The Best (and Worst) Subwoofer Enclosure on Amazon.
This website* is primarily dedicated to teaching you how to build your own subwoofer. If you want to get into box building check out this blog post, and this podcast where some top DIYers talk about how to get started:
But, not everybody can do that. You need tools, time, and skill. There is no shame in ordering a pre-fabricated (a.k.a pre-fab) subwoofer enclosure from Amazon and installing your own speakers. Here is some examples of good and bad enclosures along with a breakdown of what makes a good enclosure. We will cover unloaded (no subwoofer included) enclosures in this post and save pre-loaded (subwoofer included) enclosures for another day.
Unloaded: BYOS (Buy Your Own Subwoofer)
A Bad Box (click on the image to view on Amazon)
It is made out of 5/8" MDF. That's bad. MDF is a great material, but it needs to be thick. The walls on this enclosure is just a tad thicker than 1/2". The standard size is 3/4" PLUS a double baffle (1.5"). The walls on this box are going to flex. In medium to high power applications your subwoofers will tear this box apart. If you plan on running cheap subwoofers and a small amp it might work. This box could be fixed with some simple braces and reinforcement. But that will take up air space in the box, which brings us to the second problem with this enclosure.
The net internal airspace is unknown. The net external dimensions are listed, and the entire enclosure is just a hair over 4 cubic feet. Some quick tells me that this enclosure has no more than 1.7 cubic feet per side BEFORE you back out the port displacement. The actual number is probably closer to 1.4. This is a problem because that is not enough space for a 12" subwoofer in a ported enclsoure. Speaking of the port, what about the port?
Based on the external dimensions, the material thickness, and the internal pictures showing the port it looks to be about 10" long. It cannot psychically be any longer than 12. My best estimate of the port tuning frequency is going to be between 40 and 45 HZ. This is tuned absurdly to high. Check out this video for more information on port tuning:
How is that going to sound? It is going to loud, but it is not going to be low. In fact, you will probably rip your subwoofers apart if you try to play low frequencies without an infrasonic filter, here is a video explaining how this works:
It is important to remember that there is a market for gear at all price points. So some of you will still want to buy this box. There is no shame in owning entry-level gear, and there is nothing wrong with trying to stay in a reasonable budget. If you are trying to bass on a budget go ahead and grab this box. Just match it with an appropriate subwoofer, like the GRS 12:
I am a huge fan of this driver and I recommend it for anybody that is on a budget. Check out this video of this sub in action:
A Better Box (click on the image to view on Amazon)
This box is the BBox from Atrend, they have been in the game quite a while and they make decent pre-fabs, a lot of brick and mortar stores stock these enclosures. I use one of their under seat boxes in my truck. Currently, this enclosure is only about $30 more than the previous box and it is $30 well spent. What makes this box better?
Thicker MDF. Some Atrend boxes still use 5/8" MDF, but this one steps up to 3/4" plus a 1" baffle. Thicker material flexes less, and will sound better.
Better airspace (but not quite enough), the specs on Amazon are a little confusing. One of the images claims 1.32 cubic feet per side. But the specs indicate 1.8 cubic feet per side. You need a big box to make big bass, so any increase in box size is an improvement. For a pair of 12 inch subwoofers I would rather see 2 or 2.5 cubic feet per side. But that makes for a HUGE box, and it is going to scare away some customers.
Better construction. Mitered joints, and dado grooves, probably all CNC cut. This makes for stronger joints, which makes a stronger box and a better sound.
Lower tuning, means better bass. This enclosure is tuned to 36 Hz which is typical for car audio designs. Judging from the images we can see that the port wraps around the interior of the enclosure, giving adequate length to reach that tuning frequency.
The Best Box (click on the image to view on Amazon)
This box is manufactured by SKAR Audio. I mention them in my post on 10 subwoofer brands that you have never heard off.
Finally a box with a reasonable amount of air space! This enclosure claims to have 2 cubic feet per side.
Finally a box with a reasonable port tuning! A nice low 32 HZ. This is spot on for most cars.
Although not specifically stated in the specs on Amazon it appears to use 3/4" MDF along with internal bracing. Plus it has some extra touches that make it worth the extra money:
- Quality speaker terminals
- Pre-wired internally
- Acoustic stuffing attached to the inside of the enclosure.
- A kerf-cut flared port that will help reduce port noise.
Conclusion
There are a lot of other enclosures on Amazon, with varying degrees of quality at many different price points. One key thing to remember is that you don't always get what you pay for, read the details and don't pay $90 for a junk box when a decent box can be purchased for the same price. Hopefully this article has helped you not only pick out a quality enclosure, but it has also shown you what makes for a quality enclosure.
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the cool thing about diy is you can modify those boxs cheap ports can be made bigger or smaller . when you order your box just make shure if your gonna have to modify the box you get one to big so it can be cut down to size .
ReplyDeleteMost of these boxes are undersized, buy a box for a pair of 12's and add a spacer so you can fit a 10!
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