Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Tube enclosure vs. box

I need a little feedback on my ideas here. I was thinking about making a sealed tube for my JL Audio 8w3-d4. I have one in a ported tube enclosure now and it sounds great. But, I would like to hear what the other sub would sound like sealed. So, I found a great guy at a local industrial supply shop who found me a piece of 8" (almost) I.D. schedule 40 PVC scrap, 4' long. JL says I would need a sealed enclosure of .33 ft^3. SOOO, what I need is any Pros/Cons of tube enclosures vs. boxes.

I like the idea of a tube. I think it would be a great space saver: a .33 ft^3 tube would be about 8 1/2" dia. by 12.55" long vs. a box whith dimensions of 16x9x7.3 inches. (Also, the tube would be much easier to work with!)

On the other hand, if I wanted it ported, it would have to be 22.7 inches long!

Thanks for the responses guys/gals!

-Joe

Tube enclosures are great. The wall resonances normally associated with boxes because of the big flat panels, are nonexistent. Tubes are naturally a much stronger shape, which is why you can use sonotube (cardboard) for a sub enclosure without any detrimental effects. This is what I would do in your situation. Cut it to the length you need for a ported enclosure but leave it sealed to begin with. Add something solid to take away air space to simulate the .33 desired volume. Now listen. If you are happy with the sound, cut the enclosure down and finish it up sealed. If you aren't happy with it, port it.