PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

G-Benz · #3 10-18-2001, 05:33 PM

I couldn't see the image of your install (URL turned up nothing), but the response from your installer was incomplete.

You cannot improve the sound of your subs simply by orienting them in a different direction...there are more complex factors at stake here.

The easiest and most common is the free-air enclosure (subs facing the seat, cones facing the trunk). The trunk serves as the enclosure, and maximum efficiency is achieved by sealing off as much air as possible from the trunk area. Fortunately, MBs are well sealed, but additional sealing is required for the rear deck area.

You can achieve more efficient (notice I didn't say better) sound by having the subs facing the opposite direction. There are several designs that work, including isobaric (subs face each other), bandpass (sub in a box enclosed in another ported box), or aperiodic (sub in a box with a acoustically transparent membrane).

These enclosures yield more bass than a free-air setup, but the frequency range is limited, and it requires more skill to accomplish, as the enclosure parameters must be matched to the subs you are using. It can actually mask distortion in some cases, so you could be doing damage to your subs without actually even knowing it. These types of enclosures require more volume to accomplish the task, so more trunk space would be required.

I have personally used free air and isobaric enclosures, long before the kits were widely available, but now I tend to favor the manufactured boxes. They have already gone through the trouble of researching what works, so I can just drop in a sub and plug it in. I have also used Bazooka tubes in a car that I could not afford to lose trunk space in, and they performed marvelously.