I am changing my system up next week and i wanted people's opinions on whether to get a ported or sealed box. The installer at tweeter was really pushing ported, but I think i would preferred sealed. Also is there enough room in the spare tire well for 2 10ws?

 

It depends on the sound you want. Ported will play twice as loud as sealed. I ran 2 JL 10w6v2 ported and it's a lot louder than my 3 Jl 10w6v2 sealed. Sealed is also a lot tighter bass.

As far as space, IIRC, there's about 1.8 cu ft in the spare tire well. Enough for 2 10s ported, 3 10s sealed, or 2 12s sealed.

BTW, I thought you were selling your stereo?

 

Yeah, it does depend a lot upon what kind of music you like, and what kind of sound you prefer. Here's a basic run-down of their good and bad points:

1.) Sealed: Accurate, clean bass. Good transient response. Smallish box size. Not as efficient as other designs (needs more power). Easier box building (only really have to worry about the internal volume and making it airtight). Most forgiving of box deficiencies. Good for all types of music, probably best for jazz/classical etc. Still good for rock. Less desirable for "boom-boom" music like rap. Very flexible.

2.) Ported: Gives about a 3dB boost (not twice as loud) around the tuned frequency of the port. Not as accurate as the sealed box. More efficient than sealed. Larger box. Harder to build the box properly, as the port has to be a certain diameter and length depending on the internal volume and the speaker's parameters. Not terribly forgiving of box misdesigns. Might be the best for rock-type music because it's noticeably louder around the port frequency and doesn't really give up a lot in the higher bass area.

3.) Bandpass (many variants): Loud, but only in the range it's tuned at. Gives up a lot of range in return for this loudness. Very difficult box design--2 chambers, port tuning (nightmare). Very unforgiving of a poorly designed box. Each box must be designed for the speaker used--different speakers will likely sound like *** in the same box. This is likely best for rap music. Very undesirable for jazz/classical/progressive-style rock due to the very peaky and small passband. Note that the passband can be widened, but with a corresponding dip in the max SPL. A well-designed bandpass can be very good, but they are rare. Store-bought bandpass boxes suck.

There are other designs, but these are the common ones.

 

stu,
not selling im changing. I was running 3 w7s on a jl 1000w amp which wasnt enough. I sold one of the w7s and am going to have 2 installed. As far as the 1.8 cu ft in the spare tire well. I dont think thats enough for 2 10w7s ( i think they need either 1.25 or 1.5 cu ft each), but i think tweeter can build the box out and then make a false floor around it.
One installer at the tweeter i went to was all about a ported box, putting the subs under the strut, like where i had them, but making the box go all the way back to the "wall" by the drivers seat. I cant do this, it is my only car, and need some storage space.
Just wondering why this guy was pushing ported so bad, he used to have a daytona blue with 2 12" screens and a vcr in the back. Who uses a VCR, thats like putting a tape deck in. Makes me wonder....another tweeter i called said they cant put them under the strut and have to put them in back. If i had tools and knew how to make fiberglass, i would just build my own.

 

Andy, here's a link to some pics of my install. The first 2 pics are my trunk stripped. The blue tape is how the box is designed for 3 10w6v2. Each sub has it's own enclosure with a little more than .6 cu ft each. The surface of the box is flush with the original floor. I've got a total of 1.8 cu ft, minus the space for the MDF, maybe 2? You should have enough room. Post the pics when it's finished. I'm curious to see how it comes out.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=74073

 

looks really good, the only thing is you are using w6v2s where the sealed volume range is .5-1 cu ft, but the range on a w7 is 1.25 cu ft.

 

with the 10w7 it is recommended to have at least 1cu ft of airspace though 1.25 would be better. another problem you would run into trying to put the 10w7's in the spare tire well is that if you want them to face straight up there is not enough depth if you want to keep the stock trunk floor height. the mounting depth of the 10w7 is 8 inches, so it'd be good to have around 9 inches of depth, which the stock trunk height doesn't have. i wanted to put my w7 in that spare tire well but because of that i ended up doing it under the strut bar. the w7 pounds so hard...i can't imagine how 2 are. it is definitely louder than i expected one 10 to be. i'll post some pics when all the panels are done. it's gonna be a while though since i only get to work on my car between other cars at the shop im working at.

i still can't decide if i want a second w7...i dont even know how it would fit!

Rajiv

 

oh and back to the original point of the thread, i'd recommend doing a sealed box. aside from needing less space thus being more convenient, 2 w7's definitely pound enough i'm sure, might as well make the box sealed for more accuracy.

 

Andy,

I have two 10W7's with each in their own vented enclosure. I built the enclosures exactly to JL's specs at 1.5 cubic feet per with the enclosures tuned at 32 Hz. Because of the fact that I listen to just about every type of music out there, I called JL to ask them their opinion on which type of enclosure to use. The tech told me that I would be really surprised on just how good the W7 sounds in a vented enclosure. He was absolutely right. The W7's remain extremely quick in the vented enclosures and are capable of handling the quickest of kick drums without sounding sluggish or boomy. When it comes to Hip Hop and Rap, the W7's in vented enlosures are nothing short of PAINFULL. I ended up having to bolt the enclosures down due to the fact that on extremely low notes at high volume, the enclosures would actually begin hopping ever so slightly causing an extremely nasty rattle. Another plus to bolting down the enclosures (1/2 bolts from the inside of the enclosures through the bottom of the car) was that on the initial impact of the bass, especially really tight bass, you can actually feel it a lot better as it come through the frame of the car. Now 30-40 Hz notes are not exactly healthy on the car with this configuration and causes a great deal of flexing and stress on the rear hatch and bumper.

I feel that you will gain substancially in SPL with very minumal degradation in quality by going with 2 vented W7's as opposed to 3 sealed. With the 3db rule in mind, given the same power, an extra driver will net you an approximate 3db gain. Vented enclosures also provide an approximate 3db gain. So basically taking one enclosure out of the equation and putting the remaining two in vented enclosures with be very close with the favor more than likely leaning towards the two vented (SPL wise). When I think about the fact that you had three sealed, it also makes me wonder if you were getting enough air space. JL recommends 1.25 cubic foot per W7 sealed which means that your original enclosure should have been 3.75 cubic feet. If that was the case then going with two vented will sound about the same if not slightly louder than what you had. However, if you were not at 3.75, and closer to 3, you will probably gain quite a bit in terms of SPL if you decide to switch over to two W7's vented. If you have not heard the W7 vented, I encourage you to try to find someone who has one and listen to how they sound. Most people who listen to my system think that my W7's are sealed until I crank it up.

I was pushing the W7's with a Zapco Reference 1000 at first but due to the fact that it was a Class AB amp, it just drew too much current at full tilt. I ended up getting a 1000/1 which is obviously more efficient as it is a Class D. I did gain SPL as far as the ability to play it louder longer, but lost a little bit in quality. I don't know if it's the damping factor of Zapco amps or what, but I usually can't hear an audible difference between two high quality amps when it comes to bass. I am very pleased with the 1000/1 though. I am using the Zapco 1000 on my front components (OUCH!) now and a Zapco 360 on my rears.

Bill

 

two 10w7 will fit in the tire well space ported but you have to fiberglass and angle it towards you ( the driver). hits hard and will hurt your body IMO. Had it down wasted money and instead but one 13w7 in instead ported.... deeper yet still clean and HARD

 

Rajiv,
What about the 10W6v2 sub ? Same case ?
I am wanting to do what you explained, put sealed enclosure in tire well, with stock floor height. (just 1 10)

Maybe you could assist me in my post here

Sub enclosure for JL Audio 10W6v2 sub

Thanks Rajiv