What is a speaker box? Why buy one? I want to make sure my bass sounds really clean from my woofers. Will my speaker box choice impact how clean my bass sounds? What does it come with?
Speaker boxes are carefully designed and constructed boxes that are used to house car audio speakers to enhance sound quality and allow you to conveniently mount the speakers virtually anywhere in your vehicle. Most boxes feature a nice carpeted or textured finish that will add to your interior appeal and give your sound system a professional appearance. If you are in need of some extra volume for your system, or have simply run out of panel space in which to mount speakers, aftermarket speaker boxes are just the ticket. With a full range of designs including custom shapes to fit in the nooks of your specific vehicle they are a great upgrade for any sound system.

Speaker boxes can be designed for the full spectrum of speaker styles including mid-range units such as 6x9s. However, by far the most common application of speaker boxes is for use with subwoofers in order to achieve more punch from the low end of the sound spectrum. When it comes to speaker box designs there are four basic categories: Sealed boxes, ported boxes, bandpass boxes and tubes. Sealed boxes are sturdily designed boxes that are tightly sealed at all joints to prevent sound waves from escaping. These boxes provide excellent sound response and are particularly good for crisp and clear audio. If you are looking for clean bass, a sealed subwoofer box is the way to go. Sealed boxes are also the most compact making them versatile for mounting; however they require more power to achieve similar volume to ported units. Ported boxes feature strategically placed air vents (ports) that help the low end bass really kick. These ported designs allows your woofers to produce a more intense bass hit without using as much power as sealed boxes making them more acoustically efficient. Ported boxes are probably the most commonly used box design and can actually hit lower frequencies than sealed boxes; however they need to be physically larger in order to do so. If size is not a restriction and you like your bass low and loud, ported boxes are a great option. Bandpass boxes feature a clever design where the woofer is hidden inside a multiple chamber box with one chamber ported and the other sealed. They have a limited frequency range, however they pack an incredible punch with the sound that falls in that range. But it is crucial that the bandpass box be used with the right woofer type in order to achieve the desired results. Tubes are single speaker enclosures that are shaped as large cylinders, usually with porting on one end. They are often a more compact design which makes them perfect for smaller vehicles; however they do not pack as much punch as larger boxes. It is also important to note that in general a larger deeper box will give better bass response especially down low, while a shallower box will generally not have as much range.

Speaker boxes are primarily sold as naked boxes without speakers allowing the owner to choose the perfect speaker to match the rest of their setup and install it in a box. Most speaker boxes come with a carpeted exterior and are pre-cut for a specific speaker diameter and include wiring connectors/terminals for easy hook up, as well as pre-installed ports if it is a ported type box. Some boxes do come loaded with speakers, but never assume the box will come with speakers. Be sure to read the full description before purchasing.