Performance Optimized · Datasheet

Performance Optimized Wedge Ported 15" Enclosure | PowerBass 3XL-1502D Single 15" Ported enclosure

Net volume
2.33 Cubic Feet
Tuning
32.0 Hz
Max mounting depth
9.200 Inches (PowerBass Spec)
Cutout
14.000 Inches (PowerBass Spec)
External dimensions
30.00 Inches W × 18.50 Inches H × 10.88 Inches / 17.61 Inches D
Front baffle
Vertical Baffle - Driver Fires Rearward Into The Trunk
Buy at Audio Intensity
  • Alignment: 2.33 cu ft net vented at 32.0 Hz. F3 32.1 Hz anechoic, 1.72 dB passband ripple
  • Driver: PowerBass 3XL-1502D, 1000 W RMS, 24.0 mm Xmax, 24.20 Hz Fs
  • Build: Rear-firing wedge, 20 degree rear rake, V-groove and dado joinery, triangular side-exit slot port with a 1/2" rounded mouth, double 1.5" baffle, side-mounted terminal cup
  • Cabinet: 30.00" W x 18.50" H x 17.61" D at base tapering to 10.88" D at top, 28.2 sq in port, ships dry

Technical specifications

SeriesProline X Performance Optimized Wedge
Driver-Specific FitmentPowerBass 3XL-1502D (D2)
Enclosure TypePorted | Rear-Firing Trunk Wedge
Baffle ConfigurationVertical Baffle - Driver Fires Rearward Into The Trunk
Wedge Angle20 Degrees On The Rear (Seat-Side) Panel
External Width30.00 Inches
External Height18.50 Inches
Top Depth10.88 Inches
Base Depth17.61 Inches
Internal Volume (Gross)3.04 Cubic Feet
Internal Volume (Net After Displacement)2.33 Cubic Feet
Port TypeTriangular Slot | Bottom-Rear Corner | Straight, No Bend | Side Exit
Port GeometryIsosceles, 7.75 Inch Legs, 28.2 Square Inches, 23.77 Inches Long, Side Mouth
Port Tuning (Fb)32.0 Hz
Port MouthTriangle Through Side A, 1/2 In Roundover On All Three Edges, 41.7 Square Inches At The Face
Port ThroatOpen Far End, 4.48 In Gap To Side B, 3/8 In Roundover On The Panel End
Port Air Velocity22.5 m/s In The Channel, 15.2 m/s At The Flared Mouth (17.0 m/s Chuff Threshold)
Predicted F332.1 Hz (Anechoic)
Passband Ripple1.72 dB (Anechoic)
Subsonic Filter25 Hz High-Pass, 24 dB/Octave - REQUIRED On A Vented Enclosure
Driver Fs24.20 Hz
Driver Qts0.420
Driver Qes / Qms0.460 / 3.880
Driver Vas122.830 Liters / 4.338 Cubic Feet
Driver Sd855.3 Square Centimeters
Driver Mms365.77 g
Driver BL22.01
Driver Xmax24mm (One-Way)
Driver Displacement0.22 Cubic Feet (Published by PowerBass)
Driver Sensitivity88.0 dB
Driver Power Handling1000 Watts RMS
Driver Overall Diameter15.380 Inches (Estimated From The Cutout, PowerBass Publishes None)
Mounting Depth Required9.200 Inches (PowerBass Spec)
Cutout Diameter14.000 Inches (PowerBass Spec)
MaterialLangboard Elite 3/4" MDF
ConstructionShopSabre CNC / Two Windowed C Braces At The Third Points, Seated On The Port Panel
JoineryV-Groove and Dado (CNC-Cut)
Front Baffle ConstructionDouble-Layer 1.5" MDF | Cosmetic Front Layer Routed For The Acrylic Insert
Mounting HardwareThreaded Inserts At Every Mounting Location | Stainless Steel Machine Screws Included
Voice Coil ConfigurationD2
Terminal CupProline X ABS/Carbon Fiber Composite | Side Mounted, Opposite The Port | 12g OFC Pre-Wired
DampingNone - Ships Dry. Polyfill Detunes A Ported Enclosure
Recommended Power700-1000 Watts RMS (PowerBass Rated: 1000W RMS)
Carpet FinishPlush Black
Weight60 lb
Bundle OptionsEnclosure Only (Bring Your Own PowerBass 3XL-1502D)
Warranty1-Year Limited (Enclosure)
ManufacturedTullahoma, Tennessee, USA

Performance in this enclosure

Net airspace
2.33
cu ft
Tuning
32.0
Hz · Fb
Half power
32.1
Hz · F3, anechoic
Xmax at
9294
W RMS · 25 Hz subsonic
With NO filter
1766
W RMS · unfiltered
Port
15.2
m/s at the mouth

01Is this driver right for a ported box?

Efficiency bandwidth product places the motor before anything else is decided.

EBP = Fs ÷ Qes = 52.6
SEALED 0–50 TRANSITION 50–100 PORTED 100–150 0 50 100 150 EBP 52.6
PowerBass 3XL-1502D · EBP 52.6
Between 50 and 100 a driver takes either load, and the choice becomes one of priorities rather than of physics. The PowerBass 3XL-1502D reads 52.6. Ported buys output and low-end reach around tuning; sealed buys a shallower rolloff below it. This cabinet takes the first trade.

02What the box does to it

2.33 cu ft net against a 122.8 L Vas, vented at 32.0 Hz.

Fb = 32.0 Hz  ·  F3 = 32.1 Hz  ·  passband ripple 1.72 dB
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 +6 +0 −6 −12 −18 −24 FREQUENCY · Hz LEVEL · dB −3 dB Fb 32.0
PowerBass 3XL-1502D · Fb 32.0 Hz, F3 32.1 Hz
Anechoic, before any cabin gain, with the 25 Hz subsonic filter already applied. The vent takes over below 32 Hz and the cone stops doing the work there, which is what holds travel down at the bottom of the passband.

03Ported vs Sealed

No sealed comparison is shown for this driver.

A ported-versus-sealed chart is only worth reading against a sealed box someone would actually build: the one we make for the driver, or the one its maker recommends. Neither exists for the PowerBass 3XL-1502D — we do not build a sealed enclosure for it and PowerBass publish no sealed volume for it — so rather than compare this cabinet against itself stuffed and sealed, a box no one would build, the comparison is left out.

04The 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 PowerBass's published 24.0 mm. The two traces are the same cabinet with the subsonic filter switched on and switched off.

PXmax = 9294 W with a 25 Hz subsonic  ·  1766 W with none  →  the filter is worth 5.3×
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 0 8 16 24 FREQUENCY · Hz CONE TRAVEL · mm PAST LINEAR TRAVEL · Xmax 24.0 mm 9294 W reaches Xmax here
9294 W · subsonic at 25 Hz, 24 dB/oct1766 W · no subsonic filterXmax 24.0 mm one-way, published
Each trace touches the limit and no further, because each is drawn at the exact power that puts the cone on 24.0 mm. With a 25 Hz subsonic that takes 9294 W, reached first at 47 Hz. Take the filter away and the same cabinet reaches 24.0 mm on 1766 W — the filter is worth 5.3× the safe power. A vent unloads the cone below tuning, so there is nothing holding it once the box stops loading: on a sealed build a subsonic filter is an improvement, here it is required equipment. The unfiltered trace is still rising where this chart stops at 20 Hz, so treat 1766 W as a bound rather than a floor. Every wattage on this page is a MECHANICAL limit, not an electrical one. It is the power at which the cone runs out of linear travel in this cabinet, and nothing more. What the voice coil can dissipate as heat is a separate ceiling set by the driver, not by the box — PowerBass rate this one at 1000 W RMS, and that is the number that binds first here: heat stops you before travel does, so treat 1000 W as the ceiling and the travel figures above as headroom. Final wired impedance, amplifier output and how long you hold the level are all electrical questions this graph does not answer.

Installer's take

The dual 2 ohm 3XL-1502D is the lower-resonance of the two 3XL fifteens, 24.2 Hz with 123 litres of Vas, and the wedge gives it 2.33 cubic feet at 32 Hz through a 28.2 square inch port: 32.1 Hz anechoic on 1.72 dB of ripple, 1.93 dB in the car. The base sits at 17.61 inches, inside the 18 inch limit and flagged as deep. PowerBass build the 3XL for ported boxes.

24 mm of travel and the cone uses 7.9 of it at 1000 watts with the subsonic filter set; the port is the limit, at 22.5 metres per second against 22.9 at rated power, so the filter stays set. PowerBass's 3XL template is an image with no frame diameter in text, so the ring is cut to an estimate from the 14.00 inch cutout and the tech table says so. Displacement is their manual's 0.22.

Questions

Why is this enclosure tuned to 32.0 Hz?

PowerBass build the 3XL for ported boxes and say so. 32 Hz in 2.33 cubic feet gives a 32.1 Hz anechoic F3 on 1.72 dB of ripple and 1.93 dB of in-car spread across 25 to 60 Hz. The port takes 23.77 of the 24.76 inches available and runs at 22.5 metres per second in the channel at the full 1000 watts against a 22.9 limit, 15.2 at the rounded mouth. Tuning is chosen for in-car response rather than an anechoic curve: a vehicle adds roughly 12 dB per octave below about 45 Hz. In this cabinet that lands at 1.9 dB of in-car spread across 25 to 60 Hz.

Why the 20 degree wedge, and why rear-firing?

The raked face is the seat side. A factory rear seat back leans about 20 degrees off vertical, so the cabinet sits flat against it and uses floor a square box wastes. The baffle stays vertical and fires rearward into the trunk, which acts as the acoustic extension into the cabin. This one is 17.61 inches deep at the base and 10.88 at the top, 30.00 wide and 18 tall.

Do I need a subsonic filter?

Yes, at 25 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 PowerBass 3XL-1502D at 33 percent of its usable travel at full rated power; without it there is no meaningful number to quote.

How much power can I run, and at what impedance?

PowerBass rate the 3XL-1502D at 1000 W RMS and that is the thermal ceiling. The Performance Graphs tab shows the mechanical limit, the power at which the cone reaches the end of its travel in this cabinet: here the cone sits at 33 percent of usable travel at the rating, so heat is what stops you, not travel. A D2 coil is 4 ohms in series or 1 ohm in parallel; run series unless the amplifier is rated for 1 ohm. A D4 is 8 series or 2 parallel.

Would a sealed box be better for me?

Not one we can show you. We do not build a sealed enclosure for the PowerBass 3XL-1502D and PowerBass publish no sealed volume for it, so the Performance Graphs tab carries no ported-versus-sealed chart: the only sealed box left to plot would be this cabinet stuffed and sealed, which nobody would build, and a comparison against it would tell you nothing you could buy. What a vented box gives up is the region below tuning, where the cone unloads and the 25 Hz subsonic filter takes over; around 32.0 Hz the vent carries the load and cone travel drops to its minimum, which no sealed alignment can do.

How does the side port work?

It is a triangular slot in the bottom-rear corner: the floor and the raked back wall are two sides, one bevelled panel is the third. It runs across the cabinet, opens into the box through a 4.48 inch gap at the far end and exits through the side panel as the same triangle. Straight, no bend: 23.77 inches of path and 28.2 square inches of channel running at 22.5 metres per second, 54 percent of its turbulence limit. The three mouth edges are rounded over at 1/2 inch, so the opening at the face is 41.7 square inches and the air leaves it at 15.2 metres per second against the 17.0 threshold where a slot port starts to chuff; the panel's throat end is rounded at 3/8 inch for the same reason. The terminal cup is on the other side.

Does this enclosure ship with polyfill?

No, and do not add any. Every sealed Proline X enclosure ships with polyfill; a ported one must not, because damping changes the effective volume the port is tuned against. The port here is cut to 23.77 inches for 32.0 Hz. Stuff it and you move the tuning without shortening the port.

Is the 3XL-1502D included?

No. This is an enclosure only, cut for the PowerBass 3XL-1502D specifically: the 14.000 inch cutout, the 9.200 inch mounting depth allowance and the 2.33 cubic foot alignment all come from PowerBass's published parameters. It fits both coil versions; the alignment published here is the . Bring your own driver.

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