What to Consider When Buying a Subwoofer
A Fast Guide to Customizing Your Audio System with Aftermarket Subs
You’ve updated almost everything you can think of when it comes to your car’s audio system, but it still feels like something is missing. That’s because you haven’t installed the perfect aftermarket subs.
Car subwoofers add dimension to your listening experience, and beef up your vehicle’s bass. However, it takes a lot more than choosing the best subwoofer brands to get quality sound. Here’s a crash course on what to consider when you’re thinking about subwoofer installation in New Orleans.
How Do Car Subwoofers Work?
The sound that comes from your subwoofers is based on three major categories: the size of your subwoofers, the size of your enclosure, and the amount of power supplied to your subs. Here’s a fast guide on subwoofer vocab.
Subwoofer Driver or Passive Subwoofer
This is just a single subwoofer, and won’t work correctly unless it’s installed in a subwoofer enclosure. You’ll also need to get an external amplifier to give your subwoofer power. They range from 8 inches to 15 inches in size. The bigger your sub, the more air it can move to make deeper bass notes.
Amplifire
You need an external power source for passive subs. It’s important to choose an amp that can give your bass enough power to produce low-frequency sounds without drawing the power supply completely. Talk to your car audio expert about what amps are best for aftermarket subs.
Powered Subwoofer or Active Subwoofer
You can save a lot of space with powered car subwoofers, because they seamlessly combine your subs and amplifier. However, they have limitations on the amount of bass they can produce.
Subs for Specific Types of Vehicles
These subwoofers are made to fit in certain vehicles like trucks or SUVS and are designed to save space. They look sleek and stylish, but don’t offer big bass.
Sound Dampening Material
Sometimes, heavy bass can cause loose objects in your car to rattle, which can be annoying and take away from sound quality. Sound dampening materials, like rubber, are specifically designed to fit around your subs and speakers to absorb vibration.
Give Me the Details About Subwoofer Enclosures
Aftermarket subs need to be installed in a perfectly sized enclosure to produce excellent bass and perform optimally. If you cram your subs into a small enclosure, they won’t have enough air behind them to make quality sound.
It’s true that the bigger your enclosure, the deeper the bass notes are. However, if you choose an enclosure that’s too big, your subwoofers exceed their mechanical limitations, which results in poor sound quality.