- Mar 8, 2011
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- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
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Preference For Sealed Cabs? Why?
- Thread starter dukeorock
- Start date
I don't care how a cab is built as long as it sounds like what I want. I have ported and sealed cabs and I like them all. Now who you should ask is Johnny A from Staind (staindbass). He hates ported cabs. He says the low end sounds like it's puffing to him in a ported cab. I don't get it, but I don't have to 
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Everything about cabs involves tradeoffs to get what every player is after. I've seen the subject come up a bit more lately, so I'd love to hear some thoughts on the subject 
It is generally because of the way it feels under your fingers, faster, more connected less sluggish, etc. Also, the higher but shallower low end roll off tends to work in many live environments. They are still my preference but, I will say that my barefaced supertwin responds just as fast as my nv610. That being said, I'm in line to get the barefaced retro six10 which is a "sort of" ported design that supposedly gets the same feel as the a sealed cab with more lows. It damn well better for the price! I thought this question had been done to death but, as a big supporter of sealed cabs who has played pretty much everything except the Big E cabs, I thought you should hear it.
Out of curiosity, scientifically speaking, how would whether a cab is sealed or not impact its "speed?"
Sealed cabs have more back pressure on the speakers so, they move less. Really though, guys, this has been discussed in so many long threads. Do a few searches.
Oh please. If we can tolerate 50 threads a week about, "OMFG how do i make ohms work? and what is the sound of 3" speakers versus 21" speakers? and how do I pentuple-amp these different rigs for the best wet/dry/wet/spacial delay rig?" then I think we can handle a little actual constructive discussion about sealed/versus ported cabs.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Lots of topics get revisited. Tastes change, maybe some new designs come along, etc. If you disagree, that's totally cool. Don't revisit this thread
I'm not a technical expert on cab design. But I always wondered about the sealed cab thing and how much of chasing this particular sound is related to older bassists in particular whose "sound in the head" comes from the recorded and produced record sound of the 1960s and 1970s? Seems like a lot of "how do I get this tone" questions relate more to matters of tracking techniques, EQ, compression, mastering, and possibly end production format than they do to use of a particular cab technology in a live music setting.
alexclaber
Commercial User
This is only true at very low frequencies, i.e. below typical port tuning frequencies. Now someone may misunderstand that and say "well I play bass, I'm all about very low frequencies" but we're not really talking about musical bass guitar frequencies, we're talking about rumble and thunder sounds effects kind of frequencies. Ported cabs have more back pressure on speakers within the passband, so they move less. That's the big problem with sealed cabs - the speakers have to move more to generate as much output, which means they generally can't play as loud as similar quality/size ported cabs.
The good thing about sealed cabs is that they generally exhibit a slower low frequency roll-off, usually from a higher frequency, which makes them work better in most room acoustics than ported speakers which reach lower stronger but then roll off more steeply. Also, too many ported cabs are tuned to high or in too small a box for the speaker, which means they end up with an excessive hump in the mid-bass which sounds a bit rubbish and messes up the transient response. It's much easier to design a sealed cab therefore it's also much harder to get wrong and arguably quite a lot of ported cabs are wrong!
Also, a loudspeaker with a less steep roll-off in the lows will exhibit better transient response than a loudspeaker of equal quality with similar components but a steep roll-off - this is inescapable and it due to the laws which explain filter behaviour - the more extreme the filter, the quicker the phase shift, thus the worse the transient response (if all else is equal).
You can make other enclosure designs sound and feel like sealed cabs if you match the low frequency roll-off characteristics of a good sealed cab.
I was once talking to a top Hifi speaker designer who said "I don't want to hear any part of my music coming out of a port". I feel the same way. Ported enclosures are a great way to get good bass extension and decent sensitivity in a small box. I just feel that the quality of the bass suffers. To get extension and volume out of a sealed box is possible, but the box will be very large and heavy and if it's going to have decent output--sensitivity will likely be low. I feel that there are other more effective ways to skin that cat.
There is so much more to the final sonic result than the general enclosure type that the comparison is almost meaningless. There are muddy, boomy examples of each, as well as tight, extended and articulate examples. What really does a sealed cab sound like? How about ported?
I suspect that the root of this question lies is in the common examples in the market. As alexclaber mentioned, there are a lot of undersized, poorly tuned ported cabs, and sealed cabs are much easier to get right. That said, not all ported cabs are poorly designed, and not all sealed cabs are designed correctly. To some extent, the seemingly poorly designed cabs are done so intentionally. IMO, they are being designed to meet players expectations on audition in a showroom. This is especially true of low cost, entry level equipment.
I have heard the most extended, articulate and dynamic bass from EBS ported designs, transmission lines and horns.
I suspect that the root of this question lies is in the common examples in the market. As alexclaber mentioned, there are a lot of undersized, poorly tuned ported cabs, and sealed cabs are much easier to get right. That said, not all ported cabs are poorly designed, and not all sealed cabs are designed correctly. To some extent, the seemingly poorly designed cabs are done so intentionally. IMO, they are being designed to meet players expectations on audition in a showroom. This is especially true of low cost, entry level equipment.
I have heard the most extended, articulate and dynamic bass from EBS ported designs, transmission lines and horns.
Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is impedance curves.
Ported cabs have 2 impedance spikes in the lower region where sealed has one.
Depending on that second spike, some ported cabs don't "get along well" with some tube amps.
May be a thing that only applies to certain few combinations of speakers and amps, but a thing nonetheless.
In general, the sealed cab can (though not always will) feel like tighter, more controlled bass, and thus nicer harmonics by comparison.
Depending on the design, a sealed cab can also render excursion limits moot, as the airspring effect won't allow the speaker to move any farther, and we're back to how much cooking the coil can withstand.
Ported cabs are more popular simply because it's an inexpensive way to get more LF extension/output from the same number of drivers.
Ported cabs have 2 impedance spikes in the lower region where sealed has one.
Depending on that second spike, some ported cabs don't "get along well" with some tube amps.
May be a thing that only applies to certain few combinations of speakers and amps, but a thing nonetheless.
In general, the sealed cab can (though not always will) feel like tighter, more controlled bass, and thus nicer harmonics by comparison.
Depending on the design, a sealed cab can also render excursion limits moot, as the airspring effect won't allow the speaker to move any farther, and we're back to how much cooking the coil can withstand.
Ported cabs are more popular simply because it's an inexpensive way to get more LF extension/output from the same number of drivers.
Not really "speed", but transient response, which can make it feel quicker or more responsive to the player.
There's so much of this stuff comes down to individual driver/box system designs that one can't really make many general "ported is like this and sealed is like that" statements.
Dukeorock, I dont think that you are trying to be rude so, let me add that sealed cabs dont really have a different sound but, they do feel different. Ill also say that i always prefer them using fingerstyle, but with a pick i dont care as much. But, when i use a pick it is for straight ahead rock and nothing fancy.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Oh, gosh...if I did come off as rude, it was unintentional! I've just been goofing around with concepts and such, so this is part of that
Ported cabs been popular for a quite while now, perhaps sealed cabs are coming back into vogue again. Then ported cabs will be popular again..........
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
I have absolutey no idea as to why...but I prefer sealed cabs with tube amps and ported with my class D solid state amps...
I've always had this sound in my head that I want to hear when I'm playing bass. I get that sound through a sealed cab. (SVT Cl and an 8 10e.)
For a few years before I got this rig , I played through a Peavey mark 6 head and various cabs all ported. I currently have two almost identical Peavey 2 15 cabs both ported. One has the original square magnet speakers in it and the other has two fairly old Scorpions in it. I much prefer the one with the Scorpions in it. It comes moch closer to sounding like my 8 10 rig than the other one does so It makes me wonder how much is due to the porting and how much is due to the individual speakers in a cab. Yes the ported cabs do sound a bit different from the sealed but in my head at least,with certain speakers (the Scorpions) it really comes close to sounding like my sealed 8 10. I have heard both types of cabs sound "boomy" but I have also heard ported cabs sound pretty "tight."
My "go to" rig is the Ampeg but if I'm playing someplace where the electrics in the place may be a bit wonky
(is wonky really a word) I have no problem using the Mark 6 ( my current back up.). If I am playing somewhere with a lot of stairs , I'll bring the 2 15 and not feel that I have compromised my sound. No , it's not the exact sound I get out of the 8 10 but it still sounds darn good. So yeah , they are a bit different sounding but sometimes , not so much.
Ok , I've blithered enough and not really made any really definitive statements in the process. Carry on.
For a few years before I got this rig , I played through a Peavey mark 6 head and various cabs all ported. I currently have two almost identical Peavey 2 15 cabs both ported. One has the original square magnet speakers in it and the other has two fairly old Scorpions in it. I much prefer the one with the Scorpions in it. It comes moch closer to sounding like my 8 10 rig than the other one does so It makes me wonder how much is due to the porting and how much is due to the individual speakers in a cab. Yes the ported cabs do sound a bit different from the sealed but in my head at least,with certain speakers (the Scorpions) it really comes close to sounding like my sealed 8 10. I have heard both types of cabs sound "boomy" but I have also heard ported cabs sound pretty "tight."
My "go to" rig is the Ampeg but if I'm playing someplace where the electrics in the place may be a bit wonky
(is wonky really a word) I have no problem using the Mark 6 ( my current back up.). If I am playing somewhere with a lot of stairs , I'll bring the 2 15 and not feel that I have compromised my sound. No , it's not the exact sound I get out of the 8 10 but it still sounds darn good. So yeah , they are a bit different sounding but sometimes , not so much.
Ok , I've blithered enough and not really made any really definitive statements in the process. Carry on.
