Power
Rated power of the subwoofer. Technically, this is the highest average (rms) sound power at which the device can work normally (without sound distortion and damage to components) for an unlimited time. Simply put, the more powerful the subwoofer, the louder it is. The choice for this parameter depends primarily on the size of the space / room that is planned to be covered; detailed recommendations for different situations can be found in special sources.
Also, the power is directly related to the characteristics of the amplifier used with the subwoofer. For active subwoofers (see "Type"), this item actually indicates the nominal power of the built-in amplifier; the speaker itself can be more powerful, but it doesn't matter anymore. For passive models, the power rating corresponds to the highest amplifier power that can be connected to the speaker without the risk of damaging it at high volume.
Speaker size
The diameter of the speaker(s) installed in the subwoofer.
It is believed that the larger the speaker (
15" or more) — the more power it can give out and the deeper the bass will sound on such acoustics. However, in modern subwoofers, manufacturers use various tricks to achieve good sound depth even with relatively small speaker sizes (
10"). Therefore, it is possible to unambiguously compare different models only if they differ significantly in this indicator; and even then in such cases it is worth paying attention not so much to the diameter of the speaker as to the price category. The golden mean among the sizes are
subwoofers 12".
Crossover frequency
Cutoff frequency of the crossover installed in the subwoofer (or supplied with it — for passive models, see "Type").
The crossover splits the audio signal into separate frequencies so that only the bass goes to the subwoofer and only the main range goes to the speakers. Such a device is mainly equipped with home models (see above). And the crossover frequency is the upper threshold of the frequencies fed to the subwoofer. This information is important for matching with the rest of the speakers: ideally, the lower threshold of the main acoustics should correspond to the upper threshold of the subwoofer, otherwise the frequencies will either overlap or dip in them (neither of which contributes to sound quality). For the convenience of matching, the crossover can be made adjustable (see above).
Material
- MDF. Medium-density fiberboard is one of the most popular materials for modern speaker cabinets, including subwoofers. This is due, on the one hand, to the relatively low cost and neat appearance, and on the other hand, to excellent acoustic characteristics.
MDF cases are found in “subs” for all purposes and price categories.
- Tree. Natural wood is well suited for low-frequency acoustic enclosures; its performance characteristics are comparable to MDF described above. At the same time, this material is considered more “natural” and has its own beautiful surface pattern, but is noticeably more expensive. Therefore, although
wooden cases are common, they are not as widespread as MDF.
- Plastic. The main advantage of plastic is its low cost, but it is very difficult to create a body with the necessary acoustic characteristics from this material. Therefore,
plastic subwoofers are extremely rare, mostly built-in models.
- Metal. In this case, we mean various alloys and aluminum models. The metal is highly durable, but the acoustic characteristics are far from optimal. This requires the use of various tricks, which respectively affect the price
of a metal subwoofer. Therefore, this option is quite rare.
