Woofing "Q"


Todays query pertains to sub matching to a stand mounted two or three way speaker. Irrespective of room acoustics and crossover over or underlaping points and levels. What are the effects of mis matching Q or damping. Is it detremental to match a acoustic suspension sub with a ported monitor or must they both have the same box alignment. This assuming that a sealed box is quicker than than a bass reflex box. I curently am using sealed Yamaha 10m monitors with a Yamaha sub that has two 8 in drivers and a port. It is matched pretty well. The Cary 805c is telling me I need to step up my game, but I don't want to lose my alignment match. Halp before I make a 'greener grass' mistake.
lewhite
Can you adjust the damping of a box,either sub or sat, acoustically by putting a 'brick' in the box or a 'sock' on the port?

You can but it may change the freq response in an undesirable way even if it improves the transient response (group delay)...some subs like the PBUltra13 can have the ports plugged. It is certainly an option but there is a rule of thumb for whether a woofer works best in a ported design or a sealed box...
Shadorne's comment re: "sealed subs only" is probably, as a practical matter, good advice for a music only system, but it may be a bit of an overstatement. The SVS subs he mentions shouldn't be dismissed. Their top model, in it's fully ported configuration, outperforms most sealed boxes on group delay tests. This test usually favors sealed, highly damped designs - but the SVS Ultra shows awfully well. Also, like all ported subs, it offers more deep, clean output capability than a typical sealed box design of similar size and amp power.

That latter item may not be critical for most music (how much musical program material has deep bass info <30hz, anyway?), but it begs a question:

How do you intend to install the subs?

If you're going to roll off the bass to your mains and cross at or above 60ish hz, I'd say sealed boxes are safer bets. If you're gonna run the main speakers full range and "snug up" a sub below their natural roll-off, then it becomes a more open question. Many users on this forum run their subs in this fashion, often rolling off their sub's upper response somewhere below 50hz. In this configuration, a ported box (particularly a good one like the SVS seems to be) may make more sense.

Good Luck

Marty
Shadorne's comment re: "sealed subs only" is probably, as a practical matter, good advice for a music only system, but it may be a bit of an overstatement.

Marty,
Who me ...make an overstatement...never !
LOL - Marty is right - my context is uncompromising bass response. I am not sure where the OP sits, and admittedly for many people "more bass" is better and a low Q device or a sealed sub may sound unimpressively bass light for their taste and $$$ invested.
Shadorne,

Funny, I was thinking the same thing! You and I are the only two posters I can think of who always qualify their statements in a thoughtful and appropriate manner. Yay us!

Marty
I remember a white paper from Dunleavy on multi way speakers and his statement said that the only drivers that should be ported ( hi q) are the biggest ones. Does it make sense that you wouldn't want ported monitor and a sealed sub? idk Or does that only apply to mono amping?