Subwoofers

More About Subwoofers

Subwoofer Sizes

One of the most obvious differences between subwoofers is the diameter of the drivers themselves. We offer subwoofers ranging from 6" all the way up to a 19" superwoofer from Rockford Fosgate. Generally speaking, the bigger the woofer, the more bass it will give you. As the diamter increases, the cone area increases exponentially due to the formula for the area of a circle. In addition, the larger the subwoofer, the larger the basket. As the basket increases in size, it allows for larger magnets and voice coils, which in turn allow for more power handling. More power = more bass. The drawback with the larger woofers is space. A 15 inch subwoofer is going to require more air space than a 12 inch subwoofer, which requires more air space than a 10 inch subwoofer and so on. Depending on your vehicle, your budget, and how much bass you really "need", you can determine the right woofer size for you. 10" and 12" woofers are the most popular, followed by 8 inch subwoofers.

Subwoofer Voice Coils

Subwoofers come in single or dual voice coil configurations. There is a bunch of science as to how it works, but that really isn't that important right now when it comes to subwoofers. What is important is knowing whether the subwoofers you want are single or dual voice coil, and the impedance of each of the voice coils on the subwoofer.

If there is only 1 woofer, a single, 4 ohm voice coil means that the amplifier will see a 4 ohm load and it will put out however many watts it is rated at RMS @ 4 Ohms. A single 2 ohm voice coil subwoofer will show the amplifier a 2 ohm load, and you usually get twice the amount of power at 2 ohms, that you do at 4 ohms, if there is only 1 woofer because of Ohm's law (Science!)

Now, with dual voice coil subwoofer, there are two sets of leads on the back of the woofer, a (+) and a (-) for each voice coil. With this, you will wire the two voice coils either in series or parallel to get your desired impedance. For instance, one subwoofer with dual 4 ohm voice coils can be wired in series to show an 8 ohm load to the amp, or in parallel to show a 2 ohm load. There are numerous tools that show how to wire in series versus parallel, but with most amps, the amp will put out 4 times the amount of RMS power at 2 ohms than it will at 8 ohms. If you have questions regarding subwoofer wiring, give us a call and we can help determine the best setup for your amplifier, or recommend a package to ensure you are getting the most from your setup.

Loaded Subwoofer Enclosures

Loaded subwoofer enclosures allow you to easily add a subwoofer without having to worry about calculating the correct air space for the subwoofers, wiring the subwoofers, and building the subwoofer box. Loaded enclsoures come direclty from the subwoofer manufacturer with the subwoofer already installed and wired in a box. ALl you have to do is connect speaker wire to the terminals on the outside of the box and you are ready to go. While loaded subwoofer enclosures make it really easy to add 1 or 2 subwoofers to your vehicle, there aren't many options for more than 2, you are somewhat limited with the dimensions as there isn't a ton of flexibility with the box dimensions and shapes.

Powered Subwoofer Enclosures

Powered subwoofer enclosures have an amplifier that is built-in to the loaded enclosure so that you get everything in a single compact, efficient, package. Loaded subwoofer enclosures allow for very easily installation and include the subwoofer, the box, and the amplifier. The amplifiers that are built-in to these subwoofer enclosures are specifically designed for the woofer and often times can run with simple two-wire, power and ground, connections. The speaker wire or RCA inputs can often times turn the amp on as soon as they sense an audio signal. Because the entire system is designed, engineered, and built by the manufacturer, the output per dollar on powered subwoofers is really good. You get great bass output, easy install, no enclosure calculations, or amplifier matching issues. We even offer some super small, compact options that will fit under the seat, that simply aren't an option with a standard enclosure.

Low Profile Subwoofer & Low Profile Subwoofer Enclosures

Low profile subwoofer enclsoures have become very popular lately as engineering and subwoofer technology has improved. People have always enjoyed the bass response from a subwoofer but many vehicles or situations just did not allow for a large, cube style box in the trunk, behind a seat, or sitting on top of a seat. That problem no longer exists with today's low profile subwoofer enclosures. Some boxes are as shallow as 5.25", allowing them to be mounted virtually anywhere, provide great sub-bass response, and still allow for plenty of trunk space. Some of our favorite low profile subwoofer enclosures include the Rockford R2 shallow, the Kicker CompRT, the JL Audio TW3, the Audsion Prima, and the Rockford Fosgate T1S. All of these low profile subwoofer enclosures will give you full size bass response in a thin, shallow enclosure.

Subwoofer Grilles

Protect your subwoofer by adding a grille. Don't let kids, cargo, or the process of installing or removing your subwoofer damange and ruin your investment. We offer subwoofer grilles from JL Audio, Kicker, and Rockford Fosgate that will protect your woofer from large objects puncturing or denting the woofer. Some loaded enclosures come with the grilles already installed, other don't. If you don't have a grille on your sub, we recommend adding one as the additional cost of the grille is minimal compared to replacing an entire subwoofer.

Super Woofers, 6" Subwoofers and More.

In addition to the standard, 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch, and 15-inch subwoofers, we also offer odd size and superwoofers. Subwoofers are available in diamters as small as 6" and as large as 19". These subwoofers sizes serve two purposes and they are drastically different. The 6" subwoofers are designed to fit in OE locations for new vehicles today. Examples are GM SUVs such as the Tahoe and Suburban. These vehicles when equipped with the Bose stereo upgrade, have a 6" woofer that is located in the factory center console. Our 6" replacement woofers allow you to improve the output over the stock speaker. On the other side of the spectrum are the 13", 16" and 19" super woofers that are available in the higher end models and for "Bass Heads" that want maximum bass output. These large subwoofers can handle extreme amounts of power for literally, earth-shaking output. For example, the 19" Rockford Fosgate T3 handles 3000W RMS and 6000W Max. Insane power and insane output.

Frequently Asked Questions