Many people wonder why they need a subwoofer in their car. Or is it only for those who have nowhere to spend the money? There is an opinion that 6×9″ paddles in the rear shelf are enough for quality sound. Let’s try to understand why a subwoofer in a car is necessary at all. Any music consists of a whole range of frequencies (sounds), which, when played, gives us the pleasure of listening. Removing some, we can no longer fully enjoy our favorite music in the car. Let’s find out what advantages a subwoofer has in a car!

The Subwoofer Is Necessary for Full Sound Reproduction

The best subwoofer car is a subwoofer, which means it is a low-frequency speaker that can reproduce low frequencies. Some can easily reproduce 20Hz, which is about as low frequency as a person can hear. If you look at 6×9″ or 16.5cm speakers, the lower frequency of the reproduced sound rarely goes below 80Hz. Although some manufacturers write that their “blinkers” reproduce 20-30Hz, this is not exactly true. Why? Because there is some truth in this statement, if a 20Hz signal is applied to such a speaker, it will produce sound, but it will be barely audible compared to a frequency of 1000Hz. Many will say that a 6.5″ or 6×9″ speaker will produce enough bass, but that’s not true. The sound of certain instruments such as double bass, bass drum (the biggest one in a drum set), bass guitar, electronic sounds under the bass drum, and finally a low male voice are all frequencies below 100Hz, and small speakers can never properly reproduce these sounds.

Types of Subwoofers

Subwoofers for cars are divided into the cabinet and open types. As the name suggests, the first is designed to work in a cabinet, the volume of which is usually measured in liters, and the second – without the cabinet, on the volume of the trunk. They are cut into the rear shelf or the back seat of the car. Enclosure subs are divided into active and passive. Active ones have a built-in power amplifier.

• The main subwoofer sizes are three: 10 inches (25 cm); 12 inches (30 cm) and 15 inches (38 cm). The larger the size of the speaker, the lower it will sound and create more pressure. The smaller it is, the faster it will be.

• Of course, among subwoofers, there are SPL monsters, designed and created to create a huge sound pressure, which, in principle, has little to do with music. But it is a matter of taste, as they say. The creation of such a “hurricane” system costs much time and money.

• Subwoofer enclosures come in 3 types: Closed Box, Vented Box, and Band Pass. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Briefly About the Pros:

• monolithic enclosure (usually aluminum), which means no need to make a huge custom box, no need to take away trunk space
• an active sub is not only a low-frequency speaker but also a filter with an amplifier. And everything is chosen by the manufacturer in the optimal ratio, you do not need to rack your brains yourself. And all this, I repeat, in one box, i.e. you don’t have to think where to put it all;
• ease of wiring. Since the amplifier and filter are already there, from the active sub, in fact, there are only a couple of wires that are just plugged into the radio and that’s it. With the passive sub much more fuss, if you don’t know yourself, you’ll have to overpay the installers.

Sound Quality

For the average person, the size of the subwoofer plays a key role. They say that the bigger it is, the cooler and more powerful it is. But that’s not quite true. First of all, you should look at the power. And not the maximum wattage – it is an invention of marketers, which they like to write on boxes, passing off the wishful thinking as reality, but the rated wattage – it is just the power you will feel. Of course, the higher the power rating, the more bass you will get in the car.

The second thing that determines the sound quality of a sub is the tuning. It is not enough to plug in a powerful subwoofer, it is necessary to tune it correctly in order not to block everything else, but to make it audible and play the range it can best handle taking into account other speakers’ capabilities.

The third is the quality of the materials. This again is a throwback to the price. Good components can’t be cheap. It is only at first glance that everything looks the same and costs differently. In fact, the competition in a niche of car audio is very big and nobody will just raise prices. To tell the truth, not all the consultants and experts can explain it. Wires and plugs are also important.

The fourth is the manufacturer. The manufacturer has a reputation and he has something to lose, unlike the Chinese cheap stuff that recently appeared on the market and flooded the stores.

Bottom Line

It is up to you to decide which subwoofer to choose, its size, its power, but the presence of a low-frequency system in your car is a must if you want to listen to the music of high quality! However, if you want to know more about subwoofers, then you can find out all the important information here. Moreover, only here the most essential data is available! There is also another problem in the car, at high speed the noise of rubber which muffles all the music, especially the low-frequency component, and you can only hear the squeak of speakers if you put a subwoofer in the car, everything goes back to normal, and everything can be heard well.