vs 
Which is "right" for you?
We formerly offered our popular speaker box design program in a "Pro" and a "Lite" version. However, BassBox Lite has now been discontinued. It may still be available from some of our distributors for a limited time. We will continue to support it. However, we discourage its purchase and recommend that customers purchase BassBox Pro, instead. Three of the largest differences between the "Pro" and "Lite" versions are:
- BassBox Pro includes the world's largest driver database with the parameters for thousands of drivers. BassBox Lite does not include (nor can it use) the Harris Tech driver database. Instead, driver parameters are either entered manually or imported from an existing BassBox Lite or BassBox Pro speaker design file. Since designs can be saved and re-used, you only need to enter the driver parameters for a driver model once.
- BassBox Pro offers two graph modes which use one or more external graph windows to display the performance of a design. With BassBox Lite, the graphs are a permanent part of the main window (similar to older versions of BassBox). This allows BassBox Lite to "fit" better on notebook computers with low resolution displays (VGA or 640x480 pixels). However, many notebook computers now have XGA resolution (1024x768 pixels) and they can easily accommodate the Pro version. See the BassBox Pro and BassBox Lite pages on this website for pictures of the programs.
- BassBox Lite has been discontinued, but it may still be available from some distributors for a limited time. We will continue to support it. If you do not need the large driver database and specialized features of the Pro version, you can save money with the Lite version. The Lite version still has 85% of the features of the Pro version.
The remainder of this page will provide a detailed list of the features of both programs to help you evaluate which version will best serve your needs.
BassBox Pro and BassBox Lite Features:
Printed Manual —Pro only—
On-Screen Manual —both—
Design Wizard —Pro only—
Box Types...
Closed —both—
Vented —both—
Vented w/ active HP EQ filter —both—
Single-tuned Bandpass —both—
Parallel double-tuned Bandpass —both—
Series double-tuned Bandpass —both—
Passive Radiator —both—
Suggest Box Volume —both—
Suggest Vented Box Resonance —both—
Vented Box Extended Bass —both—
3-D Scaled Box Drawing —both—
Box Shapes (single chamber)...
Barrel —Pro only—
Cone —Pro only—
Cone, truncated —Pro only—
Cube —both—
Cylinder —both—
Cylinder, domed —Pro only—
Cylinder, truncated —Pro only—
Ellipse —Pro only—
Prism, square —both—
Prism, optimum square —both—
Prism, regular polygon —Pro only—
Prism, slanted front —both—
Prism, truncated edge —both—
Pyramid, four-sided —Pro only—
Pyramid, three-sided —Pro only—
Pyramid, truncated (trapezoid) —both—
Sphere —Pro only—
Wedge —both—
Box Shapes (multi-chamber)...
Cylinder, 2-chamber bandpass —both—
Cylinder, 3-chamber bandpass —both—
Prism, 2-chamber bandpass —both—
Prism, 3-chamber bandpass —both—
Internal Box Dimensions —both—
External Box Dimensions —both—
2 Box Wall Thicknesses —both—
Box Leakage Losses (QL) —both—
Box Interior Acoustic Absorption (Qa & y)...
None —both—
Minimal —both—
Typical —both—
Heavy —both—
Ignore ("classical" equations) —both—
Multiple Vents —both—
Vent Cross-section Shapes...
Round —both—
Rectangle (and square) —both—
Other (any shape) —both—
Vent End Correction —both—
Vent End Type...
One flush end —both—
Two flush ends —both—
No flush ends —both—
One flared end —both—
Two flared ends —both—
Vent "Pipe" Resonance —both—
Vent Losses (QLv) —both—
Multiple Passive Radiators —both—
Passive Radiator Test Procedure —both—
Interior Box Displacement Volumes...
Automatic driver volume —both—
Manual driver volume —Pro only—
Automatic vent volume —both—
Manual vent volume —Pro only—
Brace volume —Pro only—
Driver Mounting...
Front —Pro only—
Flush —Pro only—
Rear —Pro only—
Multi-driver aim setting —Pro only—
Vent Wall Thickness setting —Pro only—
Box Parts List —both—
2-D Scaled Box Part Drawings —both—
Box Parts Dimensions —both—
Cut Angles —both—
Driver Thiele-Small Parameters —both—
Driver Electromechanical Parameters —both—
Driver Parameter "Expert" Mode —both—
Driver Parameter Status Indicators —both—
"Net" Parameters for multiple drivers —both—
Driver Database —Pro only—
Driver Database Search Capability...
by Company name —Pro only—
by Model name —Pro only—
by Parameters —Pro only—
by Box (closed or vented only) —Pro only—
Driver Database Edit Options...
Add, edit, delete companies —Pro only—
Add, edit, delete drivers —Pro only—
Compact database —Pro only—
Repair database —Pro only—
Multi-driver Mechanical Settings...
Standard —both—
Compound (isobaric) —both—
Bessel —both—
Push-pull —both—
Coherent / Not Coherent —both—
Multi-driver Electrical Settings...
Parallel —both—
Series —both—
Series-Parallel —both—
Separate —both—
Dual Voice Coils —both—
Dual Voice Coil Wiring Options...
Separate —both—
Parallel —both—
Series —both—
Driver Q Estimator —both—
Driver Le Estimator —both—
Driver Outer Shapes...
Round —both—
Round w/ square sides —both—
Round w/ flat top & bottom —both—
Round w/ mounting tabs —both—
Pincushion —both—
Oval —both—
Square —both—
Rectangular —both—
Driver Piston Types...
Cone —both—
Planar (flat) —both—
Concave —both—
Convex —both—
Driver Acoustic Response...
Frequency data points —Pro only—
Import frequency-domain data —Pro only—
External Series Resistance —both—
External Passive Network —Pro only—
Import X•over Pro Passive Network —Pro only—
Driver Test Procedure —Pro only—
Acoustical Environment Support —both—
Architectural Acoustic Response...
Frequency data points —Pro only—
Import frequency-domain data —Pro only—
3, 6, 12 dB/octave boost filter —both—
3, 6, 12 dB/octave shelf filter —both—
Automotive Acoustic Response...
Frequency data points —Pro only—
Import frequency-domain data —Pro only—
12 dB/octave boost filter —both—
User Interface...
English, metric and mixed units —both—
Modular design —both—
Tab interface —both—
"Real time" calculations —both—
Number of designs that can be open
at same time: Pro = 10, Lite = 4
Combination Graph window —Pro only—
Individual Graph windows —Pro only—
Graphs are part of the main window —Lite only—
Floating Graph Properties window —Pro only—
Mini Preview Graphs —both—
Resizable main window —Pro only—
Fixed-size main window —Lite only—
Driver Properties window —Pro only—
Box Properties window —Pro only—
Design Properties window —Lite only—
Room / Car Acoustics window —both—
Balloon Help —both—
Status bar in main window —both—
User preference settings —both—
Keyboard shortcuts —both—
Graphs...
Normalized Amplitude Response —both—
Custom Amplitude Response —both—
Maximum Acoustic Power —both—
Maximum Electric Input Power —both—
Cone Displacement —both—
Vent Air Velocity —both—
System Impedance Response —both—
Phase Response —both—
Group Delay —both—
Graph Options...
7 graph memories —both—
Auto-open —Pro only—
10 standard plot colors —both—
2 custom plot colors —both—
Grid darkness —both—
Overlaid plot lines —both—
Cursor —both—
Expanded vertical scale —both—
5 Hz to 2 kHz —both—
5 Hz to 20 kHz —both—
Large graph size —Pro only—
Include options...
Driver acoustic response —Pro only—
Vent resonance peaks —both—
Acoustical environment —both—
External network response —Pro only—
On-axis piston band —Pro only—
Diffraction response shelf —Pro only—
Copy graph to Windows clipboard —both—
Print Options...
Title block —both—
Import logo for title block —both—
Box properties —both—
Driver Properties —both—
Overall box dimensions & drawing —both—
Box parts list & parts drawing —both—
English fraction scale —both—
Wiring diagram —both—
External circuit components —Pro only—
Selected performance graphs —both—
2 printed graph size options —both—
Wavelength Calculator Tool —Pro only—
Required Hard Disk Space (Mbytes)...
Minimum installation: Pro = 25, Lite = 17
Full installation: Pro = 36, Lite = 23
