Help for new box

[Nixthebomb]

Okay So I'm getting an RE Audio SEX 15" soon, but want to have a box built for it, now I've always built my boxes, so my question is it says for box sizes 1.5-2.0 SEALED and 3.0-4.0 PORTED, now my question is what should I do ported or sealed? and how many cubes of each? I'm wanting a nice sound, but also want it to hit hard. I'm willing to sacrifice cargo area if need be. I'm in a sport so its smaller, I'll throw measurements up later

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Well it depends really on what you want and how you're going to power it, with RMS wattage more important. Also, are you wanting pure volume or quality when listening? If you're wanting to have it loud but have superb quality I'd definitely go with sealed, cause you can handle more RMS wattage usually. A well built ported enclosure will also sound good, but then you get into tuning and have to be careful when designing.

But my recommendation? I'd consult the specs and see what type of wattage it can handle in a ported enclosure and go that route. Just be sure to design the box right with a good tuning frequency, power it accordingly, and set your gains PROPERLY with an oscilloscope (only way to do it 100% correct) and you'll be set. For box volume, I'd look first at the amp you'll be using and what the owner's manual recommend for that type of RMS wattage.

 

[PandorasCustoms]

Everything Blacksheep Josh says is true.
What I have to say is just additive information.
I always suggest reading the Manufacturer's Tech Manual for the woofers before modifying specifications to suit you.

One thing to note, a woofer may say it has a specific RMS rating, but this rating is usually induced when the woofer is in the smallest sealed enclosure possible. The reason for this is because the minimal air inside of the enclosure limits the Voice Coil movement and allows more power to go through it without pushing it beyond Xmaxx. But, as you increase the enclosure size, the RMS ratings go WAY DOWN... So, keep this in mind.

There a few tricks to this.

Small Sealed = Mid to High SPL / Mid Grade Sound Quality
Large Sealed = Mid to Low SPL / Good Sound Quality

Ported boxes are a whole different beast, as you not only have to consider volume, but tuning frequency. With a Sealed enclosure, the volume of the internals set a Frequency of the enclosure, so that is why the size of the enclosure counts.
For ported you make it work for you. Some of the best SQ guys run ported enclosures, but they are fine tuned (28hz) and have pretty low SPL.

Also, another thing you want to consider is Transient Response. A ported enclosure generally has a slow response time around the tuning frequency, so if you listen to rack or some trance music, then I doubt ported will suit you. But, if you listen to hard hitting rap, than ported may be the way to go.

If you get an idea of what you are considering you want to go for, I can help you come up with some ideas/designs.
Currently, I run one L5 in a 3.5 cu' Ported Enclosure tuned to 35hz. I am only running 400 watts, and get more than what I need out of it.

 

[Boomsday]

Okay So I'm getting an RE Audio SEX 15" soon, but want to have a box built for it, now I've always built my boxes, so my question is it says for box sizes 1.5-2.0 SEALED and 3.0-4.0 PORTED, now my question is what should I do ported or sealed? and how many cubes of each? I'm wanting a nice sound, but also want it to hit hard. I'm willing to sacrifice cargo area if need be. I'm in a sport so its smaller, I'll throw measurements up later

A sx's t/s parameters call for a ported box

 

[jtbuck92]

Hit me up, I can do box designs for you. If the Boomsday above is the same Boomsday I just did a design for on ca.com, he can vouch for me.