Why are most speakers rear ported instead of front ported ?

[Nitin K]

Hi FM's,

As the title says, is this due to aesthetic or scientific reasons ?
The issue being that as the rear ported speakers need a decent amount of space behind them to sound proper and space is a premium for most of us due to lack of dedicated rooms
If the experienced FM's could shed some light on this would be great. Thank you.

 

[argho]

I too would be keen to understand.
Front ported speakers are easier to place in a room.
Keeping speakers 1 foot away from the rear wall is not practical in most of our homes.

 

[amrutmhatre90]

Size maybe, front ported speakers will require more surface area, Drivers plus port. More engineering and R&D

Also maybe, maybe to avoid kids hiding and stuffing things inside the port.

 

[keith_correa]

Size maybe, front ported speakers will require more surface area, Drivers plus port. More engineering and R&D

???

 

[Vineethkumar01]

Unless the port is very well designed and the inside of the cabinet well damped, it can cause leakage of midrange frequencies due to port pipe resonances, chuffing noises at higher drive levels, etc. These are more audible when the port is at the front of the speaker compared to when it is at the back.

 

[aeroash]

Size maybe, front ported speakers will require more surface area, Drivers plus port. More engineering and R&D

errrrr....I would really research this before I say something like this.

 

[keith_correa]

Unless the port is very well designed and the inside of the cabinet well damped, it can cause leakage of midrange frequencies due to port pipe resonances, chuffing noises at higher drive levels, etc. These are more audible when the port is at the front of the speaker compared to when it is at the back.

There are many reasons but this is most relevant!

 

[ssf]

My Wharf D225 has a port at the bottom of the speaker so does my Velodyne EQ Max 15.

Any advantages ports below the speakers over rear ones ?

 

[Vineethkumar01]

My Wharf D225 has a port at the bottom of the speaker so does my Velodyne EQ Max 15.

Any advantages ports below the speakers over rear ones ?

Proximity of the port to boundaries can slightly alter the bass reflex box tuning based on the distance from boundary. By locating the port at the bottom, the port is always at a constant distance from the boundary unlike if it is located at any other place on the speaker box. This will help the designers to fine tune the box tuning at the design stage itself.

 

[argho]

My Wharf D225 has a port at the bottom of the speaker so does my Velodyne EQ Max 15.

Any advantages ports below the speakers over rear ones ?

I guess best of both worlds, can be kept close to back wall, but avoids the problems of front porting.

Just guessing.

 

[Nitin K]

Proximity of the port to boundaries can slightly alter the bass reflex box tuning based on the distance from boundary. By locating the port at the bottom, the port is always at a constant distance from the boundary unlike if it is located at any other place on the speaker box. This will help the designers to fine tune the box tuning at the design stage itself.

Pls consider this question from a novice. By bottom port position, do you mean at the bottom of the front/rear side of the speaker box ?

 

[Vineethkumar01]

Pls consider this question from a novice. By bottom port position, do you mean at the bottom of the front/rear side of the speaker box ?

Port is at the bottom of the cabinet and the port exit faces down into a baseplate/the ground on which it is placed.

 

[efernand1]

Pls consider this question from a novice. By bottom port position, do you mean at the bottom of the front/rear side of the speaker box ?

I think he meant that the port is at the bottom of the speaker in the center i guess and there seems to be a vented area all sides.

See this D220

 

[ssf]

There were some experiments conducted by YouTube reviewers with the D225's by creating a bigger gap between the base plate and the Port and they said that it sounded better.

I am a bit skeptical though. If it was that simple, wharfedale would themselves have done it.

 

[Nitin K]

Port is at the bottom of the cabinet and the port exit faces down into a baseplate/the ground on which it is placed.

But will there be a chance for the stands to block the port in the case of a bottom port bookshelf speaker.

 

[efernand1]

Hi FM's,

As the title says, is this due to aesthetic or scientific reasons ?
The issue being that as the rear ported speakers need a decent amount of space behind them to sound proper and space is a premium for most of us due to lack of dedicated rooms
If the experienced FM's could shed some light on this would be great. Thank you.

Minus the science behind it and supposed logic, based on my experience on multiple systems and speakers, Front ported is much better suited. Again the cabinet design matters, including the port design and tube length. The Bose 301 Bookshelf speakers I have are wall mounted with the proper Bose Wall Mounts and they sound great. If you keep them placed on a AV cabinet etc, they will sound very different. Placement is key and yes space is a big challenge for most of us.

 

[efernand1]

But will there be a chance for the stands to block the port in the case of a bottom port bookshelf speaker.

Dont think so! The port hits a plate which has open vents all side. So bass air travels out all sides

 

[aeroash]

Pls consider this question from a novice. By bottom port position, do you mean at the bottom of the front/rear side of the speaker box ?

 

[Nitin K]

Dont think so! The port hits a plate which has open vents all side. So bass air travels out all sides

Thanks Eddie.

 

[ssf]

But will there be a chance for the stands to block the port in the case of a bottom port bookshelf speaker.

In the design of the D225's, it's the Port, the baseplate, the rubber speaker supports which finally is placed on stands.