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High Output Sub Enclosures

I don’t believe in the tiny sub box theory. If you are looking for tiny sound, get a tiny sub and put it in a tiny box. Be happy. If you are looking for real bass, you need to have a real box.

In order to get true high performance, you have to make the most of the available airspace you have. To do otherwise is wasting your time, energy and money. Don’t try to fit a larger speaker in a box that is better suited for the next size down. The smaller sub in the right space will outperform the larger sub in too small of airspace.

The first step in getting major bass in your vehicle is to allocate the space for your enclosure. If you really want to flex some sheet metal, the old adage applies, “there is no substitute for cubic inches”. The more space you make available, the higher the potential spl.

You don’t have to use a large amount of enclosure space to make a loud system; loud can be done with a single sub. The amount of loud needs to be determined as you figure out what space you plan to give up. Really loud bass, where you have to scream at your passengers, can be done on a single or double woofer setup. Stupid loud bass, where there is no point in trying to communicate in the vehicle, takes more space and bigger/more subs. F@#$ing crazy loud bass, where it is impossible for the car next to you to communicate inside his vehicle, takes even more space, even more subs and a gazillion watts of power.

A few tips on what to pay attention to when determining the box shape:

If you plan to use a rear firing setup in a trunk car, make sure your box doesn’t seal off the trunk from the passenger compartment. You need to leave some space for the waves to pass back into the interior of the car. Either make the box as low as possible so the wave passes over the box and enters the cabin via the seatback and rear deck, or reduce the width of the box so the wave can pass to the side and into the car’s interior. A big, giant box may make your trunk extremely loud, but all you’ll hear is muffled rattle if the box takes up the whole space behind the rear seat and under the rear deck.

If you have a hatchback car, keep the box as far back in the vehicle as possible. Keep the port as far to the rear as possible.