Picking A Car Subwoofer
For those who are in the market, there are so many choices, models and price ranges; that you need to do a little research in order to get the best fit for your needs. A car subwoofer is a car audio accessory that is specifically geared to create deep thumping sound, with low frequency modulation effects.
Before you go out to buy a product, locating a source to purchase from either online or at a specialty car audio retail store is the first step.
Subwoofers are widespread and can be heard in use in most urban areas. There is a whole genre of music known as bass tracks that are played at high volumes that utilize and capitalize on the effects of low sound modulation. But really, almost any kind of music will benefit from hooking up a sub to the car sound system.
The typical car sub is placed in the trunk area, or is built into the space just below the rear window. There are also new are models for those who don’t want to put them in these areas, where other places such as under the seat or nooks and crannies of unused space are used for placement.
Size And Type
A subwoofer, is basically a speaker hooked up to an amplifier, and all systems are either passive or powered. Passive systems rely on power from the rest of the car’s electrical system; powered subwoofers have their power independently supplied from an isolated channel.
Common sizes are 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch and 15 inch. The larger the speaker diameter, the lower the frequency it will produce, which is especially important for techno music.
As you go up in size, there is also an increasing amount of amplifier output and wattage requirements. Getting the best subwoofer for your car and for the kind of music you like requires some experimentation and general knowledge about subs.
Unless you want to listen to rap, drum and bass, or techno; one subwoofer of 8 or 10 inches will be plenty.
The Best Choices
Partly your choice of sub will be determined by your car, whether it will fit or not. An small and discrete powered sub woofer that fits neatly under the driver’s seat is sometimes the easiest solution, but you may want a massive double or quadruple 15 inch custom system to shake everything around you.
For most people one or two 10 inch or 12 inch units will provide plenty of level inside the vehicle, but if you want the bottom end to be heard outside your car go for 15 inches or bigger.
If the sub is not self-powered, you will have to match the speaker enclosure with the right power output.
MTX is probably the best affordable brand, and Infinity and Polk are popular in the higher end of the market.
Building Your Own
Or be creative and unique and build your own custom audio system. Learn how to build your own car subwoofer.
Getting the best system you can get doesn’t have to be difficult, it just takes a little research and foot work to accomplish. There are many, many different models of car subwoofer on the market, and some of them are actually inexpensive, while others carry a high price tag.
Since there are so many choices, finding the right one has to be part of the fun.