My dad is a carpenter and he is making up some sub boxes for twelve inch subs. The box is vented into a second section, but does there need to be an external vent into the air outside the box? I suspect that there does, but I figured I would ask before I get the hole put in the thing. Cheers.
Check your sub specs, they will have recommendations on what enclosure is best suited for them( closed, vented) and the relative volumes that they work with. This should be really be done before you make your box to maximise the sound quality and and the volume of the subs. Dont stress too much, you will be able to change it now anyway. If you dont have specs for the subs mr google should have info on the make and model. Good luck
sealed box's sound good as long as they are nice and solid, and sealed properly. Will have good volume all though the Hz range of the sub. and a wide spectrum A ported box however is a much different story. Once you port a box, the sound capabilities of across the spectrum is reduced. The Hz of the port is determined by the air capacity of the box, and the shape and length of the port. The reason for porting boxes is to match the Hz of the sub and box to the resonant frequency of the vehicle. (just for reference, whilst tuning my set up, and messing with port sizes on my big box, I have personally found the ideal resonant frequency for bass is about 45-50hz in the zed.) So what does all this mean? If you leave the box enclosed, it will have good volume for most hz ranges the sub will use 20-100hz depending on your particular sub and amp set up. If the ports are designed to a frequency at around 45-50 hz the sub will get very very loud around these frequencies. but loose some spectrum away from this area. If the ports are a shape and size which is too low or too high from the 45-50hz range, they will sound shit. cant put it any more frankly. If you give some specs on the specific box size(or even better if you have already worked out how many liters it holds), and the type of subs, I can give you an idea of the size the ports would have to be (also note, cheaper subs or underpowered subs generally sound better in a sealed enclosure, as they just don't have enough motor/coil capacity to move and create pressure in the ports)
