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Subwoofers

The low end you feel. Compare verified specs, real pricing and home-theater compatibility across every model we track.

The subwoofer carries the bass you feel — the bottom octaves that give film soundtracks their scale — and it's the component where spec-sheet fine print misleads most. Two design choices define every model below: the enclosure (sealed boxes stay tight and compact; ported boxes trade size for deeper, louder output per watt) and the rated low-frequency reach, which is only comparable when the tolerance matches — a "32 Hz at −6 dB" rating is a looser yardstick than "20 Hz ±3 dB", so we show the stated figures and refuse the cross-tolerance math the sheets don't support. Amplifier power, driver size, and app/room-tuning features round out the picture, all recorded from stated specs with per-field provenance. Prices are live estimates from tracked retailers, cheapest first. The honest sizing advice: small rooms need less sub than the internet insists, and two modest subs beat one big one in most rooms.

169 of 169 tracked
10" driverdown to 10 Hz
$5,800
list price
12" driver
$5,999
list price
12" driverdown to 9 Hz
$7,200
list price
KEF Reference 8bMFR-VERIFIED
9" driverdown to 24 Hz
$9,000
list price
12" sealed
$9,000
list price
15" sealeddown to 15 Hz
$10,000
list price
REL Acoustics T/5xMFR-VERIFIED
8" sealeddown to 32 Hz
powered activedown to 24 Hz
Yamaha NS-SW300MFR-VERIFIED
10" ported bass reflexdown to 20 Hz
10" sealeddown to 24 Hz
10" ported bass reflexdown to 22 Hz
Rythmik Audio L12MFR-VERIFIED
12" sealeddown to 18 Hz
15" driverdown to 20 Hz
10" ported bass reflexdown to 24 Hz
SVS PB-4000MFR-VERIFIED
13.5" ported bass reflex
21" ported bass reflexdown to 5 Hz
Klipsch SPL-150MFR-VERIFIED
15" ported bass reflexdown to 18 Hz
15" sealeddown to 17 Hz
13.8" sealeddown to 17 Hz
13.8" ported bass reflexdown to 17 Hz
12.2" sealeddown to 19 Hz
12.2" ported bass reflexdown to 16 Hz
13" sealeddown to 17 Hz
ELAC Muro SUB2010MFR-VERIFIED
8" driverdown to 38 Hz
ELAC Muro SUB2020MFR-VERIFIED
10" driverdown to 35 Hz
10" ported bass reflexdown to 35 Hz
10" sealed
12" sealeddown to 26 Hz
15" sealed
ELAC Varro PS250MFR-VERIFIED
10" ported bass reflexdown to 27 Hz
ELAC Varro PS350MFR-VERIFIED
12" ported bass reflexdown to 24 Hz
ELAC Varro PS500MFR-VERIFIED
15" ported bass reflexdown to 20 Hz
ELAC Varro RS500MFR-VERIFIED
10" sealeddown to 18 Hz
ELAC Varro RS700MFR-VERIFIED
12" sealeddown to 17 Hz
ELAC Varro DS1000MFR-VERIFIED
10" sealeddown to 18 Hz
ELAC Varro DS1200MFR-VERIFIED
12" sealeddown to 17 Hz
10" sealed
Q Acoustics 3060SMFR-VERIFIED
8" sealeddown to 35 Hz
21" ported bass reflexdown to 5 Hz
15" ported bass reflexdown to 13 Hz
13.8" sealeddown to 18 Hz
13.8" ported bass reflexdown to 15 Hz
6.5" bandpassdown to 35 Hz
Klipsch R-100SWMFR-VERIFIED
10" driver
Klipsch R-10SWiMFR-VERIFIED
10" driver
12" ported bass reflexdown to 20 Hz
10" sealeddown to 20 Hz
Compared in this department
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Buying subwoofers — common questions

Sealed or ported — which subwoofer should you get?

Sealed for music, mixed use, apartments and small rooms: gentle roll-off, tighter sound, smaller box. Ported for maximum movie-bass output per dollar in bigger rooms — with a steep drop below the port's tuning. Neither is better; they're tuned for different jobs. The full trade-off.

How low does a subwoofer need to go?

A sub rated to 20 Hz reproduces the sub-bass you feel more than hear; one that stops near 30 Hz covers nearly all music and most movie content but softens the deepest effects. Check the tolerance too — a −6 dB rating isn't comparable to a ±3 dB one, and we display them as stated rather than converting.

Are two subwoofers better than one?

In most rooms, yes. Every room has spots where bass piles up and spots where it vanishes; two modest subs placed apart average out those peaks and nulls across the whole couch far better than one expensive box. At the same total spend, the pair usually wins.