Subwoofers are made up of one or more woofers mounted in a loudspeaker enclosure-often made of wood-capable of withstanding air pressure while resisting deformation. While the term 'subwoofer' technically only refers to the speaker driver, in common parlance, the term often refers to a subwoofer driver mounted in a speaker enclosure (cabinet), often with a built-in amplifier.
Subwoofers are never used alone, as they are intended to augment the low-frequency range of loudspeakers that cover the higher frequency bands. The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20–200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below 80 Hz in THX-certified systems. A driver is commonly installed in an enclosure (often a wooden cabinet) to prevent the sound waves coming off the back of the driver diaphragm from canceling out the sound waves being generated from the front of the subwoofer.Ī subwoofer (or sub) is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce low-pitched audio frequencies known as bass and sub-bass, lower in frequency than those which can be (optimally) generated by a woofer.
12-inch (30 cm) subwoofer driver (loudspeaker).
