Does Plugging Bass Port Affect Pace, Rhythm and Timing?

Plugging the port of a speaker tends to reduce efficiency, does it not?

OK, guys - I plugged the ports, and it really reduced that mid bass bloat by a lot. The music is much more balanced now, and those sweet highs are much more to the fore. I think I'll live with this configuration for a while before I try anything else like moving the speakers from the walls with and without plugs. Thanks for all your help!

@prof - That’s actually an often repeated myth.

The overall efficiency is determined by the driver and crossover. The cabinet and port affects the bottom end of the driver’s response. Plugging the port does raise the -3 dB point up to about an octave or so.

I should point out that when I bought MA Silvers they came with factory foam plugs for the bass port, so this technique is quite normal.

@bdp24 - You are kind of right, in that an optimized sealed cabinet is usually quite smaller than an equally optimized ported cabinet, BUT that assumes they are going to be used the same way. If you are going to take a stand-mounted speaker, and then put it on a bookshelf, plugging the port is a very very good way to compensate for the additional bass reinforcement.


Best,

E

Glad we could help, OP.

Best,

E

Thanks erik,

It's been a very long time since I have been the details of speaker design.  I burned out on the technical side of this hobby years ago and don't follow it near as much (that's one reason it's taking me forever to get around to setting up my subwoofers.  To do it right is such a hassle I never get around to it.  I just sit down and listen to my system as it is...)

I'd always noticed, though, that plugging the ports of a speaker seemed not only to tighten up the lower response, but also seemed to reduce the sense of dynamics, making it a bit more lifeless.  So that seemed to at least subjectively ratify that myth.  Perhaps that was just due to the loss of lower bass...(though I have both the larger and the slightly smaller version of the Thiel 3.7 and 2.7 speakers, the only difference being a 2" smaller woofer on the smaller speaker and not as deep bass, but it certainly sounds as dynamic or more than the bigger speaker with the lower bass....)