I have an Alpine type X 12" sub on the way and I am not sure which custom box would work best. I hear/read a lot of people say that the sealed enclosure is the best because it's a SQ sub...on the contrary, others say that a custom ported box tuned between 28-33 Hz is the best for this sub. Can anyone lead me in the right direction? Which box is best for this type X and what cubic feet?

I am leaning towards a custom sealed box around 2.0 cf with 3/4" to 1" MDF. Does this sound like the best option??

 

what kinda music do you like and how do you like your sub to sound?

if you want it loud and boomy go with a large ported box

tighter and a bit more accurate go with sealed

these are just general guidelines

a ported box can have more SQ than a sealed box if properly built.

 

For the size, it really depends on how much power you're giving the sub and the size of the port, should you choose to go that route.

You can obtain good sound with either sealed or ported. Ported will allow you to achieve more output with less power, but sealed will be more linear and smoother as it will be able to play all frequencies, whereas with a ported enclosure, it's going to have a cutoff (around the tuning frequency of the port). The tuning frequency you specified is somewhat low compared to what I see most people doing....33 is close to average. The lower you go, the closer it is to a sealed application I would say, in a sense.

Check Alpine's website for enclosure sizes, but basically, if you want to retain as much trunk space as possible, sealed would be the better route.

 

Its all about how much room you want to use... A ported box is going to take up more room. The older Alpines I had sounded twice as good in a NON ported box...

 

1" is overkill for a subwoofer box under 2000W, 3/4 WILL be fine.

basically it boils down to this :

SEALED- Accurate and hard hitting. quick on, quick off for solid beats

PORTED - less accurate but significantly louder.

read the instruction manual, alpine has great info on what size (cf) you will need for the setup

i have a 10" type R and i went with 1.3 cuft sealed. works amazingly, very happy.

 

I listen to all types of music except country...that said I basically want bass that has the BEST SQ possible. That is why I went with the type X. It was between that or IDMax. I want to feel all the levels in the bass as accurately as possible.

The main reason I question sealed/ported is because I had Boston subs in a bandpass box years ago and they had the best SQ I have ever had. I heard recently that if you put the Alpine subs in a sealed box and listen to a lot of rap/hip-hop, the voice coils will burn out easily. I don't know how much weight that holds but it wasn't the first time I've heard that.

I am over all the SPL boomy bass and want quality more than anything. So sealed all the way? Just let me know what you think about the voice coils burning out in sealed enclosures...

Oh yeah, I will be pushing this sub with an Alpine MRP-1000 amp @ 2 ohms.

 

I dont know who told you that about the voice coils but thats not true

the voice coils will over heat when to much wattage is given to them for prolong amounts of time.

The subs i have in my car now have been ran for over 2 years in a sealed box with 400rms over what the spec says and they are fine

 

your coils will be fine as long as you send it the right amount of power, at the right ohms, and dont clip the sub.

my old car i ran a 12" type r ported in a huge box, it was extremely loud and still sounded pretty good.

my g i run a 10" sealed jl 10w3 and honestly this can bang way harder than I need, so I wouldn't really worry about it not being loud enough

 

Grasshopper you fail...... IDMAX all the way.....

 

Have you heard the type X yet? Wow, it is truly a great sub!

I have heard the IDMax and everything else in between and the Alpine had the best SQ hands down. Another reason I went with the type X is basically because of the warranty. I will get it thru Crutchfield (1 year warranty) and my buddy works at a pro install shop that is affiliated with Crutchfield, which adds another 2 years to the warranty. This include everything, so it was an easy decision to make. Plus he is not charging me to install the sub, amp, PAC SWI, Ipod adaptor and Sirius Sat with shark fin antenna on the roof.

For those that have yet to hear an Alpine X, I highly suggest you do...this thing sound better than JL w7s, RF, Fi, and IDMax. The closest thing was the IDMax though which made me listen to them both even more before deciding.

 

my roommate has a type x, but i wouldnt say it sounds better than many of the others you have listed

 

I am talking strictly about SQL, not SPL...yes the other subs can sound louder and push more air but SQ wise, the IDMax and Alpine were head and shoulders above the others. The JLs had great SPL and above average SQ, but I do not want boomy bass. That is where the Alpine's quality shined. It was just the most accurate as was the IDMax. I went with Alpine because it was in the upper echelon as far as sound quality and having a three year warranty on all parts and labor was a huge plus.

Without the warranty I would have had to listen to the IDMax and Alpine X with twenty different songs to choose because they were very close. What I heard when comparing, the X seemed to edge out the IDs barely but it could have just been the song choice. I am high on the IDs as well.

As far as the JLs, I would have loved them five years ago, but not now. They were very impressive but just not as accurate as the other two. IMO, you cannot go wrong with the Alpine X or the IDMax if you are mainly looking for SQ.