How does polyfill work?

[An-i-no 86]

Looked around and got a bunch of mixed answers but I'll regurgitate what I have.

1. It fools the speaker into thinking the box is bigger than it is.

2. It makes the interior of the enclosure hotter.

3. When used in ported boxes it slightly lowers tuning.

On to my questions/possible misconceptions.

1. Does that mean the speaker is louder?...Or does it play lower or what? I'm confuzzled.

2. Does that lower the thermal power handling of the speaker by hindering it's cooling capabilities?

3. My box is sealed sooooo...nvm

And before anyone tells me not to mess around with it, my box is sealed and too small (I forgot to account for sub displacement) and plus I'm running about half of rated power (which means I can have a box that's bigger than recommended without hurting anything). I don't have the time, tools, money, or training to make a bigger box and when I invert I worry about two things, Getting robbed due to the hugeassness of the subs magnet and it sounds like crap. (I reversed the polarity and everything...) Soooo...somebody explain to me CLEARLY what the hell polyfill does.

[ssh 924]

Personally I would just go buy a bag and stuff some in the enclosure and give a listen. Then you'll have your answer whether it sounds better to you or not. Stuff is cheap and would only take a few minutes to install.

I used it for my very first sealed enclosure, upon adding it, I thought it sounded a little better, but it also could of been psychoacoustics at play

[An-i-no 86]

Personally I would just go buy a bag and stuff some in the enclosure and give a listen. Then you'll have your answer whether it sounds better to you or not. Stuff is cheap and would only take a few minutes to install.

I used it for my very first sealed enclosure, upon adding it, I thought it sounded a little better, but it also could of been psychoacoustics at play

Better as in sq or spl?

[ssh 924]

Personally I would just go buy a bag and stuff some in the enclosure and give a listen. Then you'll have your answer whether it sounds better to you or not. Stuff is cheap and would only take a few minutes to install.

I used it for my very first sealed enclosure, upon adding it, I thought it sounded a little better, but it also could of been psychoacoustics at play

Better as in sq or spl?

Well if it works in a way that it "magically" adds volume to the enclosure (obviously it doesn't magically make anything, but I don't know the specifics or details), and considering the enclosure volume was currently on the smaller side, the slight gain in volume would of likely made it louder and possibly flatter response.

But at this point I'm just assuming as if it did magically add volume. This was years ago and I didn't pay very much attention to everything.

So as originally suggested, try it and see if it works for you... I believe I bought a bag off sonicelectronix for five bucks. (or go to your local arts and crafts store)

Don't expect wonders, but it may be worth five minutes and five bucks

[Duran 387]

It applies thermodynamics to the enclosure, the wiggling fibers create heat, warm air is less dense, less dense air means the sound pressure can travel through it with less resistance.

[An-i-no 86]

So I did it about 3 hours ago and...meh. I A-B tested it with one poly'd and one empty and it didn't sound much different. Just a little "warmer" and "more full" on some notes. I did both and have been playing it since and...idk. It's loud and vibratey but I'm not sure if it's louder and more vibratey than before. If you did a blind test it'd be straight up guessing though, I can say that with certainty.

For reference, I gotz 2 Sundown SA-12's in 1 cube each before displacement on a RF P500-2 (about 350wrms per channel @ 2ohms)

[Duran 387]

How much polyfill?

[djjdnap 78]

i thought it just got rid of standing waves

[///M5 2,833]

i thought it just got rid of standing waves

Not in that wavelength, lol

[Sencheezy 689]

Glad to hear that you tried it! Well, atleast you did get some kind of benefit from it ya know.

[Shogen 325]

I thought it made your subwoofer feel more manly??? someone told me that... think it was this guy ^^^

[Sencheezy 689]

I thought it made your subwoofer feel more manly??? someone told me that... think it was this guy ^^^

What did we tell you about that whole "thinking" thing. Its bad for your health.

[Shogen 325]

funny... I actually didn't notice your post between mine and M5 ... that was meant for him...lol

[An-i-no 86]

How much polyfill?

I have no clue. I tried to keep it fluffy and not stuff it in there. I also gave the pole vent like a crater to breathe I guess? I used double sided tape and stuck it on the walls of the box. It'll probably melt now that I think about it but oh well.

EDIT: It sorta made it more manly I guess. It's one of those things you have to try. Some people will be like "fuck yeah more deep bass" and some will say "it didn't do shit." I'm in between.

Edited June 4, 2011 by An-i-no

[An-i-no 86]

Why do the posts go bold?...or am I the only one seeing that?

[Sencheezy 689]

Why do the posts go bold?...or am I the only one seeing that?

Only you

[An-i-no 86]

Why do the posts go bold?...or am I the only one seeing that?

Only you

Hmmmm...that's crazy...

[Duran 387]

How much polyfill?

I have no clue. I tried to keep it fluffy and not stuff it in there. I also gave the pole vent like a crater to breathe I guess? I used double sided tape and stuck it on the walls of the box. It'll probably melt now that I think about it but oh well.

EDIT: It sorta made it more manly I guess. It's one of those things you have to try. Some people will be like "fuck yeah more deep bass" and some will say "it didn't do shit." I'm in between.

The rule is 1 lb./cubic foot, any more than that and it may have adverse effects.

[An-i-no 86]

How much polyfill?

I have no clue. I tried to keep it fluffy and not stuff it in there. I also gave the pole vent like a crater to breathe I guess? I used double sided tape and stuck it on the walls of the box. It'll probably melt now that I think about it but oh well.

EDIT: It sorta made it more manly I guess. It's one of those things you have to try. Some people will be like "fuck yeah more deep bass" and some will say "it didn't do shit." I'm in between.

The rule is 1 lb./cubic foot, any more than that and it may have adverse effects.

Yeah I know but I had no way of measuring it. I bought a giant bag so I couldn't like use half for one sub and use half for the other if you know what I mean.

[cheese20323 13]

hmm i think 1lb is pretty easy to tell...

[An-i-no 86]

hmm i think 1lb is pretty easy to tell...

1 lb of fluff? I had a 50oz bag and just kept pulling bits and pieces out.