Basswork sub box or custom sub box?

[Laoz]

Should I get someone to make a custom sub box for me? or should I just buy a pre-made Basswork box from futureshop?

[Splkia]

A custom subbox tailored to one specific sub is going to put you miles ahead in performance and sound quality than a cookie cutter prefab box.

I just recently did a custom ported box for someone with a single 10" sub. The person had previously had the sub in a prefab ported box. The custom box in his opinion brought the sub to life. It was a night and day difference in output, and sound quality.

What kind of sub are you looking at, and what type of vehicle is it going into.

If you have any further questions or need this work done feel free to PM me.

[nobb]

For a ported box I would never buy prefab, better to tune it yourself specific to the sub. But the sealed ones done by Bassworx are decent enough, provided that your volume is within manufacturer's spec. I doubt you will hear any significant difference with a sealed box. You might want to add extra bracing though.

[Splkia]

I have seen a bassworx sealed box destroyed by a alpine type r with 600watts lol!!!

[futurecivic]

huge difference in custom boxes to pre fab ones. bassworx arent made with mdf and sealed boxes can breath which is not good.
custom boxes will give you the right air space and can make if fit in your vehicle alot better

[Graham_A_M]

I have a software program on my computer for designing the proper sub box, so tell me what sub it is, and I'll design the optimum box for it.

Prefab boxes are the worst idea out there for subs. Sealed, not so much as they are quite forgiving & the exact amount of internal air space can vary a bit, but for ported boxes, they need to be bang-on perfect for the subs. Its like this, for sound quality & depth of bass: The sub in question is really about 50% of the equation, the rest is the box its in. No seriously, its about that percentage.

People dont realize this, but even down to 1/2" on port length can make or break a sub & box combo. I remember buying a sub in one of those Sony Xplod 12" boxes, and it sounded fucking awful, so the seller gave it away pretty much. I dorked around on the software program, and found out that if I trimmed 7/8" in length off the port, it would be almost perfect for it. Sure enough, just amazing the difference. The sub hit a 3db downpoint (F3) of 15hz lower, and the SQ was remarkable.

3/4" MDF is the key for 95% of the subs out there. It barely flexes, its cheap and easy to work with. 1" MDF is even better, but the box will be very very heavy when you're done.
Alternatively Baltic Birch is a plyboard type of wood thats almost as strong, but wieghs much less.

Its your choice, but do not go for typical plyboard, as it has airpockets & leaks. It also flexes significantly, which is the exact opposite of what you want a box to do.

[Splkia]

Software is nice but, a lot of the box design process comes from real world experience.
Also once you put the box in the car its going to have totally different response from what the software says, because most software programs do not take into account transfer function. I think Bassbox 6 pro has a area where you can input your vehicles gain at different frequencies (aka Transfer Function), but I still find that nothing beats real world experience, or having some one who has built a variety of boxes for a variety of different vehicles work their magic. hint, hint.

[silvercivicsir]

Spoken like a True Base Head... Still running the Juggernaut ?

Originally posted by Splkia
Software is nice but, a lot of the box design process comes from real world experience.
Also once you put the box in the car its going to have totally different response from what the software says, because most software programs do not take into account transfer function. I think Bassbox 6 pro has a area where you can input your vehicles gain at different frequencies (aka Transfer Function), but I still find that nothing beats real world experience, or having some one who has built a variety of boxes for a variety of different vehicles work their magic. hint, hint.

[Splkia]

hahaha
I'm running a MTX 9500 -15 in a transmission line enclosure
I have another one waiting in the wings too. Hopefully I can get both in there in a TL wall that would be fun.

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by Splkia
Software is nice but, a lot of the box design process comes from real world experience.
Also once you put the box in the car its going to have totally different response from what the software says, because most software programs do not take into account transfer function. I think Bassbox 6 pro has a area where you can input your vehicles gain at different frequencies (aka Transfer Function), but I still find that nothing beats real world experience, or having some one who has built a variety of boxes for a variety of different vehicles work their magic. hint, hint.

I agree 100%. To save on money though, I usually model the sub on both Bass Box Pro 6, and Boxmod. That way its great for averaging out the best results and finding errors.
But yeah you're right real world experimentation is key as well.

[///LOUD LOAD\\\]

Originally posted by Splkia
Software is nice but, a lot of the box design process comes from real world experience.
Also once you put the box in the car its going to have totally different response from what the software says, because most software programs do not take into account transfer function. I think Bassbox 6 pro has a area where you can input your vehicles gain at different frequencies (aka Transfer Function), but I still find that nothing beats real world experience, or having some one who has built a variety of boxes for a variety of different vehicles work their magic. hint, hint.

You took the words right out of my mouth Murry.
Transfer function being the key to why programs will never be able to tell you how a enclosure will work inside a vehicle. And on that note how even the exact same model of car compared to the exact same car will yield different results and cabin peaks.