I am trying to build a box for my Rockford HX2 RFD 2112 12" sub. I wanted a sealed box at first but after playing with WinISD from my graphs it looks like a sealed box would hinder the sub. I even used a JL 13.5w7 as comparison and it seems that the Rockford will be stronger in a ported box. Colors are as follow:

Green: Rockford HX2 - Vented
Yellow: Rockford HX2 - Sealed
Purple: JL 13.5w7 - Vented
Orange: JL 13.5w7 - Sealed
Blue: JL 10w1-4 - Vented (used for reference because the help files said that it was a "nice plot")

So am I reading this right?????? would I be stupid to put my sub in a sealed box?

 

Those HX2's go way louder in a slot port VT style box than a sealed box

 

slot port is pretty much the same as a normal port correct? except you have a larger opening so you dont have to have as long of a port when tuning to certain frequency

 

I dont think slot ports are as noisy, and I think they are louder.......You always see SPL competitors using slot ports

 

With slot port you are actually less likely to have unwanted noise since the slot is made with a thick board instead of a thin tube...it won't independently vibrate and have turbulance across it as much.

I would absolutely say that you are in no way stupid for putting your sub in a sealed enclosure. The frequency gain curve is considerably smooth and not too hindered. If you are into sound quality, that's your boy. BUT most people like to have a good amount of bass, and your speaker really does favor a ported enclosure. It's not really crazy as much as it is a question of musical and performance preference. You can even build a couple of test enclosures to check which one you like better. The sealed may provide plenty of low end for you without having that spike at 45 hz (which can muddy your music if you listen to rock or give you a sudden rumble when the bass line goes low for rap/r&b or techno.)

That said, I usually advise people to go with the ported enclosure.

 

Those curves are showing you what you should already know about sealed vs ported enclosures. Sealed enclosures have flatter response at the expense of lesser output (less efficient), ported boxes have less flat response but offer higher output (more efficient).

One of the defining factors as to weather a sub is "designed" for a sealed or ported enclosure is the excursion (Xmax) capability of the sub. Sealed enclosures require much greater excursion capability as they need it to maintain output at Fb when compared to a ported enclosure. Ported enclosures don't need as much excursion ability because at Fb the port is generating most of the output, not the driver. The other over riding factor that will favor one enclosure over another for a given driver is the Q of the driver.

Personally I don't hate ported enclosures but for true subwoofers I prefer sealed enclosures. The way I see it is that the real downside to a sealed enclosure is it needs more power to play as loud as a ported one. That's easy to fix as amp power is cheap.

The manufacturer of the driver knows all this stuff and if they recommend one enclosure type over another you can be certain they have a good reason.