I have an Eclipse SW9152 Pro Quad 1 ohm voice coil subwoofer (5000 watts max and 3000 watts RMS) and a MA Audio HK-802SX (4400 watts X 1 max and 2200 X 1 RMS)...
I'm looking for loud, accurate sound. I listen to rap and trance.
What are some opinions. Should I go with a ported box or a large sealed box and why?
Big ported man. The more air you move the harder hittin its gonna be bro. Make sure if your building or buying to put your sub in a ported box that has a slot port though.
loud and accurate are hard to achieve. Are you willing to spend some money to get a box made? If so look into getting a rear loaded horn made for it or a snail shell made for it.
With a sub like that, loud shouldn't be hard, as long as you power it with a good amp. I'd go ported for that sub. BTW, what amp are you going to run it with?
The sub itself is pretty much top of the line...The amp is a hk-802sw (4400 x 1 max; 2200 x 1 rms) and packs lots of power...While reading a review on the sub, someone hit 155 db with a 1500 watt rms MA audio amp with a 3.41 cubic box and I will be running more power. 155 db is plenty for my taste...what do you guys think it would hit with a large sealed box?
Can't go wrong with sealed. You already have a big a$$ subwoofer and amplifier that will be VERY VERY VERY loud so why not gain some accuracy and go sealed? Ported is only if your short on power and want a little boost, but you lose some SQ. Mainly what you will notice with sealed is that the bass will be "tighter". Go sealed in my opinion, good luck.
read up on your woofer's specs and study thiele small parameters to find the "optimal" Q (volume) you should be aiming for.
a Q of 1.0 is generally considered "optimal" all around while a Q of 0.8 is considered optimal for tight bass.
calculating with thiele small parameters... you can find the perfect volume for any woofer.
i'd vote for sealed enclosures too. when you have a fast bass sound like a bass drum... a sealed woofer will punch you harder while a ported one will shake you harder with *wooo wooo woo* "one note bass".
ported woofers blurr the crap out of bass detail. i despise ported... but other despise sealed. it depends on the sound you're after.
i think you'd impress a listener more with bass that sounds like they're getting hit with a giant rubber mallet than an even larger rubber balloon... but that's my priorities.