Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater VP160 Concept Discussion

Ok, well while we are clarifying things, let's make it clear once and for all just what the differences are.

I for one had always had the understanding that ported designs were more efficient in producing lower bass, and moving more air because they made use of both the air being moved from the front of the woofer cone, as well as the air being moved from the back of the woofer cone via the port. And that sealed designs were more efficient in producing clearer bass due to the absence of 'port noise' that plague ported designs.

Now those were the views I held previous to becoming a member here on AxiomAudio.com. Since then I've come to the understanding that the end result in performance has nothing to do with the box design, only in the enginering of the equipment incorporated in such designs. So this is the information I've been passing along to others. Somewhere in the process I completely missed anyone explaining that ported designs have lower bass extension. And I've read pretty much every thread in this forum over the past year and a half. So if I missed it, I'm sure there are many other's who missed that as well.

This is in fact the 1st time I've heard it acknowledged that there are any advantages and/or disadvantages to the box design. That's not to say it has never been acknowledged before, just that this is the 1st time I can remember seeing it. So then what is being explained to us now is that ported box's hit lower bass notes? Is that what is meant by 'bass extension'? Please excuse my ignorance, I'm just tryng to get a clear picture of the differences between the two. And if ported box's produce greater bass extension, then what exactly is a sealed box's inherent characteristic?

The information all seems so contradictory sometimes. For instance my EP800 is sealed, yet produces lower bass extension than the ported EP600. Does this mean that a ported EP800 would have even greater bass extention? And if so, then what was the reason to use a sealed box?

Enquiring minds want to know. Up until now I thought I had finally come to understand that when a newbie popped up on here claiming, "I prefer ported box's over sealed box's", that he didn't know what he was talking about. Now it seems entirely possible that he prefers the greater bass extention of a ported box.

Clarifying the differences between these two designs would save a lot of confusion for me personally, as well as many, many others I'm sure.