Best Subwoofer for Music

Traditionally, a subwoofer is used as part of a home theater, where it is mainly responsible for sound effects. However, there is quite a successful practice of using a subwoofer in stereo systems for listening to music. The best subwoofer for music has certain advantages:

The first advantage is quite pragmatic. A subwoofer is most often used together with shelf speakers. Considering the latter needs less area, and it can equally effectively play both on large and small areas, the subwoofer for music will very organically complement the overall sound picture, adding the necessary bass to it.

The second advantage is the fact is that the sound of a shelf speaker set often has a higher degree of localization, unlike floor speakers. So the listener gets a much more voluminous sound panorama. The "musical" subwoofer allows you to get a more controlled, deep, and clear bass, the direction of the sound of which the human ear does not localize so clearly.

In addition, the best home subwoofer for music reproduces all notes of the low-frequency spectrum, has reduced distortion even at loud volumes, and great speed and transient response.

Recall, the larger the volume of the room for listening and the more bass in the music, the more powerful the device is better to buy.

Difference between subwoofer for music and movies

There isn’t much difference, subwoofers are interchangeable, but there are slightly different requirements for subwoofers in music and cinema: the dynamics of the bass are more important in music - and therefore it is better not to chase the large dimensions of the speakers, while in films subwoofers are often needed for active effects like explosions, and there it is more important to convey the power of a single moment, and subwoofers with larger speakers are preferable.

The difference between music and some movies is in the following. Many advanced 5.1 mixes are designed for theaters that have woofers. This is made to give you that gut-crunching, rumbling low end that action films seem to thrive on. Of course, if you already have a great speaker setup, they probably handle most low-end action mighty well to begin with, so a subwoofer would be almost redundant.

Subwoofer for music reviews

SVS PB-1000 - best overall

The SVS PB-1000 subwoofer for music only is an active type device. The manufacturer offers to purchase the device in a completely closed case. The rear panel contains the main control keys and all kinds of inputs and outputs. The amplifier is built into the device’s case, its actual class is D. The black shade goes very well with the model presented, and there is a dustproof mesh in front that can be removed if necessary.

The SVS PB-1000 subwoofer plays all music files in a wide frequency range. It is best to install the device on a shelf for the highest quality sound. The device will have enough power to provide medium-sized residential areas with a loud and dynamic sound.

It is equipped with a 300 W (720 W peak) amplifier. The SVS PB-1000 model is a more efficient solution in terms of performance - 19 Hz and 270Hz ( /- 3 dB) with a 10" head and a weight of 21 kg. The company claims that this model is a champion in terms of performance/price, and I totally agree with the manufacturer. This is the best subwoofer for music you can find.

SVS PB16-Ultra - best performance

SVS PB16-Ultra is a flagship subwoofer in a bass-reflex enclosure. This classic design subwoofer with a large 16-inch driver and an intelligent 1500-watt amplifier is ready to easily play even the most demanding bass passages in your favorite music and movies that make it the best powered subwoofer for music in terms of performance.

The PB16-Ultra is equipped with the largest driver ever used in SVS subwoofers. This lightweight but the stiff 16-inch cone is paired with an 8-inch voice coil - the largest ever used in home subwoofers.

Large cones are inherently difficult to control, but this huge voice coil provides accurate frequency response and fast movement for basses that never seem “slow” or “beeping.” Such a massive speaker requires serious electronic muscles for power and control, so the built-in amplifier Sledge STA-1500D is fully consistent with this task. The Sledge STA-1500D is responsible for amplification, delivering 1,500 W of constant power and 5 kilowatts in peak, DSP - 50-MHz AnalogDevices with a 56-bit filter. According to the company, this is the most sophisticated DSP used in consumer electronics.

Unlike many Class D amplifiers, this amplifier is equipped with a discrete transistor MOSFET output that can provide an incredible amount of current, allowing this 16-inch woofer to swing at extreme power levels. Keeping all this power under control is the task of Analog Devices' advanced digital signal processor.

Built-in SVS PB16-Ultra instruments for fine-tuning the sound include three digital parametric equalizers with adjustable frequency. The Room Gain Compensation control system gives you the opportunity to eliminate problems associated with room acoustics, such as the tendency of bass to become overwhelming in small rooms. And of course, you get fully adjustable phase compensation and digital crossovers.

To simplify setup, SVS has moved the LED display to the front of the subwoofer. And they also included RCA stereo line-in plus balanced XLR inputs and outputs for flexible communication with a wide range of audio equipment, including high-quality stereo amplifiers and pre-amplifiers, AV processors, and AV receivers.

BIC America F12 - best budget and small

From the outside, the BIC America F12 Subwoofer is a rectangular, simple black box. It is 9 kg. The enclosure is constructed from MDF board with a black laminate. On the ground, four rubber feet keep it from drifting when the bass gets things shaking and help stabilize the woofer.

The F12 is the best small subwoofer for music and the best budget subwoofer for music, and it’s well earned. It has consistent volume, great frequency separation, an impactful and powerful bass response. The latter seems louder than it actually is. This is one of the best performers from my listening tests. The bass exhibits more clarity than other units even at the lowest frequencies, it can handle.

Its sensitivity is 90dB. The F12 has 12" Injection-molded woofer with heavy duty surround. It provides 475 watts Dynamic Peak, 150 watts RMS continuous. The subwoofer has an impedance of 8 ohms.

It is great for watching movies with Dolby or DTS HD Audio that have heavy bass. The BIC F12 works just like other subwoofers, far exceeding its price. Not only does this clearly represent low notes, but you can also feel it to the last detail. We did not notice dirt or distortion even with fairly large volumes. As long as you find the right location, this subwoofer sounds great with anything.

The BIC America F12 subwoofer is not very expensive, but it doesn’t look that way. Thanks to the clear and clear low-frequency sound for both audio and video applications, even at high volume, the sound remains clear and at the same time shakes the room.

Klipsch R-12SWi - best wireless

The Klipsch R-12SWi subwoofer is designed to work both in stereo systems and in a home theater and is able to efficiently sound large rooms. The design of the device is made in a single concept with the Klipsch speakers of the Reference series, which successfully combines black and copper-gold colors.

Klipsch R-12SWi is equipped with a 12-inch bass speaker, which is located on the front panel and is closed by a removable protective net. The bass has a diffuser made of die-cast graphite (IMG) with an external copper coating that dampens unwanted vibrations and resonances. The speaker is connected to a powerful amplifier operating in class D. The subwoofer casing is made of thick MDF, equipped with internal ties and damping to eliminate coloring the sound at high volume, and its exterior is made of rough vinyl film. The front panel of the subwoofer has power on LED.

On the back of the Klipsch R-12SWi is a traditional set of controls. There are volume and frequency controls for the input filter, as well as a switch for the absolute phase of the signal. Klipsch R-12SWi is equipped with linear and LFE inputs. However, the peculiarity of this model is that it provides the possibility of wireless connection to the signal source.

For this purpose, the Klipsch R-12SWi has a built-in receiver, and a transmitter paired with it is included with the device. The latter can be connected to the LFE or line output of an AV receiver or stereo amplifier. The signal is transmitted at a frequency of 2.4 GHz without compression, which provides a wide dynamic range of sound and accurate frequency transmission.

Among all the wireless units, the R-12SWi is the best one. The ability to connect wirelessly greatly simplifies the placement of the Klipsch R-12SWi in a room - in fact, the user only needs to take care of the presence of an electrical outlet near the subwoofer. The subwoofer develops significant sound pressure and works out without distortion the most dynamic special effects of modern cinema films.

SVS PB-2000

The PB-2000 has a design similar to the PB-1000, with some obvious differences. The woofer has increased to 12 inches from 10 inches, so the body volume is also larger. The PB-2000 comes in a very large box in which its contents are stored. The front grill moves from the PB-1000 acoustic fabric to the perforated metal. The appearance, of course, is impressive, but the bend creates a hole at the top, which children find irresistible.

The amplifier also saw an increase in power. RMS power increased from 300 watts to 500 watts and peak power - from 700 watts to 1100 watts. The rest of the model controls are the same, except for the lack of speaker level inputs that the PB-1000 has. Today, very few people use inputs at the speaker level, so for most people, this does not matter.

What really matters for the subwoofer is performance. To really compare the PB-2000 with the PB-1000, I connected an RCA switch between my preamp and subwoofers, and the level corresponded to both of them in my place with a frequency of 50 Hz.

The most immediate aspect that I noticed with the PB-2000 is how little I really noticed because it did not attract attention. All bass is associated with the rest of the soundstage, even if the PB-2000 is in a separate location. A common problem with ported subwoofers is that you hear a dull sound from the port, but it was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the PB-2000 simply provided an increase in these low octaves if necessary.

The soundstage has increased depth with added low-frequency extension. Everything seems to come to life when the PB-2000 plays and flatter the PB-1000 a little.

The bass notes penetrate deeper into the PB-2000 and have greater depth and texture, so you can feel the physical effect stronger than in the PB-1000. The bass notes from the 1000th model sound a bit confusing compared to it, while the PB-2000 is crisper and harder.

When I listen to the same hole in the PB-2000, I feel a strong blow, and I feel it rattling on its feet. Everything penetrates with greater force through the PB-2000, but it does not become careless. On these loud bass notes, the amplifier, driver, and portlet sound lighter with less distortion than the PB-1000.