Does "bass reflex" mean a speaker puts out a lot of bass?

Not exactly. Unlike an acoustic suspension speaker that uses a completely sealed, airtight enclosure, a bass reflex speaker includes a tuned port hole in the cabinet to produce more

 

Does “bass reflex” mean a speaker puts out a lot of bass?

 

 

Not exactly. Unlike an acoustic suspension speaker box that uses a completely sealed, airtight enclosure, a bass reflex speaker enclosure includes a tuned port hole in the cabinet to produce more output in a specific frequency range. Typical gains are anywhere from 3-6 db. Three db is the equivalent of doubling amplifier power, six db is the equivalent of doubling amp power and speakers.

 

Speakers that are in a bass reflex enclosure (ported box) are highly efficient, and will usually play louder than speakers that are in acoustic suspension enclosures (sealed boxes) when driven with the same amount of amplifier power. However, they may sacrifice some bass accuracy in exchange for the added bass output.