Kain Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 What are the different characteristics of sealed and ported subwoofers? Is one better than the other? I also learned that ported subwoofers sometimes create port noise. What does port noise sound like and is it a problem with the SVS PB13-Ultra? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWL Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I've found that sealed sounds better for movies......cleaner. Ported....better for music. Not as clean as sealed but for some reason seems to work better for music. Of course this is just my opinion.....based on my equipment in my listening rooms. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 I have also heard similar things about sealed subwoofers. They sound better but don't dig as low as ported subwoofers. I am basically comparing (disregarding price) the SVS PB13-Ultra and the JL Audio Fathom f113. I heard the f113 has better sound quality, is faster (doesn't overhang), and is actually more musical. The PB13-Ultra has more output down low thus making it better for movies while having similar sound quality to the f113. What is your take on the PB13-Ultra vs. the f113? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Warren Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Sealed are 2nd order hi-pass and vented are 4th order hi-pass. In a perfect world, a 2nd order hi-pass has better transient behavior than a 4th order (but the world is not perfect). Assuming the enclosure volume and efficiency are the same, the ducted system will have a wider bandwith which would provide lower in-band distortion relative to the sealed unit, a consequence of ducted systems using drivers with high BL-products. Another advantage of a vented system is that (assuming port noise is negligible) distortion at the tuning frequency of the ducted system is extremely low since excursion of the cone is at a minimum at the tuning frequency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzorn Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I have the RW12D, which is a ported subwoofer, and I'm almost tempted to buy an Icon XW-500d sealed subwoofer to put in the back of my room as well. I think sealed subwoofers sound better, but it all depends on what you're listening to. I wonder if there's any problem mixing a ported/sealed sub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 You might want to send an email to TheEAR Member since: Fri, Mar 10 2000 Last visited: Tue, Jan 27 2009 Timezone: -5.00 GMT Location: Montreal,CANADA Interests: Audio Total Posts: 10,054 Post Rank: 1 Options Remove TheEAR from my friend listAdd TheEAR as a friend... Send TheEAR a private message Send TheEAR an email Search for posts by TheEAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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