hey dudes

does anyone know what the best box for my 12" pioneer TS-W304 dvc sub will be.

It will be in the trunk of my polo hatchback and i listen to a range of music from hip hip to alternative.

i like bangin deep bass but also want it to be controlled.

please hook a brotha up with the 411, thanks  

actually, i just checked now and its the TS-W307D2. the 1200w champion series. i currently have it in a 2 ft3 ported box and it hits hard given that its only being fed with about 300rms, but there are certain tracks where the bass just falls short.  

Well, if it's falling off one the deeper notes then the problem you have is that your Ported enclosure is tuned too high.  A ported enclosure works the same as a sealed enclosure giving the subwoofer cone support, however with the port in the box once the frequency gets low enough, say 35Hz then the enclosure unloads and no longer controls the cones movement.  That frequency that the enclosure unloads the woofer at is called the tuning frequency or F3P.  Also since the area of the port is much smaller than the area of the cone of the woofer then it also gets much quieter, which is probably why you notice the sudden drop in SPL.  I have no idea what your box is tuned to, but I can say that you'll probably need to retune the enclosure which will require a different length or diameter port.  If memory serves right you'll need to at least extend the length of the current port you're using to tune it lower.  If your port is just PVC pipe then try putting a collar on it and see how it sounds.  Then you can add a little length of pipe at a time to see how it works for you.  ANOTHER big thing to check to be absolutely SURE that your box is sealed up on all the seams.  It may seem that you have a big air leak in the port, HOWEVER, any air leaking out of the box from anywhere BUT the port tube itself will cause the enclosure's ability to perform to fail miserably.  A ported enclosure has the ability, when properly tuned and built, to be up to 6Db louder than a sealed enclosure.  That's like putting 4X the power into the subwoofer!!!  Make sure your box is air tight first, then try retuning.  Good Luck and Have Fun!!!!!  

Thanks for the fast reply...

My box is around 2 ft3, properly sealed and it has a port which is 3" in diameter and 4.5" long. its not pvc pipe but rather an "off the shelf" port.

would you recommend a bigger diameter?, and, with the specs i've given do you know what size port would give me around 35 to 40 hz?  

4.5" long is WAAYYY too short for that setup.....  You're probably lucky you haven't damaged the subwoofer....  You don't need a Bigger port just a LONGER port.  to achieve 35 to 40 you'll need at least a 10" to 12" long port tube.  One online calculator at www.the12volt.com recommended a 5.6" long port tube for 35Hz tuning and 8.3" for 30Hz tuning both of which sound a little short to me for that tuning frequency.  What I would do is get a 12" long piece of 3" PVC and slowly cut it to length until you achieve the response you're looking for.  I'd also recommend buying an AERO port from Parts Express, both ends of the port tube are flared to reduce the turbulent noise inherent in port tubes, and they're cheap at about $15 or something like that.  Hope this helps you out.