A subwoofer box houses the inner components, but if you don’t know which type to choose, you could be hindering the sound you could otherwise enjoy from your subwoofer. If you’re feeling like your sub isn’t living up to its potential, our experts are here to teach you how to make a subwoofer box louder.
How to Make a Subwoofer Box Louder?
There are a few different ways to make your subwoofer box louder, but the first step is to find out which type you have, which our experts will cover below.
Identify Type of Subwoofer Box
There are three types of subwoofer boxes, each with their benefits and drawbacks. The first one is a sealed enclosure, which will produce more accurate bass, or some might refer to a tighter bass that is much clearer. However, unlike vented or ported enclosures, a sealed one isn’t as loud and booming.
Therefore, a sealed enclosure is better for those who like accurate bass and a small profile. A vented enclosure delivers loud bass thumps but with less precision. Luckily, you won’t have to sacrifice one for the other if you go for the bandpass enclosures, which are a combination of both. It has two chambers, one that is ported and one that’s sealed to bring you the best of both worlds.
Replace Subwoofer Box
The key to how to make a subwoofer box louder lies in the type of box you have. If you realize you have the wrong type of subwoofer box for your musical preference, then you can always look to replace it.
There are subwoofers that work well in all types of enclosures, but there are also ones that are only optimized for one kind. Before you replace the entire enclosure, make sure your subwoofer is suited for the kind of enclosure you want.
If you are happy with the type of enclosure but just want to improve the sound, there are a few things you can do, which our experts will cover below.
Stuff with Polyfill
For sealed enclosures, a method to improve the sound is to fill the enclosure with polyfill. Polyfill is a material that will slow down the airflow within the subwoofer, therefore giving you a tighter and cleaner bass production than before.
By absorbing the sound waves [1] within the sub, you can also end up with less distortion. You can even look into stuffing your sealed speaker enclosures with polyfill to improve the midrange relays.
Adjust Placement of Subs
For a car subwoofer, placement under your seat will give you a first-hand experience for thumping bass, while placing the sub in the trunk will reverberate the thundering bass throughout the cabin.
If you’re looking at the placement for a subwoofer in your home theater setup, then our experts recommend placing it at the front of the room to project directly to your seat. However, the placement of your sub is highly flexible and you can experiment by playing the sub behind your couch or even next to you to find your preferred sweet spot.
The placement also depends on the firing direction of the subs. If you have downward firing subs, the bass signals will vibrate through the floors, in which case it could perform better than front-firing subs if you choose to place it behind your seat.
(If you are looking a wireless sub for seamless placement, you can also consider the Sonos Sub Gen 3 we reviewed)
Properly Tune Your Box and Sub Together
You can also get down and technical with your subwoofer and tune it. The key is the right placement and the settings to optimize its performance. The right settings will be different for everyone as the standards of a serious audiophile will differ from the casual listener.
You can play your favorite content at different volumes while adjusting the EQ settings until you find the perfect balance.
FAQ
How to increase bass in subwoofer box?
There are a few different methods to increase the bass in your sub box. Filling sealed enclosures with polyfill is one option to tighten the bass, you can fine tune your sub and tweak the positioning, and you can also choose a sub box with sturdier materials. Choosing the right type of enclosure can also ensure a deeper and richer bass.
Next Read: Guide to Seal Your Subwoofer Box
Conclusion
There are many answers for how to make a subwoofer box louder, but our experts narrow it down to one main factor: the type. A sealed enclosure will deliver more accurate and tighter bass, while their ported counterparts will provide louder and more thumping low notes. However, you can get the best of both worlds if you opt for the bandpass enclosures.
