Home Theater Subwoofers and Bass Speakers:
Reproducing deep bass is a task many home theater subwoofers don't do very well. This is because the deepest bass takes an incredible amount of power and pressure to achieve high SPL levels. Often the most expensive part of a high end loudspeaker is directly caused by it's ability to produce deep bass. And this is why many consumers are forced to use a sub woofer and some small monitor speakers instead of large floor standing speakers. But not all home theater subwoofers are designed to do the same thing either. You would think they may all be similar, but many sub woofer speaker systems are not designed to produce extremely deep bass. Other bass speakers are built only for extremely deep bass and cannot play a signal accurately above 70 or 80Hz. These same bass systems may play very well down to 15 to 18Hz instead. These considerations should be understood before purchasing your sub woofer system. There are a few things to consider when planning out your needs in a sub-woofer. 1. How deep is the bass you need to produce? If you are not concerned with the very lowest octaves there are better choices available than the largest sub-woofer you can find. 2. What level of in room SPL (sound pressure level) would you like to achieve? 3. How much does pitch definition, distortion level, and transient response concern you? 4. Are you only after the deepest bass notes, say below 50hz? 5. Or do you only want bass to make your music and movies feel and sound as realistic as possible? Some home theater subwoofers are very good at reproducing the very deepest octaves from 15 Hz to 50 Hz. However, they often are not designed to deliver much above those frequencies. At least not very accurately. These are great home theater subwoofers but they are purpose built. Usually, with very high SPL in mind to support only the very lowest octaves. These are great if you are using main speakers with good bass response, say down to 35 or 40 Hz. Many subwoofers are capable of being very musical, with excellent pitch definition and transient response. But they struggle to produce the deepest octaves and slam of the other sub described above. It is possible to get a sub-woofer to achieve both but doing so effectively is less common than you might think. A better approach is to decide which is more important to you. 1. Deepest bass, impact, slam are very good for Home Theater. 2. Pitch definition, transient response, and articulation are excellent for music. Of course both of these factors are great to have for movies and music. If this is your goal get ready to spend some money. Most commercial subs simply do not do both really well. We have split Subwoofers into several categories:• Budget Sub-woofers: Usually best to just order a DIY kit from Parts Express. Parts Express – Free Shipping Every Day on most orders over $98 (Restrictions apply).
These kits typically include everything you need. Much better value than buying an assembled sub-woofer retail. If you do not intend to build a sub-woofer and just want to buy one try the link to the right. I use Parts Express for lots of Home theater and speaker related products. They are fast and reliable in my experience.
• Musical Sub-woofers: Generally speaking, these do not use high excursion drivers and may add multiple drivers to increase output. They may have better slam than a budget or mid-line sub. But usually, costs are significantly higher. • High Output Sub-woofers: these would have high SPL and go quite low. A good example of this would be the Velodyne DD12 and DD15. In some systems these can be quite musical. In others, not so much... • Extremely Deep Output Sub-woofers: These would be more purpose built probably DIY subwoofers. Extremely Deep bass. Think: multiple 18 inch high excursion drivers. Before buying your subwoofer be sure that it will match well with the stereo speakers or surround sound speakers that you will be using them with. For other articles start here and learn what else could benefit your search for subwoofers. Read more about Home Theater Read about Surround Sound Speakers Return to Best Home Theater System from: Home Theater Subwoofers Return to Home Speaker from: Home theater subwoofers Have a Great Experience with Speaker Building?Write a story about your project! Then place the photo below... Share it! |
Free Gift - Get Your Free Speaker Plans for Digital Audio Speakers - over a $100.00 value for Free!
Check out the new Mini Cube 2 speaker! Better home theatre surround sound systems, high performance, small size!
Looking for "small, high quality Surround Sound Speakers"?
To receive Monthly updates and our Newsletter -including exclusive information to the Audio or Video Enthusiast, join our newsletter club by filling out the form below.
Our Monthly newsletter provides additional information not already provided on this site.
This newsletter will also let you know of any upcoming product sales.
Customer Testimonials:
"Peter, I just wanted to drop you a quick note and say how impressed I am with these speakers. They are EXACTLY what I was looking for..very very small with big sound.
My wife loves them as well. They look great, and you hardly notice them at all sitting on the shelf. They integrate perfectly as surrounds. I have them crossed over at 150 as you recommended...simply fantastic. I only have about 15 hours on them so far, so I know they will only get better. You really have something here. Kelly ~ Montana USA
"I found these speakers by accident and after reading all the available info and after several emails back and forth with the company owner I decided I had nothing to lose, so I ordered a set of 5 mini cube speakers.
Peter was very helpful and patient and always responded to my emails within hours.
I have had the speakers set up for a couple of days and they sound great; they are everything described on the web site.
The sound from these small speakers truly is awesome.
I replaced a set of very high quality but also very large speakers and have not been disappointed... and the wife loves not having four large speakers in the living room.
The sound from these speakers really does fill the entire house, I was concerned about the small size of the speakers due to the fact I like to listen to music and movies at volumes most would consider loud.
These speakers are more than capable of playing at volume levels louder than I ever need while also maintaining very high quality sound. ~by; William (Corinth,TX)
"I ordered these speakers in the hope of bringing some life to my entertainment system... I didn’t think it would bring room filling sound to my entire house. These speakers not only fill my den with crystal clear sound, but radiate great sound throughout the house. Thanks for such a great product!" Celia ~Malasia IP#110.159.58.99
"these speakers breathed new life back into my music, I had no idea such small surround sound speakers could perform so well." John from US IP# 24.177.193.45
"how you got so much performance out of these speakers I have no idea -Great product!" Andrew from Denmark IP# 130.225.22.254
"nice speakers, nice finish, blended in with my room well and the wife is happy too. Great sound presentation! Now I just wish you guys made a subwoofer." Kyle from US IP# 98.233.53.244
"These surround sound speakers are amazing! After running them in for a couple days, I decided to play some tunes, and they never once sounded distorted or strained...
While I know they should be paired with a good sub-woofer bass system, I think they sound good enough that I can wait until I have the money to buy a really nice sub." Fred US IP#76.208.13.182
"Wow, what a great set of speakers. I really understand what you mean by a large sound-stage." Sandy from US IP# 137.100.121.30
"Recently I came to realize that my HDTV was better than my sound system... So, I decided to piece together a better sound system. Running across your site (and these speakers) was the best thing that has happened to my home theater.
My current system is; an older receiver, a home theater PC with a blue-ray player drive, and one pair of your Mini-Cubes. (for now; I plan to buy 3 more speakers soon)" Kevin US IP#98.179.199.26
"Purchasing a new set of surround sound speakers was a must for me. My old system looked awful and sounded even worse. The quality and look of your Mini-Cube speaker were a perfect fit.
Once I reviewed the ratings and tests I knew they would be perfect. I will be sure to look for more information and products from you. I can't believe the performance of these surround sound speakers for the modest price. I would recommend these speakers to anyone!" Mike US IP#172.16.2.142
"The overall quality and dynamic capacity of these speakers really took me by surprise. Their imaging is distinct, tonality is crystal clear, and oh yeah... they pump out some serious volume!
I feel like I have stolen speakers that I can't afford. People that spend more are Suckers!!" Micah US #Ohio