Are Subwoofers Important in a Home Stereo System?
While many people may think that all you need for a home stereo system is a left and right speaker, a subwoofer is actually one of the most important speaker parts that you can have to ensure quality sound. A 4-ohm subwoofer is ideal for many home sound systems.
What is a Subwoofer and Do I Need One?
A subwoofer is the speaker that produces bass and lower frequencies, whereas other speakers produce the high and mid audio sounds. Inside is a cone that moves back and forward. Air displaces, and this is how it creates sound. How high or low a subwoofer sounds depends a lot on the particular model, brand, and subwoofer driver, but is a necessity to a round and full sounding audio system.
- Do I really need one?: Most speakers do not have the capability to produce the lower frequencies from your audio source. As a subwoofer produces the full, rich sound, you get a more three-dimensional effect.
- For music or movies?: Using a subwoofer gives you that full bass sound that you hear in a movie theater, even if on a lesser scale. Listening to music with a subwoofer gives you a richer sound that is more complete and allows you to hear all different parts of the music track. Without a proper woofer, music can sound tinny and a bit empty.
- Do I need a big one?: The size of subwoofer that you need depends on your other speakers and the size of the space where you want to use the speaker. When you look at size, it's not actually the inches that count, but the ohm measurement. A 4-ohm sub can wire into an audio system as a 2 ohm or an 8 ohm due to the voice coil that is inside.
Are There Different Kinds of Subwoofers?
There are two kinds of subwoofers that you can find:
- Passive: These use an external amplifier, just like the other audio speakers you have. Since extreme bass needs more power to reproduce low frequency sounds, the receiver or amp has to output enough power watts to maintain the bass effects. The amount of power depends on the size of the room and the speaker.
- Powered: These are self-contained amplifier/speaker configurations inside the same enclosure, and the subwoofer and amplifier characteristics match. A powered woofer only needs a line output from a home theater receiver and allows the receiver or amp to distribute power to the tweeter and midbass speakers easier.