4 subs - ported box...which way should they face?

b_knockwood

I am building a ported box tuned to 39hz for 4 12" subwoofers, in 2 separate chambers. It was recommended to me that all the woofers and ports be on the same plane, and that i'd get more bass if everything was firing back. I don't have the room for this...but i can fire 2 subs and 2 slots facing back, and 2 subs facing up. Am I taking too much risk here?...or should I just face everything up?

Thanks

Jstas

Ideal placement is determined on an application by application basis. There is no "ideal" placement but whatever works best for your rig. If that means you only have the space to fire two subs up and two subs to the back then that would be the ideal configuration for you. Besides, 4 12inch subs are going to be so powerful, it won't matter which way they are facing. It'll be hard NOT to hear them!

Just some ideas if you are really that concerned. I am assuming that these will be in a trunk. If so, remove carpeting and other platisc/cardboard panels and Dynamat the living hell out of the trunk. Stick the Dynamat directly to metal though otherwise it doesn't work so well. Also, make sure that the rubber weatherstripping around the trunk or hatch lid is in good shape. If not, spend some money and replace it with new stuff if you can. Also, get some of those rubber furtiture feet from Home Depot. The smalle ones, about the size of a dime. Drill a hole in the center big enough to fit your license plate screws through. Then unmount your license plate and put the rubber feet between teh plat and teh mounting point and screw the plat back on. That should help eliminate any vibration cause by the speakers vibrating the trunk lid.

MTXMAN

you can also put a layer of dynamat on the back of the plate and just make sure it's screwed down tightly

eddie_habeck

wow those are both great license plate tips.

b_knockwood

Thanks for all the great tips dudes.

My last question is, I've noticed that most enclosures are wedge shaped, but some ported enclosures are also square. What is the difference?

Jstas

Um...the shape? The major factor in an enclosure is the volume of the chamber. It can be any shape, within reason of course, as long as that shape has an internal volume matching the specs from the speaker going into it.