Replacing sound proofing in cabniets

I agree that we live in a free society and that we have the right to experiment with modifying speakers as much as we want, but if making a change as large as stuffing a vent hole actually IMPROVES the speaker, I contend that it's time to sell the speakers and buy something from a company/designer that actually KNOWS what they are doing! If the woofer section had been (apparently) designed so poorly, how much more well designed could the mid/high section be?!

Barry Kohan

Barry: Neither Joe or myself are encouraging anyone to "stuff" their ports so much as we are encouraging additional damping material inside the cabinet.

Having said that, most vented boxes are pieces of junk and closing the ports completely could quite possibly produce better quality, albeit less quantity of sound. As such, yes, most people would be better off with different speakers than what they have, especially given the majority of under-designed, poorly executed, over-priced products that are currently available. Like most changes in society that have taken place over the years, the public seems to desire greater quantity, even if it is at the expense of quality. As such, the designers / engineers / manufacturers have responded to those desires and given the consumers higher sensitivity and greater extension at the expense of linearity and over-all quality. There are exceptions to this generalization, but that is why they ARE exceptions and are far and few between. Sean
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Hi Sean,

After re-reading these posts I see that you are right - stuffing the ports was not specifically mentioned. Although filling the interior with foam to replicate a transmission line does prettty much fall into the catagory that I'm describing - that by making a significant change to the speaker's basic design actually improves performance does call into question whether buying an intrinsically well designed speaker would be more appropriate.

Best,

Barry Kohan

You can't replicate the response of a transmission line with anything other than a transmission line and even then there are variables involved. Other than that, i try to avoid vents of any type as much as possible. If i had to choose out of what is commercially available, i typically prefer sealed low Q designs. Second would be an IB ( Infinite Baffle ) and third would be a stuffed or partially stuffed T-Line. Bringing up the rear in a very distant fourth place would be an aperiodic ( vario-vent ) design. Anything else would be WAY down the list. Sean
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Hi Sean,

I generally agree with your post. The reality for a designer of a commercial speaker is that they are always walking a tightrope and doing a balancing act. No matter what the price point of a speaker (even the relatively new breed of extreme megabuck speakers) the designer is constrained by cost of parts, manufacturing and marketing versus the quality and performance of the parts available versus the size of the speaker system and its practicality for shipping and placement within the customer's home.

In the speakers that I have designed for commercial sale, maintaining a moderate size was a siginificant factor and an aperiodic loading chamber was employed to provide the target response for the system.

In my personal speaker system I do use a low Q sealed system for the dynamic woofer section.

Best,

Barry

Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of loudspeakers and vibration control products.