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Protip: Using a sub? Plug your mains

Merry holidays, or drinking season, whichever you celebrate I support you.

For those of you with ported main speakers and subs, here’s a big tip: Plug your main speakers.

It will reduce the bass output, but also greatly reduce the movement of the driver below the port frequency. This combination increases the dynamic range, and reduces distortion, especially when used with a line level high pass filter. It also often makes integrating the subs easier thanks to less overlap. Use a sock, preferably yours and clean unless you are some weirdo. You don’t have to stuff the entire port length, just plug the end tight. I won’t be held responsible for those of you who lose their intimates inside their speakers.

erik_squires
wturkey's avatar
wturkey
721 posts
 

Pro tip. Indeed.
 

Merry Christmas. 

kenjit
1,771 posts
 

You need to be able to control the rolloff of the main speakers. You cant do that by just plugging the port. Some woofers dont work well in sealed boxes. What you really want is a high pass filter. That will enable you to tune the rolloff point and slope so that it integrates with the sub. And it will also prevent any issues with excursion below port tuning frequency. If you follow eriks advice, you will end up stressing the driver cone as all you are doing is causing the driver to be pushed against the air pressure in the box and stressing it. 

On the other hand if you dont listen to heavy bass music then it doesnt reallly matter whether you plug the port or not. 

helomech
1,482 posts
 

Some drivers can handle both ported and sealed enclosures, some cannot. Also, when plugging a port, you want to plug the whole length. That applies to more than just speakers ;-)

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