Bass Reflex Cabinet Types

What is Bass Reflex?

• The term "bass reflex" refers to the use of one or more vents incorporated into the baffle-front of a box where speakers are mounted to improve the overall reflection of the sound waves occurring within the speaker cabinet. In a sealed cabinet without vents, these sound waves only reverberate within the cabinet. Adding vents, or ports, allows the sound waves to be released through the baffle. The theory in a bass reflex cabinet is that these lower frequencies are amplified by projecting the bass tones through the ports, thus creating a more prominent bass sound.

Characteristics of a Bass Reflex Cabinet

• What makes a bass reflex cabinet different than a sealed speaker cabinet without ports is the way the sound waves reverberating within the cabinet are affected by adding the ports. Any speaker cabinet design must account for the volume of the interior of the cabinet in order to maximize the potential for sound reproduction. This is accomplished by measuring the cubic footage of the inside the cabinet. The unique characteristics of adding ports requires the measurement of the size of the vent as well, which is usually either a cone or a rectangle shape that extends into the speaker cabinet.

Types of Bass Reflex Cabinets

• The type of bass reflex cabinet you see is defined by the application. In other words, it depends on what you will be using the speaker cabinet for. Musicians -- especially bassists -- often prefer a bass reflex cabinet to help boost the bass frequencies and, in some cases, make them louder. A typical bass reflex cabinet used by a professional bass player will have at least two speakers and two ports. The speakers are often made with an aluminum cone to produce a loud, clear bass note.

Other Types

• Another common application is for home and car stereo speaker systems. These speaker cabinets are usually smaller than those used by musicians, but use the same principles of sound reproduction. Another variable in bass reflex cabinet design is the number of speakers and ports offered. Many home speaker systems use two speakers and one or two ports.