Just voicing my opinion here after i did some testing for myslef....

I've been a sound system freak for 13+ years now and have alwyas had sealed subwoofer enclosures.

When I bought my new mustang I was looking for a cheap and easy sub box that would sound good. I bought a ported enclose For 1 10" sub off of ebay that was supposed to rock (according to the feedback of others who had bought the same box). It was very loud and boomy and sounded good only on certain frequencies. It also rattled the whole trunk pretty bad.

This weekend I decided to ditch that box and build a nice sealed enclousre for 2 10"subs. The difference is incredible. The bass is much tigher and accurate now. Very few rattles now too.

I used the same amp (Pioneer 800 watt) and speakers (10" JL Audio W0'S) in both boxes. I also have an electronic crossover with a bass **** so I can adjust the bass from the front seat. This just goes to show you how much difference a good box can make. Sealed boxes may not be as loud, but they sound so much better. It adds some nice thump to the Shaker 500. Eventually I'll be installing an equalizer to make everything sound better...but for now this will do.

I made my new box fit into the space underneath the rear deck and it fires towards the front of the car. I think facing them towards the front help reduce the rattling that was occurring in the trunk (I had the ported enclousre facing sideways in the trunk and it rattled bad!).

I will post pics of the new box soon for those interested in building a sub enclosure.

Here's a pic of what not to buy!

 

Just throwing in a different opinion here... I usually favor ported boxes. True, sealed are going to be more responsive and tighter by nature, but if you invest the money in a good sub it wont make as big a difference and will be less noticable. Ported boxes are always going to be louder, and hit harder, especially around tuned frequencies. Depending on what type music you generally listen to and what type sub you're using, and of course what you favor, it could really go either way. For the record, Ill take a 15" Adire Brahma in a ported box to be more responsive, tighter, and much much louder than almost any other set of 12" or 10" subs in a sealed box you could come up with. Just an example.

Not all boxes are built equally. It all depends on the sub and the airspace it was designed to work in, and the amount the box gives. Something as simple as the type mdf used making it, carpet and tacking, bracing or sealant can turn a good box bad. Ported or sealed, any box not sealed up right isnt going to sound as good.. this goes for screws puncturing through wrong or simply a bad seal in liquid nails. Some subs hit harder than others.. a weaker mdf is going to flex more and lose response.

Turning the boxes towards the back of the trunk, or to the side, is going to produce more rattle just on basic theory... there's more stuff to rattle back there! Facing them into the car is firing them against alot of carpeting and factory welded frame.. Less to rattle, and more to absorb sound. And yeah.. the ported box is gonna rattle more just cuz its louder

And for the love of all things good and right never run a sub without some type of cross over =( They just arent designed to take in a range of frequencies much greater than 80hz and you can totally mess up your sub having it try to interpret and playback these frequencies. That EQ will help things alot with you can get it too. You might even want to try finding an aftermarket HU with it built in. They're generally more limited in bands, but it beats paying that extra money and work installing it The change between the stock HU and a good aftermarket one is remarkable alone.

 

Thanks for your point of view Zodiac...

I agree that the build of the box is very important. I used 3/4" mdf with liquid nails and alot of screws to build mine. Then i caucked all the seams and thew some carpet on. The ported box seems to be well made and have the correct interanl volume for the sub..but looks can be deceiving.

As far as the head unit and EQ go...I already have a nice new alpine HU (1.5 years old) and a 5 band kenwwod EQ (5 years old and still kickin). I have been lookin at a newer HU that has a built in 5 or 7 band EQ with adjustbale sub frequency and level. I may go that route to avoid having two sperate components. I just bought the electronic corossover so i could adjust the bass level from the fron t of the car, instead of having to make adjustments in the trunk.