Many vehicle owners thinking about adding a modern bass sub woofer to their car or truck audio system have no clue of the importance the subwoofer box plays. They will blow their spending budget on an high priced bass speaker or subwoofer and then do not put any energy in finding the proper subwoofer enclosure for their specific vehicle. I know this is true considering that I’ve dealt with disappointed consumers who have contacted me after buying an incorrect box for their sub.
Simply said, the sub woofer enclosure provides the necessary back pressure from the air volume which allows any loudspeaker to perform just how the maker designed it. The subwoofer enclosure has to be matched up to the specs of the subwoofer. You will normally find the manufacturer’s references included with every brand new loudspeaker. If you buy a second hand sub, it is easy to obtain the necessary information on-line.
The sub woofer enclosure provides a tremendous impact on the caliber of sound you are going to get from your speaker. Yet, regrettably sometimes the consumer will try to be cheap by possibly making his own box or buying the most inexpensive thing out there without taking into consideration the particular requirements of the sub woofer. If you want to take advantage of your high-priced subwoofer, it is best to select an effective factory created sub woofer box.
In general, while there are certain individual types of sub boxes, there are two groups to consider. The standard box, which might be a sealed box or vented or of a bandpass construction. These are going to be regular retangular boxes and typically the most popular will be the 10 subwoofer enclosure and the 12 subwoofer enclosure. The dimensions of the box shall be based upon the air volume requirements of the speaker. Usually they are constructed of wood or MDF. Whereas these will have a tendency to be the cheapest boxes, they are going to have to have a fairly large space for mounting. So the question for you is simply how much space do you want to set aside to your sound system?
Many people feel, the best option when offered is a custom subwoofer enclosure This type of speaker box is normally molded in fiberglass or composite materials. They are available for the most popular vehicles available from companies like Bassforms, MTX Thunderforms and JL Audio Stealthboxes. They are described as “custom” because they are created to easily fit into out-of-the-way places like underneath rear seats or along the side areas of car trunks or SUV’s. They’ll be more pricey then standard boxes nevertheless the advantage that they use dead space and also generate good sound means they are the ideal choice for most. In addition to the cast custom sub enclosures, manufacturers like RT, Obcon, and Atrend offer very similar custom-fit sub boxes of MDF in a great many designs and are less costly.
You’ll find that certain custom sub boxes in addition offer the benefit of incorporating an amplifier and even a matched up sub mounted. These are actually supplied by MTX and JL Audio although being more costly then bare boxes it’s important to take into consideration you won’t need to pay for and set up a independent amp. As you can imagine once the power amplifier is built-into the box, you save space and this likewise tends to make a simpler installation.
So whatever kind subwoofer box you finally choose, be sure you invest some time doing your homework before buying. If you do so, you’ll profit by hearing the bass you envisioned out of your sub woofer.