Car Audio Subwoofers: How to Tell if They Are Good or Not before You Buy

• Posted on Autos.com Editor
• in Aftermarket Parts
• on October 7, 2013

When looking for the best car audio subwoofers, it helps to understand what you need. Subwoofer performance is not contingent upon the name of the company that manufactures them, but on the specs of the speakers themselves. The failure to choose the right subwoofer for your application can leave you feeling cheated, even it you buy the most expensive speakers available.

When looking for subwoofers for a car audio system, consider the main specifications when choosing what will work best for your vehicle and taste in music, sensitivity and power.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity is the measurement of how much sound a particular speaker will yield from the power you supply. If you are adding a subwoofer to a low powered factory system then you should look for a high sensitivity rating. If your head unit and amplifier have a high sensitivity output, then a low sensitivity speaker will work for you.

Power Handling

Power handling is the amount of power the speaker can handle. This power is rated in watts. The maximum RMS is the amount of power the speaker can handle at a continuous rate, and is the important number. If you have a low powered system, you don’t need the highest powered car audio subwoofers for maximum performance, although if you have a high powered amplifier you will need subwoofers that closely match the power output of the amplifier with the RMS rating of the speaker.

Subwoofer Portability

You also need to check the size and subwoofer portability. The size will depend on your requirement and the space available in the car.