What is one of these - and what does it mean in practice.

Was thinking that perhaps it means that the unit does not need a volume of air to work against? Is that right? See http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products/25/130/201/TS-WX11A/index.html

Does this mean that there is no benefit in having it in an enclosed space (boot) as it does not need to have a volume of air to work against.



By the way I have bought one of these, so no telling me it is crap - I know its not going to kick like a massive sub in the boot, but that's not what I want.

It just means that it's in an enclosure without a bass reflex port. With it, it would be a "vented sub (enclosure)". In general, sealed sounds a little more accurate but has less output (it's way more complicated than that, but that's really all you want to know if you're not planning on making your own 'box).

It's in an enclosure, so it already has a volume of air to work against - that in the enclosure.

Thanks.

Also if its any help...

Having had both types (sealed and ported) it can be useful to consider what type of music you will be listening to through the sub.

Sealed enclosures tend to work better with punchy bass, such as Dance/trance/big beat, whereas a ported enclosure works better with R&B, and deeper bass.

Aslo this depends on the size of the sub too; having had two 10s in a band pass (ported) enclosure followed by a sealed 12.
For me (dance and rock fan) the 12 worked better, as although the 10's were punchy, they weren't up to the job of the faster beats, nor could they drop low enough for R&B...

I listen to Rock, dance, electronica and jazz mainly. Some light hip-hop or similar at times.

The main thing is the size. This bad boy is pretty small (less than the size of an A4 piece of paper and about 10 cm high, but that means the speaker is not massive either. I'm trying to figure out whether this will sound better in the cabin or in the boot. I'll try both but kind of suspect that it will be best in the rear footwell.

What do you think is likely to be best?

Should be suitable for the size of sub you have then; reasonable punchy and enclosed is ideal.

I've laways gone for the boot myslef; keeps it out of the way and if you need a break from too much bass (which can happen, believe me!) at least you can turn it down from the rear when its in the boot.

A mate of mine who ran his own car audio company for many years ran two 8 inch subs in an enclosure in the boot in every car he had - swore by them. He always told me its not about how many you have, how big they are or how much power you put through them - its how its set up that counts... Very true..!

Try both and see what you think, but in the end I feel the boot is a better location.

Are you running a D class amp with this or is it just a standard amp with other speakers amped up to it?

It has a built in amp. Other speakers are coming direct from the HU.

Too much bass should not be an issue as there is a remote control which you can use to adjust the settings which will be located on the side of the transmission tunnel next to my knee.

Given the size, you should also try putting it in the front passenger footwell, below the glovebox for instance. I knew a guy with a Pug 206CC (lol) and he had a 10" sub in the passenger footwell. Worked really well! (pun intended) It made integration with the front speakers easier as there's no time alignment issue between the sub and the front speakers.

Also, cable runs will be much shorter.

Whatever you do, put it in a corner so it can load off from there. That's why a sub in the boot or parcel shelve works so well, it loads off from the hatch or window. A sub in the middle of the car will have cancellation issues (where the soundwaves reflected from the rear of the car will be out of alignment with the ones going directly to the front - bass is omnidirectional).

With this fit on the parcel shelf?

I think it will sound better in the cab myself but the great thing is because it's got a built in amp it wont take long to try it in both areas. Don't forget though when testing in the boot a huge difference will probably be found when you're driving the car.

Parcel shelf is not flat enough sadly.

I will be finishing the install tomorrow, so will post up with the results.

Thought it would a large baguette-style sandwich wrapped in cling film

Nah, its just less than the size of a A4 bit of paper and about 10 cm high.