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A subwoofer (or sub) is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce low-pitched audio Frequency, known as bass and sub-bass, that are lower in frequency than those which can be (optimally) generated by a woofer. The typical frequency range that is covered by a subwoofer is about for consumer products, below for professional live sound, and below in THX-certified systems. Thus, one or more subwoofers are important for high-quality sound reproduction as they are responsible for the lowest two to three octaves of the ten octaves that are audible. This very low-frequency (VLF) range reproduces the natural fundamental tones of the bass drum, electric bass, double bass, grand piano, contrabassoon, tuba, in addition to thunder, gunshots, explosions, etc.
Subwoofers are never used alone, as they are intended to substitute the VLF sounds of "main" loudspeakers that cover the higher frequency bands. VLF and higher-frequency signals are sent separately to the subwoofer(s) and the mains by a "Audio crossover" network, typically using active electronics, including digital signal processing (DSP). Additionally, subwoofers are fed their own low-frequency effects (LFE) signals that are reproduced at 10 dB higher than standard peak level.
Subwoofers can be positioned more favorably than the main speakers' woofers in the typical listening room acoustic, as the very low frequencies they reproduce are nearly omnidirectional and their direction largely indiscernible. However, much digitally recorded content contains lifelike binaural cues that human hearing may be able to detect in the VLF range, reproduced by a stereo crossover and two or more subwoofers. Subwoofers are not acceptable to all audiophiles, likely due to distortion artifacts produced by the subwoofer driver after the crossover and at frequencies above the crossover.
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 made up of one or more mounted in a loudspeaker enclosure—often made of wood—capable of withstanding air pressure while resisting deformation. Subwoofer enclosures come in a variety of designs, including bass reflex (with a port or vent), using a subwoofer and one or more passive radiator speakers in the enclosure, acoustic suspension (sealed enclosure), infinite baffle, Horn loudspeaker, tapped horn, transmission line, bandpass or isobaric designs. Each design has unique trade-offs with respect to efficiency, low-frequency range, loudness, cabinet size, and cost. Passive subwoofers have a subwoofer driver and enclosure, but they are powered by an external amplifier. Active subwoofers include a built-in amplifier.
The first home audio subwoofers were developed in the 1960s to add bass response to home stereo systems. Subwoofers came into greater popular consciousness in the 1970s with the introduction of Sensurround in movies such as Earthquake, which produced loud low-frequency sounds through large subwoofers. With the advent of the compact cassette and the compact disc in the 1980s, the reproduction of deep and loud bass was no longer limited by the ability of a phonograph record stylus to track a groove, and producers could add more low-frequency content to recordings. As well, during the 1990s, DVDs were increasingly recorded with "surround sound" processes that included a low-frequency effects (LFE) channel, which could be heard using the subwoofer in Home cinema (also called home theater) systems. During the 1990s, subwoofers also became increasingly popular in home , custom car audio installations, and in . By the 2000s, subwoofers became almost universal in sound reinforcement systems in nightclubs and concert venues.
Unlike a system's main loudspeakers, subwoofers can be positioned more optimally in a listening room's acoustic. However, subwoofers are not universally accepted by audiophiles amid complaints of the difficulty of "splicing" the sound with that of the main speakers around the crossover frequency. This is largely due to the subwoofer driver's non-linearity producing harmonic and intermodulation distortion products well above the crossover frequency, and into the range where human hearing can "localize" them, wrecking the stereo "image".
In 1933, the head of MGM's sound department, Douglas Shearer, worked with John Hilliard and James B. Lansing (who would later found Altec Lansing in 1941 and JBL in 1946) to develop a new speaker system that used a two-way enclosure with a W-shaped bass horn that could go as low as . The Shearing-Lansing 500-A ended up being used in "screening rooms, dubbing theaters, and early sound reinforcement". In the late 1930s, Lansing created a smaller two-way speaker with a woofer in a vented enclosure, which he called the Iconic system; it was used as a studio monitor and in high-end home hi-fi set-ups.
During the 1940s swing era, to get deeper bass, "pipelike openings" were cut into speaker enclosures, creating bass reflex enclosures, as it was found that even a fairly inexpensive speaker enclosure, once modified in this way, could "transmit the driving power of a heavy...drumbeat—and sometimes not much else—to a crowded dancefloor." Prior to the development of the first subwoofers, woofers were used to reproduce bass frequencies, usually with a crossover point set at and a loudspeaker in an infinite baffle or in professional sound applications, a "hybrid horn-loaded" bass reflex enclosure (such as the 15-inch Altec Lansing A-7 enclosure nicknamed the "Voice of the Theater", which was introduced in 1946). In the mid-1950s, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected the "big, boxy" Altec A-7 as the industry standard for movie sound reproduction in theaters.
Another early subwoofer enclosure made for home and studio use was the separate bass speaker for the Servo Statik 1 by New Technology Enterprises. Designed as a prototype in 1966 by physicist Arnold Nudell and airline pilot Cary Christie in Nudell's garage, it used a second winding around a custom Cerwin-Vega 18-inch (45 cm) driver to provide servo control information to the amplifier, and it was offered for sale at $1795, some 40% more expensive than any other complete loudspeaker listed at Stereo Review. In 1968, the two found outside investors and reorganized as Infinity Systems. The subwoofer was reviewed positively in Stereophile magazine's winter 1968 issue as the SS-1 by Infinity. The SS-1 received very good reviews in 1970 from High Fidelity magazine.
Another of the early subwoofers was developed during the late 1960s by Ken Kreisel, the former president of the Miller & Kreisel Sound Corporation in Los Angeles. When Kreisel's business partner, Jonas Miller, who owned a high-end audio store in Los Angeles, told Kreisel that some purchasers of the store's high-end electrostatic speakers had complained about a lack of bass response in the electrostatics, Kreisel designed a powered woofer that would reproduce only those frequencies that were too low for the electrostatic speakers to convey. Infinity's full range electrostatic speaker system that was developed during the 1960s also used a woofer to cover the lower frequency range that its electrostatic arrays did not handle adequately.
Subwoofers received a great deal of publicity in 1974 with the movie Earthquake, which was released in Sensurround. Initially installed in 17 U.S. theaters, the Cerwin-Vega "Sensurround" system used large subwoofers that were driven by racks of 500 watt amplifiers, triggered by control tones printed on one of the audio tracks on the film. Four of the subwoofers were positioned in front of the audience under (or behind) the film screen and two more were placed together at the rear of the audience on a platform. Powerful noise energy and loud rumbling in the range of 17 to 120 Hz were generated at the level of 110–120 decibels of Sound pressure, abbreviated dB(SPL). The new low frequency entertainment method helped the film become a box office success. More Sensurround systems were assembled and installed. By 1976, there were almost 300 Sensurround systems leapfrogging through select theaters. Other films to use the effect include the WW II naval battle epic Midway in 1976 and Rollercoaster in 1977.
For owners of 33 rpm LPs and 45 rpm singles, loud and deep bass was limited by the ability of the phonograph record stylus to track the groove. While some hi-fi aficionados had solved the problem by using other playback sources, such as reel-to-reel tape players which were capable of delivering accurate, naturally deep bass from acoustic sources, or synthetic bass not found in nature, with the popular introduction of the compact cassette in the late 1960s it became possible to add more low frequency content to recordings. By the mid-1970s, 12-inch vinyl singles, which allowed for "more bass volume", were used to record disco, reggae, dub and hip-hop tracks; dance club DJs played these records in clubs with subwoofers to achieve "physical and emotional" reactions from dancers.
In the early 1970s, David Mancuso hired sound engineer Alex RosnerBrewster, Bill; Broughton, Frank. The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries. Black Cat. p. 64 to design additional subwoofers for his disco dance events, along with "tweeter arrays" to "boost the treble and bass at opportune moments" at his private, underground parties at The Loft.Lawrence, Tim. "Beyond the Hustle: Seventies Social Dancing, Discotheque Culture and the Emergence of the Contemporary Club Dancer". In Ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy Sham, Shake: A Social and Popular Dance Reader, ed. Julie Malnig. University of Illinois Press, 2009. p. 204. The demand for sub-bass sound reinforcement in the 1970s was driven by the important role of "powerful bass drum" in disco, as compared with rock and pop; to provide this deeper range, a third crossover point from 40 to 120 Hz (centering on 80 Hz) was added. The Paradise Garage discotheque in New York City, which operated from 1977 to 1987, had "custom designed 'sub-bass' speakers" developed by Alex Rosner's disciple, sound engineer Richard ("Dick") Long that were called "Levan Horns" (in honor of resident DJ Larry Levan).
By the end of the 1970s, subwoofers were used in dance venue sound systems to enable the playing of "bass-heavy dance music" that we "do not 'hear' with our ears but with our entire body". At the club, Long used four Levan bass horns, one in each corner of the dancefloor, to create a "haptic and tactile quality" in the sub-bass that you could feel in your body. To overcome the lack of sub-bass frequencies on 1970s disco records (sub-bass frequencies below 60 Hz were removed during mastering), Long added a DBX 100 "Boom Box" subharmonic pitch generator into his system to synthesize 25 to 50 Hz sub-bass from the 50 to 100 Hz bass on the records.
By the later 1970s, disco club sound engineers were using the same large Cerwin-Vega Sensurround-style folded horn subwoofers that were used in Earthquake and similar movies in dance club system installations. In the early 1980s, Long designed a sound system for the Warehouse dance club, with "huge stacks of subwoofers" which created "deep and intense" bass frequencies that "pounded through your system" and "entire body", enabling clubgoers to "viscerally experience" the DJs' house music mixes.
In Jamaica in the 1970s and 1980s, sound engineers for reggae sound systems began creating "heavily customized" subwoofer enclosures by adding foam and tuning the cabinets to achieve "rich and articulate speaker output below 100 Hz". The sound engineers who developed the "bass-heavy signature sound" of sound reinforcement systems have been called "deserving as much credit for the sound of Jamaican music as their better-known music producer cousins". The sound engineers for Stone Love Movement (a sound system crew), for example, modified folded horn subwoofers they imported from the US to get more of a bass reflex sound that suited local tone preferences for dancehall audiences, as the unmodified folded horn was found to be "too aggressive" sounding and "not deep enough for Jamaican listeners".
In sound system culture, there are both "low and high bass bins" in "towering piles" that are "delivered in large trucks" and set up by a crew of "box boys", and then positioned and adjusted by the sound engineer in a process known as "stringing up", all to create the "sound of reggae music you can literally feel as it comes off these big speakers". Sound system crews hold 'sound clash' competitions, where each sound system is set up and then the two crews try to outdo each other, both in terms of loudness and the "bass it produced".
In the 1980s, the Bose Acoustimass AM-5 became a popular subwoofer and small high-range satellite speaker system for home listening. Steve Feinstein stated that with the AM-5, the system's "appearance mattered as much as, if not more than, great sound" to consumers of this era, as it was considered to be a "cool" look. The success of the AM-5 led to other makers launching subwoofer-satellite speaker systems, including Boston Acoustics Sub Sat 6 and 7, and the Cambridge SoundWorks Ensemble systems (by Kloss). Claims that these sub-satellite systems showed manufacturers and designers that home-cinema systems with a hidden subwoofer could be "feasible and workable in a normal living room" for mainstream consumers. Despite criticism of the AM-5 from audio experts, regarding a lack of bass range below 60 Hz, an "acoustic hole" in the 120 to 200 Hz range and a lack of upper range above 13 kHz for the satellites, the AM-5 system represented 30% of the US speaker market in the early 1990s.
In the 1980s, Origin Acoustics developed the first residential in-wall subwoofer named Composer. It used an aluminum 10-inch (25.4 cm) driver and a foam-lined enclosure designed to be mounted directly into wall studs during the construction of a new home. The frequency response for the Composer is 30 to 250 Hz.
The popularity of the CD made it possible to add more low frequency content to recordings and satisfy a larger number of consumers. Home subwoofers grew in popularity, as they were easy to add to existing multimedia speaker setups and they were easy to position or hide.
In 2015, Damon Krukowski wrote an article entitled "Drop the Bass: A Case Against Subwoofers" for Pitchfork magazine, based on his performing experience with Galaxie 500; he argues that "for certain styles of music", especially acoustic music genres, "these low-end behemoths are actually ruining our listening experience" by reducing the clarity of the low end. In 2015, John Hunter from REL Acoustics stated that audiophiles tend to "have a love/hate relationship with subwoofers" because most subs have "awful", "entry-level" sound quality and they are used in an "inappropriate way", without integrating the bass seamlessly.
In 2018, some electronic dance music (EDM) sound systems for venues that play hardcore bass have multiple subwoofer arrays to deal with upper-bass (), mid-bass (), and "sub-bass" ().
Subwoofers use speaker Loudspeaker () typically between 8-inch (20 cm) and 21-inch (53 cm) in diameter. Some uncommon subwoofers use larger drivers, and single prototype subwoofers as large as 60-inch (152 cm) have been fabricated. On the smaller end of the spectrum, subwoofer drivers as small as 4-inch (10 cm) may be used. Small subwoofer drivers in the 4-inch range are typically used in small computer speaker systems and compact home-cinema subwoofer cabinets. The size of the driver and number of drivers in a cabinet depends on the design of the loudspeaker enclosure, the size of the cabinet, the desired sound pressure level, the lowest frequency targeted and the level of permitted distortion. The most common subwoofer driver sizes used for sound reinforcement in nightclubs, raves and pop/rock concerts are 10-, 12-, 15- and 18-inch models (25 cm, 30 cm, 38 cm, and 45 cm respectively). The largest available sound reinforcement subwoofers, 21-inch (53 cm) drivers, are less commonly seen.
The reference efficiency of a loudspeaker system in its passband is given by:
where is the speed of sound in air and the variables are Thiele/Small parameters: is the resonance frequency of the driver, is the volume of air having the same acoustic compliance as the driver suspension, and is the driver at considering the electrical DC resistance of the driver voice coil. Deep low-frequency extension is a common goal for a subwoofer and small box volumes are also considered desirable, to save space and reduce the size for ease of transportation (in the case of sound reinforcement and DJ subwoofers). Hofmann's "Iron Law" therefore mandates low efficiency under those constraints, and indeed most subwoofers require considerable power, much more than other individual drivers.
So, for the example of a closed-box loudspeaker system, the box volume to achieve a given total of the system is proportional to :
where is the system compliance ratio given by the ratio of the driver compliance and the enclosure compliance, which can be written as:
where is the system resonance frequency.
Therefore, a decrease in box volume (i.e., a smaller speaker cabinet) and the same will decrease the efficiency of the subwoofer. The normalized half-power frequency of a closed-box loudspeaker system is given by:
Here we note that if , then .
As the efficiency is proportional to , small improvements in low-frequency extension with the same driver and box volume will result in very significant reductions in efficiency. For these reasons, subwoofers are typically very inefficient at converting electrical energy into sound energy. This combination of factors accounts for the higher amplifier power required to drive subwoofers, and the requirement for greater power handling for subwoofer drivers. Enclosure variations (e.g., bass reflex designs with a port in the cabinet) are often used for subwoofers to increase the efficiency of the driver/enclosure system, helping to reduce the amplifier power requirements. Vented-box loudspeaker systems have a maximum theoretical efficiency that is 2.9 dB greater than that of the closed-box system.
Subwoofers are typically constructed by mounting one or more woofers in a cabinet of medium-density fibreboard (MDF), oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, fiberglass, aluminum or other stiff materials. Because of the high air pressure that they produce in the cabinet, subwoofer enclosures often require internal bracing to distribute the resulting forces.
Subwoofers have been designed using a number of enclosure approaches: bass reflex (with a port or vent), using a subwoofer and one or more passive radiator speakers in the enclosure, acoustic suspension (sealed enclosure), infinite baffle, Horn loudspeaker, tapped horn, transmission line and bandpass. Each enclosure type has advantages and disadvantages in terms of efficiency increase, bass extension, cabinet size, distortion, and cost.
Multiple enclosure types may even be combined in a single design, such as in computer audio with the subwoofer design of the Labtec LCS-2424 (later acquired by Logitech and used for their Z340/Z540/Z640/Z3/Z4), which is a (primitive) passive radiator bandpass enclosure with a bass reflex dividing chamber.
While not necessarily an enclosure type, isobaric (such as push-pull) coupled loading of two drivers has sometimes been used in subwoofer products of computer, home cinema and sound reinforcement class, and also DIY versions in automotive applications, to provide relatively deep bass for their size. Self-contained "isobaric-like" driver assemblies have been manufactured since the 2010s.
The smallest subwoofers are typically those designed for desktop multimedia systems. The largest common subwoofer enclosures are those used for concert sound reinforcement systems or dance club sound systems. An example of a large concert subwoofer enclosure is the 1980s-era Electro-Voice MT-4 "Bass Cube" system, which used four 18-inch (45 cm) drivers. An example of a subwoofer that uses a bass horn is the Bassmaxx B-Two, which loads an 18-inch (45 cm) driver onto an long folded horn. Folded horn-type subwoofers can typically produce a deeper range with greater efficiency than the same driver in an enclosure that lacks a horn. However, folded horn cabinets are typically larger and heavier than front-firing enclosures, so folded horns are less commonly used. Some experimental fixed-installation subwoofer horns have been constructed using brick and concrete to produce a very long horn that allows a very deep sub-bass extension.
Subwoofer output level can be increased by increasing cone surface area or by increasing cone excursion. Since large drivers require undesirably large cabinets, most subwoofer drivers have large excursions. Unfortunately, high excursion, at high power levels, tends to produce more distortion from inherent mechanical and magnetic effects in electro-dynamic drivers (the most common sort). The conflict between assorted goals can never be fully resolved; subwoofer designs necessarily involve tradeoffs and compromises. Hofmann's Iron Law (the efficiency of a woofer system is directly proportional to its cabinet volume (as in size) and to the cube of its cutoff frequency, that is how low in pitch it will go) applies to subwoofers just as it does to all loudspeakers. Thus, a subwoofer enclosure designer aiming at the deepest-pitched bass will probably have to consider using a large enclosure size; a subwoofer enclosure designer instructed to create the smallest possible cabinet (to make transportation easier) will need to compromise how low in pitch their cabinet will go.
Subwoofers also vary in regard to the sound pressure levels achievable and the distortion levels that they produce over their range. Some subwoofers, such as The Abyss by MartinLogan for example, can reproduce pitches down to around (which is about the pitch of the lowest rumbling notes on a huge pipe organ with 16 Hz bass pipes) to (±3 dB). Nevertheless, even though the Abyss subwoofer can go down to , its lowest frequency and maximum SPL with a limit of 10% distortion is and at . This means that a person choosing a subwoofer needs to consider more than just the lowest pitch that the subwoofer can reproduce.
'Passive subwoofers' have a subwoofer driver and enclosure, but they do not include an amplifier. They sometimes incorporate internal passive crossovers, with the filter frequency determined at the factory. These are generally used with third-party power amplifiers, taking their inputs from active crossovers earlier in the signal chain. Inexpensive home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) packages often come with a passive subwoofer cabinet that is amplified by the multi-channel amplifier. While few high-end home-cinema systems use passive subwoofers, this format is still popular in the professional sound industry.
Some systems use parametric equalization in an attempt to correct for room frequency response irregularities. Equalization is often unable to achieve flat frequency response at all listening locations, in part because of the resonance (i.e. standing wave) patterns at low frequencies in nearly all rooms. Careful positioning of the subwoofer within the room can also help flatten the frequency response. Multiple subwoofers can manage a flatter general response since they can often be arranged to excite room modes more evenly than a single subwoofer, allowing equalization to be more effective.
Continuously variable phase control circuits are common in subwoofer amplifiers, and may be found in crossovers and as do-it-yourself electronics projects. Phase controls allow the listener to change the arrival time of the subwoofer sound waves relative to the same frequencies from the main speakers (i.e. at and around the crossover point to the subwoofer). A similar effect can be achieved with the delay control on many home-cinema receivers. The subwoofer phase control found on many subwoofer amplifiers is actually a polarity inversion switch. It allows users to reverse the polarity of the subwoofer relative to the audio signal it is being given. This type of control allows the subwoofer to either be in phase with the source signal, or 180 degrees out of phase.
The subwoofer phase can still be changed by moving the subwoofer closer to or further from the listening position, however this may not be always practical.
Servo-controlled subwoofers are not the same as Tom Danley's ServoDrive subwoofers, whose primary mechanism of sound reproduction avoids the normal voice coil and magnet combination in favor of a high-speed belt-driven servomotor. The ServoDrive design increases output power, reduces harmonic distortion and virtually eliminates power compression, the loss of loudspeaker output that results from an increase in voice coil impedance due to overheating of the voice coil. This feature allows high-power operation for extended periods of time. Intersonics was nominated for a TEC Award for its ServoDrive Loudspeaker (SDL) design in 1986 and for the Bass Tech 7 model in 1990.
Frequencies which are sufficiently low are not easily localized by humans, hence many stereo and multichannel audio systems feature only one subwoofer channel and a single subwoofer can be placed off-center without affecting the perceived sound stage, since the sound that it produces will be difficult to localize. The intention in a system with a subwoofer is often to use small main speakers (of which there are two for stereo and five or more for surround sound or movie tracks) and to hide the subwoofer elsewhere (e.g., behind furniture or under a table), or to augment an existing speaker to save it from having to handle woofer-destroying low frequencies at high levels. This effect is possible only if the subwoofer is restricted to quite low frequencies, usually taken to be, say, and below—still less localization is possible if restricted to even lower maximum frequencies. Higher upper limits for the subwoofer (e.g., ) are much more easily localized, making a single subwoofer impractical. Home-cinema systems typically use one subwoofer cabinet (the "1" in 5.1 surround sound). However, to "improve bass distribution in a room that has multiple seating locations, and prevent nulls with weakened bass response, some home-cinema enthusiasts use 5.2- or 7.2- or 9.2-channel surround sound systems with two subwoofer cabinets in the same room.
Some users add a subwoofer because high levels of low-frequency bass are desired, even beyond what is in the original recording, as in the case of house music enthusiasts. Thus, subwoofers may be part of a package that includes satellite speakers, may be purchased separately, or may be built into the same cabinet as a conventional speaker system. For instance, some floor-standing tower speakers include a subwoofer driver in the lower portion of the same cabinet. Physical separation of subwoofer and satellite speakers not only allows placement in an inconspicuous location, but since sub-bass frequencies are particularly sensitive to room location (due to room resonances and reverberation 'modes'), the best position for the subwoofer is not likely to be where the satellite speakers are located.
Higher end home-cinema systems and enthusiasts may also opt to take low-frequency bass reproduction even further by incorporating two or more external subwoofers. Having two subwoofers placed around the room ensures even distribution of bass, reducing subwoofer localization and pressurizing the room with low frequency notes that can be felt, just like the cinemas.
For greatest efficiency and best coupling to the room's air volume, subwoofers can be placed in a corner of the room, far from large room openings, and closer to the listener. This is possible since low bass frequencies have a long wavelength; hence there is little difference between the information reaching a listener's left and right ears, and so they cannot be readily localized. All low-frequency information is sent to the subwoofer. However, unless the sound tracks have been carefully mixed for a single subwoofer channel, it is possible to have some cancellation of low frequencies if bass information in one channel's speaker is out of phase with another.
The physically separate subwoofer/satellite arrangement, with small satellite speakers and a large subwoofer cabinet that can be hidden behind furniture, has been popularized by multimedia speaker systems such as Bose Acoustimass Home Entertainment Systems, Polk Audio RM2008 Series and Klipsch Audio Technologies ProMedia, among many others.
Low-cost HTIB systems advertise their integration and simplicity. Particularly among lower-cost HTIB systems and with , however, the inclusion of a subwoofer may be little more than a marketing technique. It is unlikely that a small woofer in an inexpensively built compact plastic cabinet will have better bass performance than well-designed conventional (and typically larger) speakers in a plywood or MDF cabinet. Mere use of the term "subwoofer" is no guarantee of good or extended bass performance. Many multimedia subwoofers might better be termed "mid-bass cabinets" (80 to ), as they are too small to produce deep bass in the typical 20 to range.
Further, poorly designed systems often leave everything below about (or even higher) to the subwoofer, meaning that the subwoofer handles frequencies which the ear can use for sound source localization, thus introducing an undesirable subwoofer "localization effect". This is usually due to poor crossover designs or choices (too high a crossover point or insufficient crossover slope) used in many computer and home-cinema systems; localization also comes from port noise and from typically large amounts of harmonic distortion in the subwoofer design. Home subwoofers sold individually usually include Audio crossover circuitry to assist with the integration of the subwoofer into an existing system.
In the 2000s, several car audio manufacturers produced subwoofers using non-circular shapes, including Boston Acoustic, Kicker, Sony, Bazooka, and X-Tant. Other major car audio manufacturers like Rockford Fosgate did not follow suit since non-circular subwoofer shapes typically carry some sort of distortion penalties. In situations of limited mounting space they provide a greater cone area and assuming all other variables are constant, greater maximum output. An important factor in the "square sub vs round sub" argument is the effects of the enclosure used. In a sealed enclosure, the maximum displacement is determined by
where
Tom Horral, a Boston-based acoustician, blames complaints about modern movies being too loud on subwoofers. He says that before subwoofers made it possible to have loud, relatively undistorted bass, movie sound levels were limited by the distortion in less capable systems at low frequency and high levels.
Consumer applications (as in home use) are considerably less demanding due to much smaller listening space and lower playback levels. Subwoofers are now almost universal in professional sound applications such as live concert sound, churches, nightclubs, and theme parks. certified to the THX standard for playback always include high-capability subwoofers. Some professional applications require subwoofers designed for very high sound levels, using multiple 12-, 15-, 18- or 21-inch drivers (30 cm, 40 cm, 45 cm, 53 cm respectively). Drivers as small as 10-inch (25 cm) are occasionally used, generally in horn-loaded enclosures.
The number of subwoofer enclosures used in a concert depends on a number of factors, including the size of the venue, whether it is indoors or outdoors, the amount of low-frequency content in the band's sound, the desired volume of the concert, and the design and construction of the enclosures (e.g., direct-radiating versus horn-loaded). A tiny coffeehouse may only need a single 10-inch subwoofer cabinet to augment the bass provided by the full-range speakers. A small bar may use one or two direct-radiating 15-inch (40 cm) subwoofer cabinets. A large dance club may have a row of four or five twin 18-inch (45 cm) subwoofer cabinets, or more. In the largest stadium venues, there may be a very large number of subwoofer enclosures. For example, the 2009–2010 U2 360° Tour used 24 Clair Brothers BT-218 subwoofers (a double 18-inch (45 cm) box) around the perimeter of the central circular stage, and 72 proprietary Clair Brothers cardioid S4 subwoofers placed underneath the ring-shaped "B" stage which encircles the central main stage.
The main speakers may be 'flown' from the ceiling of a venue on chain hoists, and 'flying points' (i.e. attachment points) are built into many professional loudspeaker enclosures. Subwoofers can be flown or stacked on the ground near the stage. One of the reasons subwoofers may be installed on the ground is that on-the-ground installation can increase the bass performance, particularly if the subwoofer is placed in the corner of a room (conversely, if a subwoofer cabinet is perceived as too loud, alternatives to on-the-ground or in-corner installation may be considered). There can be more than 50 double-18-inch (45 cm) cabinets in a typical rock concert system. Just as consumer subwoofer enclosures can be made of medium-density fibreboard (MDF), oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, plastic or other dense material, professional subwoofer enclosures can be built from the same materials. MDF is commonly used to construct subwoofers for permanent installations as its density is relatively high and weatherproofing is not a concern. Other permanent installation subwoofers have used very thick plywood: the Altec Lansing 8182 (1981) used 7-ply 28 mm birch-faced oak plywood. Touring subwoofers are typically built from 18–20 mm thick void-free Baltic birch (Betula pendula or Betula pubescens) plywood from Finland, Estonia or Russia; such plywood affords greater strength for frequently transported enclosures. Not naturally weatherproof, Baltic birch is coated with carpet, thick paint or spray-on truck bedliner to give the subwoofer enclosures greater durability.
Touring subwoofer cabinets are typically designed with features that facilitate moving the enclosure (e.g., wheels, a "towel bar" handle and recessed handles), a protective grille for the speaker (in direct radiating-style cabinets), metal or plastic protection for the cabinets to protect the finish as the cabinets are being slid one on top of another, and hardware to facilitate stacking the cabinets (e.g., interlocking corners) and for "flying" the cabinets from stage rigging. In the 2000s, many small- to mid-size subwoofers designed for bands' live sound use and DJ applications are "powered subs"; that is, they have an integrated power amplifier. These models typically have a built-in crossover. Some models have a metal-reinforced hole in which a speaker pole can be mounted for elevating full-frequency range cabinets.
A second method of rear delay array combines end-fire topology with polarity reversal, using two subwoofers positioned front to back, the drivers spaced one-quarter wavelength apart, the rear enclosure inverted in polarity and delayed by a few milliseconds for maximum cancellation on stage of the target frequency. This method has the least output power directed toward the audience, compared to other directional methods.
The end-fire array trades a few decibels of output power for directionality, so it requires more enclosures for the same output power as a tight-packed, flat-fronted array of enclosures. Sixteen enclosures in four rows were used in 2007 at one of the stages of the Ultra Music Festival, to reduce low-frequency interference to neighboring stages. Because of the physical size of the end-fire array, few concert venues are able to implement it. The output pattern suffers from comb-filtering off-axis, but can be further shaped by adjusting the frequency response of each row of subwoofers.
Horn-loaded subwoofers have a subwoofer speaker that has a pathway following the loudspeaker. To save space, the pathway is often folded, so that the folded pathway will fit into a box-style cabinet. Cerwin-Vega states that its folded horn subwoofer cabinets, "...on average, produce 6dB more output at 1 watt than a dual 18-inch vented box" giving "four times the output with half the number of drivers". The Cerwin-Vega JE-36C has a five feet long folded horn chamber length in the wooden cabinet.
Manifold subwoofers have two or more subwoofer speakers that feed the throat of a single horn. This increases SPL for the subwoofer, at the cost of increased distortion. EV has a manifold speaker cabinet in which four drivers are mounted as close together as practical. This is a different design than the "multiple drivers in one throat" approach. An unusual example of manifold subwoofer design is the Thomas Mundorf (TM) approach of having four subwoofers facing each other and sitting close together, which is used for theater in the round shows, where the audience surrounds the performers in a big circle (e.g., Metallica has used this in some concerts). The TM approach produces an omnidirectional bass sound. Cerwin-Vega defines a manifold enclosure as one in which "...the driver faces into a tuned ported cavity. You hear sound directly from the back of the driver in addition to the sound that emanates out of the port. This type of enclosure design extends the frequency capability of the driver lower than it would reproduce by itself."
Bandpass subwoofers have a sealed cabinet within another cabinet, with the "outer" cabinet typically having a vent or port.
Bass guitar players who may use subwoofer cabinets include performers who play with extended range basses that include a low "B" string (about 31 Hz), bassists who play in styles where a very powerful sub-bass response is an important part of the sound (e.g., funk, Latin, gospel, R & B, etc.), and/or bass players who perform in stadium-size venues or large outdoor venues. Keyboard players who use subwoofers for on-stage monitoring include Hammond organ players who use bass (which go down to a low "C" which is about 33 Hz) and synth bass players who play rumbling sub-bass parts that go as low as 18 Hz. Of all of the keyboard instruments that are amplified onstage, synthesizers can produce some of the lowest pitches, because unlike a traditional electric piano or electric organ, which have as their lowest notes a low "A" and a low "C", respectively, a synth does not have a fixed lowest octave. A synth player can add lower octaves to a patch by pressing an "octave down" button, which can produce pitches that are at the limits of human hearing.
Several concert sound subwoofer manufacturers suggest that their subs can be used for bass instrument amplification. Meyer Sound suggests that its 650-R2 Concert Series Subwoofer, a enclosure with two 18-inch drivers (45 cm), can be used for bass instrument amplification. While performers who use concert sound subwoofers for onstage monitoring may like the powerful sub-bass sound that they get onstage, sound engineers may find the use of large subwoofers (e.g., two 18-inch drivers (45 cm)) for onstage instrument monitoring to be problematic, because it may interfere with the "Front of House" sub-bass sound.
The advantage of tactile transducers used for low frequencies is that they allow a listening environment that is not filled with loud low-frequency sound waves in the air. This helps the drummer in a rock music band to monitor their kick drum performance without filling the stage with powerful, loud low-frequency sound from a 15-inch (40 cm) subwoofer monitor and an amplifier, which can "leak" into other drum mics and lower the quality of the sound mix. By not having a large, powerful subwoofer monitor, a bass shaker also enables a drummer to lower the sound pressure levels that they are exposed to during a performance, reducing the risk of hearing damage. For home cinema or video game use, bass shakers help the user avoid disturbing others in nearby apartments or rooms, because even powerful sound effects such as explosion sounds in a war video game or the simulated rumbling of an earthquake in an adventure film will not be heard by others. However, some critics argue that the felt vibrations are disconnected from the auditory experience, and they claim that that music is less satisfying with the "butt shaker" than sound effects. As well, critics have claimed that the bass shaker itself can rattle during loud sound effects, which can distract the listener.
A diesel generator is housed within the enclosure to supply electricity when external power is unavailable. At the annual National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) convention in March 2007, the Matterhorn was barred from making any loud demonstrations of its power because of concerns about damaging the building of the Orange County Convention Center. Instead, using only a single 20 amp electrical circuit for safety, visitors were allowed to step inside the horn of the subwoofer for an "acoustic massage" as the fractionally powered Matterhorn reproduced low level 10–15 Hz waves.
Still unfinished, the vehicle was entered in an SPL competition in 1997 at which a complaint was lodged against the computer control of the DC motor. Instead of using the controller, two leads were touched together in the hope that the motor speed was set correctly. The drive shaft broke after one positive stroke which created an interior pressure wave of 162 dB. The Concept Design 60-inch was not shown in public after 1998.
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