I know I asked about the shape of the box before, so I guess this would be Part II.

Going back to box again. Is there a general rule we can go by.

If the box is slightly bigger or smaller than what the sub manufacture recommend, how would it effect sound quality?

 

If it's a sealed enclosure, it will not be as crucial, since if the volume of the enclosure changes, it will only effect the F3 or 3dB down point of the box, or the point at which the response of the woofer starts to drop or roll off. There is a lot of fudge factor allowed in a sealed box. It will have an effect on how low the speaker can play.

But for a vented or ported enclosure, you pretty much need it to be exact because the port length is determined by the frequency you want to tune it and the volume of the enclosure.




[Modified by dc24me, 10:55 AM 8/10/2001]

 

smaller then the manufacturer specs would make less area in the box. This would cause higher sound pressure and make the bass tighter.


larger then the specs would make more area in the box. this would cause lower sound pressure and make the bass looser(don't think that's the proper term for it though)

Mind you those are rules for sealed enclosures... I'm not sure how the change when you start to deal with vented enclosures.