Sealed for music, ported for TV???

[josko]

I keep hearing that sealed subwoofers, such as SVS SB, JL 113 and Velodine DD are 'better' for music, while ported variants are somehow more suited to movie and TV porograms. Can anyone comment on reasoning behind such a statement, or is this more audiophile hype? Thanks in advance.

 

[caper26]

I am not one to tell someone to "just google" it, but that's what you should do: use search terms "ported vs sealed" and open the first few returns. In general, ported will decrease in frequency response output quickly below the tuning frequency, where sealed is usually 'flatter' in the lower end. Ported will usually have higher SPL than a sealed (keeping things comparable of course), while a sealed is generally a smaller box.

 

[Steve81]

I keep hearing that sealed subwoofers, such as SVS SB, JL 113 and Velodine DD are 'better' for music, while ported variants are somehow more suited to movie and TV porograms. Can anyone comment on reasoning behind such a statement, or is this more audiophile hype? Thanks in advance.

There are some elements of hype and some elements of truth, although I think it fair to say that a well designed ported subwoofer can be fantastic for music and a meaty sealed subwoofer can be great for movies.

For the "stereotypical" differences, I'd refer to the SVS PB13U in sealed and ported modes.

Sealed:
Data-Bass

20Hz Tune:
Data-Bass

You'll see big differences in output capabilities and distortion, particularly around the tuning point of the ported mode, and you'll also see the difference in the waterfall graph which shows performance in the time domain.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I've visited Josh's site many time, but somehow only today I compared PB13U 20h graph vs other subs Josh measured - it's truly an eye opener...

I didn't go thru the whole list, but one which really sparked my curiosity was Chase VS18.1 - it's running almost neck to neck with PB13U $890 delivered plus iNuke 3000DSP amp (400) = $1290 with biggest issue the latter's box is much bigger

 

[Steve81]

Not to discount the (quite powerful) output capabilities, but I'm most impressed with the Chase sub's waterfall. That's superb performance for a vented sub.

Still, it looks like a sub for a man who dreams of being a bachelor for life

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Not to discount the (quite powerful) output capabilities, but I'm most impressed with the Chase sub's waterfall. That's superb performance for a vented sub.

Still, it looks like a sub for a man who dreams of being a bachelor for life

 

[Sylar]

this looks monstrous

 

[Steve81]

Those are the kinds of setups I show my wife to demonstrate my (relative) sanity.