I remember running an Infinity Reference 10" in a pre-fab box with 150watts RMS going to it, And the sub was rated at 250RMS.

It pounded my face off, And it was only 150watts...

My question is, Will a sealed enclosure generally require more power to get those quick thumps? Because ported enclosures seem to thump pretty damn loud with a lot less power than the sub should be running.

 

For loudness on the amount of power... some subs are more efficient and will play louder with less power, others need a tone to get loud.

Sealed enclosures allow the sub to be able to take more power compared to a ported box yes.

 

usually a sub ported will be 3 db louder than if it was sealed, so with that in mind the same sub sealed will required 300w vs 150w ported to give the same output

 

Basic rule... you lose 3dB from ported to sealed. You can gain it back by doubling the power. If you install it better you might gain 3dB that way too. Sealed boxes can get loud if you have lots of cone area and power. I've used 2 12's in a sealed box, and one of those in a ported box, both setups getting the same power, and there wasn't much of a difference in SPL as there was in SQ and response. If you don't mind a sealed box being -3dB efficient, needing more space, power or cone area, in favor for SQ and response, it's a better idea for daily unless you really need to maximize SPL because your budget or car sucks.

The response of a sealed box, if the FC is pretty low (30hz), is better for lows because it's -12dB @ 20hz. If a ported box is tuned at 35hz, it's -24dB @ 25hz, and a sub in a sealed box with the FC @ 45hz could have the same lows as a ported box, but maybe the ported is louder. LMS subs may have low efficiency, but they make up for it with a low FC. One octave can gain you 12dB, way more efficient than a -3dB loss. They require more space though. I'm looking for a 12 and an 18 with an Q of .707 / FC @ 30hz. The closest are Eclipse, TC, and Soundsplinter.

 

Excellent info guys, Thanks for the help.