The centerpiece of pretty much any quality car audio system, you are going to need to be sure that the 15 inch subwoofer you have installed in your vehicle is able to kick as hard as you want it to while still producing the best quality sound across the board.
This means sorting through all of the different options (of which there are literally hundreds and hundreds, all from different manufacturers and all promising the moon and the stars as far as quality and consistency is concerned), a challenge that becomes significantly easier when you use this quick guide to 15 inch subwoofers.
Shall we jump right in?
The very first thing that you are going to want to do when searching for a 15 inch subwoofer is to determine whether or not a 15 inch subwoofer makes the most sense for your setup in the first place.Finding the best 15 inch subwoofer on the market today is easier than you might think it is
Believe it or not you might not want to add a big 15 inch subwoofer box to your trunk (or 2/3 of them, for that matter), especially if it’s going to produce an overkill kind of result that you aren’t looking for in the first place.
The best competition subwoofers options on the market right now are capable of producing an almost impossible level of bass, and when appropriately powered by a quality amp you’re going to be able to shake, rattle, and roll pretty much any other car on the road.
But is that something that you’re really looking to do, or do you want just a little bit extra kick when you turn the base up when you’re enjoying your favorite music? In that circumstance, even the best 15 subwoofer isn’t going to be your best choice. Then you might want to check out the best powered subwoofers, they are easy to install and don’t take that much space either.
Always (ALWAYS) consider power when purchasing a 15 inch subwoofer
If you have decided that 15 inch subs are perfect for your specific needs, you then need to shift your approach to finding an appropriate amount of power to boost those subs in the first place.
Subwoofers are the most energy hungry of all the audio components in your setup, which means you’re going to need to make sure that you can produce enough juice for your sound system – but that you can also efficiently route that juice through amplifiers and receivers to make sure that your subs are getting everything they need to live up to their reputation. If you like kicker subwoofers from above you should consider going with kicker amplifier as well, to make your system produce outstanding sound.
Be wary of any 15 inch subwoofer that promises to be “energy efficient”. These subs aren’t usually able to produce the same kind of deep sound or powerful hit/kick that you are looking for in the first place.
Sure, they might not draw that much off of the battery – but that is going to be all that big of a deal if you are dropping hundreds of dollars and aren’t happy with the sound that you are getting out of your system.
How are you going to encase your new 15 inch subwoofer?
And other key consideration that you’ll want to think about before dropping any money on 15 inch sub woofers is determining exactly how your new subs are going to be enclosed.
The overwhelming majority of “off-the-shelf” components come in their very own box and enclosure, but honestly, most of these enclosures are ripped off a factory assembly line in record speed and aren’t “tuned” to get the most out of your new subwoofers.
It’s almost always a good idea to take the time, the effort, and spend a little bit of money to build your own custom subwoofer enclosure – but not everyone has the opportunity to do so. If you do (or know someone that does), even cheap 15 inch subwoofers are going to sound like a multi-thousand dollar system when done correctly. You can read more about subwoofer enclosures in our best under seat subwoofers guide.
Putting your audio system together piece by piece
At the end of the day, you have to remember that your new subwoofers are going to be a key component in your audio system – but they remain a component. It’s impossible to get quality sound out of a system that is nothing but bass, so make sure that you are complementing your kicking subwoofers with some great car speakers throughout or you’ll regret fooling around with car audio at all!