

Performance Optimized · Datasheet
Performance Optimized Down Fire Ported 12" Enclosure NVX NSW12v3 · Single 12" Ported enclosure
- Net volume
- 1.41 Cubic Feet
- Tuning
- 34.0 Hz
- Max mounting depth
- 6.000 Inches (NVX Spec)
- Cutout
- 10.860 Inches (NVX Spec)
- External dimensions
- 31 Inches W × 7.75 Inches H × 17.00 Inches D
- Front baffle
- Down Firing - Driver Fires Toward Floor
- Alignment: 1.41 cu ft net vented at 34.0 Hz. F3 33.4 Hz anechoic, 0.75 dB passband ripple
- Driver: NVX NSW12v3 D2/D4, 500 W RMS, 12.5 mm Xmax at unstated, 34.67 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
Spec of record
Technical specifications
| Series | Proline X Performance Optimized Down Fire |
|---|---|
| Driver-Specific Fitment | NVX NSW12v3 D2/D4 (Dual 2 Ohm or 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) | 1.41 Cubic Feet |
| Port Type | L-Wrap Slot | One Folded Wall | Single Faceted 90 Degree Bend |
| Port Tuning (Fb) | 34.0 Hz |
| Port Channel | 3.50 x 6.25 Inches (21.9 Square Inches) |
| Port Path Length | 28.52 Inches (Centreline) |
| Port Mouth Area | 30.9 Square Inches (3.50 Inch Corner Chamfer) |
| Port Air Velocity | 12.5 m/s At Tuning (17.0 m/s Chuff Threshold) |
| Predicted F3 | 33.4 Hz (Anechoic) |
| Passband Ripple | 0.75 dB (Anechoic) |
| Subsonic Filter | 27 Hz High-Pass, 24 dB/Octave - REQUIRED On A Vented Enclosure |
| Driver Fs | 34.67 Hz |
| Driver Qts | 0.489 |
| Driver Qes / Qms | 0.534 / 5.792 |
| Driver Vas | 37.700 Liters / 1.331 Cubic Feet |
| Driver Sd | 510.6 Square Centimeters |
| Driver Re | 3.8 Ohm |
| Driver Xmax | 12mm (One-Way at unstated) |
| Excursion Design Basis | Derated To 12.5mm For Alignment - NVX Publishes At unstated |
| Driver Displacement | 0.08 Cubic Feet (Published by NVX) |
| Driver Sensitivity | 87.0 dB |
| Driver Power Handling | 500 Watts RMS |
| Driver Overall Diameter | 12.460 Inches (NVX Spec) |
| Mounting Depth Required | 6.000 Inches (NVX Spec) |
| Cutout Diameter | 10.860 Inches (NVX Spec) |
| Woofer Ring | 13.375 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 2 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 | 350-500 Watts RMS (NVX Rated: 500W RMS) |
| Carpet Finish | Plush Black |
| Bundle Options | Enclosure Only (Bring Your Own NVX NSW12v3) |
| Warranty | 1-Year Limited (Enclosure) |
| Manufactured | Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA |
Modelled response
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
1.41 cu ft net against a 37.7 L Vas, vented at 34.0 Hz.
03Perceived Ported vs Sealed
This cabinet, 1.41 cu ft net vented at 34.0 Hz, against the 1.63 cu ft sealed wedge we build for this driver (PO 12-S W NSW).
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 NVX's published 12.5 mm. The two traces are the same cabinet with the subsonic filter switched on and switched off.
From the shop floor
Installer's take
The NSW12v3 is 6.00 inches deep, which a down fire can take: the motor rises into the cabinet and it still stays 7.75 inches tall.
1.41 cubic feet at 34.0 Hz gets it to 33.4 Hz anechoic. One cabinet serves both coils: it is designed on the NSW122v3 (D2), and the NSW124v3 (D4) solves to 1.41 cubic feet at 34.0 Hz with an F3 of 36.1 Hz in this down fire, so the same box fits either.
The driver mounts on a bonded ring carrying #8-32 hurricane nuts, so it threads into steel rather than MDF.
500 watts RMS by NVX's rating. The D2 wires to 4 ohms in series or 1 ohm in parallel; the D4 to 8 ohms series or 2 ohms parallel. It ships dry. Do not add polyfill to a ported box. Set your subsonic filter at 27 Hz.
Before you order
Questions
Why is this enclosure tuned to 34.0 Hz?
Sealed, the NSW12v3 needs 1.22 cubic feet net to reach a Qtc of 0.707. Vented, it trades that for deeper extension. Here the slot runs 17.6 m/s in the channel and 12.5 at the mouth at NVX's 500 W rating, the cone peaks at 6.9 of its 12.5 mm, and passband ripple is 0.8 dB. 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 2.0 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 28.52 inches of centreline path for 34.0 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 0.75 dB passband you are paying for depends on it staying dry.
Do I need a subsonic filter?
Yes, at 27 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 NVX NSW12v3 at 55 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?
NVX rate the NSW12v3 at 500 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 55 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 23 Hz, yes. The sealed wedge we build for it is louder down there by up to 2.8 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, 1.41 cubic feet vented at 34.0 Hz, against the 1.63 cu ft sealed wedge we build for this driver (PO 12-S W NSW), 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 28.52 inches of centreline path and 21.9 square inches of channel, exiting a 30.9 square inch mouth. Air leaves at 12.5 metres per second at tuning against a 17.0 threshold, and the channel runs at 46 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 13.375 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 2.79 inches clear of the cutout edge and 1.53 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 NSW12v3 included?
No. This is an enclosure only, cut and folded for the NVX NSW12v3 specifically. The 10.860 inch cutout, the 6.000 inch mounting depth allowance and the 1.41 cubic foot alignment all come from NVX'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.
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