And on to the next! After going over sealed enclosures with their pros/cons we can now move on to the ported enclosures. Similar to the sealed enclosure, the ported boxes (also known as vented enclosures) include a built-in port that allows the waves from the back to emit along with the front waves to provide a higher total sound output. The design of the port is tuned to a specific frequency which then allows the subwoofer to produce louder sound using less power.
The way the enclosure is ported/vented allows it to act like a filter and cut off lower frequencies. As the system plays louder the efficiency of the port reduces and distortion produced by the port increases. The ports are more often in the front of the enclosures which avoid any unwanted noise and interference. If the enclosure has a port on the backside, this would prevent “wind noise” due to the air coming through the opening at a high speed. Keep in mind with rear ports, they cannot be placed directly against a wall or it will cause more unwanted noise.
Ported subwoofer enclosures are available in 8”, 10”, 12” and 15” sizes and come with a standard circular hole or a square hole. The ported boxes feature a dense carpeting and fiberboard material to give you a long-lasting performance. Plus, the carpet on the enclosures match a vehicles trunk to the ‘T’ so it is also aesthetically pleasing and blends in nicely.
So again, similar (yet oh so different) to the sealed enclosure, the main features of a ported enclosure is the increase in bass and amplified sound, requires a bigger box size and last but not least it provides equal boom and equal punch.
For more information and tips on choosing the correct subwoofer, see our Knowledge Base articles on Subwoofer Box Types, Car Specific Subwoofer Enclosures and Selecting a Subwoofer Enclosures.