Italiangurl

i was surfing the web for countless hours and its all ended up to this;

WHICH ONE YOU WILL PICK? PORTED OR SEALED?

reason why i asked is cus i read that the ported is more louder but the sound is more mudder and the sealed is a little less louder but more better bass sound.

FIBERGLASS OR JUST A NORMAL WOODEN BOX?

i like the fiberglass enclosure but the problem is that im carrying two MTX 9512 and they said that there is no way the fiberglass can be ported and be able to fix in my trunk with that kind of subs.

i like the box cus its more simple and cost less money and can provide enough airspace.

either i get fiberglass sealed box for my subs or wooden ported box. i like rap and rock all together so its hard cus i was told that the ported sound better with rap and sealed for rock. yes i know i should choose for myself but want your opinions so i can get over with it and buy the box you guys think the best for me.

Amoxaphobic

The sealed or ported really depends on the specs of your MTX subs. I don't know those, so you would have to look them up. Some subs sound better (and louder) with sealed vs. ported. For example, my HE2's sound the best in a sealed enclosure.

You can still do a "fiberglass" look with a box. You would simply use the box as a sort of base to work around, creating a fiberglass type of shell. It really depends on how much you are willing to spend and how much trunk space you want. I tend to like the look of a complete trunk enclosure (even if it leaves little or no trunk space), but it's really up to you.

nodsetse

That's it exactly. You can't just pick one and expect good performance, without considering the specific sub and also it's airspace requirements. Many subs are designed to only function optimally in one type of enclosure of the other, but not both. For those subs that can work well in either, they usually require more internal volume (a bigger box, sometimes 1.5 to 2x larger than sealed) when using a ported enclosure. Sealed subs/enclosures are more "forgiving" of airspace & build errors than ported, and it's easier to construct a sealed system. While porting often provide about 3dB more output (but only over a narrow frequency range) than sealed systems, they also often don't sound as "clean" or "tight" as sealed systems, because of what's known as "group delay". Either type is capable of pleasing most people, provided all the appropriate factors (as stated herein) as considered during the design phase.

As for wood versus fiberglass, either one can be made to work fine with your subs, and they each have their own pros & cons. Fiberglass provides the ability for custom shapes that aren't going to happen with wood, and the finished enclosure is usually much lighter than one made from wood. Wood boxes almost always cost less, and they're much faster & easier to construct. If they're both built correctly and with the specific sub's requirements in mind, then they're effectively equal from a sound quality perspective, you simply need to decide what you want.

My2toneTC24

I have a fiberglass box--- I used MDF board on the bottom an to make the base then used some wooden sticks an stapled them to the sticks an offset them to where i liked it-- then I got some polar fleece an stapled it to the bottom an pulled it over an made sure it looked right then got some resen an soaked the fleece an waited till it got hard then added some fiberglass to it to make it thick-- but you have to know the right air space for the speakers--- I am selling my set up an my car I am having a kid an have to get a bigger car--- but if you have a shop make the box you are looking to spend 600-1000 plus on a fiberglass box-- if you had a shop build mine you would spend between 1500 to 2k for it---


there is alot of work in fiberglass speaker boxes-- but the sound better then a wooded box an look better cause you can paint it the same color as your car-- I have a pic in my profile if you want to see it ---

Amoxaphobic

nice system! That looks awesome.

However, I am going to have to disagree with what you said. Fiberglass doesn't necessarily sound better than wood.

This is more like it. You get what you pay for, yes, but just because you paid alot of money for something doesn't mean that it's going to be the best in the world. I have a friend that spend well over 3k for his fiberglass enclosure - the thing looks AWESOME! Kind of like something you could only dream up. But when the bass hits, it sounds like crap.
Leading me to my next point. You are correct that fiberglass generally looks better. No one seems to be arguing that point. But you can paint wood the same color as your car. You can even make wood look like fiberglass. But you aren't going to get that curvature that you could get with fiberglass (unless you are just that good with wood - and yes, there are people that are that good with wood), and wood is A LOT heavier than fiberglass.

Like I said before. I really believe that it all depends on how much time and money you are willing to put into this system.

nodsetse

^ Actually, it doesn't really matter what the enclosure is made of, as long as it's non-resonant.