In this article, we have reviewed the best car subwoofer for the money. If you are in a hurry, the table below gives a quick snapshot or you can scroll down for the detailed reviews.
Last update on 2024-10-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Contents
The quality of music that you listen to in your car is determined by the type of music system that you have fitted in it. With the best car subwoofer for the money fitted in your car, you can enjoy wonderful stereo and bass and take your entertainment to the next awesome level.
What is a subwoofer?
A subwoofer is a type of sound system that delivers high-quality bass.
The sub-woofer focuses on the lower dB values of sound, making them ideal for amplifier units in cars, homes, and any other place depending on the size and power input.
The subwoofers can produce audible sound vibrations within the 20-60 Hz range perfectly.
There are some subwoofers that have been tuned to operate within this range, while the others can also produce sounds up to 1kHz (medium tone) perfectly.
What are the Different Types of Subwoofers?
There are two main types of subwoofers in the market; powered and passive subwoofers.
1. Passive subwoofers:
The passive subwoofers are the ones that are connected to an external source of amplified sound input.
They are commonly used in cars and small rooms, which can reflect the sound perfectly.
They are the best subwoofers for cars since they do not drain the batteries by much and also produce excellent sound at a limited capacity preventing noise and distortion.
Passive subwoofers have been common around the world for a long time.
They are much cheaper than the powered subwoofers, but it is more likely that you are going to spend more money for the amplifier.
2. Powered subwoofers:
These are the ideal choices for sound systems if you are looking forward to some great music in a large room.
The powered subwoofers have a bit more elegance and bas than the passive subwoofers. They are commonly found in homes and similar sized structures.
They are not as ideal as the passive subwoofers for use in cars since they take up much power.
Since you are looking for a car bass system, your best option is to go for the passive subwoofers.
There are however more designs of the powered subwoofers that will cater to your needs efficiently.
A car’s music system is usually fitted with an amplifier, so a good cheap subwoofer should be able to produce excellent sounds without any extra costs once attached to the car’s music system.
Best Subwoofers for The Money – Buying Guide
Getting the best subwoofer for the money is not such a hard task once you put your mind to it.
Here are some of the things that you need to look for to get the best value subwoofer:
- dB output range: The subwoofer that you are purchasing should at least be from around 20dB-80dB. This is the range that has the lowest frequencies for extreme bass output.
- Support for higher frequencies: Find a sub-woofer that can create an audible sound output when fed high frequencies (1kHz-100kHz) if you do not have a split system.
- Size: Since it is going to be used in a car, the ordinary size that is going to fit in perfectly is usually around 12″. This I actually the standard size used in cutouts and therefore a speaker of this size will fit in the cabinet perfectly.
- Power input: The speaker of your choice should have a high max power input so that you can have a loud music session without distortion.
- Cone: You should also choose a speaker with the best cones ever. Even if you are looking for the best car sub-woofer for the money, you have to keep in mind that the cone’s quality plays a great role in the sound production, so keep quality in check.
Let’s take a look at the sub woofers that can offer you these and more:
3 Best Car Subwoofer for The Money Reviewed
1. JBL GT-BassPro12 12-Inch Subwoofer System
This 12-inch JBL subwoofer produces tremendous bass without any distortion. It one of the best car subwoofer for the money that you can use with the car amplifier directly.
The subwoofer is enclosed in a die-cast aluminum basket which gives more sound effects and bass. The basket acts as the cabinet for the subwoofer, amplifying it to the maximum volume.
A slip stream port is attached to the subwoofer to cancel out port noise. The port clears out the noise to give out great bass which you will definitely enjoy without any distortions.
The port also ensures that the subwoofer performs as good as all the other great subwoofers and is therefore the best inexpensive subwoofer for you to buy for great quality.
The amplifier is matched with the subwoofer’s requirements. You can use the subwoofer without frying anything since all the power inputs will be optimal.
Another feature that makes this the best cheap subwoofer for cars is the auto-on feature. This feature switches on the subwoofer as soon as it receives the electrical signals from the head unit.
The bass is boosted by the sub-woofer system. You will enjoy the low bass at the highest quality.
The amplifier fitted into the subwoofer does not last as long as the subwoofer.
The amp dies a few months after you crank up the volume to great levels consecutively, even though the sound is perfect.
Since the subwoofer still works perfectly, the people who have used the unit have resulted to using the subwoofer directly without the amp.
- 8" JBL BassPro SL Powered Under-Seat Compact Subwoofer Enclosure | Power Output: Peak: 250 Watts | RMS: 125 Watts | Efficient Class D Amplifier | Proprietary, shallow-profile woofer
- LED power (green) and protect (red) indicators | Soft start turn-on | Speaker-level (high-level) inputs with Audio Sense Auto-on | Gold-plated Power, Ground and Remote screw-down connections | 3-way protection circuitry (thermal, overload, and speaker short protection)
- Wired Bass Remote Controller Ready, Compatible with GTO-RBC (sold separately) | Input sensitivity: Low level: 200mV - 2V | High level: 2V - 20V | Frequency Response: 35 - 120 Hz
- Variable low-pass filter: 50 - 120 Hz, 12 dB/octave | Variable Bass Boost: 0 to +9 dB bass boost at 70 Hz | Selectable Phase Switch: 0° - 180° | Maximum Current Draw: 12A
- Quiescent Current Draw: <800mA | Fuse Rating: 20 A x 1 | Dimensions: 9-7/8"W x 13-9/16"L x 2-13/16"H
Last update on 2024-10-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
2. Infinity Reference 1262w 12-Inch 1200-Watt Subwoofer
This is the best car subwoofer under $100 that you can purchase for great power and bass. The Infinity subwoofer can handle power inputs of up to 1200 watts. This is like x4 what you can get from the ordinary car audio amplifiers.
It is also among the best cheap subs that uses a 12V power input. This makes it ideal for you to use in cars, since the batteries are rated with the same power.
The sub-woofer is made with the best polypropylene woofer cone. The cone delivers the vibrations with great efficiency and also has a rubber surrounding that provides unrestricted support to the cone.
The pole-pieces are vented, allowing the core to cool even more. With this regulation of temperature, everyone can admit that it is surely one of the best budget subwoofers that you ought to have in case you need something that will work with high volumes.
This model of the Infinity subwoofers has a dual voice coil core. The double coil feature allows you to wire the speaker with more than one method of wiring.
You can connect two speakers in parallel and have each one of them operate with high efficiency without the need of bridging.
The subwoofer has a great life too. You get to enjoy the power of the subwoofer for more than just a measly year or so of that many other subwoofers afford.
You get a limited lifetime warranty of one year to cover any manufacturing defect that arises within the first year of purchase. This will assure you that it is the best cheap car subwoofer that you are going to use for quite a while.
Most of the users complain that the sub does not work well with high performance amplifiers. When you purchase the sub, you need to keep the power input at a low level so that the subwoofer does not blow up.
- 8" JBL BassPro SL Powered Under-Seat Compact Subwoofer Enclosure | Power Output: Peak: 250 Watts | RMS: 125 Watts | Efficient Class D Amplifier | Proprietary, shallow-profile woofer
- LED power (green) and protect (red) indicators | Soft start turn-on | Speaker-level (high-level) inputs with Audio Sense Auto-on | Gold-plated Power, Ground and Remote screw-down connections | 3-way protection circuitry (thermal, overload, and speaker short protection)
- Wired Bass Remote Controller Ready, Compatible with GTO-RBC (sold separately) | Input sensitivity: Low level: 200mV - 2V | High level: 2V - 20V | Frequency Response: 35 - 120 Hz
- Variable low-pass filter: 50 - 120 Hz, 12 dB/octave | Variable Bass Boost: 0 to +9 dB bass boost at 70 Hz | Selectable Phase Switch: 0° - 180° | Maximum Current Draw: 12A
- Quiescent Current Draw: <800mA | Fuse Rating: 20 A x 1 | Dimensions: 9-7/8"W x 13-9/16"L x 2-13/16"H
Last update on 2024-10-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
3. Kenwood Under Seat Super Slim Subwoofer
The Kenwood company has been known to produce the best subs for the money.
If you have been able to use the earlier subwoofers and car speakers they produce, then you must have felt the great quality the Kenwood products have.
This Kenwood under seat subwoofer is ultra slim; It is 8.25″ (L) x 5″ (W). You can fix it under the car seat and experience a balanced and noiseless blend of both bass and treble.
It can support power inputs of up to 150 watts. With sound power input in that range, the quality of the sound produced is just impeccable.
It has an aluminum diaphragm inside. The diaphragm keeps the sub from exceeding the level that it is supposed to go as the coil is being pushed.
Even though it has a small area for the vibrating core to push through, the vibrations produced can give out a perfect bass.
This is a powered sub-woofer, hence you will not even need to buy a third party amplifier, proving that it is one of the best car subwoofer for the money.
The internal amplifier can produce superb quality sounds, even when the power input has slightly dropped.
Since the power output is lower than the other models of car subwoofers, you have to bear with the 150-watt output.
This power output is great however, though the low frequencies are suppressed and you get a blend of both bass and treble.
- Class D amplifier
- 150 watts RMS power (250 watts maximum)
- Frequency response: 35-150 Hz
- Sensitivity: 81 dB
Last update on 2024-10-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Summary:
Whether it is great bass or a blend of both the highs and lows, you should get the best car subs that suits you from the three choices.
These best car subwoofers for the money have an amazing sound output and are relatively cheap compared to the other types of subwoofers in the stores.