How Big Must Your Subwoofer Be?

Just a thought. I would like to know if there is a set "standard" by which you should pick the size of your sub? Mine is a 8" polk audio PSW250, and it seems fine, but that being said....it is the only one i have ever owned. My home theater room is quite small,about 16' by about 12'. But would my system benifit from a larger more powerful sub?



Jay

yeah probably. but if your happy with what ya got there is no reason to get one, is there?

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Originally Posted by LEAFS264

Just a thought. I would like to know if there is a set "standard" by which you should pick the size of your sub? Mine is a 8" polk audio PSW250, and it seems fine, but that being said....it is the only one i have ever owned. My home theater room is quite small,about 16' by about 12'. But would my system benifit from a larger more powerful sub?
Jay

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In your room your sub might be fine for audio, but a lot of of the LFE in movies are below the frequancys that your sub is capable of. A good 12" sub is just about perfect for rooms that are your size. Sound & Vision did a test of many of the major player in this size range last year, you should see if you can get a copy of it for reference.

Thanks,i'll try to dig up the issue in my pile.And pick out a replacement.

Jay.

I think it's a matter of preference. If you listen to a lot of music, you will really appreciate the snappiness and musicality of an 8". You just can't get the same result with a 12" or 15". It also depends on the speakers you have. Small speakers are a better match w/ a small sub, generally.

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Originally Posted by stuartlittle

I think it's a matter of preference. If you listen to a lot of music, you will really appreciate the snappiness and musicality of an 8". You just can't get the same result with a 12" or 15". It also depends on the speakers you have. Small speakers are a better match w/ a small sub, generally.

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It may sound good but, an 8" sub is incapable of producing much output below 40hz or so. While it may sound nice producing in the 200hz-50hz range, technically this is the normal output range for a woofer, not a subwoofer.

Surprisingly, transient "snap" has nothing to do with woofer size, and everything to do with magnetic power vs. the mass of the moving parts of the driver. Shape, and size of the voice coil are factors too, but the simple "power to weight" ratio is a good determination.
The most musical sub I've ever heard was an 18" monster with a 24lb magnet. Of course it was only used for sub-bass augmentation, but when full range organ music was played. the effect was quite startling.