Plugging speaker ports:pros & cons

[Bevan]

just finished a marathon session of equalizing my sub with a bfd parametric equalizer, only to find i left in the foam plugs in the back of my dynaudio standmounts. last night was the first time i've ever put them in and i forgot to take them out

but my system sounds very good now with the plugs in, and when i run a frequancy sweep with the plugs out, the response is not as flat. strangely there is less bass, more dips than before must be that the dynaudios were cancelling out the bass from the sub in some regions?

so i'm concidering leaving them in. but i'm wondering if anyone else has any theories or anecdotal evidence for or against leaving the plugs in on rear ported speakers that are NOT LESS THAN 3' FROM THE BACK WALL and are CROSSED OVER AT 80HZ(dont mean to shout, its just that i know of the typically suggested reason for using ports, too much base when the speaker is too close to the wall)

so, plugs in or out for freestanding highpassed bookshelf speakers?

cheers

b.

 

[j_garcia]

Pro - tightens up the sound. Con - reduces the extension and output a bit. If it sounds better to you with them in, I'd leave them in. It's not too much bass that's the problem, it's when they get boomy due to the port's proximity to the wall. My 902s are rear ported and sit just a few inches from the wall, angled in, so the ports are at an angle to the wall. In the sweet spot, near the center of my bed, they have nice full bass (full range), but in the opposite corner from the speakers, the bass is quite boomy.