Best Car Subwoofers of 2018

The hammer of absolutely any quality car audio system on the planet, it is next to impossible to call yourself a serious car audio enthusiast without knowing absolutely everything there is to know about the best subwoofer options on the market. Of course, if you are brand-new to the game of high quality car audio, the odds are pretty good that you haven’t spent quite as much time researching all of the best subwoofer brand options out there – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

We are going to help give you a bit of a “cheat sheet” here so that you can hit the ground running when it comes to choosing from amongst the best subwoofers in the best car subwoofer brand options on the planet, giving you every edge and advantage to create a killer system at any price point.

Best Subwoofers on the market in 2017

Best seller Rockford Fosgate P300-10 Powered Subwoofer

Rockford Fosgate P300-10 Powered Subwoofer

All-inclusive solution for boosting sound quality Do you crave to incorporate some bass in your automobile to bring ...

User rating:
9.5
Editor choice 2 Kicker Hideaway Compact Powered Sub

Kicker Hideaway Compact Powered Sub

Bass that'll fit almost anywhere If someone told you that you could get high quality bass sound with a tiny compact ...

User rating:
9
3 Kenwood KSC-SW11 Powered Subwoofer

Kenwood KSC-SW11 Powered Subwoofer

Powerful bass in a miniature package Kenwood's KSC-SW11 fueled subwoofer looks undersized, but it proves that size has ...

User rating:
8
Best price 4 PIONEER TS-SWX2502 10-Inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer

PIONEER TS-SWX2502 10-Inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer

Tight on space? Are you looking for hard-hitting bass from a tiny enclosure? You may try Pioneer’s TS-SWX2502. The ...

User rating:
7.5
5 Kicker TCompS 40TCWS104

Kicker TCompS 40TCWS104

High-performance CompSTM Loaded Enclosures are factory-tuned and vented for loud, great-sounding bass ready to install ...

User rating:
6.5

What about sub boxes and enclosures?

The next thing that you are going to have to really focus on is making sure that your best car subwoofer choice is going to actually fit in your vehicle in the first place.

Most people go with a single 15 inch subwoofer for their “first time around”, but others decide to really crank things up to 11 and set up dual 15 inch subwoofers – never really considering whether or not the subwoofer box or the subwoofer enclosure is going to completely destroy the utility of their vehicle along the way.

This isn’t something that you can’t afford to sleep on.

At the same time, realize that (by creating your own subwoofer boxes or subwoofer enclosures) you might be able to squeeze dual 15 inch subs into the same amount of space that a single 13 inch fit in previously, all because you jerryrigged your own sub box enclosure. If you’re handy, that’s definitely the way to go.

Completely custom car subwoofer set up or something “off the rack”?

custom subwoofers for cars custom subwoofers for cars

The first thing that you are going to need to figure out when you are getting ready to purchase subwoofers for cars is whether or not you are comfortable creating a completely custom subwoofer/sound system or whether you would rather go with something a little bit more “off the rack” and already assembled for you.

For obvious reasons, an off the rack kind of setup – a “big box” of stereo, audio, and speaker systems that include a woofer or two – is going to be a lot easier to get started with then creating a completely custom set of components from the ground up. This is especially true if you don’t have any experience in this arena.

Not only that, but the best subwoofer brand options out there have put together some pretty killer component systems that you can “drag-and-drop” right into your vehicle and get really, really solid results. These “big box” setups are much better today than they ever were in the past.

At the same time, you are never going to be able to have the kind of customization, freedom, and versatility options with a big box set up that you would creating a system from the ground up. It just isn’t possible to have that free reign.

If you want to be 100% sure that your sound system is as good as it gets, set up with perfect impedance, voice coil setups, just enough power for everything to really sing without using up too much juice, etc., you are going to want to go with the best subwoofer system you can cook up in your mind.

How do you plan to power your new subwoofer?

There are two major choices when it comes to powering your new subwoofer:

  • You can go with the best subwoofer on the market that requires you to run wires throughout your vehicle, into an amplifier (or two) and then back again or
  • You can go with a powered sub from one of the best subwoofer brand options out there as an “all-in-one” kind of setup

There are different advantages and disadvantages to both of these options, though most would feel very comfortable recommending a “standalone” subwoofer as the best car subwoofer as opposed to the powered options just because of the flexibility, versatility, and “authenticity” that they bring to the table.

On top of that, they are much, much smaller than any powered subwoofer.

Putting all of the puzzle pieces together to create something really, really special

All things considered, you are going to have a lot of different choices and opportunities in front of you when it comes time to buy subwoofers for cars. Hopefully you find the inside information above useful, and use the tips and tricks we’ve shared to find the best subwoofer set up for your specific needs!

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