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Ported versus sealed speakers: is one type better?

Have two systems of wildly different scale and cost.  My main rig features Wilson Watt/Puppy 7's, while at my vacation cabin the system features Totem Rainmakers.

Got me thinking recently that both are ported designs.  And many box speakers are indeed ported designs.

However some of the best and most costly speakers are sealed - not ported.  Examples include Magico and YG Acoustics among others.

 I realize ports are just one aspect of the overall design but I'm seeking opinions on whether one is inherently worse than the other (ported versus non ported)?

Thus would a Magico or YG have an inherent advantage over a Wilson, Rockport,  Von Schweikert or other top ported design?

Any thoughts?
bobbydd

Showing 3 responses by bdp24

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 

Putting a woofer into a sealed enclosure raises the resonant frequency of the driver. The acoustic output of the woofer thus starts rolling off at a higher frequency than does the same woofer in a ported enclosure. However, it’s slope is (as Erik properly corrected me on ;-) the shallower 2nd-order, so that as frequency descends, the output of the sealed woofer eventually crosses the more-steeply-falling 4th-order slope of the ported woofer, thereby providing more output at the lowest frequencies both woofers are capable of. I.E., the woofer plays lower in a sealed enclosure than in a ported.

I have a pair of 1/4-wave transmission line enclosures, each with the famous KEF B139 woofer (used in pairs by David Wilson in his WAMM loudspeaker) at it’s front end (together creating a fundamental resonant Q at 15Hz), and while very good for it’s time (early-70’s) is no match for the Rythmik F15HP, let alone the Rythmik/GR Research OB/Dipole Sub. Jim Salk installs a Rythmik subwoofer and associated plate amp in his upmarket speaker models. 

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 
Ported designs do NOT "go" deeper than do sealed. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Ported woofers provide more output down to resonance than do sealed designs (which are already rolling off at 6dB/octave at their resonant frequency), below which they roll off much faster (12dB/octave) than do sealed. The same driver in a sealed enclosure will play lower in frequency than will the same driver in a ported one, but with lower output above resonance. That's why sealed are recommended for smaller rooms: with the gain provided by that room, a sealed woofer's output will match that of a ported, and will play to a lower frequency. And with, some feel, better sound quality. Rythmik's Peter Ding recommends his sealed models for music reproduction.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 
^ If you had ever read any technical papers, you would know the answer to that question, it’s in the literature. Too much trouble to do the work, it’s easier just to display your ignorance and laziness? If you find reading too demanding, can you at least watch videos? Danny Richie has a series of GR Research Tech Talk Tuesday videos on YouTube in which he discusses in detail loudspeaker and subwoofer design.
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