Orion HCCA 15 ported vs 4th order

[Kyle Eskelson]

I have a 98 blazer and I am wanting to build a new enclosure for a HCCA 15. I am wanting to do a 4th order but I am having trouble finding any type of info on someone who has actually put them in a 4th everyone seems to be using ported enclosures. If you have had HCCA's in a 4th please provide some input on how you liked it. please provide the good and bad. I would really like to hear from someone who has had them in both type of enclosures and which enclosure they liked more. I have enough room for either style of box so please don't ask what size i have, I will build the box so it will fit and can go up to about 20^3 ft . I already have more than enough power and electrical I am just wanting someone with personal experience.

Thanks

[Patrick Bateman]

I generally prefer bandpass over ported because bandpass boxes lower harmonic distortion. YMMV, a lot of people like the sound of harmonic distortion.

I generally prefer tapped horns over ported boxes, because tapped horns are basically just ported boxes with a really REALLY efficient port.

No doubt, ported is easier than bandpass or tapped horn.

In a nutshell : do you want maximum output and you don't care about size? Build a front loaded horn.
do you want a lot of output but you can't build a ridiculously huge box? Build a tapped horn.
do you want a lot of output but you don't want to deal with the hassle of designing and constructing a horn? Build a ported box.
do you want the output of a ported box, but with reduced harmonic distortion, and a design that's a bit more difficult? Build a bandpass.
do you want the smallest box possible? Build a sealed box.