Subwoofer Info: Learn About Car Audio Subwoofers

Subwoofer. bass. loudness. glory. It is the most unpleasant component in the system and one of the most needed components.

If you have read my article on speakers, you understand enough. If you don't know anything about speakers and subwoofers [and don't know anything], read here.

The subwoofer plays the lowest frequency and bass of the audio spectrum. Essential for both SQ and SPL systems, but for different reasons. Take a look now ...

For SQ systems: Effectively reproduces the lowest frequency that makes music sound full and powerful. Installing a subwoofer makes organs, drums, synthesizers, and other instruments that play low frequencies more realistic and powerful.

For SPL systems: Subwoofers are recommended as loudspeakers because of their loud volume.

Also, our ears are less sensitive to lower frequencies, so extra bass is needed for the system to produce a balanced sound.

So what do you need to find to find a great woofer? Let me tell you!

Power handling:

As with all other parts of the stereo system, power handling is important for subwoofers. Earlier in my article on speakers, I explained how to send more power to the speakers to reduce the distortion while increasing the volume. The same is true for subwoofers, but be careful! Low-frequency distortion is difficult to perceive, so simply do it and blow out the subwoofer. Anyway, it is wise to buy an amp that can give you exactly what the subwoofer is designed to take, but it's easy!

Size:

Subwoofers come in a variety of sizes, but the most common are 8 inches, 10 inches, 12 inches, and 15 inches. This is probably the focus of European brand metrics. As you can imagine, a big woofer plays with a louder sound and plays with a lower sound. Of course, small ones are more musical, more accurate, and have a “tight” sound. Which size is usually determined depends on user preferences, as well as installation considerations. Remember! 18 "The subwoofer doesn't fit anywhere!

Voice coil information:

SVC: Single voice coil

In other words, the speaker has only one voice coil. That is, only one input.

DVC: Dual voice coil

That is, the speaker has two voice coils or two inputs.

Well why is that important?

I can explain the details here, but I don't think so much. Basically, this is summarized. DVC subwoofers have more installation options. In this way, the DVC looks like two subwoofers to the amplifier. With clever wiring tricks [called series and parallel], you can connect many subwoofers to a single amplifier, even if the amplifier is a "mono" or two-channel amplifier. In addition, you can manipulate the number of ohms that the amplifier has to push. If you have an amplifier that is stable to half ohms [like the old Orion HCCA amplifier], you can connect 4 to 8 woofers to a single channel. Imagine the noise you can make!

A few words about the box:

Boxes are essential for most subwoofers. In other words, consider a subwoofer box as important as the subwoofer itself. why? Most subwoofers work properly, sound good, and need a box to avoid hurting themselves. Subwoofers that don't require a box are called "free air" or "infinite baffle" subwoofers.

As I said, most subwoofers need boxes. Let's talk about the box!

First, what types of boxes are there?

Sealed: The simplest kind. Basically, a sealed box is a box where the inside and outside are not linked. There is no hole. Take care that the box is completely sealed.

Transplanted: A transplanted box is a subwoofer box with at least one hole or “port”. The goal of the ported box is to emphasize specific frequencies. These boxes are used because they are often louder than sealed boxes.

Bandpass: A bandpass box is similar to a box with a port because it has a port. However, the bandpass box does not emphasize certain frequencies, but tries to emphasize other frequencies. In other words, it works like a bandpass crossover. The bandpass box emphasizes the frequency band and does not emphasize lower and higher frequencies.

Isobarik: These boxes are intended to hold multiple subwoofers in a small box. The subwoofer is set to work together. Both subs may move in the same direction at the same time, or one submarine may pull while pushing the other submarine. This type of setup has advantages, but the box design is difficult.

Now that you understand everything about SUBZ, the specifications you need to know to choose a subwoofer are:

Power handling: Because submarines are speakers, only a large amount of power [or distortion] can be handled before blasting! Power handling is measured in watts and is often given in two specifications: RMS and Max [or peak]. RMS evaluation is most important. If the submarine says it can handle 200 watt RMS and 400 watt maximum, make sure that the amplifier also provides 200 watt RMS. Not 400 watt RMS. It's true that a submarine can handle 400 watts, but that kind of power can only be handled for a short time. Connecting that sub to an amplifier that outputs 400 watts of RMS destroys it very quickly because the speakers are always exposed to 400 watts rather than a short burst of 400 watts. You dig? good.

Sensitivity: This term means exactly what you think it means. In other words, when connected to the same amplifier, a sensitive subwoofer is larger than a less sensitive subwoofer. The spec is measured in db.

Frequency response: Obviously you need a subwoofer that can handle a wide range of frequencies. However, subwoofers do most of the work below 100hz. If the subwoofer plays up to 20hz, you can see that it has a great subwoofer. The good news is that most music is not, even if it is not so low. You ’re still fine. I think it is more important to use the low playback sub on a system with a DVD player and 5.1 sound. Also, the frequency response depends on the box where the subwoofer is installed. Well, with this in mind, choose a subwoofer that handles power and ring it as you like.

Corn material: For subwoofers, this is really important to pay attention to. Subwoofers are large and powerful, so you need a corn material that can withstand many abuses. I personally am a big fan of metals such as aluminum. This is because aluminum is light and stiff, as well as producing a very tight and musical sounding bass. Many subwoofer manufacturers use exotic-sounding materials for their subwoofers, making it difficult to determine which material is best.

Surround material: My advice here: Always get a subwoofer with rubber surround. Rubber performs best in the automotive environment.

Impedance: This specification, measured in ohms, shows the resistance that the speaker gives to the amplifier. If the volume is too high, the volume will be low, and if the volume is too low, the subwoofer will raise the amplifier! This specification helps you decide which amplifiers to connect to the subwoofer, whether to bridge the amplifiers, and whether to wire multiple subs in parallel or in series. A subwoofer may also have multiple voice coils [aka DVC]. This means that the subwoofer has two inputs, each with the same impedance. Subwoofers with dual voice coils can be installed more flexibly, especially on multiple woofer systems.

The basic subwoofer installation is very easy. Buy a prefabricated sub-box, mount the sub and turn on the power, you will get excellent bass. To install as a professional and achieve the best sound, a lot of planning and work needs to be incorporated into the entire process. This is a situation where you should visit a car audio shop and have it done for you if you are unsure of the ability to build, adjust and connect the box. This can be relatively inexpensive or it can be very expensive.

If you plan to install yourself but lack the box construction skills, you can purchase a prefab box. We also strongly recommend an EQ device to fine tune the bass. This helps to overcome road noise [which ruin the bass] and also reduces “boomyness” and “madness”. Ultimately, this route is the best compromise between custom boxes and prefab boxes. You can get great sounds and save money!

Now go easy on those ears!

-Honest AEB