Since the space in a car is not the optimum place for perfect and clear sound, unlike a room in your house, subwoofers have to be carefully placed in order to produce the best sound possible. Unlike home stereo systems, car audio system have the advantage that they handle bass far better due to the fact the space if far smaller than a room, making them easier to place for optimum bass.
Commonly subwoofers are placed in the boot of the car; this is because if done correctly you can get the effect of surround sound in your car, where you cannot localize the sound at all. ‘Up Front Bass’ as it is known simply pressurizes all the air, so that you can’t distinguish the place it originates from. If done correctly using the appropriate crossovers, you can get this effect. On the other hand, if it fails, you will instead be able to hear localized mid-range sounds rather than the low sounds of bass.
An alternative to Up Front Bass is Corner Loading, where the woofer is positioned in the far corners of the car. Corner Loading is the optimum place for sound levels, as the further away the speaker is the louder it is likely to be.
Of course, each vehicle due to variation in size and shape reacts differently to subwoofer placement, often meaning it is best to experiment with subwoofer placement to get the possible sound. It is well known by car audio enthusiasts that Hatchback cars due to the shape at the back produce far better sound (that’s why you hear pounding bass often coming from Hatchback cars). When the subwoofer is placed in the rear hatch area, the sound is amplifies as it moves from the rear hatch through to the rest of the car.
To get optimum bass and sound, experiment with subwoofer positioning. It may take some time to decide which position is best, but it’s worth it for good bass.
Tags: all car audio, car sub woofers