Alphasonik MAYHEM PSW915 - Manual (Page 7)

If you're planning to build your own enclosure and are confused
in what type of enclosure best suits your needs this page will help you
choose what enclosure fits your needs. There are many different types of
enclosures. The two most common used enclosures are sealed and
vented enclosure. This page will show the advantages and
disadvantages of the two enclosures.
Advantages of a sealed enclosures
*High power handing capability
*Great transient response
*Tolerant of minor enclosure size variation
*Easy to construct
*Smooth rolloff (12dB/octave)
Disadvantages of a sealed enclosures
*Requires a woofer with a long excursion for better low bass frequency
response.
*Can have lower sensitivity than ported enclosures.
*When using high power and small enclosures, the woofer is not in an
ideal cooling environment.
*Less low bass as compared to a properly tuned vented enclosure above
the ported tuning frequency.
Advantages of a vented enclosure
*Increased output around vented tuning
*Higher power handling above the port tuning frequency
*Extended frequency response
*Magnet is in a good cooling environment
*Handles higher bass frequencies with less distortion
Disadvantages of a vented enclosure
*Vented enclosure transient response is not as good as sealed boxes
because of the resonant effect of the vent tuning
*Midrange sound coming from inside the enclosure through the vent
can produce unpleasant sound coloration.
*Loss of cone movement control below vent tuning, which can result in
high distortion and mechanical failure of the driver.
*Lower power handling below the port tuning frequency.
C
H
O
O
S
I
N
G
A
N
E
N
C
L
O
S
U
R
E