Thinkin new sub... DD-15, Servo-15, or F113

[WmAx]

Depending on how much I like the Sealed Sub sound character, I might have to change my design for my subwoofer build strategy for the big room...

Sealed has no specific audible character except for the frequency response cut off. You can effect a properly designed ported or passive radiator system to have the same cut off and similar roll off(that is, the same 'sound' signature as a sealed unit), but have far higher output abilities with lower distortion, if you use a suitable DSP based management system with such shaping abilities included in it's feature set.

-Chris

 

[haraldo]

Sealed has no specific audible character except for the frequency response cut off.
-Chris

If you look at impulse responses from ported vs sealed cabinets, the ported tends to have more ripples or "ringing", do you think this is really of no consequence?

 

[WmAx]

If you look at impulse responses from ported vs sealed cabinets, the ported tends to have more ripples or "ringing", do you think this is really of no consequence?

It is not shown to be of any consequence in any credible perceptual research of which I am aware.

I can not conclude any difference of significance in careful double-blinded trials that I have submitted myself to, or several others, comparing the original signal to either the typical time distortion(simulated in software to the original signal to be played back on a highly accurate reference system, inducing the distortions in a highly controlled manner to reduce error factors) resulting from a typical well designed sealed system or typical well designed ported system.

Perhaps in the most extreme of cases, involving very poor design/engineering choices, this form of distortion can become a significant factor.

-Chris