[quote author=Bob in St. Louis link=1145573673/255#261 date=1150841382]Sounds like a weekend type project with the testing. Probably a better idea to check the same speaker (sealed then apart) instead of two different one's I'd imagine? [/quote]
No, it's a 5min project. No, not just one and stuff the woofer port and turn the XO cutoff up much higher to help fill in the bass. Tape a piece of cardboard to each side of the opened up speaker to add some baffle to it. Then play some music and pan left and right to hear the difference between OB and boxed, keeping in mind that the bass mayl be severely lacking on the OB. With both playing though, the other one will fill in most of the missing bass, but you'll hear much more open and natural sound on the open speaker side. It's not subtle and you'll wonder why they ever started closing up speakers (bass more cheaply and higher power handling are the reasons. You want instant switching and direct comparison, because out audio memory is very short and only direct comparisons are worth much.
Quote:Liken' that OB thing. (read the WHOLE DarkStar thread, all 87 pages to date. Lots of stuff 'over my head')
I suppose a guy could just grab some mdf and cut 3 pieces, poke some holes, and see how it sounds. And some bracing of course.
Bob
Cardboard and duct tape. If you want to spend a few $, get a couple of pieces of the posterboard with the foam core that architects use for models. Then with a serrated knife and tape you can try a few test speakers in minutes. Don't worry about bracing on test cabs. That's for a slight refinement at the end. You just need them to stand up.
Does your center channel have dual woofers? Once you go OB, you won't want the center anyway, so the drivers may be useful. Open it up too for pics.