mines far louder sealed forward than it was backwards. we were also able to get alot more out of it space wise. and the window up part is from cancellation, or at least thats what ive been told. but its kinda subjective. if you live in a place where its damn near 60+ year round i doubt youll have your window up enough to car, if you live in a place that has all 4 seasons and it shows then itll matter, but most basshead will still have their window down even during the winter lol