So I have been chatting with Chad at Epik. This guys is awesome. Very helpful.

First, this sub is for a Dedicated Home Theater. NO music. And I plan on deploying 2 units into the room.

I understand the basic differences between sealed and ported. But I am having a tough time figuring out what I should do.

I have historically always preferred the tight sound of a sealed design. But I also want SERIOUS output and my room is on the larger side. (20' wide / 24' deep / 7'3" tall).

What are YOUR thoughts on sealed versus ported.

What about if I purchased (1) sealed sub and (1) ported sub. One Dragon (sealed) and (1) Phoenix or Dynasty (ported)???

How would that sound? Anyone ever do this? Or hear of someone doing this?

Don't do it. Go for a pair of ported or a pair of sealed. Is your your room going to be sealed off? If so, go with the sealed subs. If not, go with the ported subs.

thanks mike.

the room won't be air-tight but will be entirely closed with no windows, no openings and a door.

I'd consider that to be a sealed room. A pair of Dragons would be sweet.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn110/dragon_4_life_05/Dragons/Dragons-6.jpg

Don't do it. Go for a pair of ported or a pair of sealed. Is your your room going to be sealed off? If so, go with the sealed subs. If not, go with the ported subs.
I don't disagree, but maybe you could explain the logic behind this better? It's a lot easier to under "what" you should do when your understand "why" you should do it. Thanks. :)

Craig

You could have mode or I think a mode should be made for modern AVR.

Music mode can have two sub modes for sub bass.
Ported sub 1
Sealed sub 2

Film/DVD mode can have two modes for sub bass as well as two additional extra modes for film modes
Ported sub 1
Sealed sub 2
Dolby monaural 1.0 sub bass extension ported sub 1
Dolby monaural 1.0 sub bass extension sealed sub 2
Dolby stereo sub bass extension ported sub 1
Dolby stereo sub bass extension sealed sub 2
Dolby 4.0 sub bass extension sub bass ported 1
Dolby 4.0 sub bass extension sealed sub bass 2
Dolby 4.1/5.1 sub bass extension sub bass ported 1
Dolby 4.1/5.1 sub bass extension sealed sub bass 2

It should all be user programmable to select each sub bass mode and set the settings as is and then its simple push of the button, similar to a Dolby professional processor.

Does that baffle you!

Think and work around the norm customized the home cinema, to do other, go beyond the norm. The practical the fancy. And if there is one word I don’t want to hear. That’s the word impossible.

I'd go with 2 Epic Phoenix's then. Did Chad tell you that you can plug the ports on the bottom of the Phoenix? It would sound very similiar to the Dragon. Best of both worlds. Sealed or ported.

I don't disagree, but maybe you could explain the logic behind this better? It's a lot easier to under "what" you should do when your understand "why" you should do it. Thanks. :)

Craig

I believe that trying to match room acoustics with the appropriate sub design can result in a better room response with less reliance on eq. In this case, Phil is setting up a sealed room which is likely to provide very strong room gain. The room gain characteristics are more likely to compliment the rolloff characteristic of a sealed sub. Hopefully, the net results will be a deep and flat in-room response. If a ported sub or subs with a strong, flat anechoic response down to the mid-teens were used, the strong room gain would probably result in a rising boomy bottom end. This is exactly what causes many folks who listen to a good ported sub and come away with the impression that they are boomy. Meanwhile if that same sub was in a large open room, it might not sound at all boomy.

I'd go with 2 Epic Phoenix's then. Did Chad tell you that you can plug the ports on the bottom of the Phoenix? It would sound very similiar to the Dragon. Best of both worlds. Sealed or ported.

That certainly is an option, but a Phoenix most likely has an non-defeatable sharp low filter just under it's tuning point. When it is used as a sealed unit, you then don't get to benefit from the natural gentle rolloff of an unfiltered sealed sub and you will miss out on the deeper frequencies. When used as a sealed unit, it's deep bass performance is compromised.

That certainly is an option, but a Phoenix most likely has an non-defeatable sharp low filter just under it's tuning point. When it is used as a sealed unit, you then don't get to benefit from the natural gentle rolloff of an unfiltered sealed sub and you will miss out on the deeper frequencies. When used as a sealed unit, it's deep bass performance is compromised.

True.

Wow! Great feedback!

Thanks guys!

Still not sure which way to go (LOL).

Though it seems a mixture of both sealed and ported is NOT the way.

you say you already know the difference between a ported and sealed sub.. can you explain what that is? lol ive been trying to figure that out myself and i cant seem to get a straight answer =P some say sealed are better for music but not as good for HT, some say ported are more for open rooms, sealed are more for enclosed ones.. blea i dont know. When i listened to a sealed vs ported the sealed sounded way better. It was a ML Abyss though vs a supercube II, so maybe there was a big quality difference

can someone explain in laymens terms what the diff between the 2 is? i cant decide what to get in my bedroom, im thinking sealed but i reall dont know. im looking at one of the epiks, the vanquish or sentinal, or an elementel design, maybe the a3-300 (i thin thats a ported)

just fyi my setup is a 18X13 bedroom, so its basically a completely enclosed room, like the TC. The door is the only open part and it can be closed. hell heres a pic
http://home.comcast.net/~kenshindono/room51.jpg
door is in the lower right, and the closets are open, theres no doors there. the one on the top has a TV i use for watching cable, and the botttom is empty

speakers are definitive techs
L/R 7400s
c clr2002
sats bp2x

worth noting if you were unare that the 2 front towers have built in 10" subs in them

application will bee ENTIRELY HT. to be specific, 90% gaming 10% movies. absolutely 0% music or even regular tv watching

I believe that trying to match room acoustics with the appropriate sub design can result in a better room response with less reliance on eq. In this case, Phil is setting up a sealed room which is likely to provide very strong room gain. The room gain characteristics are more likely to compliment the rolloff characteristic of a sealed sub. Hopefully, the net results will be a deep and flat in-room response. If a ported sub or subs with a strong, flat anechoic response down to the mid-teens were used, the strong room gain would probably result in a rising boomy bottom end. This is exactly what causes many folks who listen to a good ported sub and come away with the impression that they are boomy. Meanwhile if that same sub was in a large open room, it might not sound at all boomy.
I disagree. "Boominess" is not associated with response down to the mid-teens. Frequencies that low are felt...not heard. The boomy characteristic is uncontrolled bass in the 50-80hz area.

you say you already know the difference between a ported and sealed sub.. can you explain what that is? lol ive been trying to figure that out myself and i cant seem to get a straight answer =P some say sealed are better for music but not as good for HT, some say ported are more for open rooms, sealed are more for enclosed ones.. blea i dont know. When i listened to a sealed vs ported the sealed sounded way better. It was a ML Abyss though vs a supercube II, so maybe there was a big quality difference

can someone explain in laymens terms what the diff between the 2 is? i cant decide what to get in my bedroom, im thinking sealed but i reall dont know. im looking at one of the epiks, the vanquish or sentinal, or an elementel design, maybe the a3-300 (i thin thats a ported)

just fyi my setup is a 18X13 bedroom, so its basically a completely enclosed room, like the TC. The door is the only open part and it can be closed. hell heres a pic
door is in the lower right, and the closets are open, theres no doors there. the one on the top has a TV i use for watching cable, and the botttom is empty

speakers are definitive techs
L/R 7400s
c clr2002
sats bp2x

worth noting if you were unare that the 2 front towers have built in 10" subs in them

application will bee ENTIRELY HT. to be specific, 90% gaming 10% movies. absolutely 0% music or even regular tv watching

sealed usually has a flatter frequency response which = more accurate reproduction

thats why ported are usually louder, that peak in response = more output but alters the signal more = less accurate sq

sealed usually has a flatter frequency response which = more accurate reproduction

thats why ported are usually louder, that peak in response = more output but alters the signal more = less accurate sq
:eek: :rolleyes:

sealed usually has a flatter frequency response which = more accurate reproduction

thats why ported are usually louder, that peak in response = more output but alters the signal more = less accurate sq

You have a lot to learn.

What you say is true for cheap ported subs.

Good ported subs have flatter and more extended frequency response. But below tuning frequency it rolls off faster. On the other hand, sealed subs has a gentler roll off, but it starts earlier than ported subs.

A good ported sub can sound as good as a sealed sub.

Good stuff.

bump.

ported is the way to go.

You have a lot to learn.

What you say is true for cheap ported subs.

Good ported subs have flatter and more extended frequency response. But below tuning frequency it rolls off faster. On the other hand, sealed subs has a gentler roll off, but it starts earlier than ported subs.

A good ported sub can sound as good as a sealed sub.

"What you say is true for cheap ported subs."

what, like a W7

"It is generally accepted that an optimized sealed enclosure exhibits the best transient response characteristics"

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/support_pages.php?page_id=147

so JL and i are wrong

interesting