6th Order Compound Loaded Isobaric Bandpass Box - 2 12" Woofers

See the build pics here: www.stevemeaded...
Just some of the ideas i have going through my head for the Lexus install i am getting ready to start. This is a box i used to build back in the early 90's. It is a compound Isobaric (push/pull) 6th order bandpass. The woofers back then used to work good in a box like this. It has been a while since i even thought of something like this so i figured i would try. Since it needs to be built IN to the car, i need to do all of my experimenting outside of the car and see how it sounds. After hearing it, i know I need to do further testing and tuning before i decide to make it permanent. It's a fun box to build but i don't think it is going to work out. I will make my decision tomorrow but more then likely i will be going to "plan B". I figured you guys would like to at least see my attempt. If you ask me, this could be the actual definition of "woofer pr0n" :D They are gettin it on for sure!
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[@feedinc2735]

Love to see the old school style! I remember seeing some Orion XTR's mounted like that back in the day.

[@OffensiveProduction1]

I would love of you did a series like this. Showing off all the different types of enclosures and uses/goals for each one. I'm curious about them, send I'm sure it'd help out alot of people too, myself included.

[@WhitentonMike]

It doubles the output (+3dB) around the drivers natural frequency (Fs). You can fit 2 larger speakers in a smaller area as apposed to mounting them side by side on the same panel. Also if a single driver isn't at the correct ohm load for the amp(s), you have more choices in wiring them to closer match the amp(s). For any given 2 drivers it is usually better to mount them side by side because the output is doubled (+3dB) at all frequencies within its range. If you have the room in your box.

[@alextownsend3264]

I remember a shop in Southeastern NC that carries Blues audio isobaric kits in the early 90s when they split from kicker in Stillwater OK. The aubs face the same direction with acrylic in between to seal them together. Old school bangers for sure. Couldn't handle much power but SQ is amazing and they get low low. Break in time required but they come to life in a good 6th order. This was pre being bought by Ray Rayfield and brought into Linear Powers lineup and re-released in early 2010s. They also had trisobaric boxes with two 8s in back pushing into a single 10".

[@splaudio1]

im real glad to see the older more efficient enclosures resurfacing :)

[@meade916]

i agree you aren't getting a decent amp for $50-100 but i disagree on the "kickers sound like shit" comment because i know that is not true. I'm sure if your buddy has a shitty ass install he probably made kicker look bad to the entire neighborhood but that don't mean the product itself is bad.

[@michael3harger]

With isobaric loading, you can halve the volume necessary to resonate a specific frequency

[@henriquee67]

its cool

[@MikeCampSucksFatDick]

And since you're already having a speaker hanging out on the clam, you might as well put a box around that to increase efficiency and doubling the benefits of isobaric speakers. I need to make one of these

[@maas1200]

Those are my favorite type of boxes. They hit verry hard and low. Mine had a very high spl with just two tens! I know what your doing. Keep up the good work man. Those boxes can be hard to tune,but once you got it.........damn they hit.

[@mgthaking]

Never new u could get so much hate by just building a sub box! Do ya thang Steve

[@meade916]

the outcome was, i didn't like it. I don't think the subs themselves like to be setup like this. No big deal. You gotta try to find out.

[@sickmessiah]

I think 6th order in general needs twice the box volume than minimum specs on each chamber roughly. Say a sub needs a vented 3 cubic feet. Then it needs 12 in total box volume to get all the performance out of it. The lower tuned chamber will obviously get around 8 cubic feet depending on tuning. At least that’s what I’ve studied. I built a similar box for 1 15 inch stroker I have to test things out. It actually sounds great but I get diminished acoustic returns at a certain point acoustically due to the test box being a bit too small I believe. It’s 6 cubic feet. The sub calls for 2 1/2 ... The next box will be 10 cubic feet .. Hopefully it’s a improvement

[@knocturnalnate]

@Meade916 bad ass man! I made a similar box a few years back for some 12s basically the same concept just a lil different had one reversed and them face to face just like that and that ish was LOUD! Can't wait to see more bro

[@sirtorrance2069]

Using Win ISD Pro I was able to map out what 2 RF P1S2-12's look like in 6th order Isobaric! Let's just say the results are substantially good! I plan on building it for my trunk. Hot damn who knew subwoofer configurations and air space would turn out so important. ;) Anyways you're an awesome man, keep up all your great work!

[@nobullshiit5682]

I truly love this design box, it gives you the best of both worlds , big box long port for lows and small box short port for more punchy bass . Im gonna build a box like this for my home audio and use a car amp .I just wish there was a way to do a surround sound system with car amps . right now I'm running a Taramps 1500, three channel with two powerbass 6x9's and a GSR12 high excursion 12 inch woofer rated at 250 rms 12/ga wiring ,its shacking the shit out of my house lol lucky .I aint got neighbors lol I built a large box about 3 cubic ft single center sub with a 23 inch long port 5 inch squared an d it hits super low but even though I love the super earth shaking lows I do miss hearing the higher punchy bass my 8 had in the same size box with smaller ports not to say the 8 sounded better just lost that frequency range and a isobaric box I'm hoping will solve that . Sweet builds bro love your channel , keep them walls shaking ,peace out . would be nice to see a car audio home stereo build ,barely any out there especialy good ones . peace

[@666xXxXxXx666]

A 4th order is a box that has a subwoofer in the MIDDLE of it. One side (where the magnet is) is sealed the other side is ported. A sixth order is the same but BOTH chambers are ported. This is like having 2 boxes for 1 sub and allows for competition level output.

[@likeclockwork6473]

This design is for added efficiency in a smaller package. If you throw one of these in a trunk you might as well just do a normal ported box. The more surface area the better the efficiency and porting the box increases that efficiency even further. The only practical application for this type of design is either on a far larger scale or to implement it into the rear deck of the sedan (or porting it into the cabin of a truck where you could not normally put a large box). Its a really cool design and can make a lot of output for size of the box but every other design is better for normal bass applications

[@Thezuule1]

This box gives you a more range with tuning than a standard ported box and essentially creates a single woofer with double the motor force. This is a practical application depending on what you're going for. If you want to play really loud rap music and still have some room in the trunk of a Lexus this might be a route you could take.

[@alfjohnsonjr]

I had a rockford fosgate box something like that in 92 with two 10's and it sounded better than my two 12" cewin vegas. im sure when you get those ports tuned in you'll be happy with it.

[@WhitentonMike]

It really depends on if they know what they are buying. Wally World sometimes has some OK items. I got a pair of 6x9 Pioneers 400W, stuck them in a pair of 0.75cu sealed boxes and had no problems hitting just shy of 127dB without the subwoofer connected. Not a bad buy for $70.

[@LyricoCharmer]

Hey, nice to see something like this again. A few years ago (8 i guess) i built an enclosure like that. But i built it with a TML on the big side and left it closed on the small side. It was extremly dry, precise and brutal. Good one, i like your version of this compound loaded enclosure ^,..,^

[@Loudizzzzle]

It's been a while since I have seen someone do an isobaric sub enclosure. These things used to bang back in the day. I say if it sounds good keep it! LIKED!

[@meade916]

normally i would only do that to my access panel but this box is being experimented on and i didn't wanna make anything permanent yet. I glued a few things but for the most part its barely together during basic testing :D

[@shudo64]

Never mind the HATERS bro some of us want to see how it turns out great looking box

[@KocuRisko]

It's called isobaric, you can use half of the enclosure volume (when compared to single speaker), or you can tune lower in the same volume. You also make the sensitivity lower (-3dB), but you can double the input power.

[@WhitentonMike]

Not speaking for Steve but I saw some of the comments right before they were disabled on one of the videos. Several people were implying that Steve was trying to rip people off. It wasn't cool. If people don't want to pay the prices Steve needs to sell things for then don't buy 'em. Simple. Not cool or fair for some to imply something like that about such a nice and honest guy. Kinda pissed me off when I read the comments.

[@meade916]

trust me i did lol - the frame rate on the camera might be buggin out but trust me they are reversed. If i didn't, it would not be pretty.

[@lawrencemiller2379]

What is the most efficient variable sound sub enclosure for 4 , 12 in. Dual subs

[@meade916]

thanks for the advice and all but they are already wired out of phase with each other. I mean i really appreciate you helping me and all bro but i think i got this. I hate to burst your bubble and all but maybe if you read the description first you wouldn't have wasted your time.

[@meade916]

they don't even come close to touching each other. Thanks! :)

[@mattmoreira210]

@@christopherparis6841 would be even worse. The cones would be absolutely destroyed by the extreme air pressures.

[@real_talk1180]

Sounds like its creating a lot of pressure, if you look closely these are doing the push pull appropriately. The cones are much harder to keep track of than the white area beneath them. They are definitely resonating as one with the beat. Why question somebody who has probably built a couple hundred of these lol.

[@1452-w3b]

Man I remember this thing from A while ago this thing was always so cool

[@jasonwarbird]

5 years late on this vid but man i remember back in the day in the 90's iso was the shiznit, i used to love the iso designs where there would be one enclosed side and the back sides were free air so you could see the backside of the subs. made for some sweet looking setups. Looked so awesome and they would all hit hard. But man i kinda feel like when Kicker came out with their Solobaric line it kinda helped kill "real" isobaric setups because one of the reasons people used an isobaric setup was because you would only need like 1/2 (or something like that, might have varied woofer to woofer) the volume so it was also a space savings kinda thing in order to use a smaller box. I also remember that some subs or maybe all there had to be a specific amount of space between the subs facing each other for pressure reasons or maybe excursion room, i can't remember for sure but maybe that was the issue here?

[@meade916]

they are out of phase with each other.

[@OU-xc4os]

100%. It would pound if they was out phase. They be working together then. Give it bit time like that. And going rip them subs to bits. Wire one sub in reverse. Pos to neg and neg to pos. On one sub. You won't regret it

[@meade916]

@@OU-xc4os They are in phase...LMAO dude, just stop with the random weird advice. I always love when someone with no experience at all who has never built anything tells me how i should do something.

[@meade916]

@@OU-xc4os "100% would pound if they was in phase" then 2 seconds later "wire one sub in reverse (aka out of phase). Go back to bed lil' guy you are out of your element here.

[@OU-xc4os]

@@meade916 kiss me were sun don't shine bro. Iv probably made more box's then you dude learn your business buddy because that isobaric box is in phase. Can Cleary hear the subs beating them selfs to bits. As for you Dude learn your shit.

[@OU-xc4os]

You made a idiot mistake admit it lol. Watch your own video Dude. It so clear to see and your only getting pissy because you bin called out on it. Just try the advice. Your given you go farther ! Lol. And there in phase DUDE. !!!

[@paladain55]

also it can get just as loud and deep as one sub in the original recommendation enclosure with half the size

[@MrMoto948]

Still running 25 year old Jamo 707 like that. Replaced the drivers with up spec ones. Bass improved but system is supplemented by 10" and 15" velodynes at 90hz though. The following 707 model had one bass speaker, guess the jamo audio engineers recalibrated their testing instruments after I bought my set.

[@mudpuppyforlife]

hell yea its about time some audio got put in that badass ride! looks good man keep it up

[@dcram08]

In video it looks like they both push, And I've built this style before and yes they sound great specially to minimize trunk rattle great box

[@WhitentonMike]

They aren't wired to work "against" each other, they are wire to work "with" each other. One of the subs is wired backward so they both move in the same direction when facing each other.

[@jdogg5005]

Can't wait till its complete

[@stevel.2759]

I love this box.

[@666xXxXxXx666]

One is wired correctly, the other is wired in opposite phase meaning that the air pressure between the cones is equal and there is no resistance. This means more excursion and easier low end production at even lower power... :)

[@Tat2Dragons]

Bad ass enclosure. I dig your use of the foam tape for sealing up each panel, an excellent idea Sir.:)

[@Durolith]

you can also use isobaric to reduce the size of the box by half

[@pbplaya1344]

my bad i didn't even read the description yet, but they are interesting check out 4th order bandpass and 8th order bandpass although the further up you go the less range you will get

[@electronicshelpcare]

Excelentes cajones que haces amigo 👏👏👏👍

[@thodeus]

@AbstractReaIity you are referring to a series port configuration. this one is parallel port.

[@debug_duck]

Bandpass (6th and 8th Order) have a verry high efficiency. And they can be tuned lower than you can with normal bassreflex

[@marcosdboy7]

That's absolutely genius now lets see this done with 6 18s in the Tahoe

[@mrchrisk36]

Haven't seen an enclosure like that in a long time!! :)

[@meade916]

it is.

[@codybrucewilliams]

these boxes where SOOO impossible to tune, but by design and on paper they were awesome, i tried too build a couple different ones too back in the 90's but the changing specs of push/pull band pass was too much of a headache for me.

[@916REDSKIN]

DAMN STEVE! THOSE SUBS ARE SICK! AND THAT BOX DESIGN WAS CREATIVE! GOOD SHIT BRO!

[@airdogg1979]

reversed the phase on one sub I would guess?

[@Patata0ke]

that's what I noticed too. They are producing great amount of air but no bass 🤗 I isobaric setup uses opposite phasing.

[@calibraladzz]

the 4 6n halfs and two 15s where working perfect of the stock battery then i decided to add the other speakers and the second battery now its not pumping for s**t i use to be able to take the vol to 40 no issues so the gains on the subs are set up as they where when i had it tuned.. thanks for the reply

[@four20tokerman]

@Rando776 it because the chambers are different sizes different airspace requires different lengths of port for them to be tuned the same

[@DWRhythm]

I saw the build log on SMD and was hoping I'd get top see this video. Looks good and I'm not fully familiar with bandpass boxes. I just know the general concept but not hte in-depth details (sizing, etc). Can't wait to see this project if/when it gets finished man.

[@tarnationsauce2]

This reminds me of a buddy that had a 4th order BP and someone poured some glitter into a port at a dB drag back in '97 or so. Next time the bass hit a whirlwind of glitter dust - Doh!! But funny at the same time.

[@666xXxXxXx666]

I heard that you were somewhat disappointed with the way this came out? I tried a similar thing with 2 tens and put them in a 4th order isobaric. It leads to a three decibel loss whilst consuming double the power... Its only real use is when the enclosure has to be REALLY small and you need extended range... I took one of the drivers out and it happily pounded away like I expected it to. 4th order ftw xD

[@tyoung319]

Nice, sweet little project man. Ive moved more towards series tuned 6ths as they seem less picky. But always awesome to see people experimenting on new enclosures though!

[@SRROYALCITY1]

good shit steve, 6th order bandpass takes alot of time time calculate. cant wait to hear it in a car

[@stevethepyro420]

sick,wish I had that in my hatchback back in 92! would have been turning all kinds of heads!

[@hondafanatic17]

@meade916 Steve I totally agree with you on Kicker. I personally I'm not a huge fan of them but they do not make shitty sounds equipment. I've always noticed Kickers will always sound better in the biggest recommended box. I put a nice setup in a 08 Impala with 2 10 inch Kicker CVRs and a Alpine 500.1 and it sounded really nice. Very bass and boomey but that is kickers sound. It's not bad, just that's what kicker does. It's hear me from two blocks away bass.

[@WeAreTwoDoorsDown]

As one sub is "moving out" the other is "moving in". Pairing them like this gives you more excursion basically.

[@meade916]

look at the woofers. This is a true "clamshell", not that fancy thing they call a wall if it has an angled baffle lol

[@LuC1Fr]

Never seen one built like this, but the main advantage i can see is a very possible compact installation, but who knows. Like i said never seen a box setup like this, nor for that matter heard one bump.

[@meade916]

wait, you posted two full paragraphs on what i should do and you didn't even watch the video or read the description first? they are already push/pull but thanks so much for the advice anyway LOL.

[@ByrneBeatsInc]

Nice, finally putting sub's in the Lexus.

[@HenkAnnieNaald]

More control. Meaning better SQ. The disadvantage is you need double the power for the same SPL.

[@trickedyfz450]

im so mind blown by this with the different chamber sizes and the woofers firing directly into eachother and and... just who do you think you are... -_-

[@ChrisDoesWhat]

Think I would like to try something like this for our boat but just one driver and a much smaller speaker. Would like to get the most bass for the least amount of power, nothing like a dead battery in the ocean to make a bad day.

[@Mistabigge]

steve main that box slammin!that shit gonna slap in that small trunk

[@rd2fst]

I was gonna ask you a while back if you had ever tried an ico box. I used to rock 2 15's back in the day with this setup. You do some sick work bro.

[@SouthSideChiTown]

This audio + blowing shredding paper + smoke and flames = what you see under my bathroom door after eating too much Taco Bell Fire Tacos.

[@meade916]

thanks! :)

[@anthonycoia596]

Hey Steve. What is the name of the first song in this video? (After the intro, "so cool, so deep) I searched google and couldn't find anything but really wanna hear that on my highs lol

[@DashRyde]

That's a brave move steve , i know this kind of box but i don't know when to use it

[@mogawa451]

AHH your frickin intro has bass plugged into a sub not knowing that scared the shit out of me😱

[@meade916]

its the camera frame rate playing tricks. Honestly bro, i am not that stupid.

[@paolorubagotti1693]

control the polarity speacker, youre use a push and pull, in this video my impression is a 2 speaker to phase. Is dangerous , Correct is one in phase and one in antiphase

[@meade916]

who had trouble saying 6th order?

[@meade916]

yes......but this box isn't big enough for that.

[@matk22]

if you had a single enclosure,with two subs mounted in the conventional manner with one sub pushing in, while the other was pushing out, so there out of phase so one sub goes in to help the other one to go out , then visa versa

[@meade916]

i appreciate the comment bro but i am not the "king of spl", not even close....but seriously, thanks for the support. :)

[@DLoyaL902]

man film your 18''s with this camera, or whatever you did to it, the framerate is soo much better

[@Mqtty823]

Yea didn't he get it back and started a build with his son in it? I'm almost positive I saw a video of that.

[@666xXxXxXx666]

I'm really sad that this project didn't turn out the way you hoped. On paper an isobaric sounds like the best idea and they usually turn out to be ground rumbling beasts! But that's the nature of the game, sometimes it just doesn't work out. I would love to see you experiment with some more box designs. Their are so many crazy designs out there that HAVE to be worth a try right? I've been waiting to hear you say "T-line time" for years! :D

[@MARUDAGO]

Friend Steve, and do not affect the woofers be hitting each other to front? for surely are powerful, and if they are to be enclosed with all that power I think it would come to harm the short-term

[@ostelo84]

Maybe I am not seeing this right but it looks like both subs are in same polarity. One is supposed to be wired backwards so they push and pull with each other (i.e. comes move in the same direction) not against each other. Maybe you do have them this way and video is just not making it look like it.

[@CodyleeCovers]

never seen a set up like this, really cool video st

[@DaVinci701]

I'm tuned in once again

[@JeffMcDuffie72MeridianGate]

This is exactly what i want to do for my two mmat monster 12s. The box i got now isn't really that good plus i like the idea of combining the subs into one powerful one.

[@jecampbell113]

i think these are wired out of phase, so when is moving forward, the other will move backward at the same time. polk had a box like this with 6*9's in it.

[@patrickbennett439]

Maybe I missed it fast fowarding around, but the only part I dont get is why each sub has a different size of chamber. Like why arent they the same size on each side?

[@gregoryross6208]

Late 80’s early 90’s it was the thing

[@666xXxXxXx666]

Cause it's tuned differently so that the box can cover a wider bandwidth of frequencies. Hence the name, Bandpass. :)

[@m2x3808]

Darius they're wired out of phase so one woofer is pulling while the other is pushing so in other words the woofer's aren't fighting each other

[@ashiha13]

Was that your son at the end? He's getting big man good work.

[@wolverineyanson5474]

i like the bass like an earthquake...its so nice..from philipines

[@stuntnx7]

looks cool....idk shit about buildin boxes but just lookin at that design it looks like a a spacer ring for the subs would be a good idea....sounds like they hit each other or the wall when its being played...might be a stupid observation but idk

[@mightyfineable]

It seems like by having them like that they would work against each other, it's moving some crazy air. Awesome.....makes no sense to me, but awesome.

[@igalaviz]

they're wired out of phase, so they DO cooperate, the advantage is that you cut the requiered volume in half using this kind of iso-baric configuration... it makes a LOT of sense if you have the space and power.

[@igalaviz]

Yes, reverse polarity means 180 degrees out of phase.

[@bdockett]

Totally inefficient use of diaphragm area but a great way to get tight, controlled bass. Not sure if one outweighs the other.

[@CodyleeCovers]

dont get all these people just assuming the subs are hittin against eachother, suggestin makin them push and pull like steve "the king of spl" meade didnt already think of that.

[@meade916]

one goes in while the other goes out. So, to answer your Q...No.

[@ElieGha]

Do a box with the port coming through/connecting to the hole behing the arm rest in the back seats if you get me