Ported vs Sealed vs Passive Radiator Subwoofers | Which is Best?

[@mtpokit]

Passives have been around a long time and I can attest to their performance. In the 70s I built a pair of 3 way floor standing speakers with 10" drivers and 12" passives. I've since updated with modern components and am pleased with their versatility. They now reach down to about 25 and don't take up a bunch of floor space.

[@channelclosingastrollshave9447]

Check out the phantom 1 speaker bro.....down to 18hz without modification 🤯🙌🤯👏👏👏👍108db 18hz to I believe 20 odd thousand

[@Crazytownmetal6]

The old Panasonic Thrusters are what hooked me on passive radiators back in the early 80s.

[@xDaijiro]

I went from a ported polk audio sub to a sealed SVS sb 1000 pro. My listening area isn't that huge and i mix my use between movies, music and games. Ported may go deeper but I'm loving the tightness and accuracy of a sealed sub for all my listening. This little thing can really kick as well.

[@felixlaboy1453]

Hi there buddy. I’m looking to buy a sub mostly for movies but I also listen to music. Would you still recommend the seal over the ported and should I go with a SVS

[@mohitkatta3031]

@@felixlaboy1453same question any updates on your setup?

[@philipeli1192]

Multiple sealed subs for me. I have 4-15s and 4 12s all getting 100 watts each minimum.

[@official.djanthonyb]

Thanks so much for this vid! you clarified everything well

[@user-uh4vk5vz1r]

Great definition’s and explanation. Thanks

[@Hal2audio]

Thx good video ! Really gave me an education on subs

[@Kpaceguy]

Thanks for watching

[@hundredcarjr8854]

Great Video 💯 thanks !!

[@Kpaceguy]

Thanks for watching

[@doc666ify]

I like the choice of ported subs as you can always seal it if not happy with the sub

[@bearzlla]

I just got a pair of sealed Rythmik F18's to replace a pair of big SVS ported subs (hey kinda like what you did), and I really like that there is not port turning below which frequency drops off. Single digit frequency response is a game changer.

[@felixlaboy1453]

Hi there buddy. I’m looking to buy a Sub and going with a 2nd when I have the budget for my small Theater. My Room is 12x21 would you recommend the F18 over SVS.

[@felixlaboy1453]

@@bearzlla Thank you very much.

[@roccobruno8027]

The only advantage a ported sub has over its passive radiator cousin is cost. Plastic tubes don't cost much whereas passive radiators can add significant cost. I've always preferred the sound quality of sealed or passive radiator designs and I personally run two subwoofers utilising passive radiators.

[@eclampsium]

I envy you for that setup sr!!! I bet you got the best of both worlds. It’s a shame we don’t have a pletora of passive radiator sw to choose from a slightly more expensive price entry level but with all the bells and whistles when it comes to sounding…

[@bobjordan5597]

Not for SPL

[@rupe82]

Great explanation! 👍

[@leroyjiovanni8123]

Thanks for the video i'm building a passive radiator sub i do like it cz got really low in frequency and doesn't need a big box

[@michaelscarola50]

I have an M&K V-125 sealed subwoofer with a 12 inch driver. I use it for both music and movies. The bass is extremely tight and articulate but when a movie calls for big bass it performs. When listening to music I can hear the music coming out and no boomy-ness.

[@charlessmith1224]

I got the polk audio psw111 of course it's ported the thing little but it shakes my whole room and kitchen love ported subs

[@itsmetorque]

Thanks man❤

[@Kpaceguy]

Thanks for watching

[@victorjohnson8374]

Great great video. All of my subs are ported. I typically plug my ports though. Mostly to keep down the resonance of sound. In my apartment

[@Kpaceguy]

I appreciate it

[@andrewlim7751]

Port does sound weird, maybe u can try plugging with socks.

[@victorjohnson8374]

@@andrewlim7751 I took them out of all three if my subs. They just weren’t performing. They way I liked.

[@andrewlim7751]

@@victorjohnson8374 Ported speakers reminds me of disco like sounds, I think subwoofer with radiator is the way to go.

[@victorjohnson8374]

@@andrewlim7751 my towers have passive radiators on them.

[@Novilicious]

I’m really looking into dual opposed subs; I think that’s the future because you do get all the benefits of sealed but with double the surface radiating area and tighter and lower bass.

[@matthewcooke4477]

Plus the vibration cancellation

[@FatFolksProductions]

I have dual HTS 12's from Polk. My theater room is fairly small . I didn't think I needed 2 subs in here but I didn't get that punch I wanted so I went with 2. I haven't heard any sealed subs but since I'm more 50 50 between music and movies I definitely wanted ported subs. Plus they match The Polk Signature Series set and that pleased the wife. You know how that goes.

[@daa2622]

This was such a good video! I just might subscribe

[@Kpaceguy]

Well if you do, welcome to the crew lol

[@daa2622]

@@Kpaceguy Thank you!

[@markluttrell8908]

I bought a velodyne hgs 12" I wanted something with a lot of punch and great for movies. And for it's size it's amazing

[@samidebs3559]

I like sealed subwoofer I have a dual Rel 1508 predator I love it for music and movies 🎥

[@hondayamaha3]

Thanks

[@MrWirelesscaller]

Subwoofers are tuned with the combination of the specs of the subwoofer, size of the box, and if ported/passive radiator the tune of air mass displacement of those structures. For this theoretical comparison let's assume each sub uses the same brand woofer of the same size tuned to the same frequencies. Room interactions can also play havoc with how the sub is designed as well. Ported and passive radiators could help in either output or depth based on what it's tuned down too (it can be tuned one way or the other, in some of the subs with multiple ports you can plug some of them to change performance, the lower frequency hz it plays less db level output). Ported sub is tuned by how much air mass it's port (or ports in the event it's multiple ports) are able to displace based on it's size of the port and length, due to the port (or ports) eat up some of the internal volume of the sub it usually will require you to have a larger box because of it. Passive radiators are tuned by radiator size and weight of the radiator, it's advantage is that the radiator is a replacement of the port, and takes up far less internal volume because the radiators protrude less inside the box thus allowing you to shrink the overall size of the sub. The main weakness is that they both have a 4th order roll off. Ported subs main disadvantage compared to the other two models is larger physical size, at extremes port noise, and even though the port is tuned it may still suffer from port noise when pushed to the tuning limits. The main advantages usually is low cost and good output. Passive radiators main disadvantage compared to the other two models box construction (I like two opposing radiators to offset forces enough so it won't "walk" when driven hard), cost (the radiators costs more than ports), mass tuning (at least when I tried it in the past), and radiator unloading at high volumes at it's tuning point (more graceful than a ported sub, but it does have a peaking to it). The main advantage is size and if designed can be done for either depth or output like the ported sub. Sealed subs have 2nd order roll offs. It's main disadvantages is that it has a lower output and requires more power for the same db output. Sealed subs can be designed to be smaller than ported or passive radiators, it's cheaper since you don't have to buy ports/radiators, easier room placement (sometimes the port or radiator facing a wall can degrade or improve performance, but due to this interaction it sometimes is very hard to setup without causing frequency bump in a negative fashion) and it can handle abuse better due to the box applying a spring force back on it. I'm also very biased and prefer the sound of a sealed sub more than the other two types for most listening but I'll admit for action/adventure/sci-fi movies ported/passive radiator subs are sometimes better due to dynamics and volume. When I lived in Kansas and had a basement to use as my home-theater, I used all sorts of variants of 1-4 subs, sealed and ported (I had one of the original 1st gen SVS cylinder subs tuned to 25hz at the time), and ended up using 4 15s from Dayton audio for an infinite baffle sub. A friend of mine had a Bob Carver passive radiator sub, for it's size it was very impressive, ironically at his house it sounded poorly due to room interactions we couldn't tame but when we tried it at my home it was very impressive. The conclusion I came to on home audio is good designed gear sounds good, room interactions can really hamper a good sub, and if you want more out of your sub you need to place it correctly in the room, calibrate it using a spl meter, calibration media, and possibly even a parametric equalizer. PS: @Kspaceguy Your channel is great and setup kicks ass, I bet you hear this a lot, but I'm going to make you hear it one more time. lol.

[@Crazytownmetal6]

I use Canton as well, love my Cantons. I use a Velodyne mini-vee. It is a great sub for the size. A little pricy but worth every penny. I have a vintage Klipsch 12'' front fire 12'' passive rear fire that is pretty badass. It has to have spikes or it will walk around on you. I also have an old school Velodyne mini with the 6 1/2'' front fire with the 8'' passive radiator down fire that is a great little sub too. Perfect for small to medium living rooms. Don't think it won't get you in trouble if you live in an apartment because it will.

[@golupopular9935]

I am form India your video is very useful and informational thank you bro.

[@Kpaceguy]

Thanks for watching

[@Jcan4u]

For me sealed for music ported for movies so I have a sealed with passive radiator for some balance. I still have my old Cerwin Vega ported12 though still love that thing it's bigger than its size.

[@Jcan4u]

@@CajunReaper95 is that to say plug the port or are you speaking to it's initial design at inception ?

[@thefantasticadventuresofmr7126]

DN 12 Your video and youthmans. Just testing it with roomEQ. The factory spec says 25hz. But when measured with room EQ for my setup it’s going down to 18hz. Follows the same pattern as my super cube 2000. Hot on the 60hz range.

[@lordnasty32]

I have 2 PSA ipal ported 21inch subs to go along with 2 monolith ported 15s

[@raidendigital1003]

Actually, I had described already why I picked the ported sub I'm using. Mostly because it was the best thing for the job I had laying around, Gawd, I want a pair of the matching Sealed Box Studio 5 subs when they go on sale for 200 SpaceBucks a piece. So a fourth type of sub that is less common in HT now is a bandpass sub. I still have the 8" Aiwa Bandpass sub from my 1'st system. It's 8" driver fires into a sealed cavity and the back of the driver pushes air out a front port tube. Good AF for Primus music and Diesel truck grumblings from Steven Spielberg's Dual (Restored Extended edition) Pretty nasty for anything else.

[@mkshffr4936]

BTW, the passive radiator has a steep high order roll off like the ported.

[@sumitgenzyme]

Excellent video

[@Kpaceguy]

I appreciate it

[@roofpizza1250]

*passive radiator not passive, a passive sub has no amp.

[@Kpaceguy]

I know. I said passive for short one time. I'll put radiator in the title to be clear

[@roofpizza1250]

@@Kpaceguy cool.

[@rawux1228]

I like passive radiator sub. Boosts lows that we want from a sub, requires small box and save space, drawback of passive radiators is a vibrations they make, usually more expensive than port especially if we build bigger sub 12', 15' 18' or so. I don't like ported boxes anymore when I went with passive radiators. Air rush from port ruins the sound, ported boxes are big, some times it can be more expensive to make than one with pr's as it requires more material to build a box. Never had a good sealed box, but for my taste it lacks deep bass. Requires good box strength because pressure inside is insane. In some cases requires more powerful amp, requires small box.

[@tyronebunne2220]

I have always been disappointed with ported subs. Room sweeped EQ helps a little but I just sit waiting for the drone! Nice video - Im considering passive.

[@Kpaceguy]

I appreciate it

[@tyronebunne2220]

@@Kpaceguy Whilst you online Kpaceguy, when you refer to 'sealed' do you mean completely water tight sealed?

[@Kpaceguy]

@@tyronebunne2220 yes no passive radiators and no ports. Air tight

[@zelko0768]

Nice video. Curious what you thought of your PB4000 in sealed mode now that you have gone to sealed. I’m running PB16 in extended mode but probably could run it in sealed without an issue. Haven’t tried it like that but might out of curiosity.

[@roofpizza1250]

If you plug a ported sub you don't have the right sub.

[@Kpaceguy]

ported subs that can be sealed aren't true sealed subs so there is a sound difference. Hence why there's a pb4000 and a sb4000

[@mkshffr4936]

In decending order Infinite Baffle, Sealed, Passive Radiator, Ported. Open Baffle is great for mains and can be good for a sub but very difficult to get the lowest octave.

[@_hyper_vazha513]

Ported subwoofer ❤️

[@keepingupwiththejones2933]

Man I love that Kpace logo and sound coming on.

[@kaisarantonn7225]

No test?

[@bassheadforeverclub]

What about bandpass

[@a-aron2276]

I'm going passive, I want to build a better bose speaker with basically twice the output , triple the runtime and a bass channel with radiators on the vertical faces. Of each side. I'm looking for a good 30w+30w+50w amplifier if anyone has any suggestions.

[@raidendigital1003]

Tower Speakers with Passive Radiators I have used have this tendency to "Double Punch". Like getting hit by Goro from Mortal Kombat, He hits with the top arms, then the bottom arms. It's an effect that one will like, not like or at least notice how different it is. I don't know how this behavior would be with an actual Subwoofer like the Def Tec DN10. It would certainly make ppl yell at me about dat bass a lot more. My Big Rear Projection TV acts like a passive radiator actually, when you put certain speakers right next to it.

[@fasterthanaturtle]

I had duel subs in a sealed box but one sub wasn't hooked up. It barely had output then checked to see what the problem was. How is this different than a passive radiator?

[@Kpaceguy]

Passive radiators have at least 1 extra driver in the enclosure that helps with lower/louder bass like a ported subwoofer provides but without the port problems

[@richiedirk41]

who has more deep bass, ported or passive radiator?

[@Kpaceguy]

Ported

[@classicgalactica5879]

Sealed subs for the win. Our humble SVS SB2000s are rated down to 19 hz, but are hitting 10-11 hz at around 73 dB in our viewing/listening area. You can't hear it, but you can certainly feel it when it happens. To each their own, but I'll trade a little output for tightness accuracy and extension any day, for movies as well as music.

[@richiedirk41]

that's all you think, don't blame us

[@mikewallace6923]

I like ported subs cause of the deep sounds they make however where the port is located if its on the bottom its better than on the front or back its my personal preference that's all

[@chriscotton4207]

if you were to increase the cost of the speaker to then include the passive radiator cost, would that new speaker in a sealed box outperform the one with the radiator?

[@Kpaceguy]

Probably not

[@chriscotton4207]

@@Kpaceguy thank you. I'm in a toss up. I am making dml panels hidden behind a screen. But I'll need a subwoofer obviously. I appreciate the video. I believe I'll keep ported vs passive radiator on the table still.

[@codebeat4192]

I wonder the polarity of both speakers at the biggest sub, are they wired the same polarity wise? If they are wired the same than they push/pull against eachother in the box because they are placed in opposite direction (one at the front and one at the back). That doesn't sound very effecient because of the air pressure (or vaccuum) inside the box or am I wrong? Or is there a wall between the two? In fact two cabinets in one housing? Or is the polarity swapped at one of the woofer? Or other smart thing to make it work? Any ideas?

[@Kpaceguy]

There is a wall between the two. So each have their own enclosure within a big enclosure. Both moving in the same direction

[@Luke-qs2cg]

I've been a passive guy a long time. You can use subs in boxes they shouldn't be able to go in and not need ports a mile long

[@christrevealedinspirations91]

Hey kpace guy can the older def tech supercube 6000 which is 1500 watts and a frequency response of 14hz low be better than their new dn10 or 12 which is 30hz will the older model outperform the dn10 or dn12

[@Kpaceguy]

Yes

[@gerardvoughnfaust4167]

Can a passive radiator be use outdoors?

[@Kpaceguy]

If the sub is made to be used outdoors you can use any sub you want

[@ajabalikorai6227]

Bass radiator sub woofer are active or passive subwoofer? Means bass radiators woofer are built in amplifier or will need av receiver power?

[@Kpaceguy]

Bass radiating subwoofers are powered. Built in amplifier

[@ajabalikorai6227]

@@Kpaceguy bro means i dont meed any external amplifier to power subwoofer?

[@Kpaceguy]

@@ajabalikorai6227 no

[@mackizzer2302]

Is this information that was passed down to u or from trial n error? Cause trial n error is best

[@Kpaceguy]

I mean I have all 3 sub types in this video so..

[@channelclosingastrollshave9447]

Passives are the only type that give instant bass reproduction in line with the driver obviously.... Ported subs are better for longer bass notes or if u prefer the latency with them. ;)....eg.....a tune called smoke machine played on a ported sub is nice.....but in a passive equipped sub the bass is still nice but lower and more sharp on its timing. Ported not so great for punchy beats......either way the driver needs to be a dual voice coil sub cos they're stronger and have better support structure just tune the voice out of it by adjusting the treble and equalisers . Dual voice coils always sound better across the board

[@moisesbeltran2612]

I have a 18" ported dj subwoofer in my living room, for home theater and music, it is AMAZING!

[@Flip11111]

For car audio I would definitely recommend either sealed or passive depending on your room. ported subwoofers are better for home theater system noise. Ported subwoofers are also better if their port is front firing

[@Kpaceguy]

I'm not sure any of this is true

[@Flip11111]

@@Kpaceguy All you have to know is my experience consist of blowing hundreds speaker drivers in my backyard to see how they sound when they meet their maker. Fuck any other speaker but front firing speakers for indoors. These speakers will push out every last displacement of air and still make the notes sound clear. I forgot to mention they even sound good when you pour/light gasoline into the output holes. Something that usually doesn’t make anything sound better.

[@janinapalmer8368]

Does anyone know why the passive radiator(s) are larger than the active driver ?

[@Kpaceguy]

They typically aren't. Which sub are you referring to?

[@janinapalmer8368]

@@Kpaceguy ....a Peerless XLS 10 inch

[@Kpaceguy]

@@janinapalmer8368 aren't those single drivers? Made for diy subwoofers?

[@janinapalmer8368]

@@Kpaceguy yes they are available to DIY builders and commercial manufacturers...

[@Kpaceguy]

@Janina Palmer those arent passive radiators. Those are active drivers. You usually pair the same sized passive radiator to match the active speaker

[@channelclosingastrollshave9447]

Powerful driver = Powerful passives 🤷‍♀️

[@channelclosingastrollshave9447]

Phantom 1 rules 👍👏👏👏everyone buy one to get the price down from 3.000 so I can get 1 😭🤧😅

[@ernestochang1744]

passive bass radiators all the way duudes

[@winfield347]

Sealed all the way.

[@roofpizza1250]

Most crazy, high end subs are sealed. It seems that they agree.

[@winfield347]

@@roofpizza1250 I use 2 paradigm sub 2s

[@roofpizza1250]

@@winfield347 Holy crap.

[@winfield347]

@@roofpizza1250 lol yes it is a bit mental

[@johnryan6658]

Sealed only put out a lot with lots of amplification (read cost).

[@mackizzer2302]

Passive all day, everyday, bring ur system to prove me wrong

[@Kpaceguy]

Well that's easy lol

[@channelclosingastrollshave9447]

There is power in the passives actually.....its the same as the power of the driver🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️its the law of displacement init eureka lol

[@bendalangka1821]

Just to talk, no Sample... 🙂🙏

[@Kpaceguy]

It's unnecessary

[@same4047]

Nigga play them all please

[@Kpaceguy]

My name is Kpaceguy. They've all be played on my channel before

[@electrichub33]

😂😂😂😂😂... Read more

[@coverhits6635]

Useless Just talk no sound the subwoofer.