Frustrated with port noise on subwoofer, go sealed?

[superedge88]

I love the bass ouput of my SUB-12, but it's ideal spot is right next to one of the listening positions which makes port noise audible. I know that if I went with a sealed box this would obviously be fixed, but what internal volume would I need to achieve? Is this even an ideal option? Would it improve or inhibit frequency response on the low end?

[CECAA850]

Usually port noise is detected when the sub is driven too hard and the port velocity is so high that it's audible. How big is your room? How many openings? How loud do you listen?

[superedge88]

I have the gain level set at about 10 oclock, and the amplifier gain set at 0. I listen to my system as loud as +10 on my Denon. My room is huge, multiple openings, I don't even know how to calculate all of the air space.

I think that I am going to build the Table Tuba at this link http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/TT.html

Quite an impressive subwoofer!

[CECAA850]

It appears you're overdriving your sub. Time to think about a bigger or multiple subs. Horn loaded subs are generally not great at HT (other than maybe a Danley DTS-20).

[superedge88]

What are the downsides of a horn loaded subwoofer, looking at the reviews of this sub, frequency range, COST and ouput, it sounds great to me! With a modest 100 watts this sub can hit around 130 db!

[CECAA850]

Typical horn loaded sub issues are a limited (and peaky) frequency range and lack of extension. A horn has to be fairly large to dig deep. Don't be misled by specs. How is the 130 dB measured and at what frequency? In the port? My son has a sub in his van that will meter 148 dB at 34 Hz, but I wouldn't want it in my HT.

Bottom line is that you have a large room with multiple openings. In order to have decent output in your room, your going to have a lot of displacement and move a lot of air. A compact 10" horn loaded sub just isn't going to give you what you want IMHO. On the other hand, if it's cheap enough, go ahead and build it. You won't have much to loose and it will be a good exercise in subwoofer construction.