A little ported vs sealed review on the Etho 15s

[97maxima 9]

So my setup consists of 2 Ethos 15s on a HD-8000 in a 03 impala. First try at the setup was a 6 cube street box with external ports tuned to 39hz. Musically fierce but with a flat response from the lower 40s to 50hz. With a slight peak at 47hz. I metered at 48 sealed on the dash in this round of testing. Typically i run MECA and my car has seemed to favor being open to meter in the past. For a daily guy i could see it doing much better with a low 30-32hz tuning for some good daily listening.

 

 

Now to try something different i pulled my ports off and made some plate covers. Just wanted to see if i could get a better low end response. It did pick up alot more low end with a smooth roll off in the low 30s. Tried a few 28hz peak and 29hz peak tracks and it didn't have much output but the speakers didnt seem to be suffering. Now as i started playing into my previous usu-able bandwidth it seemed the speakers came alive. Amazingly in the 44-49hz peak range it became super intense. Gave a friend a ride along 30 minute heavy demo of a few tracks and to my surprise the subs remained very cool to the touch were as the ported setup would heat them up a little quicker. Which could be controlled by lower rise= less clamped power. Regardless the output was noticeably stronger. Which i Will update this thread with new numbers with the sealed box.

 

 

Over all, for the price unbeatable value. Great sounding speaker. Top notch customer service. For the average guy that does not care about the meter id do a daily setup 3-3.5 cubes ported depending on power available. Lower power for a slightly larger enclosure. But for the best experience id go with a sealed enclosure or a 4th order. The entire line has a low Fs and a reasonably high Qes. Im doubtful there is a better suited sub in this power range on the market for it.

 

 

[swift 501]

Your ported setup tuned at 39hz is too high for the ethos even for the meter. Bigjon's is tuned at 29hz and does a 50. They like lower tuning.

[97maxima 9]

Your ported setup tuned at 39hz is too high for the ethos even for the meter. Bigjon's is tuned at 29hz and does a 50. They like lower tuning.

This build was done around the car for a different set of subs and not the ethos. This is a review on what i did with them please keep that in mind. If you want to be super technical the 15s especially are geared towards sealed or 4th order enclosures.

[swift 501]

 

Your ported setup tuned at 39hz is too high for the ethos even for the meter. Bigjon's is tuned at 29hz and does a 50. They like lower tuning.

This build was done around the car for a different set of subs and not the ethos. This is a review on what i did with them please keep that in mind. If you want to be super technical the 15s especially are geared towards sealed or 4th order enclosures.

 

I was just given my opinion based on my results. My single 15 Ethos was very strong in a 29hz tuned box on a single 2k. As a matter of fact the Ethos was even stronger than a SP4 on the lows. Mine played flat from 25-55hz. Literally within a db. Good to see another good review out there.

 

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/topic/62241-my-dss-ethos-review-and-comparison-to-the-sp4-db-numbers-inside/

[97maxima 9]

Yea the sp4 is a relatively weak motor for what it is. With what my car likes, running ported with dual 15s tuned low is not a option unless its single 15 then i can have it peaking down at 31hz like last season. If the etho would work in my old single box it was tuned to 36 but did a 51.1 at the headrest at 31. Running these subs sealed i only lost a half db but bandwidth and control increased 10 fold. Ill be cutting them down for a dual 12 4th for Meca since opened up she likes a lower peak.