Have you ever seen a car drive by with the windows shaking and the bass pounding so loudly you can't hear the actual music? That's the subwoofers at work. Subwoofers are designed to help the car's sound system create those window-rattling bass notes. With the right system and choice of subwoofer, you can create a system that goes as loud as you want.
Kline Kreisel invented the subwoofer in 1960. His business partner in their company Miller & Kreisel Sound Corporation had informed him of customers complaining that their systems didn't support the bass in songs very well. In response, Kreisel built the subwoofer to carry the bass of the songs that their systems couldn't support.
A subwoofer creates the bass sound you hear in your car when you listen to your stereo. It can be as loud as you want, or turned off completely. It is there solely to create bass audio frequencies, and expensive stereo systems often have a specialized subwoofer installed. Generally the subwoofers that come built into a car's original system cannot support loud bass noise without producing static.
The loudness of a subwoofer really depends on a number of things. The loudest subwoofer currently on the market is the Kicker solo X 12". As technology improves, however, this will change. To get the loudest subwoofer for your own system, you'll need to take a few things into consideration. First, the subwoofer itself should have high sensitivity. While this means it can go louder, the enclosure you use affects it as well. A bandpass box is a popular housing option for subwoofers. Finally, the amplifier should have a power output that matches the recommended range for your specific subwoofer. An amp with bass boost will increase the volume, too.
To get deeper tones on a subwoofer, which will also make them sound louder, use a larger subwoofer than is built to be enclosed in a box. Their size helps them to create the lower tones you're looking for, and often will give you more volume at the same time. You also want your subwoofer and your amp to have high wattage, which makes for better and louder sounds, but don't go higher than your system can handle or you will burn out the speakers.
A subwoofer can benefit you in many ways. A typical subwoofer can make your music sound clearer and add more bass to it, even if you're not looking to play it loudly. If you are going for volume and deepness in tone, however, a good subwoofer is the key to building a respectable system. Match your system with your subwoofer and amp, and you'll be able to play the system louder than you could with your car's built-in stereo.
