Subwoofers
A subwoofer handles the low frequencies that small speaker drivers physically can't reproduce cleanly — the chest-level impact in movie explosions and the low end in music. It's often the single most impactful upgrade you can make to a home theater or stereo setup, because most main speakers, even good ones, start rolling off well above the deepest bass content in modern movie soundtracks.
One well-chosen subwoofer usually does more for a room than upgrading every other speaker at once. And because bass is largely non-directional at lower frequencies, subwoofer placement is more forgiving than placing main speakers, though room position still meaningfully affects how even the bass sounds across your seating area.
Below we cover sealed vs. ported designs, sizing, and placement, along with our current picks and a dedicated placement and sizing guide.
What to look for
Sealed vs. ported is a tradeoff, not an upgrade path
Sealed subwoofers are generally tighter and more precise but roll off earlier and need more power for the same output. Ported (vented) subwoofers can play louder and deeper for a given size and price but can sound slightly less tight if not well engineered. Movie-heavy rooms often lean ported for impact; music-focused rooms often lean sealed for accuracy.
Bigger drivers move more air, but the enclosure and amp matter just as much
A 12-inch driver has an easier time producing deep bass than an 8-inch one, but a well-engineered smaller sub with a strong amplifier can outperform a poorly designed larger one. Don't shop on driver size alone.
Try more than one placement spot before settling
Room modes (standing waves) mean bass can sound boomy in one corner and thin three feet away. The classic trick is the 'subwoofer crawl': put the sub in your listening seat, crawl around the room's perimeter on your knees, and place it wherever the bass sounds smoothest to your ear.
One subwoofer is good; two is often better than one bigger one
Running two smaller subwoofers, positioned differently in the room, tends to even out bass response across multiple seating positions far more effectively than a single larger subwoofer, because it smooths out the room modes that cause bass to vary sharply from seat to seat.