Integrated Audio Solutions Design and Comparison Tool

The design and compare tool quickly allows the user to compare the different types of speaker enclosures for a particular driver. The calculator is limited to three main types of enclosures: 1) sealed, 2) ported, and 3) bandpass. The starting point for using the calculator is to determine the TS parameters for the particular driver. If the user wants to see how the speaker would behave in a ported enclosure additional inputs are required such as number of ports and port diameter.

A big benefit of the tool is that is allows the user to experiment with various “what if” scenarios that is, how the speaker will behave under different conditions.

Enter Known Values

Vas:
Qts:
unitless
fs:
hertz
Qtc:
unitless
Port Diameter:
# of Ports:
unitless
Gain:
decibel
Alignment:
SBB4QB3SC4
Ripple:
0.50.60.7
Output Units
Volume:
Length:

Box Parameters Solution

Output vs Frequency

Input Definitions

Vas (Thiele-Small)

  • Volume of air equal to the speaker’s spring characteristics
  • Related enclosures: Sealed Ported Bandpass
  • Obtained from speaker manufacturer
  • Units: Volume

Qts (Thiele-Small)

  • Total Q of the speaker.
  • Related enclosures: Sealed Ported Bandpass
  • Obtained from speaker manufacturer
  • Unitless

fs (Thiele-Small)

  • Free air resonance of speaker
  • Related enclosures: Sealed Ported Bandpass
  • Obtained from speaker manufacturer
  • Units: Frequency in hertz

Qtc

  • Total Q of the speaker and box
  • Related enclosure: Sealed
  • User Defined (you choose a value)
  • Unitless

Gain

  • dB or sound volume increase of the system
  • Related enclosure: Bandpass
  • User Defined (you choose a value)
  • Units: Sound intensity in decibel

Ripple

  • S = 0.5 – Degraded response pronounced ripple
  • S = 0.6 – Slightly degraded response slight ripple
  • S = 0.7 – Best transient response no ripple
  • Related enclosure: Bandpass
  • User Defined (you choose a value)
  • Unitless

Alignment

  • SBB4: Good response, Large enclosure, Low tuning frequency
  • QB3: Slightly degraded response, Small enclosure, Lower F3
  • SC4: Degraded response, Large enclosure, Low tuning frequency
  • Related enclosure: Ported
  • User Defined (you choose a value)
  • Unitless

Pd

  • Diameter of the port or vent
  • Related enclosures: Ported Bandpass
  • User Defined (you choose a value)
  • Units: length

# Ports

  • Quantity or number of ports
  • Related enclosures: Ported Bandpass
  • User Defined (you choose a value)
  • Unitless

Output Definitions

Vb

  • Vb – The airspace volume of the box. The volume of the subwoofer and any building material needs to be added to this value. For bandpass boxes, the volume includes both front and rear chambers
  • Related enclosures: Sealed Ported Bandpass
  • Units: Volume

Vf

  • Front chamber volume.
  • Related enclosure: Bandpass
  • Units: Volume

Vr

  • Rear chamber volume.
  • Related enclosure: Bandpass
  • Units: Volume

f3 or fl

  • lower -3db frequency
  • Related enclosures: Sealed Ported Bandpass
  • Units: Frequency in hertz

fh

  • higher -3db frequency
  • Related enclosure: Bandpass
  • Units: Frequency in hertz

fb

  • box frequency
  • Related enclosures: Sealed Ported Bandpass
  • Units: Frequency in hertz

Alignment

  • SBB4: Good response, Large enclosure, Low tuning frequency
  • QB3: Slightly degraded response, Small enclosure, Lower F3
  • SC4: Degraded response, Large enclosure, Low tuning frequency
  • Related enclosure: Ported
  • User Defined (you choose a value)

Pl

  • port length
  • Related enclosures: Ported Bandpass
  • Units: length