Are Sealed Subwoofers More Musical than Ported Subs?

[alphacentury100]

I have a Rythmik FV25 along with a 12.17Edge. I was easily able to tuned my subs to sound Boom-Boom-Boomy and Sloppy. But I can also make the sub sound extremely clean, fast and tight to an extend that not all who listen to it may like it. People prefer little boomy bass to extremely tight bass and some distortion is also prefered by many listeners more than clean and distortion free bass. The Rythmik FV18 Papercone produces more distortion than the FV18 Aluminium cone but still the paper cone is the favorite for most of the listeners.
Even a perfect sub will not sound good in any room if placement is bad and tuning is improper.
Also we can not come to a decision about any sub based on showroom audition. My XTZ sounded totally different in the demo room compared to how it sounds now in my room. In fact, it sounds better in my room. How ever, we will definitely get an idea about the subs capability if we audition it even in the showroom.

 

[Nitin K]

I have a Rythmik FV25 along with a 12.17Edge. I was easily able to tuned my subs to sound Boom-Boom-Boomy and Sloppy. But I can also make the sub sound extremely clean, fast and tight to an extend that not all who listen to it may like it. People prefer little boomy bass to extremely tight bass and some distortion is also prefered by many listeners more than clean and distortion free bass. The Rythmik FV18 Papercone produces more distortion than the FV18 Aluminium cone but still the paper cone is the favorite for most of the listeners.
Even a perfect sub will not sound good in any room if placement is bad and tuning is improper.
Also we can not come to a decision about any sub based on showroom audition. My XTZ sounded totally different in the demo room compared to how it sounds now in my room. In fact, it sounds better in my room. How ever, we will definitely get an idea about the subs capability if we audition it even in the showroom.

Very aptly said. People sometimes do have personal preferences whether it is the type of bass in subs or speakers. It may be warm or the brightness certain amps or Avr's sound. In the end it boils down to personal preferences. Then there are some who like neutral sound.
In most forums , it is noticed that a lot of people prefer a warm luscious sound, a kind of distortion acceptable by many.
Ported subs have also come a long way and may not be right to generalise that they do a good job for movies only.

 

[fLUX]

I have a Rythmik FV25 along with a 12.17Edge. I was easily able to tuned my subs to sound Boom-Boom-Boomy and Sloppy. But I can also make the sub sound extremely clean, fast and tight to an extend that not all who listen to it may like it. People prefer little boomy bass to extremely tight bass and some distortion is also prefered by many listeners more than clean and distortion free bass. The Rythmik FV18 Papercone produces more distortion than the FV18 Aluminium cone but still the paper cone is the favorite for most of the listeners.
Even a perfect sub will not sound good in any room if placement is bad and tuning is improper.
Also we can not come to a decision about any sub based on showroom audition. My XTZ sounded totally different in the demo room compared to how it sounds now in my room. In fact, it sounds better in my room. How ever, we will definitely get an idea about the subs capability if we audition it even in the showroom.

How would you rate the XTZ 12.17 Edge for music , also would you recommend to keep both the ports closed for music based on your personal preference ?

 

[alphacentury100]

How would you rate the XTZ 12.17 Edge for music , also would you recommend to keep both the ports closed for music based on your personal preference ?

The 12.17 Edge is Jack of all trades. It is not a deep digger like the SVS nor a midbass king like the Rel, but a bit of both. It has better depth than the Rel and better midbass than the SVS. As I am using this sub just like a Mid-Bass Module to support the FV25, which does all the deep digging, its a good combination together with the MiniDsp 2x4hd.
For music and movies, I leave the sub one port sealed to extend deep with Reference setting in the eq as this setting provides better result for me.

 

[Nitin K]

The 12.17 Edge is Jack of all trades. It is not a deep digger like the SVS nor a midbass king like the Rel, but a bit of both. It has better depth than the Rel and better midbass than the SVS. As I am using this sub just like a Mid-Bass Module to support the FV25, which does all the deep digging, its a good combination together with the MiniDsp 2x4hd.
For music and movies, I leave the sub one port sealed to extend deep with Reference setting in the eq as this setting provides better result for me.

With your FV25 and the Xtz hope your building foundation is really solid

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

How can one listen and decide unless the subs are setup properly and comparing by Listening means listening should be done in similar conditions for fair comparison.

I never mentioned anything about conditions, that said whatever conditions you listen in, they are far more reliable than online posts.

 

[pkhammu2005]

The 12.17 Edge is Jack of all trades

True,as an ex owner of 12.17 i can vouch for it. I found it smoother than the svs pb1000 and the various tuning options do make a difference. Also build qlty is superior than svs.

 

[prateekatasniya]

I never mentioned anything about conditions, that said whatever conditions you listen in, they are far more reliable than online posts.

Who has the luxury to audition multiple products at home in India ?
Such luxury isn't even available at showrooms in India..

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

Who has the luxury to audition multiple products at home in India ?
Such luxury isn't even available at showrooms in India..

I'm not sure what your interpreting my posts to mean as I never said we have that option. All I am saying (if it has not been clear enough) is that it is far better to listen/audition/demo (when possible) than to trust online posts about a product. If a demo is not possible then it is ideal to learn about the topic and take a best guess after also learning about your own tastes rather than relying on online posts.

 

[SRI 420]

Very informative thread.

 

[OM_2K19]

I use a floor stand speaker that goes down to 48hz and use a sub. The floor speakers do great bass by themselves but I discovered sub bass with a sub woofer post which I just love them for some genre's of music. Its a kind of bass you can't get from a floor stand that will go down to even 30Hz. You don't need a monster sub for this. Just any good sub woofer will do. Listen to them before putting down your money though.

That's the kind of info I was looking for, appreciate your reply.

 

[Chulbulee]

Very informative thread indeed. May be I have misread but its amazing someone can hear 12Hz because AFAIR humans can hear from 20 Hz to 20 KHz. I wonder how seriously people take their music and take all pains to realize their goals.

 

[Anandlondhe]

Please suggest good subwoofer either sealed or ported below 50k... I have selected jbl stage 120 a sub..... Room size 14x22..... Other details marantz sr 6015 avr... Jbl stage A190 pair tower jbl 135 c center and jbl stage 130 bookshelf..... This is my first home entertainment system and in living room, no dedicated theater room... Kindly suggest subwoofer sealed or ported? And budget below 50k

 

[DB1989]

A little bit off-topic, if you have a Tower with a perfect balance between High, Mid, and Low, will you still prefer adding a Sub in the chain?

Unless you have Focal Grand Utopias or Revel Salons, you need a sub (and even then, a Rel No.25 would make the music that much sweeter). You're missing multiple octaves of music, you just don't know it yet