How to be a Bass Freak
A serious bass freak needs all the bass he can get. He will go to absurd lengths
to accomplish this. The bass freak knows no limits. He will spend thousands of
dollars on equipment. He will buy top amplifiers such as Rockford Fosgate, PPI,
Pyle, and Orion. He will buy the best speakers such as JL Audio, JBL, and Pyle.
The last thing the bass freak buys or makes is a speaker box. The correct speaker
box design will allow the speakers to operate at maximum efficiently. Choosing
the right box is very important. There are three main box designs. The manufacturer
of the speaker, will ususally recommend a box. However, all three box designs will
work with most speakers.
The easiest box to design and build is the closed box. This box is called a
closed box because it has no ports. Ports are openings where air can travel in and
out. The closed box can be small and still sound good. It is wise to use this box
design in a small car or truck, where space is limited. The sound quality of a closed
box is often better than other boxes while the speakers are driven at higher power.
However, the closed box is less efficient than a ported box. The closed box is less
efficient because air is trapped in the box and can not move. The pressure of the
air trapped in the box is higher which makes it more difficult for the speaker to move.
A larger amplifier will be required to drive the less efficient speakers, which
increases the cost of the system.
The next type of box is the ported box. This box has a port that lets air travel
in and out. These boxes can be very large and can sometimes take up a car trunk. This
box design is more efficient than a closed box, but is harder to design. This box
requires
less power and has a greater frequency range, which sometimes eliminates the need for
midrange speakers. At very low bass frequencies, the ported box sometimes becomes
"unloaded". Unloading happens when the pressure of the air inside the box drops too
low. As a result the speaker has very little air to move and becomes "unloaded". It
makes
the speaker sound like junk and can damage it. A way of fixing his problem is to use a
low
pass filter. However, this filter will cost extra and therefore add cost to the system.
The last box, which is hardest to make and design, is called a band-pass. The
band-pass box is the only box that controls the upper and lower frequency response.
There
are two designs of this box. The first is the forth order and consists of only one
port.
The second is the sixth order and consists of two ports. The sixth order design is more
bandwidth-limited. For example, the forth order design will have a frequency bandwidth,
from 95hz down to 35hz. The sixth order design will have a smaller bandwidth, from 75hz
down to 40hz. This box is very complex to design and construct. If a measurement is
slightly
off, it can make the box sound terrible.
If a bass freak only wants deep long resonating bass, I recommend the band-pass
box.
If they want hard hitting bass, I recommend the closed box. Check with a dealer before
choosing a box design. Often, different models of speakers will sound and perform better
in a
certain box. You must remember that making the best box is very diffuclult and is not
easy
for the experts.
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