The speakers user by  the home users had evolved very much in the last decades. Today you can buy some very good and advanced speakers, capable of giving a high quality sound, without even being too big. There are many types of computer speakers, in different shapes, sizes and prices. Each speaker comes with its unique features, and considering these features you can sort the speakers into different categories. Some of the categories are: center channels, satellite speakers, subwoofer, floor standing speakers, wireless speakers , outdoor speakers and others.

Considering the range of sound they give, the center channels will give mostly the high frequency sounds, the satellite speakers will give the mid range sounds and the subwoofers will bring the low and deep sound frequencies (the bass). Whether if you are using some simple stereo speakers, or a center channel combined with satellite speakers, you will approximately have the same sound. The big difference in sound will be made by the subwoofer.

This speaker will bring a new dimension to your music, movies or games. When having a powerful subwoofer and listening to some music, you will easily get the same feeling as being in a night club. Or when you are watching a movie, due to the subwoofer, you will feel just like if you are at the cinema. The subwoofer will give the low frequencies and will make your windows to vibrate when playing a powerful song, or when watching a movie and hearing an explosion. Usually the best place to put the subwoofer is in a corner, under the desk. Some subwoofers are larger, others are smaller but usually they will fit easily under your desk.

Most of the major audio equipment producers are also having a few subwoofers in their offer. So today we are going to take some examples of home audio subwoofers from different companies, and discuss more about them.



Let’s begin by presenting a subwoofer from the Tivoli audio company. We’ll take the Model Subwoofer. This speaker has a 5 ¼ inch bass driver and an internal amplifier with 20 watts. The design is quite simple and elegant, and is made out of wood, making it look just like  a piece of furniture. It’s not that powerful, having a total power of 20 watts, but this subwoofer was not even made to rock your house and to shake your windows. It was designed to subtly enhance the music you are listening to. On the subwoofer you will find 2 knobs, one that is for volume and the other to turn it on or off. It even has a special feature called Auto on / standby, and this will make the subwoofer to automatically turn off when there is no signal, and to turn on when it receives signal. The price for this device is 160 dollars, and you can buy it in two different designs: black ash silver or metallic taupe.

Now let’s choose an expensive but also powerful subwoofer. One of them is the ES 250 P subwoofer from JBL. It comes with a price between 500 and 600 dollars, but it also has an amazing power of 400 watts RMS. This great power, combined with the frequency response between 25 hz and 150 hz will mean that this subwoofer will really rock your house, and make your whole body to vibrate when sitting close to it at high volumes. It will also annoy your neighbors, so be careful with the volume level. The design is black and simple and it is not so large. It has dimensions of 502 mm H x  400 mm W x 428 mm D / 19-3/4 " x 15-3/4 " x 16-7/8 " and a weight of 19 kg (43 lbs).



Next we’ll discuss about a subwoofer from the McIntosh company, the XLS 112. This one also has an amplified total power of 400 watts, meaning that it is quite powerful. The design is quite simple and elegant with the grill on, but if you take it off you will reveal a 12 inch woofer, that will make the subwoofer have a more aggressive look. It has a  total harmonic distortion of 0.03% and a max harmonic distortion from 250 milliwatts to 400 watts. The weighted S/N ratio is 100 dB and the input sensitivity 0.4 V. It has a low pass filter of 40 – 120 Hz that you can change from a know located on the rear panel. It is not that big, with dimensions of 15-1/2 "  (38.1 cm) H x 15 "  (38 cm) W x 15 " (38 cm) D and a weight of 95 lbs. (43 kg).



Another great and powerful subwoofer is the VPS 210 from Boston Acoustics. This subwoofer doesn’t even have the classical square style look, and it looks quite different and also nice. Even the design might tell you that this is a small and quiet speaker, you will find out that it is exactly the opposite. It has an amazing power of 500 watts, meaning that it will make your house to shiver. No bass note will be unfelt, no matter what kind of music you are listening to.



Some companies are offering individual subwoofers, while others are integrating their subwoofers in 2.1 or 5.1 audio systems. So whether if you want to get an individual subwoofer or a sound system, you will have many options to choose from. The subwoofers presented today are just a few, and there are so many more on the market. So if you know some other good subwoofers, tell us all about them.