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Can You Hear The Difference Between Ported And Sealed Speakers?
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2024
- Did the bass reflex ports help or hurt the sound quality of this Realistic speaker system? Do Bass Reflex Ports Change the frequency response of speakers? How much louder are bass reflex speakers? Are bass reflex speakers better than sealed speakers?
All of this will and more will be covered in this video!
Grab your headphones or turn on your home theater, because in this video I'm doing the frequency test and listening comparison between sealed and ported on the Realistic MC-1201 RestoMod Loudspeakers.
Precision Ports and Zobels on the Dayton Designer Series DS-215 8 Woofer. Thank you for watching!
00:00 Introduction
00:21 Why Port my Sealed Speakers?
01:23 What This DIY Speaker Video will Cover
01:37 Goals: Compare Sealed Vs Ported Speakers
01:48 Speaker Cabinets and Woofer Selection
02:09 Dayton DS-215 8 Woofer
02:34 Ported Vs Not Ported Comparison
02:51 Setting Up for Frequency Test of Ported Speaker
03:42 Frequency Testing Ported Speaker
05:12 Frequency Test Results Ported Speaker
06:10 Zobel on Woofer Effectiveness
06:37 3500 Hz Crossover Point
07:18 Woofer Efficiency Increase With Port
07:50 Cabinet Tuning Fb and Port Size
08:50 Do Ports Make Boomy Bass?
09:17 Ported Vs Sealed Frequency Response Results
09:35 A B Listening Test Ported Vs Sealed
09:56 Music for Testing Sealed Vs Ported
10:45 Test 1 Swag On
12:47 Test 2 Drums Make Me Dance
14:17 Test 3 Jazz by Night
15:55 Test 4 The Victory March
17:41 Final Test Way Way Back
19:26 Wrap Up & Conclusion
Here are the products I used while making this vintage restomod speaker project. By making a purchase for yourself after clicking through, you will help support this UA-cam Channel, so a huge thanks in advance!
Dayton Designer Series 8 Inch Woofer amzn.to/3rMqLyq
Precision Port Kit amzn.to/45tMSsj
Black Felt on Baffle amzn.to/3rR5rIe
Siless Sound Deadener Pads amzn.to/43U6NiJ
Roller to apply sound deadener amzn.to/3rYwIbC
5 Way Binding Posts (works perfect for vintage Realistic screw type terminal replacement) amzn.to/45aK96F
14-2 OFC Speaker Cable amzn.to/3DHiYot
16-4 OFC Speaker Cable amzn.to/3Kq4fSq
Gorilla Wood Glue Ultimate amzn.to/44WSwTW
Wood Polish & Conditioner for Veneer amzn.to/3OGNDZr
Brass Female Speaker Terminal Connectors amzn.to/47h6scU
You did a good review. I have a pair of budget Wharfedale 12.2 Diamond speakers with a rear port. They are being used for my desktop Apple computer, along with an external DAC. My 30 WPC amp is from REGA. I stuck a sock into the rear port of each speaker and now the speakers sound more natural. I have senior citizen ears, so whatever helps.😊
Thank you for watching and the compliment! Honestly, I'm not a fan of rear firing ports because placement/positioning is more challenging. In this project, baffle real estate is limited, so the rear port was easier.
Thanks again, and it seems you've got a sweet little setup to enjoy. Coincidentally, the speakers in this video, I currently use them in my office, with a little Sony DH190 receiver with Bluetooth, so the receiver DAC does the conversion. The port worked out really well on this build because of the Woofer I used, but they do sound best when they're away from the wall.
Thanks again for watching and commenting!
great video 🙏
Thanks!
The difference is clearly noticeable when listening although not easy to guess at first :) I'm not a fan of extreme bass but I like definitely better the ported version,punchy in a pleasant way,nothing exaggerate or boomy and great overall.
Thanks for watching and doing the listening test Alex! The difference with a port in this build was pretty interesting. Subtle difference in bass output when measured, essentially very similar to sealed, just a bit louder. The difference in sound character was more noticeable. That being said, I had the frequency software running today during regular listening and, they're hitting 47 Hertz quite regularly during music playback which is better than I expected.
I voluntold my wife to watch and do the test... She scored 3/4 amazingly. I didn't like the way the flashing question mark turned out, it was a little too much pulsing for too long and hard to watch for her.
The video production is experimental just like the speakers I build.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@wattspeakers It was a little easier after the first one from the test because of getting some audio reference sound points . And yes,I was thinking the same,I didn't expect such a clear difference as the measurements graphs looked so similar!
I remember building a car audio system about 30 years ago and if I can remember right I liked a sealed box for tight bass. I think you could use more watts than the woofer could handle because the sealed box kept the woofer from overextending.
Ported ones usually go lover ...
I get you lover😂 its maby lower you was looking for🤙 and higher spl... Many hi end speakers are ported, its all about taste and opinion of whatever different ppl like.
On the graph at 4:20 It looks like the woofer is 6db less efficient as the tweeter What is your crossover point? Is it 3600Hz? If so then perhaps the tweeter needs polarity flipped? Looks like a rise a 83Hz that may because of tuned frequency wrong or perhaps the box is to small for that woofer. Could also be reflections or baffle step in the room? frequencies below 400Hz are hard to measure in a room. If you could take it outside and measure. not sure what is causing the suck out at 100 to 200 Hz. At first I though the woofer is just not as efficient as the tweeter by 6 db. I guess we need to know the crossover component values. I would make a graph of each speaker separately and compare at same volume and mike location. Zobel needs to be right before the driver and after the crossover (I assume you already did it that way)
Hi Jim thanks for watching and your insights. The woofer seems to be matched up in efficiency to the tweeter surprisingly well without any special effort on my part, and the crossover is 3500 Hz which seems to be spot on, but these have those funky crossovers I got for cheap on eBay, which are not necessarily cheaply made, but sure look like they're probably overstock from a mass market speaker manufacturer.
Studying the area in question around 80 Hz, and the dip between 100 to 200 Hz, I am leaning towards the issue being from that crossover, because in the mini Mach One project, that had the same crossover and a similar signature at the lower bass, albeit a bit different because of a different mid-bass driver. ua-cam.com/video/Ox7TZ4p14HM/v-deo.html
I hope that time stamp worked.
From what I can tell the mini Mach One's have a similar dip, although the pro mid bass driver in the mini seems to be louder than the designer series in that range, making the dip less obvious. Same size box, same bump and dip whether sealed or ported on either build... The only thing I can think of is that whatever woofers the manufacturer used with that crossover, may have had a big spike down there. Is it possible that the two way crossover, which has those resistors, could they possibly be notched down there?
Same size enclosures, similar box tuning, different bass drivers with similar behavior. That was my thought, was the crossover... I could possibly just run it straight to see what it does, or just turn the crossover into a 1st order for the Woofer.
Here's a link to the crossover I used in both designs: www.ebay.com/itm/334536849653
@@wattspeakers You could very well be correct on that crossover designed to compensate for a spike on what ever drivers they were designed for originally. The biggest clue to that is the use of resistors in the crossovers. Off the shelf crossovers designed to be used with average generic drivers never have resistors in the design. I would consider using one of those online crossover calculators and manipulating the components or crossover point to match your crossover and see what it shows. Its possible you might be able to short our those resistors to take them out of the circuit and compare the results.
@@jimthvac100 I chatted with the seller and apparently he has his crossovers and private label drivers outsourced overseas, then sells them on eBay. (Interesting)... Anyway, he said, and I quote: "The resistor is a clamping resistor, it helps maintain a constant 8 ohm load on the crossover."
Admittedly as you're painfully aware, my electronics prowess is about as sharp as a marble, so I've got no idea how that would work, unless those resistors are bridging the positive and negative at the crossover, instead of at the driver like I do with Zobels. If that's the case, it may explain why the Zobel had little effect, Vs other projects where it was quite dramatic.
@@wattspeakers He pulled those answers out of his but. I don't think he is having those crossovers privately made. He is buying close outs or over stock and relisting in ebay. He's trying to make himself look smarter than he is.. resistors are only for custom crossovers for specific drivers and baffle.
@@jimthvac100 I would think I'm too old to fall for anything, but you might be right. On the upside, so far I do like the midrange that I got from him for the Nikko project. Hmmm, I wonder how those resistors are wired. If they're in series that would not be good.
dats will show port tuning.
room can effect bass
Hi Danny! Thanks for watching and commenting! You're 100% correct. What's "dats"?
Ports produce an artificial sounding "Fake Bass". I cant Stand it. Well designed Sealed speakers sound Infinitely better. If you want more bass, without Port distortions, use a Passive Radiator. Passive Radiators sound much cleaner, and far more Natural. Its not all about the "Sweeps", nor should it ever be. Sweeps never give the full picture. Its about how the actual MUSIC sounds.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting! I can relate to personal preferences. Bass ports when done decently shouldn't exhibit any distinctive sounds, and should just add an increase in deep bass. That being said, if you get close then you can hear the bass emitting from them, but it's not fake bass, it's just a different way to generate the bass. I wouldn't say that I'm great at it I get it pretty close so that from a couple feet away it's hard to tell, but some speaker designers pull it off quite effectively. My Energy RC series have big flared ports and they did a nice job they're essentially audibly invisible which is impressive. They pulled off the same thing with their e series with Aperiodic Ports. It's nearly impossible to hear the port they just sound like another sound source or like putting your head near a subwoofer.
Passive radiators I've got very little experience with or working knowledge of, but might try experimenting with some because I've really not given them an honest chance, yet high end designs incorporated them.
I think frequency sweeps are invaluable for tuning speakers to make sure they have a normalized output within the audible range and to see how low the bass is, or how high the treble is outside the audible range.
As far as what they sound like, and whether a better frequency response equals a better sounding speaker is debatable and subjective. If anything I'd say that I've heard speakers I've bought or built with less than ideal frequency response and they can still sound great, but even the measuring is difficult because the room has a huge influence.
One of the topics I've got planned is to do some room swaps and frequency tests of anechoic flat speakers that I own, to see how it relates to the sound quality. My guess is that they will sound better in a heavily damped room, but I'll find out soon enough.
That might be a good video to do soon, because I'm almost ready to start filming in the make shift studio I made in the basement, which is way more acoustically treated than the office/bedroom I've been filming in. Of course that can be tested with any of my speakers to see how the frequency response changes depending on the environment, (helpful for tuning), but I'm lucky enough to have a pair of anechoic flat speakers, which are not my favorites in a bare drywall room and in room measurements are anything but flat, but perhaps in a room more suited to them they'll sound differently... I'm guessing better. If that's true the opposite may be true in that my speakers that measure flatter in room response may sound and measure differently in an acoustically damped room.
The one thing I've noticed about sealed speakers and demonstrated in my Nikko LS 100 build, is that the deep bass in room frequency sweeps were not representative of the bass I heard and felt, which was far bassier than the lower end of the graph revealed.
That acoustic suspension build is at
ua-cam.com/video/RrzHfjicmas/v-deo.html
and I really like the way they turned out despite being one of the lowest budget builds I've done.
@@wattspeakers But It IS in fact "Fake Bass" in the sense, that its adding a certain static "Tone" to every woofer push. Its not what the Original song sounded like... nor what was intended to be heard. Its a Muddied Mess, that only further distorts the rest of the music.
As Ive said, once you hear an Audiophile level sealed speakers bass... you will Never touch a Ported speaker, ever again.
And like Ive said... the 2nd best option, if you want greater bass excitement... is a good Passive Radiator. They are far less Muddy / distortive.
From what Ive read, most of the time, you choose a larger diameter passive, than the woofer. They have a post on the rear of them, that you attach weights to... to "Tune" them.
Passives wont output a lot of bass, unless they are Excited enough. This means that you either have to crank the speakers up to a medium level... and OR... you can use an EQ to boost the bass level. By increasing the bass levels... it will cause the main woofer to respond with deeper pushes.. which excites the passives much more.
The other viable option, is an Open Baffle speaker. They are even easier to build, and wont suffer from various port issues.
Transmission line speakers suffer the same issues as Ported speakers. I got one of those larger Bose wave type radios really cheap at the thrift shop. It uses that technology.. with a long internally snaking tube, to amplify bass. At very low volume levels.. it seems "OK". But mid levels, and especially high levels.. you easily hear that "Droning" type of fake-bass. It sound un-natural and it quickly starts to Grate on you.
Compared to my former Phillips Woox system... the woox kicks the living Crap out of it. And it probably costed 3x less, when brand new.
@@wattspeakers part 2: Im going to add an example. Imagine if someone played a bass note on their bass guitar... and at the exact same time... you make a deep "HUMMM" sound. Not a variably pitched hum... but the same exact pitched humm... every single bass pluck... regardless of what bass Note was being played.
This is what Fake Bass is like. Its a monotone note, that keeps repeating... but its NOT part of the actual Music. Its not the REAL variable Bass notes, in different pitches.
One might argue that its a sort of stylistic addition... but, its really not a good one.
There are FAR better ways to increase bass, and have it sound Infinitely better, without Distorting the Intended Musical Image.
@@johndough8115Thanks again for the comment. I'm thinking that this definitely deserves a video, and it would likely shine some light on it.
The bass reflex port, should be thought of not as a noisemaker, but as another transducer. It will only reproduce whatever bass in its operational range that is being fed to the Woofer. It's like having a bookshelf / subwoofer combo, crossed over super low.
The port, like the Woofer, Mid-Range, tweeter, or passive radiator is creating changes in air pressure, that your eardrums react to. If the recorded playback source material has low bass information in the port's frequency range it will try to reproduce it, whereas a sealed design would only playback as much of it as the Woofer can reproduce audibly. For example, if I've got a 12" woofer that rolls off at 30 Hz, I can add a port which effectively props up the bass at and below the baseline SPL roll-off. So instead of having a speaker that is down by 20 Db at 20 Hz, I can pick that up a bit so it's louder and can be heard more easily.
In other words, let's say you're playing Fever by Peggy Lee... There's a bunch of deep bass, (below 100 Hz), that's being fed to the Loudspeakers. The roll off of that deep bass is going to determine what you audibly hear in that range. So... for example, my sealed Nikko's with a 12" driver will play pretty faithfully on its own down to about 60 or 70 Hz, but the volume or SPL, below that tapers off at 12 Db per octave. That deep bass information is still present but it's quieter, much quieter than the rest of the playback, so it's sort of lopsided in that way. To bring that deep bass up to an SPL, that audibly is somewhat matching the rest of the output, and MORE representative of what the studio recorded, not less. Playback source material at its core is a bunch of alternating frequencies at various sound pressure levels. The more even the output capability across the audible frequency range the more closely it'll represent the source material.
By contrast, if I were to listen to Fever over my big Jensen's that go subsonic / below about 35 Hz down to roughly 15 Hz near baseline, (meaning that that deep bass plays as loudly as the rest of the frequency range), then I can hear and feel that deep bass more accurately, or less subdued or muffled.
Listening to sealed speakers does have a tendency to grow on me as well however, because the musical information in the deep bass region is playing at a lower volume, which tends to make everything above deep and subsonic bass sound "cleaner", and will present less of a challenge or mitigate the effect of those bass frequencies in a room.v Combined with more consistent transient response, they can sound extra clear and tight although it's a compound effect. Sealed Speakers are not only easier to build, but less sensitive to changes in rooms and room placement, which is another thing that makes them sound perhaps "better".
The "Hummm" you hear is the same sort of hum you'd get from a sealed speaker with a huge woofer that could reach deep, or a subwoofer with a really low crossover, or "low pass". That is a good way to envision it. It's like a subwoofer with a low pass filter around 80 Hz. Most ports are tuned near the subsonic threshold, which essentially picks up the output level similar to a bass tone control or equalizer.
It's not music that speakers are playing, they are simply transforming frequencies from a line source, then amplified or creating an electrical pulse sufficient to make the speakers move and vibrate turning what can't be heard, into frequencies that can be heard. What you're hearing may be recognizable as music if you're playing music, but if you pump a steady tone it'll sound like a test tone. Like when I set my baseline, I'll usually use a 50 Hz tone, which is just a steady "Hummm", coming from the Woofer, and possibly the port if it's tuned high enough.
Not sure if that all made sense. Others may be able to explain it better, but that's what ports are used for, is to create more sound pressure in lower bass frequencies, thus picking up the tail end of the frequency sweep to the same volume as the rest of the transducers. It's possible to "color" sound with bass reflex too, if you tune them higher than the Woofers loudest deep bass which creates constructive interference in the bass region and can be used to mitigate diminishing bass over long distances, in larger rooms, outdoors, etc.
Hope that helps and thank you so much for the comments.
@@johndough8115Interesting take. How would you go about sealing and or removing the port in a speaker?
I have the RCA three way speakers that WATT has featured in other videos.
They're the ones with the 12" woofers.
I have no pie in the sky notions they'll ever be audiophile grade, but I'm new to this, and am using the RCA's as practice in this new, fun hobby.
I hate sloppy bloated bass, and would like to tighten them up.
Did some internal cross bracing, and that helped.
Sealed is better for Music , not boomy or colored, but for Movies and games Ported is the King
Thank you for watching and the comment Catherine! I must say, that I do enjoy the sound of sealed enclosures. Generally speaking, (and this certainly isn't a blanket statement for all speakers), but for DIY at least, they seem to offer more detail at the expense of a little low end bass. This could be in large part due to the lack of engineering and testing resources that store bought or high end boutique speakers may have.
In this particular build, I like the larger sound presence with the port, despite it seems to have slightly less mid-bass detail. Something that can only be heard, not measured, (not the way I measure of course).
That being said, the cabinet design and whether it's sealed or ported is purely dependent on the woofer. In fact, there aren't a whole lot of "acoustic suspension" loudspeakers or woofers made anymore. The true acoustic suspension relies on a very compliant transducer, designed specifically for the cabinet it goes in, because the cabinet is contributing to the physical operation of the Woofer Vs a typical "sealed" speaker which usually incorporates a woofer that can go ported or vented depending on the desired low end response and preference to sound. This little Dayton woofer in the Realistic MC-1201 has a very stiff suspension and powerful motor assembly, so it really is better suited to vented. That being said I think it sounded very cool in a sealed box, but unusually so. In the vented cabinet it sounds more normal and offers a much larger presence.
Thanks again for watching and commenting!
@@wattspeakers I assumed that a Sealed speaker Woofer, actually needs to have a much STRONGER magnet, in order to overcome the increased Air Pressures of a sealed box. I think you have it backwards. I had a pair of Techniques 3 way speakers, that have 12" woofers... that were ported. They were capable of 200 watts each, supposedly. Then I picked up a pair of EPI 100v speakers. These were 2-way Sealed speakers, with an 8" woofer. While the Techs could go much louder in overall volume levels... they had a very Artificial sounding bass, compared to the EPIs. Also, despite the Techs 12" woofers being much larger... the EPIs 8" woofers were producing much DEEPER and punchier Bass...
The one thing I noticed right away... is that despite the Techs speakers being almost 2x as large as the EPIs... the Techs were MUCH lighter. Why? I opened them up and compared them. The EPI woofers have MASSIVE and Powerful magnets on them. Where as the EPIs have much smaller and weaker magnets on them. One EPI woofer, probably weighed more than TWO of the Tech woofers.
The stronger the Magnetic, and Coils... the more Acceleration and CONTROL that the woofer has. This prevents various Distortions that happen from "ECO WOOFERS" like what was inside of the Techniques speakers.
Of course, being an experimenter, I also tried sealing my Techs. It didnt improve the sound... and in fact, if memory serves correct.. it sounded worse, and had to be re-ported. I ended up Curbing them... because after hearing how Music was MEANT to be heard (on the EPI's), I could no longer tolerate the awful distortions of the Techs.
Realize that by the 80s... the ECO Radicals infected the Audio Industry. They were the ones behind the push for Ported speakers... because they could produce louder volume levels, with far less Power requirements. On the flip side... Sealed speakers require much more POWER to drive their much more power hungry woofers... and, there is a notably less maximum volume level, to boot. They didnt care about how it Ruined the bass sounds, in music. All they cared about, was saving a few watts per speaker owner usage.
The EPI woofers are even more interesting than most... as the creator stated that he used much heavier gauge wire for the Coils. He did this, to Automatically filter out High Frequencies from the woofer, without needing an Additional Crossover component. Theorizing that the additional crossover component could add its own distortions to the musical output. And I have to tell you... I believe he was spot on.. As those EPIs are the best speakers Ive ever heard, in my entire Life... And Ive owned like 30 different speakers, as well as have listened to some very Expensive speakers. In fact, a buddy asked me for my opinion on this $3000 pair of speakers at the high end stereo shop. They had them hooked up to a bluray surround sound system, with an optional Toggle for a larger + expensive subwoofer. They sounded anemic in the Bass department.. with harsh mids / highs, disjointed sound (where the drivers were not blending together), lack of a good 3d soundstage... and even with the Subwoofer on.. it still lacked good sounding Bass (You really cant get 6 inch woofers, to give good bass response, compared to 8 to 12" woofers... even when using multiple 6 inch drivers.. which this one did just that). My used EPI's completely Destroyed these $3k speakers. But thats what you get, when comparing modern ECO speakers, with the 70s era, Audiophile grade speakers.
Now, I do agree that the Spider itself, might in fact be much more loose / relaxed. I dont know for sure, as I never thought to test / feel that. But what I can say, is that Sealed woofers need a lot more power woofers to drive them effectively. Where as Bass Reflex can be very weak... due to not having to deal with high air pressure situations.
Of course, there are many underpowered / poor quality Sealed speakers in the 70s and beyond... as well as there are some Ported speakers, that have very powerful woofers in them. These are the more Rare exceptions to the rule... rather than the typical standard.
Nope. After hearing Sealed speakers, I can NEVER go back to ported.. not even for games / movies. If you want deeper bass effect for games/movies, A Passive Radiator based speaker, produces FAR SUPERIOR sounding, Deep bass. Passives put Ported speakers to utter Shame. And if you want even better effect... you get a pair of "Bass Shaker" transducers, and mount them under your chair / sofa. Those are like speakers without the sound... and they only create VIBRATIONS. They can give you room shaking subwoofer like effects (within your body.. not to the entire room), with only like 30 watts of power.
In fact, when I was testing a pair of Aura bass shakers.. I only had the 15 watt versions. I put them both under a thin seated swivel chair. At max levels.. they shook me so much, that I couldnt make out my computer screen... as my eyes were completely blurry from being vibrated to such a degree. Of course, if you were to use them under a couch, you would want more powerful 50 watt (or higher) bass shakers. The good thing about bass shakers, is that you can have your movie volumes low (such as when other people are sleeping), and you will still "Feel" strong bass / vibration effects (but nobody else in the house, will).
@@johndough8115 Thank you for sharing the decisive perspective, I dig it.
I've got a couple questions: I like messing around with the Exciters, and am wondering if bass shakers are nothing more than a giant exciter, and if they were, would they get something resonating enough to hear it? Say for example instead of being attached to a couch or chair, if mounted to the drywall for instance, would they make sound? Just curious, I've never tinkered with them.
The next one is a bit of a doozy: Can you pinpoint what it is about a sealed design that you like? Personally, I am also a fan of sealed speakers, but really can't nail down why exactly. I've got some ideas, but to be honest, I'm not sure I could guess with any certainty in a blind listening test. What's your thoughts on why you like a sealed design and whether you could pick them out during blind listening.
Here's why I'm asking: I was thinking of doing some sort of fun challenges, and sealed vs ported is one of them. Sort of like the one I did when I ported the MC-1201 ua-cam.com/video/Mchtq63-DjE/v-deo.html
Having seen my videos and having heard the music playback over the speakers, do you think that with headphones on, or your AVR it would deliver decent enough quality to do a sound challenge?
Let me know whenever you get the chance. I'm STILL working on the basement studio, but when it's done I've got a whole bunch of cool topics and builds planned. One of the things I was also thinking about is a blind challenge between a whole bunch of speakers, elimination style. And some of the more basic challenges like Ported vs sealed.
@@johndough8115Techniques Vs EPI doesn't seem like it would be a good comparison, with the EPI being in whole other class. That's a high end speaker vs department store speaker.
Motor structure can be a feature of a well designed Woofer with good Qes, electrical control, but they can be used for other reasons as well, like moving more mass, or greater sustainable power handling. They're not made to overcome sealed air pressure and create a vacuum however.
If there's a vacuum being created in a sealed speaker design, the box is much too small. Having a larger motor and additional power to drive it, while it does work sort of, isn't the greatest idea. It can lead to a muddled sound and distortion, while putting a lot more work on the amp. This may have been what you experienced when you sealed the Techniques. While vice versa, if you ported the EPI, it might have more audible bass at the tuning frequency, it would also challenge the Woofer control.
Having been made in the 70's / 80's it's highly likely that the EPI Woofers are made specifically for an acoustic suspension design, which is when the box becomes an integral part of the suspension and subsequently assists the woofer. This may be why the spider seems compliant. The surround keeps the cone centered and gives it a mechanical stop for xmax. The trapped air in the EPI isn't wildly pulling a vacuum, it's right around the same volume of air that the woofer is capable of moving. It's acting as part of the mass of the driver, just a slight difference allowing the air to provide part of the mechanical suspension, yet an easier load to move than a stiff spider, resulting in less of a load, not a harder one for the amp. With a lighter acting suspension, a lighter cone can be utilized, benefitting from less mass for quicker transients, and higher efficiency, (they could get louder and need less power than stiffer mechanical suspension Woofers of the day. Modern companies that make acoustic suspension speakers don't necessarily do it to make less bass, or less efficient speakers, they do it for quicker transients.
Any lack of perceived bass compared to a ported speaker, isn't because the ported speaker is creating more bass, it's making the same bass more or less, however the ported speaker has a trick up it's sleeve, with the helmholtz resonator, which can be "tuned" to emit bass within a narrow frequency band, which adds to the bass the Woofer creates. Think of it like a subwoofer. It's not a hole to reflect internal cabinet sound out of, but trapped air, in a constant state of moving in and out, which becomes in effect additional suspension in the box. A ported speaker, is in essence an acoustic suspension with an extension. The tuned bass of the port is meant to supplement the Woofer and in turn, at that frequency range, is more efficient creating a perceived, audible difference in the deep bass region, where it's audible, at the expense of a sharper roll off in subsonic bass, (the stuff that's less noticable but you feel it, like your bass shakers). The Woofer almost stops moving at the tuned frequency making it very easy to drive.
The tricky part is making the bass reflex port tuning and cabinet size ideal for the intended Woofer. There's less room for error than with a sealed box, so design flaws can become audibly apparent, cause distortion and allow the Woofer to behave erratically which can damage it.
The bass reflex may also become a sort of one trick pony, as it's more sensitive to loudness levels and if not sized up just right, can do anything from sound funky to darn near jump off the baffle if it becomes unloaded completely.
I have never heard of a conspiracy about trying to save energy from speaker designs, I highly doubt that would make a dent in power consumption, would be nearly impossible to measure or predict for. The acoustic suspension speaker on the other hand, allowed both smaller cabinets and less power.
All that being said though, I do believe there's a difference in sound character, for good or bad depending on the design. Theoretically though, two equally matched quality speakers, one sealed, the other ported, it should be a competitive match with the win going to the best execution.
I've really never had an issue with low bass lacking in sealed designs, but the smaller the Woofer is, the more of a challenge it is for a sealed speaker to reproduce relatively audible deep bass, although subsonic bass deficiency may be less noticeable in a sealed design.
That's my understanding of it, but I'm not of any authority on it. Personality for DIY, the fun is in the adventure. I've made some nice sounding sealed speakers and some nice sounding ported speakers. I tend to gravitate towards vented because it's much easier to get that 30-50 Hz range more in line with the SPL of the drivers, which adds a nice fullness to the sound, hopefully without too much of a trade off in transients. The better the Woofer the less of the problem that is. That's one thing I do like about the Dayton Designer Series, is that they are a very well suited driver for a vented enclosure.
Thanks for commenting and stay tuned I'm sure I'll try doing some more blind listening challenges, including sealed vs ported. This video was truly just an exercise in making the box suit the driver I chose.
Volume volume volume..... 😊
Thanks for watching the video. Still trying to figure out what the comment is... The volume of the video, or the volume of the speakers playing, or the volume of the cabinets. Thanks again and if you read this, let me know ;-)
I've had a lot of different speakers over the years, with closed and ported cabinets.
Sinds the beginning of this year i own a pair of Tannoy Arundel's with the 3839 "15" units, in a ported cabinet of aprox. 200ltrs.
Imho theire the best pair of speakers i've owned. 👌😁