Nenhuma atualização única de um sistema de áudio oferece uma melhoria maior na qualidade do som do que a adição de um subwoofer de áudio automotivo. Adicionar um subwoofer não apenas melhora o desempenho de baixa frequência do seu sistema de som, mas também pode melhorar a clareza de todo o sistema e aprimorar os recursos de nível de volume dos alto-falantes menores do seu carro. Nesta edição do Bang for Your Buck, veremos algumas opções populares de atualização de subwoofer disponíveis para adicionar graves ao seu veículo.
O que é um subwoofer de áudio automotivo?
Nos termos mais simples, um subwoofer é um alto-falante grande projetado para reproduzir frequências abaixo de 100 Hz em níveis de saída relativamente altos. Os subwoofers são mais comumente disponíveis em tamanhos de 10 e 12 polegadas, mas os subwoofers de 6,5, 8, 13,5 e 15 polegadas também estão prontamente disponíveis.
Para reproduzir informações de baixa frequência com autoridade, um falante precisa mover muito ar. Na verdade, para cada oitava abaixo que um alto-falante toca, ele precisa se mover quatro vezes mais para produzir o mesmo nível de volume. Se o seu sub está se movendo 1 mm para frente e para trás a 80 Hz, ele deve se mover 4 mm a 40 Hz e impressionantes 16 mm a 20 Hz. A maioria das pessoas acha uma linha de baixo pulsante de 40 a 50 Hz divertida. Dito isso, sentir o estrondo dos graves profundos como a introdução de “Boom Boom Pow” do Black Eyed Peas ou a pulsação de “Time” do Pink Floyd pode causar arrepios.
Manuseio de energia do subwoofer
A maioria das pessoas associa os subwoofers às suas capacidades de manuseio de energia. Embora não seja um fator determinante direto na qualidade de um subwoofer, o manuseio de energia
é importante em termos de escolha do subwoofer certo para o seu sistema de som. Se você quiser ouvir seu sistema de som em níveis de volume altos, precisará de amplificadores e alto-falantes potentes que possam lidar com essa potência e se mover adequadamente para reproduzir som em níveis altos. Não é surpresa que a saída e o manuseio de potência estejam diretamente relacionados, pois é preciso potência do amplificador para fazer um cone de alto-falante se mover.
A escolha do subwoofer “suficiente” depende de vários fatores. Quão alto é alto o suficiente? Quanto espaço você pode dar ao sistema de subwoofer? Qual a potência de um amplificador que o sistema elétrico do seu veículo pode suportar? Pode ser difícil escolher o submarino certo com base nesses critérios, especialmente porque veículos diferentes oferecem quantidades diferentes de ganho de cabine. Um único submarino de 10 polegadas em um gabinete selado na parte traseira de um Honda Fit seria uma solução adequada em um Cadillac Escalade ou Ford F-150 de cabine curta?
Soluções de subwoofer personalizadas
Sua melhor escolha para atualizar seu veículo com um subwoofer é fazer com que seu revendedor local especializado em eletrônica móvel projete e construa um sistema de subwoofer específico para seu veículo e suas expectativas. Este processo começará com sua entrada para determinar a quantidade de graves que você deseja. A partir daí, o projetista do sistema pode sugerir um subwoofer ou subwoofers que atendam às suas expectativas.
O próximo passo é decidir onde instalar os subs. O mais simples dos gabinetes personalizados seria um gabinete de madeira retangular que fica no porta-malas ou na área de carga do seu veículo. As dimensões do gabinete podem ser otimizadas para aproveitar ao máximo o espaço disponível. Essa otimização pode incluir a inclinação da parte traseira do gabinete para seguir o ângulo dos assentos.
Dependendo de seus objetivos e expectativas, você pode optar por ter o gabinete acabado em um material que combine com o interior. Para uma aparência mais personalizada, você pode querer o gabinete envolto em vinil da mesma cor e granulação dos painéis de acabamento do seu veículo.
Se você quer algo realmente único, pergunte sobre a inclusão de iluminação LED no gabinete. Você pode optar por adicionar uma janela de Lexan ou Plexiglas e iluminar o interior do gabinete ou adicionar peças de destaque de plástico acrílico que acendem. Atualizações nesse nível geralmente são combinadas com gabinetes acabados com vários materiais – diferentes cores de vinil podem fornecer cosméticos incríveis.
Designs avançados de gabinete de subwoofer
The next step, beyond a simple wooden enclosure, would be one that is shaped to fit the unique contours of your vehicle. Enclosures of this type are often built using a combination of wood and fiberglass or layers of wood that are stacked one on top of another to create complex contours. The most-common application like this is where a subwoofer is being fitted into the corner of a trunk or hatch area, but is also often placed under the trunk floor in a spare tire well. The passenger-side footwell of a two-seat vehicle is another popular location for this type of enclosure.
Due to the complexity of these enclosures, they will typically cost more. The trade-off is that they integrate better into your vehicle – providing you with the acoustic performance you want without taking up valuable cargo area.
Application-specific Subwoofer Systems
Companies like JL Audio, MTX and Kicker offer subwoofer systems designed for specific models of vehicles. These enclosures are designed to offer impressive performance while minimizing how much space they use. Some companies construct these enclosures from fiberglass in large molds, while others use thick plastics. In most cases, while these enclosures are visible once installed, they are available in materials that match the color of the vehicle interior. An application-specific enclosure is a great way to add amazing bass to a vehicle quickly and efficiently.
A subsection of these application-specific enclosures is truck boxes. No, not the thin, wedge-style enclosures that fit behind the seat, but complex enclosures that use the space under a rear bench seat in a pickup. Companies like Audio Enhancers, Bassworx and Atrend offer cost-effective solutions that will accept the subwoofer of your choice. In most of these applications, you need a shallow subwoofer because mounting depth is quite limited.
Shallow Subwoofers
You’ll note that we haven’t discussed the specific features of subwoofers that differentiate one from another. This omission is quite deliberate because we will dedicate an entire article to that topic. In the meantime, it is worth discussing the difference between a conventional subwoofer and a shallow-mount design.
Shallow subwoofers were originally designed for use behind the seat of a pickup truck. Shallow cones, baskets and motor structures provide mounting depths of around 3 to 3.5 inches. Historically, the tradeoff for this reduced mounting depth has been a dramatic decrease in cone excursion capability. Over the past few years, companies like JL Audio, Illusion Audio, Kicker, Focal, Rockford Fosgate, ARC Audio and Audiomobile have worked hard to maximize the performance of their shallow-mount subwoofers to the point that they offer similar, if not better, performance than some conventional designs.
Audition a Subwoofer System Today!
We will leave you with this as the starting point for choosing a subwoofer solution for your vehicle. In the next article, we’ll explain the performance benefits and drawbacks of different subwoofer enclosure designs, then wrap up our buyer’s guide series with an explanation of advanced subwoofer design features that offer audible improvements in performance. Until then, visit your local specialist mobile enhancement retailer and audition one of their demo vehicles that has a subwoofer. We are sure you’ll be impressed and want one for your car or truck.
No single upgrade to an audio system offers a larger improvement in sound quality than the addition of a car audio subwoofer. Adding a subwoofer not only improves the low-frequency performance of your sound system, it can also improve the clarity of the entire system and enhance the volume level capabilities of the smaller speakers in your car. In this issue of Bang for Your Buck, we are going to look at a few popular subwoofer upgrade options available for adding bass to your vehicle.
What is a Car Audio Subwoofer?
In the simplest of terms, a subwoofer is a large speaker designed to play frequencies below 100 Hz at relatively high output levels. Subwoofers are most commonly available in 10- and 12-inch sizes, but 6.5-, 8-, 13.5- and 15-inch subs are also readily available.
To reproduce low-frequency information with authority, a speaker has to move a lot of air. In fact, for every octave lower a speaker is to play, it has to move four times as far to produce the same volume level. If your sub is moving 1 mm back and forth at 80 Hz, it has to move 4 mm at 40 Hz and an impressive 16 mm at 20 Hz. Most people find a pulsing bass line of 40–50 Hz to be fun. That said, feeling the rumble of deep bass like the introduction to “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas or the pulse in Pink Floyd’s “Time” can cause goosebumps.
Subwoofer Power Handling
Most people associate subwoofers with their power-handling capabilities. While not a direct determining factor in the quality of a subwoofer, power handling
is important in terms of choosing the right subwoofer for your sound system. If you want to listen to your sound system at high volume levels, you need powerful amplifiers and speakers that can handle that power while being able to move adequately to reproduce sound at high levels. It is no surprise that the output and power handling are directly related, since it takes amplifier power to make a speaker cone move.
Picking “enough” subwoofer depends on several factors. How loud is loud enough? How much space can you afford to give the subwoofer system? How powerful of an amplifier can your vehicle’s electrical system support? It can be difficult to choose the right sub based on these criteria, especially since different vehicles offer different amounts of cabin gain. Would a single 10-inch sub in a sealed enclosure in the back of a Honda Fit be a suitable solution in a Cadillac Escalade or short-cab Ford F-150?
Custom-built Subwoofer Solutions
Your best choice to upgrade your vehicle with a subwoofer is to have your local mobile electronics specialist retailer design and construct a subwoofer system that is specific to your vehicle and your expectations. This process will start with your input in determining just how much bass you want. From there, your system designer can suggest a subwoofer or subwoofers that will meet your expectations.
The next step is to decide where to install the subs. The simplest of custom enclosures would be a rectangular wooden cabinet that sits in the trunk or cargo area of your vehicle. The dimensions of the enclosure can be optimized to make the most use of the available space. This optimization may include angling the back of the enclosure to follow the angle of the seats.
Depending on your goals and expectations, you may choose to have the enclosure finished in a material that matches the interior. For a more-customized look, you may want the enclosure wrapped in vinyl that is the same color and grain as the trim panels in your vehicle.
If you want something truly unique, then ask about including LED lighting in the enclosure. You can choose to have a Lexan or Plexiglas window added and illuminate the interior of the enclosure or add acrylic plastic accent pieces that light up. Upgrades at this level are often combined with enclosures finished with multiple materials – different colors of vinyl can provide amazing cosmetics.
Advanced Subwoofer Enclosure Designs
The next step, beyond a simple wooden enclosure, would be one that is shaped to fit the unique contours of your vehicle. Enclosures of this type are often built using a combination of wood and fiberglass or layers of wood that are stacked one on top of another to create complex contours. The most-common application like this is where a subwoofer is being fitted into the corner of a trunk or hatch area, but is also often placed under the trunk floor in a spare tire well. The passenger-side footwell of a two-seat vehicle is another popular location for this type of enclosure.
Due to the complexity of these enclosures, they will typically cost more. The trade-off is that they integrate better into your vehicle – providing you with the acoustic performance you want without taking up valuable cargo area.
Application-specific Subwoofer Systems
Companies like JL Audio, MTX and Kicker offer subwoofer systems designed for specific models of vehicles. These enclosures are designed to offer impressive performance while minimizing how much space they use. Some companies construct these enclosures from fiberglass in large molds, while others use thick plastics. In most cases, while these enclosures are visible once installed, they are available in materials that match the color of the vehicle interior. An application-specific enclosure is a great way to add amazing bass to a vehicle quickly and efficiently.
A subsection of these application-specific enclosures is truck boxes. No, not the thin, wedge-style enclosures that fit behind the seat, but complex enclosures that use the space under a rear bench seat in a pickup. Companies like Audio Enhancers, Bassworx and Atrend offer cost-effective solutions that will accept the subwoofer of your choice. In most of these applications, you need a shallow subwoofer because mounting depth is quite limited.
Shallow Subwoofers
You’ll note that we haven’t discussed the specific features of subwoofers that differentiate one from another. This omission is quite deliberate because we will dedicate an entire article to that topic. In the meantime, it is worth discussing the difference between a conventional subwoofer and a shallow-mount design.
Shallow subwoofers were originally designed for use behind the seat of a pickup truck. Shallow cones, baskets and motor structures provide mounting depths of around 3 to 3.5 inches. Historically, the tradeoff for this reduced mounting depth has been a dramatic decrease in cone excursion capability. Over the past few years, companies like JL Audio, Illusion Audio, Kicker, Focal, Rockford Fosgate, ARC Audio and Audiomobile have worked hard to maximize the performance of their shallow-mount subwoofers to the point that they offer similar, if not better, performance than some conventional designs.
Audition a Subwoofer System Today!
We will leave you with this as the starting point for choosing a subwoofer solution for your vehicle. In the next article, we’ll explain the performance benefits and drawbacks of different subwoofer enclosure designs, then wrap up our buyer’s guide series with an explanation of advanced subwoofer design features that offer audible improvements in performance. Until then, visit your local specialist mobile enhancement retailer and audition one of their demo vehicles that has a subwoofer. We are sure you’ll be impressed and want one for your car or truck.
