
Performance Optimized · Datasheet
Performance Optimized Down Fire Ported 12" Enclosure | Prodigy NB3-12 Single 12" Ported enclosure
- Net volume
- 1.36 Cubic Feet
- Tuning
- 35.0 Hz
- Max mounting depth
- 3.375 Inches (Prodigy Spec)
- Cutout
- 10.875 Inches (Prodigy Spec)
- External dimensions
- 31 Inches W × 7.75 Inches H × 17.00 Inches D
- Front baffle
- Down Firing - Driver Fires Toward Floor
- Alignment: 1.36 cu ft net vented at 35.0 Hz. F3 32.4 Hz anechoic, 0.80 dB passband ripple
- Driver: Prodigy NB3-12 D4, 800 W RMS, 11.0 mm Xmax at 70% BL, 36.20 Hz Fs
- Build: Proline X V-groove and dado joinery, L-wrap slot port with a faceted 90 degree bend, double-layer 1.5" baffle, side-mounted terminal cup
- Cabinet: 31" W x 17.00" D x 7.75" H measured in down fire position, 9.50" tall installed on its feet, square corners, ships dry
Technical specifications
| Series | Proline X Performance Optimized Down Fire |
|---|---|
| Driver-Specific Fitment | Prodigy NB3-12 D4 (Dual 4 Ohm) |
| Enclosure Type | Ported | Down Fire Geometry | Floor-Coupled |
| Baffle Configuration | Down Firing - Driver Fires Toward Floor |
| External Width | 31 Inches |
| External Depth | 17.00 Inches |
| External Height | 7.75 Inches (Cabinet Only) |
| Feet | Included - 1.75 Inch Standoff, Required For Down Fire Operation |
| Installed Height | 9.50 Inches (7.75 Cabinet Plus 1.75 Feet) - MEASURE AGAINST THIS, NOT THE CABINET HEIGHT |
| Dimension Reference | All External Dimensions Measured In Down Fire Position |
| Internal Volume (Gross) | 1.60 Cubic Feet |
| Internal Volume (Net After Displacement) | 1.36 Cubic Feet |
| Port Type | L-Wrap Slot | One Folded Wall | Single Faceted 90 Degree Bend |
| Port Tuning (Fb) | 35.0 Hz |
| Port Channel | 3.50 x 6.25 Inches (21.9 Square Inches) |
| Port Path Length | 27.86 Inches (Centreline) |
| Port Mouth Area | 30.9 Square Inches (3.50 Inch Corner Chamfer) |
| Port Air Velocity | 15.2 m/s At Tuning (17.0 m/s Chuff Threshold) |
| Predicted F3 | 32.4 Hz (Anechoic) |
| Passband Ripple | 0.80 dB (Anechoic) |
| Subsonic Filter | 28 Hz High-Pass, 24 dB/Octave - REQUIRED On A Vented Enclosure |
| Driver Fs | 36.20 Hz |
| Driver Qts | 0.485 |
| Driver Qes / Qms | 0.618 / 2.266 |
| Driver Vas | 29.665 Liters / 1.048 Cubic Feet |
| Driver Sd | 532.5 Square Centimeters |
| Driver Mms | 189.22 g |
| Driver BL | 23.96 |
| Driver Re | 6.7 Ohm |
| Driver Xmax | 11mm (One-Way at 70% BL) |
| Excursion Design Basis | Derated To 9.3mm For Alignment - Prodigy Publishes At 70% BL |
| Driver Displacement | 0.13 Cubic Feet (Published by Prodigy) |
| Driver Sensitivity | 88.9 dB |
| Driver Power Handling | 800 Watts RMS |
| Driver Overall Diameter | 12.250 Inches (Prodigy Spec) |
| Mounting Depth Required | 3.375 Inches (Prodigy Spec) |
| Cutout Diameter | 10.875 Inches (Prodigy Spec) |
| Woofer Ring | 13.250 Inch OD, Bonded Under The Baffle In A Machined Recess |
| Material | Langboard Elite 3/4" MDF |
| Construction | ShopSabre CNC / Windowed Brace Between Cutout And Port Terminus |
| Joinery | V-Groove and Dado (CNC-Cut) |
| Front Baffle Construction | Double-Layer 1.5" MDF | Outer Layer Flush Recess, Driver Mounts To Inner Layer |
| Corner Profile | Square (Down Fire Series Standard) |
| Mounting Hardware | 8 x #8-32 Hurricane Nuts Fitted (16 Positions Cut For Driver Orientation) | Stainless Steel Machine Screws Included |
| Voice Coil Configuration | Dual 4 Ohm |
| Terminal Cup | Proline X ABS/Carbon Fiber Composite | Side Mounted | 12g OFC Pre-Wired |
| Damping | None - Ships Dry. Polyfill Detunes A Ported Enclosure |
| Recommended Power | 560-800 Watts RMS (Prodigy Rated: 800W RMS) |
| Carpet Finish | Plush Black |
| Bundle Options | Enclosure Only (Bring Your Own Prodigy NB3-12) |
| Warranty | 1-Year Limited (Enclosure) |
| Manufactured | Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA |
Performance in this enclosure
01Is this driver right for a ported box?
Efficiency bandwidth product places the motor before anything else is decided.
02What the box does to it
1.36 cu ft net against a 29.7 L Vas, vented at 35.0 Hz.
03Perceived Ported vs Sealed
This cabinet, 1.36 cu ft net vented at 35.0 Hz, against the 1.02 cu ft sealed Down Fire we build for this driver (PO 12-S DF NB3).
04Real World Ported vs Sealed
The same two boxes with cabin gain applied, 45 Hz corner, 18 dB ceiling.
05The watts that reach Xmax (in this enclosure)
Travel scales with the square root of power, so there is one wattage that puts the cone exactly on Prodigy's published 11.0 mm. The two traces are the same cabinet with the subsonic filter switched on and switched off.
Installer's take
A 36.2 Hz free-air resonance on a 12 is high, and it is the number that decides everything else here. Most twelves sit in the mid to high 20s. This one does not, and there is no sense tuning a cabinet down to 28 or 30 Hz for a motor that has already stopped wanting to move by then. Vented at 35.0 Hz it sits just under Fs, which is where the port does its work while the cone does almost none.
The payoff is the flattest passband in the ported range. 0.80 dB of ripple, where the rest of the family runs 1.1 to 4.4. A vented box with a visible hump at tuning is the usual outcome when the alignment is forced; this one does not have one, because 1.36 cubic feet against a 29.7 litre Vas is close to what the driver actually wants rather than what would make the number look good.
Fitment is the other reason to pick this driver. 3.375 inches of mounting depth is shallow for a 12, and because the motor barely intrudes into the cavity the cabinet lands at the floor of the family at 7.75 inches tall. Nothing about the height is driven by the driver here, only by the airspace. That is the right way round, and it is what makes a ported 12 fit a cargo floor at all.
One caution on the numbers. Prodigy publish an Mms of 189.22 grams and their own Fs, Vas and Sd imply 256.5. That is a 26 percent disagreement, and the two routes predict cone travel 16 percent apart. I size on the pessimistic one. It means this cabinet is built against more excursion than Prodigy's own figures ask for, which is the error I would rather make.
Dual 4 ohm coils, 2 ohms parallel or 8 ohms series. Prodigy rate it at 800 W RMS and that is your real ceiling: the cone does not reach its travel limit in this box until well past that, so heat is what stops you, not suspension. Run the subsonic filter at 28 Hz and do not put polyfill in it.
Questions
Why is this enclosure tuned to 35.0 Hz?
Prodigy quote an EBP of 58.6, which lands in the transition band where a driver will take either load. That is not a reason to default to sealed. Vented at 35 the NB3-12 gives up nothing in flatness and gains real output through 30 to 45 Hz, and because tuning sits close to Fs the cone is barely moving where the port is working hardest. Tuning is chosen for in-car response rather than for an anechoic curve: a vehicle adds roughly 12 dB per octave below about 45 Hz, so a box tuned very low reinforces a region the cabin is already reinforcing and leaves 40 to 60 Hz thin. In this cabinet that lands at 3.3 dB of in-car spread across 25 to 60 Hz, which is where kick and bass fundamentals live.
Does this enclosure ship with polyfill?
No, and on this build in particular do not add any. Every sealed Proline X enclosure ships with polyfill pre-installed; a ported one must not, because damping material changes the effective volume the port is tuned against. The port on this cabinet is cut to 27.86 inches of centreline path for 35.0 Hz. Stuff it and you move the tuning without shortening the port, which gives you a mistuned box rather than a bigger-sounding one. The 0.80 dB passband you are paying for depends on it staying dry.
Do I need a subsonic filter?
Yes, at 28 Hz, 24 dB per octave. Below tuning a vented box stops loading the cone and excursion runs away toward DC. With the filter in place this cabinet puts the Prodigy NB3-12 at 88 percent of its usable travel at full rated power; without it there is no meaningful number to quote, because the excursion curve does not converge. On a sealed build a subsonic filter is an improvement. Here it is required equipment.
How much power can I run?
Prodigy rate the NB3-12 at 800 W RMS and that is the thermal ceiling. The figures on the Performance Graphs tab are a different quantity: they are mechanical limits, the power at which the cone reaches the end of its linear travel in this specific cabinet. Here the cone sits at 88 percent of usable travel at the driver's own rating, so heat is what stops you, not travel. Final wired impedance and amplifier output are separate questions again.
Would a sealed box be better for me?
Below about 22 Hz, yes. The sealed Down Fire we build for it is louder down there by up to 2.4 dB, because a sealed box rolls off gently into the subsonic region where a vented one falls away steeply once it is under tuning. Above that this alignment is the louder of the two for the same power. The Performance Graphs tab plots this cabinet, 1.36 cubic feet vented at 35.0 Hz, against the 1.02 cu ft sealed Down Fire we build for this driver (PO 12-S DF NB3), so you can see exactly where they cross.
What is the L-wrap port and why does it matter?
It is a slot port formed by one folded wall: a leg down the long side of the cabinet past the woofer ring, one faceted 90 degree bend, and a leg across the end opening through a chamfered corner. On this cabinet that is 27.86 inches of centreline path and 21.9 square inches of channel, exiting a 30.9 square inch mouth. Air leaves at 15.2 metres per second at tuning against a 17.0 threshold, and the channel runs at 52 percent of its turbulence limit. One wall and one bend rather than a serpentine's three means less wall area inside the box, fewer joints to leak, and one place for flow to separate instead of three.
How is this enclosure built?
V-groove and dado joinery in 0.75 inch Langboard Elite MDF with a double-layer 1.5 inch baffle. The driver mounts to a 13.250 inch ring bonded under the baffle in a machined recess, carrying eight #8-32 hurricane nuts so it threads into steel rather than MDF. A windowed brace sits 3.11 inches clear of the cutout edge and 1.93 inches clear of the port terminus; the window is not weight saving, a solid panel there would split the cavity and make the box a bandpass. Walls seat into dados in both the lid and the baffle. Square corners, plush black carpet, side-mounted terminal cup.
Is the NB3-12 included?
No. This is an enclosure only, cut and folded for the Prodigy NB3-12 specifically. The 10.875 inch cutout, the 3.375 inch mounting depth allowance and the 1.36 cubic foot alignment all come from Prodigy's published parameters for this exact driver, and the port is sized against its Xmax and power rating. It is not a universal box with a 12 inch hole in it. Bring your own driver.
Other Performance Optimized models
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- Alpine S2-W12 Dual 12" Sealed
- Arc Audio 10" Arc Series Dual 12" Sealed
- Arc Audio 12" Arc Series Dual 12" Sealed
- Audiofrog GB12 Dual 12" Sealed
- Dual Kicker Solo X 12" Subwoofers Dual 12" Sealed
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