How much louder is a ported box compaired to a sealed subwoofer box?

How much louder is a ported box compaired to a sealed subwoofer box? Is there a big difference? I am buying 2 15″ Kicker CVX subwoofers at 1000watts rms each. I am just trying to decide which box to go with. Thanks Much!

You want SPL or SQ? How much room do you have for the box? How much power are you going to hit them with? A ported box will be louder. The sub will have lower power handling, but is more efficient. I prefer sealed boxes, because the bass is tighter, and the subs have higher power handling.

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7 Responses to “ How much louder is a ported box compaired to a sealed subwoofer box? ”

1. dudley19us says:

   July 15, 2009 at 9:21 pm

   It really comes down to personal taste. i go with sealed because its a cleaner sounding bass than a ported box IMO. but ported will be much louder but not as accurate and tight as a sealed enclosure. so it really comes down to the listener i think.
   References :
   i have two mtx 9500 12’s and had them in each scenario and chose what sounded best to me.
2. Josh S says:

   July 15, 2009 at 10:07 pm

   A ported box is way louder than a sealed box but the quality of your bass is way less. If you want tight bass go with the sealed and if you want people to hear you from a 1/3 mile away go with the ported.

   Remember in order for optimal performance with a ported box it is going to take up A LOT more room that a sealed sealed box.
   References :
3. chris_harper1970 says:

   July 15, 2009 at 10:30 pm

   You want SPL or SQ? How much room do you have for the box? How much power are you going to hit them with? A ported box will be louder. The sub will have lower power handling, but is more efficient. I prefer sealed boxes, because the bass is tighter, and the subs have higher power handling.
   References :
   Been doing car audio for 22 years.
4. kreekatt says:

   July 15, 2009 at 10:59 pm

   ported may be good, the idea is you double the power to a sealed box, the subs via the amp. 3 dbs. is the difference in therory
   References :
5. Natasha S says:

   July 15, 2009 at 11:06 pm

   a ported box isnt louder. infact, the sealed box is louder
   ported boxes are designed to bring out the low notes the subs hit

   i’d definately go ported with 15" CVX’s, it’ll sound SO much better
   References :
6. ASUbaseball says:

   July 15, 2009 at 11:53 pm

   I have ported and it sounds sloppy and rattles everything in my truck. My friend has a sealed box and his sounds clean and professional. My speakers are 10x better than his but yet my ported box degrades my speakers to sound like crap. If you are looking for the bass to impress other people down the road, get ported. If you want to listen to your music with some very high quality bass and not rattle the mirrors on the car next to you, get sealed.
   References :
7. adam_arielle says:

   July 16, 2009 at 12:07 am

   15’s are huge.. first you might wanna see if your trunk can even fit a ported box with those.. they take alot more airspace to hit correctly.. which emans bigger box. but honestly.. at 15 inchesx2 i think sealed would be better.. the higher you go, the less the sound quality is any way.. so to put it in a ported would make it sound.. not so great… plus its gonna be loud with 2 15’s any way..

   i say hands down sealed.

   BTW im a ported lover.
   References :