A guide to follow when buying a subwoofer
Jul 17 '01
The Bottom Line I hope you use your best judgement when you choose your subwoofer. Remember price isn't everything!
I am a person who hobbies in buying subwoofers, meaning 'I have too many!'. I have tried many different subwoofers from cheap to expensive one. I have around 24 or more subwoofers lying around my house. I am writing this epinion so you can make a better choice in buying your own subwoofers.
First of all what you need for great sound to come out of that subwoofer is to get an amplifier, not to mention all the wiring for it. The lower gauge of wire you get will result in less signal loss. I recommend you use at least 10 gauge wiring or more for your amp. Also, the cheaper amplifier you buy may result in some distortion, which can result in a blown sub, because a cheap amp will cut off the signal that it is receiving from the receiver. The amp has a small window that watches power level and then sends out even more power to the subwoofers, if that is cut off the subwoofers will distort and may be pushed too fast to cause a spider to tear.
Second you have to get a capacitor to power the amp. Although it is not required it will keep power constant to your subwoofers, increasing the performance. I recommend you use 1 farad for every 1,000watts rms. This will drain your capacitor instead of burning out your alternator, for the larger systems.
Third you will need a box for your subwoofers. I prefer a sealed enclosure for tight bass response, but there is also bandpass boxes available (ported enclosure). Most subwoofers will require 1 cubic foot or more to operate. The more air space you have will get you the deeper the bass. The less air space you have, will get you the harder hitting bass. Please note too much air space can ruin your subs, so don't go over the line. Read about the air space recommendation form the subwoofer's manufacture.
Next you should carefully select your subwoofer. I prefer the loudest, clearest, and the most durable subwoofer on the market. There are many brand names I have tried, Pyramid happened to cheapest one that I didn't like. I found that most subwoofer from electronic stores were OK for most people, like Kenwood, Rockford Fosgate, Infinity, Sony Explode, JL Audio, Boston Acoustics, etc.
Many people have their own preference, mine happens to be Atomic. I have 4 competition 10" subwoofers in my truck and they never distort, like most of the other brands. Atomic happens to be the #1 in competition subs. The price range is much better than Boston Acoustics subwoofers, and these ARE just as loud if not more. They retail as low as $100 to as high as $500 for the top of the line.
Something else you should check out is the cone material. If it is paper, or paper pulp it is light and will move easier, but since it is a paper cone it will distort. I suggest a stronger cone such as a ribbed aluminum cone, plastic or kelvar. Kelvar is the best material, because it is Very light and very strong, so strong that they use it in bulletproof vests.
Another think you should check out is the magnet structure on your sub. Although the subwoofer with a higher OZ of magnet will control the cone better, doesn't mean it is better than another subwoofer. It is all in the magnet material or the structure of the subwoofer than determines that.
Something that fools most people in buying a subwoofer is its peek power or watts. The peak power usually is what the manufacture would recommend you use at or less than. The higher amount of watts you use will increase risk of burning out voice coil or tearing spider. I suggest that you get a duel spider suspension for your cone.
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