What is the difference between an active subwoofer and a passive subwoofer?
Content
You can get the full pleasure of listening to music if the car has high-quality acoustics with a powerful subwoofer. However, many drivers cannot decide whether to buy an active or passive type subwoofer. To determine the difference between these two types, let's look at passive and active subs separately, and then compare them.
What will change if you install a subwoofer in the car?
Regular car acoustics, consisting of broadband speakers, has a decline in the lower frequency range. This greatly affects the quality of reproduction of bass instruments and vocals.
As the test results show, when comparing the sound of car acoustics with and without a subwoofer, most experts prefer the first option, even if the standard speakers are of high enough quality.
For more information, read the article “What characteristics to look for when choosing a subwoofer in a car“
Frequency Response Range
The range of reproducible frequencies depends both on the design of the loudspeaker and on the characteristics of the speaker itself. The upper limit of the playback band is usually within 120-200 Hz, the lower 20-45 Hz. The transfer characteristics of the standard acoustics and the subwoofer should partially overlap in order to avoid a dip in the total playback bandwidth.
Active subwoofers
An active subwoofer is a speaker system that includes a built-in amplifier, a subwoofer speaker, and a box. Many owners purchase this type of subwoofer because of its self-sufficiency, because it combines several devices at the same time and does not require the purchase of other additional equipment. In addition, the active subwoofer is characterized by reliability and durability due to its balanced design.
Of course, the main and bold plus of active subwoofers is their low cost. You do not need to study the theory of car audio about which amplifier to choose and what wires are needed for this bundle. You purchase the necessary kit, which has everything for installation, namely a subwoofer that already has a built-in amplifier, and a set of wires for connection.
Everything seems to be fine, but where there is a bold plus, there is a bold minus. This type of subwoofer is made from the most budgetary parts, i.e. the subwoofer speaker is very weak, the built-in amplifier is soldered from the cheapest components, the wires included in the kit leave much to be desired, the subwoofer box is also made of inexpensive thin materials.
From all this it follows that this subwoofer simply cannot have a good and powerful sound quality. But due to its price and simplicity (bought, installed), many novice car audio lovers leave their choice on an active subwoofer.
Passive subwoofer
- A cabinet passive subwoofer is a speaker and a box that is already provided by the manufacturer. For those who are wondering what a passive subwoofer is, it is important to know that it does not come with an amplifier, so for the full operation of a passive subwoofer, you will need to additionally purchase an amplifier and a set of wires to connect it. Which in total makes this bundle more expensive than purchasing an active subwoofer. But these subwoofers have a number of advantages, as a rule, a passive subwoofer has more power, more balanced sound. You can purchase a 4-channel amplifier and connect not only a subwoofer to it, but also a pair of speakers.
- The next option for a passive subwoofer is to buy a subwoofer speaker, as you already understand, in order for it to play, you will need to not only buy an amplifier and wires, but also need to make a box for it, or turn to specialists for help. Each subwoofer plays in its own way, it depends not on the current from the speaker, but also on the box. In car audio competitions, subwoofers are used, for which boxes are made by hand or to order. When designing a box, many nuances are taken into account. Firstly, what car body (if you take a subwoofer from a sedan and rearrange it to a station wagon, it will play differently) secondly, what kind of music do you prefer (subwoofer tuning frequency) thirdly, what kind of amplifier and speaker do you have (do you have power reserve). This type of subwoofer has the best sound, huge power reserve, fast bass without delay.
Comparison
Let's see what the pros and cons of the above types of subwoofers mean, as well as how they can be compared.
It is impossible to say for sure which is better: an active or a passive subwoofer. Everything here is purely individual. If you want to set up and choose your own equipment, then the best option would be to purchase a passive subwoofer. If you want to trust the manufacturer and install a ready-made product in the car that does not require large financial investments, then in this case the active type is more suitable for you.
An active subwoofer is very popular among motorists because it already has a built-in amplifier and comes with wires for connection. But if you have a separate amplifier, or you want to achieve a more powerful and high-quality bass, then it is better to pay attention to a passive subwoofer. But if this is not enough for you, you can get even more confused and get the best result by purchasing a subwoofer speaker and making a box for it, a large number of articles will devote to this issue, thereby helping beginners who have chosen this difficult path. I would also like to dispel the myths that connecting an active and passive subwoofer is different in complexity. In fact, the wiring diagram there is almost the same. For more information, see the article “how to connect a subwoofer”
What 4 subwoofer speakers are capable of (video)
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Conclusion
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