Ported vs Passive Radiator

Car Audio Subs
#1

So I understand that in ported vs sealed, sealed tends to be a bit more… Accurate (if memory serves) though won’t reach as low. Ported tends to be larger, can have issues with chuffing noise, though tend to be more capable in how low in frequency it can reach.
Now, when it comes to a passive radiator, I understand it’s very similar to a standard driver, but without a motor. I also understand it can also be more expensive to implement.

I’m kind of intending this to help me think out how to upgrade the sound system in my truck, and how to do a box for the sub.

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Roughly this is probably how I’d place the sub, if this very rough sketch makes any sense.

#2

Buy a sealed box and call it a day. Unless you’re willing to put a lot of time and effort into the truck dampening sheet metal and chasing rattles. The inside of a car is the absolute worst place to chase high end audio.

My recommendation would be to spend less in hardware a spend A LOT of time removing resonant rattles etc. You’ll get the best results for less money.

#3

I agree with @db_Cooper, there are a lot of books on Speaker cabinet design, it’s not a simple field.
Basically ports and passive radiators do the same thing they let you tune cabinet resonance for particular frequencies this is used to compensate for rolloff in the driver.
Ports can generally be calculated IF you have measurements for a driver and know what you are trying to achieve.
Passive radiators are more complex, My floorstanding speakers have a 10 inch CF woofer and a 10 inch passive radiator for bass, with a mechanism to adjust the weight of the cone in the passive radiator so you can tune the bass to the room, because the room itself has as much an effect on the bass as the speaker does.
Setting up a Sub in a decent room so it’s coherent is difficult enough, trying to get “quality” out of a sub in a car seems like focusing in the wrong thing.

#4

So while I get it’s not quite what you mean, but I could easily see how that could be twisted into “So what you’re saying is just buy the cheapest thing I can get my hands on, then off load the rest of the budget into dampening.”

#5

You want the best, simple and well put together components you can get. Doesn’t have to be crazy. A 4 channel amp driving actively crossed over woofer and tweeter and a basic sub. You’ve got a small cab in a truck so two channel is great.

Put a budget together and then buy decent speakers but put most of your time and effort into improving the cabin.

#6

I mean… at base, I was thinking about swapping the four stock speakers: front and rear.
While granted, I get it makes things a bit more expensive in the power metric, I’d love to get this sub, or even just the 4oHm variant. This is partially due to to being willing to concede some of the cost to size constraint and knowing I’m buying a well reviewed product from a respected brand.

#7

Are the speaker location in a good line of sight to you? Or are they in a kick panel or low on a door? Big gains to be had in the car audio world by getting separate woofer and tweeter and putting the tweeter closer to your ears than to your ankles. lol BTW IMO that’s a good level of hardware that you’re looking at.

#8

On the driver side, this is the locations of the front and rear speakers:

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Again, I’d be thinking about throwing the sub behind the driver’s seat.
Edit:
While the stereo works… the mic sucks balls and there is no CD player, so replacing it is also being considered, though I probably won’t do everything all at once.
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It’s a Dual XRM47BT

#9

Yeah for the rear I’d be okay with a coaxial design like you’ve got. For the fronts however, I’d try like hell to get separate, something where you can put the woofer in that kickpanel location but bring the tweeter up toward the top of the dash or as high up and facing your ears as possible. The single biggest gains to be made are going to be there.

#10

I mean, yeah, if I feel like modifying the door or the dash.
This is the kinda space I’d be working with on either front:

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#11

That’s the perfect triangle right on the top of the door by the mirror. You have to take the door panel off anyway. You’re set.

#12

This one?

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1 Like
#13

Is there a set you’d genuinely recommend? Biggest it’ll fit is a 6x8

#14

I would personally forget the rear speakers, disconnect them.

  • 2-way speaker set to front.
  • the sub
  • Amplifier for them
    Good installation and dampening. No rattling and shaking noise.

That is a simple recipe for good sound.
But if you want rear’s as well, them go with it.

Yes that one, you are pointing.

Some 2-way speaker set have these. Kinda a adjustable tweeter installation mount.
image

So if you don’t want to fully customize the door panel.
Installing the tweeter mount on the triangle / mirror panel or just pop the tweeter near the A-pilar / dashboard corner is also a easy way to go. Tweeter pointing at you.

Also securing everything in place is important!
So the amplifier and sub will not move if a crash happens. They just are not “dumped” in to the floor and if crash happens, they become big deadly moving objects.

#15

Alright, so screw the speakers closest to the driver and passenger’s head.

Wait… so go with the 2 way or… component speakers?

I wasn’t exactly planning on adding an amp for anything beyond the sub, but okay.

Okay, so a couple rolls of this, a full day off to spend hours on instillation?

I kinda figured that was a given

#16

2-way speaker / component speaker. Same thing basically.
Usually set of tweeter, midrange/bass and crossover box for both doors.

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You can always add the amp or amps later on.
It’s all how far you want the take the project.

Good end result.
Last time i did everything with no haste. Plus it was a new car so takes a while to know how the door comes apart. One door per day speed.
Cables, damping (inner door frame and outer door frame, doorpanel) 3 different materials, speakers mounting and installation with bolts and testing etc.

#17

Yeap, you got it. BTW I agree with @MadGman sticking to only to the doors and forgetting the rear will save you money and work. Put the money you save into better front speaker components.

Don’t buy the automotive damping from a stereo store.

I used this for the inside of my speaker cabinets and it was great at half the price. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BLSP8JV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

#18

You missed it… You pointed me back towards 2-way speakers, aka co-axial speaker, (no modification needed), but @db_Cooper was pointing me at component speakers.

Why?

My problem at this point is more that I’m not gonna tear out the entire interior of my truck to slather it all over the place.

#19

No.
2-way speaker, literally meaning 2-way set, separate tweeter and separate midrange&bass and crossover box. Like the image above…crist. Might be translation issue since all we talk is 2-way (or 3-way speakers). Meaning above. Same as component speakers.
If you image google both, you literally get similar images. Separate tweeter and separate midrange&bass. Same as db_Cooper meant.

aka coaxial speaker, is speaker with tweeter+midrange&base in single driver desing.
If you google this, You get this.
This is something that could be used in rear channels, since no point of good sound at back.

In CarHifi the point is getting good sound from Front.
2-way or component speakers + sub + amps. Easy and good results.
If you want just want easy… use coaxial speakers and i’ll leave this conversation.

#20

Beyond it’s the closer one to my ear, maybe a foot and a half (2foot at most) away.

Two-way speaker
Two-way, or coaxial, designs reproduce your music’s frequency range accurately. These speakers use a separate tweeter — mounted inside the woofer — to deliver the high-frequencies.
Three-way speaker
Three-way, or triaxial, speakers take the separate woofer and tweeter from a two-way design and add a midrange driver for enhanced warmth and texture. Select three-ways use a supertweeter, instead of a midrange, for extended high-frequency response. Four-ways combine a woofer, a midrange, a tweeter, and a supertweeter for even more detail.
Component System
Component systems, or separates, use a superior speaker design to give you the best possible sound. A typical separates system includes 2 woofers, 2 tweeters, and 2 external crossovers — all of which are designed to work smoothly with one another.
Generally, components are made of better materials than their two- or three-way counterparts. You can position the separate tweeters for optimal imaging. Given adequate power, separates deliver exceptional dynamics and detail.
Crossover
A network of filters, made up of coils and capacitors, that directs specific frequency ranges to the appropriate speaker components (woofer, midrange, and tweeter, for instance). That way, the drivers do not strain to reproduce notes out of their intended range.
Component systems and full-range speakers include passive crossovers, which are designed for the specific components and mounted between the amplifier and speakers. Active crossovers divide the frequency range before amplification, and can be adjusted to adapt to any speaker setup.


Or should I simply discard what seemed to be a rather well respected retailer in favor of your word because their definitions don’t match with yours?

I want easy and good, but when no one seems to be sending me in different fucking directions, SHIT GETS MORE CONFUSING. If you wanna get pissy that I’m pushing back by pointing this issue out, then go right the fuck ahead and leave the conversation.