Car Subwoofer – Benefits Of Subwoofer And It’s Types
Finding the optimal position for home theater may take some work, but you would all set about its placement. You would like to place it on the filled bookshelves or corners surrounded by a sound-absorption device to help reinforce the bass instead of placing them beside the home theater.
Trying to place them inside a car is a lot more than that.
There are plenty of different ways to install a subwoofer in your vehicle. Plus, you’ll get the best choice only after considering a few factors like the space available in your car, your budget, and your music preference.
In addition, the cars have become more advanced, so you may need professional help to install the subs in your car to ensure natural acoustic placement.
You can have a musical experience on the go the way you want; when you place the right subwoofer in the proper place. No more worry! You’ll get all the necessary information about car subwoofers by the end of this blog. So, stay tuned till the end.
What Are The Purpose Of Car Subwoofer
Many car owners think that subwoofers and speakers are the same mistakes like another type of car speaker; producing sound from electrical power is only their functionality. They can’t even understand why they need subwoofers beside a speaker in their car audio system.
The speaker and subwoofers have the same design, but their functionality differs. Let’s see how the subwoofers benefit your can entertainment systems
Better Bass Response
The subwoofers expand the bass response and reveal all notes with the highest clarity. It delivers ultra-clear deep bass sound at very low frequencies, around 20 Hz or even lower, so you don’t miss the lowest note from the music you play in the car.
Greater Clarity in All Range of Sounds
A quality subwoofer offers the necessary speed and response to produce a clear bass sound while playing the fastest low-frequency notes.
Reduced Distortion
The full-range speakers generate a good bass response at a low frequency, but the diaphragm produces distortion when you play music loudly. Here, the subwoofer comes into play and wins over the speakers by reducing distortion. Having subwoofers in your car entertainment setup is a must for playing loud music without distortion.
Lighten the Load on Small Full-range Speakers
When you install a subwoofer, the speakers don’t need to take the load of producing low-frequency sound. So, the full-range speaker could serve the best over its’ comfortable frequency range, and the entire setup provides a distortion-free immersive audio experience.
Full Spectrum Response
With an AV amplifier, you could build an impressive full spectrum responsible audio system in your car to experience the ultimate best thing of a variety of different music genres. Connect it to the mid and high frequencies drive of small speakers and enjoy up to the lowest-frequency bass with a quality speaker.
What Sounds Do Car Subwoofers Produce?
No doubt, the speakers of a quality sound system will try to give their best frequency spectrum. But the speaker will likely provide optimal clarity at the high frequencies. Only a quality subwoofer could offer highly-precise bass management.
The subwoofers are meant to produce sound from 10 Hz to 200 Hz, but they efficiently pick up and produce a low-frequency tone below the speaker and generate a soft tone. People often purchase subwoofers for better bass response in the frequency range of around 20 – 29 kHz.
Type Of Car Subwoofers
I hope you have a better idea of how a subwoofer works and why one should get them in a car. It’s time to decide which type of subwoofers will be the right fit for you.
Passive and Active – two types of subwoofer configurations in the market in various styles. Before moving to those various styles, understand the configuration types first.
Passive Subwoofer
A passive subwoofer requires an external amplifier; that has enough power to generate strong bass effects via subwoofer.
Active Subwoofer
An active subwoofer comes equipped with an amplifier; that requires an AC power sourced outlet to work. Generally, active subs are more powerful than passive variations.
Both configuration styles have a few variations; that serve a different purposes. Know each style thoroughly
Component Subwoofer
Components subwoofers work more like a speaker; that needs to be installed in a subwoofer box and powered on with an external amplifier.
If you want to build a customizable full-spectrum sound system, component subs’ various sizes and features (impedance, voice coils, etc.) will come in handy.
Powered Subwoofer
Powered subwoofers are active subs with a built-in amplifier, so it involves less wiring stuff, making the installation process easy. Such subs are compact and could be a great addition to your car audio system if you want to boost the bass performance a little.
Enclosed Subwoofer
Such subs are designed to work inside a sealed cabinet without a port or passive radiator. It works well with a few booms and peaks but loses depth for being sealed inside a cabinet. It also requires an external amplifier like the component subwoofer but limits the number of choices for customization.
Ported Subwoofer
As the name suggests, this sub comes equipped with an extra port or hole to allow the air to escape, which enhances the bass-level performance. Such a subwoofer produces rich and thick sound. Many speaker enthusiasts call it a bass reflex speaker.
Passive Radiator
A few subwoofers come equipped with two passive radiators in the place of a port; that allows the sound to escape to cover an enhanced frequency range. The presence of passive radiators is common for Bluetooth speakers.
Front/Down Firing
Such subs are specifically designed to work with elevated speakers. The front-firing options feature the speaker pointing forward, so the sound comes from the front and sides. The down-firing subs throw sounds towards the ground and side. So, you should choose the right style for you according to where you thought to place it.
Band-pass Subs
The band-pass subs allow users to specify the bass level; that they want to get through the speaker. It has two separate chambers with a port-embedded partition; that helps release the radiation from the front cone.
Horn Loaded
The horn-loaded subs are the loudest option among all available sub types; they throw the sound in various directions.
As you can see, each type serves best in a specific environment, so I recommend consulting the sales representative regarding your choice and available placement situation.
How To Find The Best Subwoofer For Your Car
If you have decided what type of subwoofer you’d like to buy, start looking for the best car subwoofer for bass one in this category. Here are some key specs; that you can consider before finalizing purchasing decision
Power
First and foremost, check out the RMS power ratings of your chosen subwoofer, not peak power ratings. The RMS ratings define the continuous power handling and output capacity of your chosen subwoofer, and you can measure whether it can handle your amp’s output power or not?
This was the minimum! Try to have a subwoofer with plenty of power to make its’ sound rock. You’ll get more bass from a higher RMS rating subwoofer.
Sensitivity
Sometimes you could make your system boom with less power too. You only have to own a subwoofer with a high sensitivity rating. A subwoofer with a higher SPL rating produces a similar high volume sound to a lower sensitivity rating model but requires less power, unlike the lower one.
Frequency Range
Any musical performance is based on many variables and contains various frequency tones and sounds. So, when it comes to a sound system, it would be better to have something with an enhanced frequency range; that can efficiently cover bass and mid and high-pitch sound with the fullest details. And the frequency range of a subwoofer will give you an idea of how high and low your chosen sub can go.
Enclosure Type
The box type where a subwoofer is mounted will affect the sound. Two kinds of enclosure are available for car subwoofer placement – sealed enclosure and ported enclosure.
A subwoofer inside a sealed box will give you the most accurate sound with relatively deeper bass. If you listen to a range of music genres that targets all frequencies, try to place your newly purchased subwoofer inside a sealed enclosure.
On the other hand, if you focus on genres like rap or house music and want to get loud volume, install the subwoofer inside a ported enclosure.
Size Of The Subwoofer
For the subwoofer, the space of the installation is the primary thing that will help you decide what size car sub you should own. You could place the sound system in the trunk or under a seat if you own a bigger subwoofer for richer bass.
Don’t underestimate the power of small subs. A properly powered small subwoofer in the right enclosure could also make the system boom.
However, most people wonder what size they should get to play the lowest or loudest. It’s not as easy as you think. How a subwoofer installed in a car will sound depends more on the enclosure type, available power, and sensitivity rating than its size.
Number Of Voice Coils
If you want more flexibility in the wiring system, a dual voice coil subwoofer is the way to go. The dual voice coil (DVC) subwoofers are more popular than the single voice coil options among car audio system enthusiasts.
Impedance
When choosing a subwoofer, the impedance and power rating of your existing amplifier and chosen subwoofer must match to bring out the best from both. Besides dual voice coil subs, the 2-ohm and 8-ohm subs just started to gain popularity, whereas the subwoofers with 4 ohms impedance ratings are at the peak of their popularity.
Once you have the correct specs and installed the woofer in the right place, you’ll surely get the richest sound with the best bass response. When it comes to high volumes, the chance of distortion is significantly lower with a quality subwoofer inside your car.
Conclusion
I think you’re convinced enough to get a quality subwoofer in your car entertainment system. After all, no one would want to lose the relaxing and full-spectrum stereo experience. Won’t you?
However, I’ve tried to cover all essential aspects of the car subwoofer. If you still have any queries feel free to ask below in the comment section.
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