I was wanting to test the difference between using a ported and sealed box, and was wondering if plugging the port can make the box act like that of a sealed box.

As of now I don't have to money or time to build a custom sealed box

 

yes plugging the port will make it a sealed box. However the ported vs sealed part is not so simple as just ported or sealed. The size of the enclosure, the specific subwoofer used in relation to the enclosures size and airspace make a HUGE difference.

 

Pluggin the port is an oldie but a goodie, I have done so on many a sub with good reuslts. But like sikk says the size will impact it as well. You can always compensate for a box that is too big by adding materials to the walls such as carpet underlay etc.

 

The box in my avitar was originally ported. I used MDF sheets to perfectly fill the ports all the way to the back of the enclosures. The used wood across the back to cover the rest of the port and take out the appropriate amount of air space. It worked great .... until I got MORE POWER...

So now it's back to ported, just had to pull out the wood from the slots (few screws and thick wire as handles) and get all the wood out that was used to remove air space and your back to ported.

Just be careful of what you use to hold the wood into place.... silicone & screws hold wood well (a little tooo well, lol) but eliminates any rattles between layers.

 

OK. Thanks. How much of a difference in sound quality did you notice between ported and sealed. Also right now I am just using like 4 towels to plug my huge port, but if i end up deciding i will screw on some mdf over the port.

 

You can't just "screw some MDF over the port." .... well you could but then still have to seal off the inside of the port, then remove the right amount of air space. Using towels or just blocking with wood will not sound as good as taking the time to do it right.

The SQ sealed is excellent IMO. Definitely not as loud as ported. Seeing as your not overpowering them by any means you should not have to worry about over excursion as long as you have them in the right size sealed enclosure.

You gonna need to know how much air space you currently have. What size you want to try sealed then begin to calculate how much MDF your going to have to add to remove the right amount of airspace.

I'd use this to help you.

 

Looks like as long as your box is built to JL specs of 1.875 ported, all you have to do is remove .25 cu.ft. to get to the 1.625 recommended sealed.

 

How about sealing the port with minimum wood needed and filling the box with .25cu ft of styrofoam (like a cube shape).... saves alot of weight I would think.... (glue it of course :])

 

As long as the inside of the port is sealed so the box can't get no air from the port you don't have to cover the outside of the port at all.... just remove the .25 cu ft air space

 

it's all about the air seal