Best 8 inch subwoofer for car

Every music lover of techno, rock and hip hop knows that his music needs a lot of bass. In a car, are rarely so good speakers that the car ride becomes a real sound experience. The solution to this problem is a car subwoofer.

Among speakers, a subwoofer is the specialist for bass and makes the sound more powerful, more pleasant, and simply better.

But which car subwoofer is the best for you and your car? Do you prefer a bass reflex or a bandpass? What size should be a subwoofer? You can find out all these questions and much more in this car subwoofer review.

For everyday use in cars, subwoofers from 8 to 18 inches are used. To more rare instances, we can refer to models with a basket size of 6.5, 21, 23 inches. When choosing a subwoofer for a car, it is important to pay attention to the ratio of the size of the moving part to the magnet system. The smaller the first element – the higher the coli of the moving part. Accordingly, there will be no delay in the bass kick.

Therefore, smaller models are more oriented toward fast, moving music.

If the moving part is larger than 15″, it is harder for the magnetic system to push it, and delays in bass kicks will be more significant. At the same time, the larger the cone, the louder the subwoofer, because it creates more sound pressure.

Main characteristics

• Performance – each model has a maximum and a power rating. The first indicates the potential that the subwoofer can realize without breaking, but it is not used all the time, so it is not worth considering. Nominal power is the real efficiency of reproducing clear sound without distortion. When choosing a subwoofer for your car, pay attention to this very characteristic. The optimal figure is from 150 to 300 watts, depending on the cost.
• Sensitivity – sound pressure, measured in dB. The more sensitivity the speaker has, the better;
• Resonance frequency – the optimal value is 25 to 35 Hz. A great frequency for a car subwoofer;
• Equivalent air volume – the value depends on the stiffness of the suspension and the diameter of the cone.

Active and passive subwoofers

They differ in design features:

• Active subwoofer – in addition to the speaker has a built-in amplifier. To install such a device, you only need to run a cable under the trim. The rated power of such a device can range from 80 watts. The advantage is simple installation, ready to assemble. You do not have to buy and connect an amplifier separately. The minus is that such products are standard.
• Passive subwoofer – is not equipped with an amplifier. In order to connect it you will have to buy an item, taking into account your interests and free space in the car. The power of the amplifier is selected taking into account the subwoofer’s performance. When choosing a passive subwoofer, as a rule, amplifiers from 300 to 400 watts are used.

8 Inch Subwoofer – Best Choice

Best 8″ Subwoofers  on the market:

What types were considered in the car subwoofer review?

Closed cabinet

Closed Enclosure to the closed enclosure, the air must be compressed for each bass in the enclosure. This requires a lot of power. Therefore, the power must be high to achieve good precision. Due to this feature, the efficiency is not as good as the other two types of enclosures. But a big advantage is that it has a small enclosure, produces a good sound and has an almost linear frequency response. The closed cabinet should be used for slow music genres where there is little singing and a lot of bass. Typical music genres for a closed cabinet are techno, house, rock and pop.

Bass reflex enclosure

The bass reflex is a mixture of closed cabinet and bandpass. The cabinet has an opening with a tube in its housing, the so-called bass reflex tube. Through this, enough air can flow into and out of the housing. This allows the subwoofer to achieve good precision and better efficiency over the entire frequency response, even with less power. Unfortunately, this type of enclosure needs a lot of space and costs a corner more compared to the closed enclosure. The recommended music genre for the bass reflex enclosure is a faster music with not so strong bass. Music genres such as R’n’B, Soul, Black and Hip Hop fall under these categories.

Bandpass

The bandpass is the only type that has the diaphragm in the enclosure and also has a bass reflex tube. The bandpass has a special feature that no one can imitate him so quickly. It has an incredibly strong bass, which it plays specifically in a small frequency range. The other two types play a clean bass over the complete frequency response. There is no recommended music direction from us for a bandpass. The reason is simple, it can play all genres of music well because it is a mix of the two. If you want an incredibly strong bass, you use a bandpass. On the other hand, if you want a good sound or vocals, you’re better off with one of the other two cabinets.

Is a good sound or a fat bass important to you?

Do you want a great sound or should the bass make the street shake? The decisive key figures are the power [Wrms] (=Watt RMS) and the efficiency [dB] (=decibel). The power tells you how much force the subwoofer can unleash. The more Wrms it has, the stronger it can reproduce the bass. You should always pay attention to the Wrms and not to the maximum power Wmax (Watt maximum). The difference is that the Wrms is the average power over a longer period of time. The Wmax, on the other hand, are only the maximum power for a single stroke (peak). So it doesn’t help you if the subwoofer delivers a peak power beyond good and evil for a short time, but the power is otherwise insufficient.

The second key figure is the efficiency. The higher it is, the better and cleaner the sound. Double voice coils also bring an additional advantage, because they provide a more precise and stronger sound. In short, if you are looking for a subwoofer with strong bass, you should start looking in a range from 400 Wrms. If you want a good sound, the dB should be high. In general, the value should not fall below 90 dB. What is also crucial is the right accessories. Each membrane is made of a different material (e.g. coated paper, aluminum, etc.) and therefore has different properties.

Conclusion

If you’re just thinking about buying an 8″ subwoofer or want some extra bass on the road, an 8″ subwoofer is the perfect solution. Not only do these subwoofers have a good price, but they’re also pretty easy to install compared to larger subwoofers.

This is a great way to add decent bass for those who are limited on space and money.