Hi Satkartr,

With all due respect to Per Hsu, this is one of those hoary old audio myths that won't go away (that ported subs are "better for home theater" and "sealed subs better for music.")

kcarlile is correct. I likely did get quite animated when I explained that it is the design, linearity and bass extension of the subwoofer that matters, not the programming material or the enclosure design.

The main advantage of a sealed subwoofer like the EP800 is that you can extend the deep bass response down to frequencies like 12 or 13 Hz without having to deal with issues of audible port noise. If you try to get the same bass extension from a ported design, the noise of the air rushing through the port at such low frequencies begins to dominate the sound of the subwoofer.

The disadvantage of a sealed subwoofer is that you lose some sensitivity (efficiency) because you are "throwing away" all the rear energy from the drivers that would be used to augment the output of a ported sub. That's why in the EP800 we have to use two dual-voice-coil drivers and more power (800 watts) to compensate for the loss in sensitivity of a sealed design. The additional driver and larger amplifier power output let us bring the EP800's SPL up to 114 dB anechoic and 125 dB SPL in a room.

The "punch" that some listeners attribute to some subwoofers is simply a non-linearity; a hump in the subwoofer's bass response. Because of their linearity, which is DSP-controlled, the EP600 and EP800 do not have the false coloration of "punch". The latter is analogous to the upper bass hump that some floorstanding and bookshelf speakers have, which listeners subjectively call "warmth". It's pleasant at first, but then you'll hear it adding fatness and coloration to everything--male vocals and any instruments whose frequencies occur in the 60 to 200 Hz range. You get sick of it pretty quickly.

In double blind tests, I've never heard a qualitative difference between well-designed sealed or ported subwoofers with music or home theater, and I'd challenge anyone to consistently and reliably pick out a sealed or ported subwoofer in a double-blind controlled test.

Regards,

Alan

Alan Lofft,
Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)