Caution Required When researching Car Subwoofers January 31, 2011 at 2:54 pm
There are several kinds as well as sizes of car subwoofers on the market today. Even though the level of quality of standard OEM sound gear has improved through the years, you still need some sort of car subwoofers in the system to create that full sounding bass that the majority of of us are fond of when enjoying our home hifi systems.
There are plenty of subs which range in size from 6 inches up to 18 inches in diameter from a large number of car electronics providers. Sometimes a shopper will obtain a particular brand subwoofer in the largest size offered thinking that “bigger” must be “better”. And then after getting it home, they begin to understand that they have hardly any area to devote to the sub box that’s required, not to mention they didn’t budget for the proper amplifier they will require to power their beast.
Preparing in advance is a must when upgrading your car sound system with a bass speaker or subwoofer. However it is extremely rewarding and pleasurable should you follow a handful of simple recommendations. If you’re restricted on readily available space and just want better bass than the regular full-range speakers are capable of, then you may well think about one of the amplified enclosed subwoofers. They are very easy to install and you’ll find them offered by companies like Boss, Infinity and Bazooka. They are small 6 to 8 inch subs installed in small enclosures or tubes and they’ve a basic amplifier incorporated into the unit. Considering that they have a sub, box and amplifier included into one little package, they should be a person’s least expensive alternative while providing the smallest presence in terms of space.
But if you enjoy rap music, popular music or just about any music where you want heavy bass that may vibrate the windows, then you will probably want to choose individual components. Years ago a shopper would have to select either a subwoofer created for SPL (loudness) or SQ (musical sound quality) which typically related to size, but today there are various subwoofers offered that happen to be well-known for both.
Hence the first place to begin when researching a subwoofer system is almost always to decide just how much space you want to allocate for a subwoofer box and power amp. This can be done by beginning with smaller sized subs such as 8 inch. Read their details and see which type and size box your selected subwoofer requires. There are 2 fundamental types of enclosures which are sealed and vented. The small sealed sub boxes will likely be smaller then any kind of vented or ported box in the majority of situations. Consequently when you begin looking at sealed enclosures you will get the best idea of the minimal volume of space required. Generally, the larger the subwoofer, the more air is moved so the more bass is created.
The second consideration is generally see the power specifications of the chosen subwoofer. Simply just match up the suggested power and match it to a power amplifier. Look at the outside dimensions of the amplifier and understand you’ll need a bit more space for air circulation and electrical wiring and this should enable you to approximate the space necessary for your complete subwoofer set up.
Obviously, even a 12 inch sub and amp installation might take a good amount of trunk area or hatch space in modern vehicles. You can find a variety of subwoofers from brands like Alpine, Boss, JL Audio, Kicker, Lanzar, MTX, Pioneer and Rockford Fosgate simply to mention a few. Many make available slim mount or shallow mount subwoofers as well as standard subs. The shallow subs allow installation in smaller boxes which might be fitted behind or under a seat in certain applications.
So you shouldn’t be intimidated by the decision making process. There are other choices to think about such as single or dual voice coil subwoofers and the benefit for each. Normally a dual voice coil model subwoofer will allow more accommodating electrical wiring methods which is particularly important when running 2 or more subwoofers.
Coming from my experience through the years, ten inch subwoofers are the most widely used and tend to give you a big variety of factory built subwoofer boxes to choose from. In addition to the common sub boxes there are several special fit enclosures manufactured for certain cars and trucks. Anytime you find a custom-fit sub box you’ll see you can save on room considering they are made to fit directly into areas of wasted space in automobiles.
Again, if you keep to the basic steps of estimating your permitted room for subwoofer and amplifier before purchasing, you’ll be much happier with the results. Getting car subs can be simple and easy.