The Best Car Subwoofer 2018: The Biggest Bang for Your Buck

What is a Car Subwoofer?

A subwoofer for car is a device that augments low-frequency waves of a music signal and allows reproducing low bass sounds that aren’t generated by the original car audio system. Subwoofers are used to create a highly realistic and deep sound, they allow for creating a specialized bass range, prevent distortion, and make loud music not so damaging to a human ear.

Types of Car Subwoofers

There are two kinds of devices:

• Passive subwoofers are charged from the outside, just like all the rest of the vehicle’s audio system. Since powerful bass should be powered sufficiently to sustain the effects without draining the amplifier. The amount of required power depends on the specifications of the speaker and available space (together with your own preferences).
• Powered subwoofers help to make up for the power and characteristics that an amplifier or a receiver lacks. It’s self-contained, which means its configurations are already optimized, and it perfectly matches the amplifier. A powered subwoofer required a line output from the original received – it takes a load off from the amp.

Aspects to Consider for Making a Purchase

There are many factors to take into account when you’re in search of an ideal subwoofer for your car. Mind the following:

Power

The higher output power is, the louder subwoofer gets. If you want to have your car pound, buy a subwoofer with 1000+ Wt output. Please note that the subwoofer and the amplifier should match by power characteristics. Otherwise, they might break or distort the sound.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity defines how much power you get from a speaker at some certain output. As a rule, most speakers have an average sensitivity of 88 dB – this is enough to enjoy high-quality sound. The sensitivity under 84 dB is considered to be poor. 92 dB is a perfect level that should be sought after.

Frequency Range

The typical frequency range of a subwoofer for car is 20-200 Hz. For professional sounding, you can limit the frequency to below 100 Hz with a crossover. The sounds under 20 Hz frequency are usually not discerned by the human ear, so there’s no point in exceeding those limits – don’t overpay for what you won’t really need.

Voice Coils

To make sure that voice coil won’t burn during work, it’s better to choose a coil with 100 Watts RMS per channel. The smaller voice coil is, the less control you have over sound – so a 4” coil would be better than a 3” coil. When deciding between single and dual coil systems, pay attention to compatibility first.

Giving Power to the Subwoofer

The vast majority of car subwoofers are passive, which means they should be powered by an external amplifier. Make sure that they have all the necessary ports for being connected with an amplifier. Powered subwoofers usually combine the features of the amplifier and speaker and are powered directly. According to powered car subwoofer reviews, they’re simply more expensive and are easier in installation.

Sealed vs Ported

Sealed subwoofers have smaller size – they can be installed with minimum impact on the car space. They are perfect for critical music applications due to producing high-quality sound. Besides, the music becomes deeper and seems to be filling in space totally. However, sealed speakers perform poorer on actions, so it’s not suitable for watching movies in a car if you have screens.
Ported subwoofers are larger and more efficient in producing low sounds and speech, they aren’t the best solution for music lovers.

Bandpass

Whenever you choose a subwoofer, mind that it should be placed in a bandpass that will take space, too. The vast majority of models don’t have boxes included – a bandpass is hand-made and customized by the driver.

How We Selected Car Subwoofers?

When creating this list, we read passive and powered car subwoofer reviews to get the idea of overall user experience. Top 10 car subwoofer models we chose were tested: we connected them with original car audio systems and compared their power, clarity of sound, bass line, and distortion. In the result, we filtered out the worthiest seven options.

Top-10 Car Subwoofers

These devices ensure profound sounding and have proved to be reliable and efficient in different car models.

Interesting Facts

1. To find the best car subwoofer for your vehicle, take your favorite CD or DVD, and try it on the spot when visiting a car audio store.
2. Even if you don’t hear some high or low frequencies produced by your subwoofer, you may feel them as vibration.
3. When your body starts resonating with bass and low sound’s frequency, your pressure rises.
4. In 1974, large subwoofers in one cinema resonated so strongly that the roof cracked under the pressure.
5. A voice coil 28 mm high is perfect for those who don’t want their subwoofer to take much space but need a clear sound.

How to Install and Set A Car Subwoofer?

How to install car amplifier and subwoofer? It’s not such a complicated process as it seems, but you will need to prepare all necessary instruments and equipment beforehand.

What you will need?

Buying a subwoofer only won’t be enough, you need to prepare:

• a subwoofer box;
• an amplifier;
• RCA cables (at least two);
• a speaker wire;
• small wood screws;
• insulates wires;
• the in-line fuse of at least 50 amps;

Alternatively, you can buy a wiring kit with all necessary screws, wires, and cables.

Choose an amplifier and a speaker

This is a very important step: you will need to figure out an amplifier that won’t blow the subwoofer up. There are many car subwoofer reviews that claim “My new subwoofer blew within the first week/month” – that mostly happens because of the inconsistency between the amplifier and the subwoofer. Make sure that the amp and the subwoofer match by impedance. Besides, the RMS values of both should be as close to each other as possible (that’s maximum power output the devices can tolerate). Don’t be surprised, if you connect a 600 Wt amplifier with a 2000 Wt subwoofer, and some of it breaks down. As for the size, 12 inch is a good compromise between the durability and the quality of sound.

Connect the wires

Start from powering the subwoofer: it’s crucial to provide the power from the battery instead of the fuse box (otherwise, you will be hearing an annoying engine noise coming via speakers). Besides, the fuse can blow.

Find a gap in the vehicle’s firewall (the metal wall under the hood) – its other side is located inside your car. Put power cable through this hole leaving some length for getting to the battery. Take some insulation off the wire and connect it to the battery after taping it (to avoid being hit with electricity). The rest of this wire should be led to the trunk of the car to connect it to the stereo head unit.

Wire the audio system

Put the system out of the console, or apply tools to slide it out of clips. Use RCA connections. Leave it for the next step – wiring the remote. Then connect 16-18 gauge wires correspondingly – this way, the amplifier will be automatically switched on and off.

Install the speaker in a box

How to hook up a subwoofer in a car? Put it in the box, and if it has its own connectors outside, don’t forget to fix them in the speaker, too. Now put the speaker in the box with the help of the holes on the exterior rim. Install the subwoofer in the car.

Wire up the amplifier

When all wires are in their place, you can connect the amplifier. Start from the power cable, then connect the 16-18 gauge cables, and the rest of the wiring. Don’t mix up “+” and “-“. The last step is connecting the power cable to the battery (the big fuse should be in fuse holder).

Now you know how to set up a subwoofer in a car without attending a machine shop. Make sure you follow all instructions strictly and don’t forget about any cable in this complicated system. Video tutorials and instructions can come in very handy.

Q: How Much Power Do I Need?

A: As a rule, every speaker has its own technical specifications where the optimal amount of input power is specified. Make sure that the input of subwoofers and the amplifier matches.

Q: If I Put My Subwoofer Box In The Trunk, Will I Be Able To Hear The Bass?

A: Yes, low frequency sound can make your car pound – a strong subwoofer will spread the signals evenly ensuring that the driver and passengers can hear every sound.

Q: What’s Polyester Fiber Stuffing, And How Will It Affect My Subwoofer’s Sound?

A: polyester fiberfill is the material used for the enclosure of the bandpass: it triggers the isothermal process. When the air passes through the Polyfill, it gets dissipated by the fibers and gets less dense – it protects subwoofer construction against damage. However, it can slightly distort or damp the sound.

Q: What Are The Benefits Of Hooking Up Two Subwoofers To A Mono Amplifier?

A: By wiring two subwoofers to one mono-amp you get maximum from the amplifier, and enjoy strong sound. Although you have only one channel, the sound is delivered to both speakers – it strengthens the signal and helps to get a really loud sound.
However, this should be done carefully: make sure that each subwoofer for car matches by power input/output and impedance with the amplifier. Otherwise, you will burn devices.

Our recommendations

After analyzing seven top-rated subwoofer models offered online, we’ve decided that it’s impossible to find some certain leader – the choice of the device should be based on multiple factors, including the size of your car and speaker, your own musical preferences, and your budget. Sometimes smaller cone doesn’t mean worse quality – several minor subwoofers installed on different spots make up for voluminous, deep sounding. If you want to enjoy an aggressive bass, a bigger subwoofer will be ideal. Search for a trade-off between your possibilities and the desired quality of sound.

Such subwoofer speakers for car as Planet Audio’s and BOSS’s won’t hurt your budget – they are under $50, but they won’t ensure a perfect driving experience either. The practice shows that cheap subwoofers that cost $20-40 don’t live up to users’ expectations – they’re weak and break often.

 Deep-pocketed customers should opt for Pioneer’s subwoofers – this is the most reliable and powerful solution on the market so far, though it costs over $300. The most optimal choice is Power Acoustik MOFO – it has the average price (around $150) and ensures brilliant sound.

Keep in mind that the amp and the subwoofer should match by impedance and other characteristics – otherwise, you will quickly burn the electronics in your vehicle.