Car Stereo Subwoofer Selection Tips

When deciding to upgrade your car stereo system, adding a subwoofer can produce massive bass. Adding volume at sub frequencies is like adding a third dimension to your favorite tunes. Whether you're considering desiging a new audio system, or just adding one subwoofers to your factory system, this easy addition will give you the single, most significant sonic improvement. Simply adding even a little bass will make a big time improvement in your overall sound.

I'll never forget my first experience listening to the heart pounding sound of bass.I was listening to my friend's newly-installed system (he had a gang of 12's with a regular size amp), and it was literally shocking how great it sounded, I was completely amazed that you could actually feel the impact of the woofers. From that instant on, I've been a car audio fan.

Some of the popular brands are:

MA Audio, SPL, Kicker, Power Acoustik, Jensen

What type of sound do you seek?

There are two main camps in the sound world: Sound Quality or (Sound Pressure Level, aka, SPL).

Sound Quality refers to just that -- a very linear response that's not boomy and is very controlled, especially when listening to complex songs. An SQ System generally uses a smaller woofer and requires a smaller enclosure. A sealed enclosure would typically work best for this application.

Sealed enclosures are also known as "Acoustic Suspension" enclosures. When a speaker is placed in a sealed enclosure, the pressure becomes trapped in the box and restricts the cone movement, so the air inside the enclosure acts as a spring. The smaller the enclosure, the more pressure is exerted against the cone under movement.

With a sealed enclosure of predetermined volume, we can also predict the cut-off frequency and Q* of the system.

The real advantage is that they just consume less space, not to mention they're easier to design and construct. Choosing a sealed enclosure will give you clean and accurate bass with good low-end extension.

The main drawback with a ported enclosure is that the design and construction are not very forgiving of errors. Unlike a sealed box, you must determine a number of different parameters: the box volume, tuned frequency, port area, and port length. But, the advantage is huge -- you'll get more output with the same number and size of woofers.

With all of that extra output there's always a compromise. More bass naturally means more space. Usually speaking, ported enclosures will be to be 35- to 45-percent bigger than a sealed enclosure.

You're probably wondering, can a ported box sound as good a sealed enclosure? The answer is, yep, but it's different in that it will have a slight rise around the tuning frequency (35 Hz) and roll off very quickly. Both types of boxes have real supporters. What you decide to use really comes down to your install and how they will work in your car.

If you want more tips, you can visit Car Audio Tips and learn how to get Loud Bass.