WHAT SUBWOOFERS ARE AND WHY YOU MAY NEED ONE.

One of the first steps in building a home theater or audio system is gathering your speakers. You have your receiver and are eager to get started listening! You do some research, get your front, back, and center speakers…and come across subwoofers. Cool! But…what are they, exactly? What’s their purpose?

WHAT IS A SUBWOOFER?

What exactly is a subwoofer? Well, a subwoofer (also referred to as a “sub”) is a type of loudspeaker that’s designed to deliver the lower frequencies. These “lower frequencies” are typically 20-200 Hz. Reproducing low frequencies is not something a traditional surround sound setup can do, so a subwoofer is intended to do the heavy lifting to fill in that gap.

Or, in the words of Meghan Trainor, it’s all about that bass.

WHAT IS THEIR PURPOSE?

The purpose of a subwoofer is really just to elevate your listening experience. Their job in any audio system is to fill in the low end that the main speakers can’t reach. If you’re looking for a heart-pounding experience during movie watching, music listening, or game playing, then adding a subwoofer to your speaker system is your best bet.

HOW DOES A SUBWOOFER WORK?

Subwoofers work similarly to your typical loudspeaker, but they are optimized to produce specifically those low frequencies. They use speaker drivers, or “woofers,” that convert electrical signals from the audio source into soundwaves that you can both hear and feel. The drivers come in different sizes, though are usually 8, 10, 12, 15, or 16 inches in diameter.

DO I NEED ONE?

Imagine this: you’re watching a top-notch action movie, an explosion happens, an earthquake rolls across the screen…and you don’t feel it. Some are fine with this - and there’s nothing wrong with that! But if you want to get that tremble from a good movie or while listening to bass-heavy music, then a subwoofer is the way to go.

Plus, adding a subwoofer to your system eases the burden on the rest of your speakers. Without a subwoofer, you may notice that increasing the volume of your audio system will cause sounds to distort and become unclear. With a subwoofer, your other speakers don’t have to reproduce these demanding low frequencies.

SUMMARY

Speakers are everywhere: you have speakers in your phone, computer, tablet, TV…. What makes subwoofer speakers so special?

In short, subwoofers let you feel the sound of what you’re watching or listening to. They give that oomph and help bring your movies and music to life. If that’s the type of sound quality you’re aiming for, then we recommend investing in a good subwoofer. These speakers balance your audio system and enhance the bass and richness of your audio. They do what bookshelf speakers and sound bars can't.

Shopping around for speakers like subwoofers is fun, but it can be confusing, so we hope this guide helps! And if you’d like to view or shop our selection of subwoofers to check out what’s available, you can do that here. Have a great day! 

https://spencertified.com/collections/subwoofers