Combining boxes

[LoFi2013]

Thankyou in advance for any thoughts on this.

My Question is about loss and or mud sound. I am currently planning a system for my truck and im stuck with a question i've been wondering for years. Can ported and sealed enclosures be mixed? I love the snap of sealed i have always ran 10's in a sealed box. but i've always been a little envious of the boom of vented enclosures and the increased bottom.

If i were to do 2 12" subs in a sealed box and 2 12's in a vented box or 1 15" in a vented box would they mud or kill certain freqencys and cause loss?

Also if this type of combo can work, which would you reccomend 2 12's vented or 1 15 vented to go with the sealed 12's?

Because i dont want to innihilate my budget, im looking at rockford p3d2-12's and 15's

[n8ball2013]

Dont mix sizes

[White Lightning]

I agree .... and I take it that you have an extended cab truck ???

[bbeljefe]

The problem isn't that the woofers will cancel one another out, the problem is that the ported drivers (whatever they are) will drown out the sealed ones. Here's why....

When you have a 36 Hz note, both are going to play that note. Let's assume the sealed drivers play it at 122 dB. Well, the ported driver(s) will play that same note at the same time but it will be 5-10 dB above the sealed, so they will be all that's heard.

The only way you can avoid that is to make the sealed box handle everything from, say, 120 Hz down to 60 and then let the ported box pull duty on everything below 60. Of course, you still have some overlap on crossovers and, there isn't a wide enough band of frequencies below 60 to worry about it unless you were trying to use a sub bass driver that's more than two feet in diameter.

Another thing to consider is.... do you even know what frequencies sound better to you sealed and which sound better from a ported box? You may prefer 30 Hz notes from a sealed box and 80 Hz from a ported.

I would recommend spending the money on two high powered, quality drivers and putting them in a well designed & built ported enclosure. You'll get tight bass from good speakers in a good box.

[LoFi2013]

Yes, dodge ram 1500 quadcab. When im done it will be a 2 seat

Ok so dont mix sizes, and im also going to guess that the same "different response curves" with 2 different sizes will also be the same for ported and vented at the same time.

This is a dilemma, its starting to look like 4 12's sealed is my only option.

[bbeljefe]

Another option is a fourth order bandpass box. The driver in a 4th order loads into a sealed chamber and fires into a ported chamber. They hit hard and tight. The only downside to them is their narrow passband.

[LoFi2013]

Thanks bbeljefe, good info there. I think you solved it for me.

[knockin'hoe97]

Another option is a fourth order bandpass box. The driver in a 4th order loads into a sealed chamber and fires into a ported chamber. They hit hard and tight. The only downside to them is their narrow passband.

I have never really messed with one but I was under the impression that if done correctly the 4th order could have a wider frequency response than a normal ported box

[jhmeg2]

build a box

[Stee-Z]

do a 4th than you will have....the best of both worlds