BWC (Big Woofer Club): Why Big Woofers Matter

Update on the spatials, they sound fantastic. Have played with different positions, still working on it. Plan on upgrading the crossover parts. They play everything I throw at them really well, im listining to the whole album instead of changing after a cut or two. Great bass well difined and clear. Have Jimi Hendricks axis bold as love on WOW this is good. Open baffles are eye openers. I have loved my box speakers so I will put them in maybe in a week or so and see how it goes. Great fun.

 

Does anyone have anecdotal experience about whether a sealed or ported sub transfers more bass energy into adjoining rooms?

Based on my anecdotal experience running a subwoofer at the office (where you share walls with coworkers) years ago, I got requests to turn things down when I ran a 12" Rythmik sealed sub but never really did when I ran a 12" Dayton ported sub. I just hated the sound of the Dayton.

Spoiler: Background / story

I just got a new job and am piecing together a budget computer speaker system to use in the office. Right before COVID I got a pair of Vanatoo T0 and a Dayton SUB-1200 for use at the office. That blended OK, but I never really got on with the sound of the Dayton sub, especially given I listen to rock/punk mostly with classical and piano stuff when I need to focus. The sub at my old office was by a shared wall where my coworkers desk was right on the other side. No complaints about bass from them at my normal listening volumes with the Dayton.

Later, I returned the Dayton and got a Rythmik L12 (sealed, servo-controlled sub). Integrated much better and I really liked the sound a lot. I then got messages somewhat frequently asking me to turn the volume down. I eventually figured out which Vanatoo volume and Rythmik gain setting minimized those requests, but it never fully went away. I'm not a basshead so everything was properly blended such that I couldn't tell the sub was on, but probably sub volume a click or two lower than I would have preferred. Then COVID hit and I brought this system home, where it will stay.

For my new job I will be in the office 2-3 days a week, and I am piecing together a budget computer speaker setup: Kanto Ora powered speakers and a subwoofer TBD. Potential options include RSL Speedwoofer 10E, SVS SB-1000 / Pro, or something more designed for computer speakers like the Kanto SUB8 or PreSonus Eris Sub. I think before I decide on a model, I think I need to decide whether sealed vs. ported will "bleed" less into my colleagues' offices. The ORA has a built-in low pass when a subwoofer is connected, crossed at 100 Hz, so whatever I get will need to have decent upper bass --> midbass response for blending. Music only (no movies at the office).

 

Not directly answering your question, but I have a 2 x 10" sealed Rythmik and have had a ported12" Dayton. The difference between output below 40Hz (maybe even a bit higher) is pretty huge in favor of the Rythmik. So might not be sealed vs ported but just difference in how they roll off down low.

 

I'm guessing sealed has the box absorbing all of the back wave, some of which which will resonate into the floor, but ported, it is using some of that back wave to resonate the air constructively to help improve usuable lower frequency. In a closed room office setting, ported might be less bad. In a cubicle, probably pretty equal.

 

Thanks everyone. That makes a lot of sense. So seems like I actually would want something that rolls off below 40 Hz for use at the office. I’m not going back to the Dayton, but I’ve seen a few 8” and 10” options that may work well enough to offload the bass from the desktop speakers and fill in 40 Hz and above.

 

Marv's reasoning is on the money.

I"ll just add a secondary effect.
The phase response matters significantly.

When I make tests with 3.-ish order woofer filter (which I generally dislike) I have noticed how it concentrates the room modes.
2.-order in the same speaker and the energy is more even across the room.

A ported sub will have sharper roll off and more messed up group delay at around port tuning frequency.

This could theoretically translate such a way that you feel less bass energy than your neighbour behind a drywall.

 

As a person in a second floor apartment with “trampoline” floors, I’ve spent a good amount of time dealing with bass augmentation for neighbors. Part of this phenomenon will be the orientation of your office room as it relates to the broader office. The wavelengths for subs are really long, and it might mean modes can exist out of your room (which is crazy). In my experience the building structure plays a large roll as well. So, a few thoughts:

1) Sealed often goes lower due to the second order roll off. This might mean your lower octave could be more substantial, and will excite other parts of the office/building. This could mean a higher roll off ported will create and transfer less bass (30-35hz f3?), as Priidik noted nicely, above(!).

2) I have found isolation and mass loading to really help with subs. Your floor can become a transducer itself, therefore vibrating across floors and walls, making your bass sound louder everywhere in the building/office. This floor excitation also creates non-linearities and sloppier bass, in my listening.

3) I personally still like sealed bass better. It is all I have in my listening spaces. My nearfield desk set-up gets a REL T5x, which I find to blends wonderfully. My stereo has a REL T7x and DIY horizontally opposed 10” subs. This means I have needed to heavily decouple from the floor.

An isolation and mass loading layered decoupling formula I have found to be successful:

Type A
• Thin rubber feet (just so you’re not scratching the floor)
• 1.5-2” concrete or stone pavers, sized to fit sub footprint (tabletop off cuts are great too)
• Sorbothane 1/2” cubes/pucks, Duro 70
• Sub
• Sorbothane, same as above
• Paver, same as above

This orientation allows the sub to be mass loaded (weighted) and decoupled, planting the sub, essentially, in a flexible membrane.

Type B
• Sorbothane 3/4” x 1” 70 Duro (can experiment with 3 vs 4)
• 2+" paver or stone slab
• Sorbothane (thin) or sub feet
• Sub

Apologies if this is too much DIY and inconvenient, but its really transformed my systems and kept neighbors pretty chill.

My implementation:
https://imgur.com/a/oNlT47M

Darren Myers Sealed 18" (PS Audio & Parasound Engineer):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqhxRsHMKUb084FJW2s1e-CHxsmdfF3x3gW6U0/