# Does enclosure shape effect sub sound?



## bilbo6209 (Oct 12, 2015)

Hey guys, 

I'm looking at building a custom sub enclosure in my spare wheel well, and before I do this I was just curious if an odd shaped enclosures change the sound or performance of a sub? 

I'm thinking I might need to do to a half moon or maybe even a Cresent shaped enclosure to get the size I need due to the battery being in the well also.


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## Theslaking (Oct 8, 2013)

A long time ago I made a square box. A guy told me that was bad. So I made a rectangle the same size and I did have a noticeable difference. I have never made a square box since. I have no scientific evidence. I have heard plenty of people say not to make it a perfect square but you see a lot of HT systems with them. Maybe I just made my rectangle box better. Maybe it was a better cut of wood. Maybe you shouldn't make perfectly square boxes. Port position definitely makes a difference if it's ported.


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## bilbo6209 (Oct 12, 2015)

In my case I'm thinking the box will have a flat front, angled sides to matches the curve of the wheel wheel, and to get the correct volume will have legs that extend down on both sides of the battery. 
The box will have an ending volume of .75 qft non ported and will be holding an IDMax10.


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

At subwoofer frequencies, unless your subwoofer box has any dimension longer than a few feet, the shape will make no difference. It's all about the internal volume, and if ported, the geometry of the port.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

^^^and making sure you have adequate room behind the vented pole piece, if there is any


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## Porgy (Jun 8, 2011)

Niebur3 said:


> ^^^and making sure you have adequate room behind the vented pole piece, if there is any


 I ran into this issue lately... what constitutes adequate room?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Porgy said:


> I ran into this issue lately... what constitutes adequate room?


some people say diameter of the vent should be the minimum distance between the back of the magnet and the enclosure


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

eh, i mean ive heard that not having a flat surface anywhere helps with standing waves..


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## bilbo6209 (Oct 12, 2015)

This is kind of what I'm looking at having to do, yes this is just a really crappy drawing and a bad picture but gives you the idea.


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

You can make your enclosure any shape you want as long as your internal net volume is what it needs to be 

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

Jscoyne2 said:


> eh, i mean ive heard that not having a flat surface anywhere helps with standing waves..


There are no standing waves if the shortest waves are larger than the enclosure.

100hz is 135" long.


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## bilbo6209 (Oct 12, 2015)

Ok and then would it matter if the sub points straight at the back wall of the spare well, or should I angle it up a bit? I plan on putting some type of grill material on the floor above the sub so the sound isn't blocked as much. 

Also should I deaden the wall in front of the sub, ie the wall in the spare well that the sub would fire into?


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

bilbo6209 said:


> Ok and then would it matter if the sub points straight at the back wall of the spare well, or should I angle it up a bit? I plan on putting some type of grill material on the floor above the sub so the sound isn't blocked as much.
> 
> Also should I deaden the wall in front of the sub, ie the wall in the spare well that the sub would fire into?


Straight is fine. Port the same direction

Ive never deadened a trunk so I have no idea

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk


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## Hanatsu (Nov 9, 2010)

About all home subs are rectangular or square-box shaped, are all of those designs bad? Look up how long the wavelengths are in subwoofer range and you'll have your answer...


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk.


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## bugsplat (Nov 7, 2014)

OP says he is going sealed, not ported. If its just a sealed enclosure, no, shape does not matter as long as the volume is correct.


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

It's kinda of a crap shoot whether pointed straight back or angled sounds better, if you can't experiment, I would angle it up. 

You should really deaden the whole trunk if you can.


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## firebirdude (Dec 24, 2009)

A perfect sphere is the perfect enclosure.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

firebirdude said:


> A perfect sphere is the perfect enclosure.


In what way?


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

firebirdude said:


> A perfect sphere is the perfect enclosure.


A sphere might be the most rigid shape for a given amount of material to work with (think pressure vessel). However, any rectangular enclosure with slightly thicker walls and a little bit of bracing will perform just as well as a spherical shape and is *much* easier to build.


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