you have enough space in your vehicle to install one, but it may be cost-prohibitive.
Which Type of Subwoofer Enclosure is Easiest to Build?
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A sealed box is the easiest subwoofer enclosure to build for do-it-yourselfers. However, the craftsman must take care to make it a truly sealed box. An effective sealed box design is not simply a matter of making a box-like structure with a hole to mount a speaker. Unintentional "ports" (cracks or gaps in the subwoofer enclosure's construction) will compromise the subwoofer's overall sound quality.
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