Kicker C15 User Manual

Page 4

Vented Box Mounting

Almost as easy to build as the sealed box, the vented or ported enclosure can

give you more output at certain bass frequencies. Although this design has an

output advantage at some frequencies it also has a sharper rolloff characteristic

which will only affect the lowest of bass frequencies. Overall a correctly designed

vented enclosure will have some "free" output provided by the port itself.

One major disadvantage to the vented design is the "unloading" of the woofer

at very low frequencies. At a frequency 1/2-octave below the tuning frequency

of the enclosure the woofer acts like it has no box to work in and can go to full

excursion. This will be harmful to the woofer's mechanical integrity. It is there-

fore very important to stay with the recommended designs.

Since the peak pressure inside a vented enclosure can actually be higher than

that of a sealed box, the same precautions must be taken to assure that the

enclosure is rigid and sealed around all the joints.

Recommended vented enclosure volume ranges are .8-1.2cf for the C8, 1.25-

1.75 cf for the C10, 1.75-2.25 cf for the C12, and 3.0-4.0 cf for the C15. As with

the sealed boxes, as enclosure volume increases the response shifts from high

impact to a smoother and more extended bass sound.

Below are specifications for a simple compact vented box for each sub.

Compact

Model Enclosure Woofer A

Port

Volume

Cutout

panel

Comp 8 .8 cf

6-7/8" 9-1/2"x13-1/2" 13-1/2"x15"

8"x15"

3"dx7"L

Comp 10 1.5 cf

9-5/32"

12"x18"

18"x15"

15"x10-1/2" 4"dx11-3/4"L

Comp 12 2.0 cf

10-15/16"

14"x20"

20"x15"

15"x12-1/2" 4"dx9-1/4"L

Comp 15 3.5 cf

13-11/16" 17"x25-1/2" 25-1/2"x16-1/4" 15-1/2"x16-1/4" 6"dx9"L