Subwoofers

Editors' Top Home audio
updated May 15, 2006

It's time to lower the boom. Subwoofers are the loudly beating heart of any speaker system, and their benefits go further than deep bass. A powered sub can relieve your receiver or amplifier of much of the workload, leaving it free to concentrate on higher frequencies. Remember to match your subwoofer to the size of the room; in general, you want an 8-inch sub for spaces 200 square feet or less and a 10-inch or larger sub for bigger rooms. For truly massive spaces, you might want more than one sub. If you're composing a system from scratch, be sure to check out our other speaker lists for matching brands. -- David Katzmaier, senior editor

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Subwoofers

Home audio	Editors' rating	Price	Summary
Aperion Intimus S-10, 10" Powered Subwoofer (Cherry) Released: 11/15/2002	8.0 Excellent	Email me when product is available	The Aperion S-10 subwoofer is a winning combination of rock-solid construction, impeccable furniture-grade finish, and seismic, room-shaking performance. Specs: subwoofer , 13.3 in x 19 in x 17.5 in , Cherry , Active , 200 Watt

Infinity CSW-10 (black) Released: 03/30/2004	8.0 Excellent	Email me when product is available	The CSW-10 is expensive, but its combination of power and finesse makes it a serious value. Specs: subwoofer , 13.3 in x 15.4 in x 14 in , Black , Active , 650 Watt

Outlaw Audio LFM-1 Released: 12/01/2003	8.0 Excellent	$399	The LFM-1 is simply the biggest, baddest, and best-performing midpriced subwoofer we've ever heard. Specs: subwoofer , 15 in x 22 in x 21.7 in , Active , 325 Watt

NHT SW10 II Released: 09/15/2002	8.0 Excellent	Email me when product is available	This beautifully finished sub is too pretty to hide in a corner, and it sounds great, too. Specs: subwoofer , 12 in x 14 in x 18 in , Active , 150 Watt

M&K V-76	7.9 Very good	Email me when product is available	M&K's powerhouse subwoofer pumps out bass oomph that poseur subs will never touch. Specs: subwoofer , 15.4 in x 20.2 in x 18.5 in , Black , Active , 75 Watt

Klipsch Synergy Sub-12 Released: 04/25/2005	7.8 Very good	$349-$449 from 2 stores	The Klipsch Synergy Sub-12, the company's most affordable 12-inch subwoofer, sounds great on music and movies. Specs: subwoofer , 15 in x 19.9 in x 18 in , Black , Active , 300 Watt

Infinity PS-10 powered subwoofer Released: 07/15/2003	7.8 Very good	Email me when product is available	Infinity's midline woofer can rock your world and still sculpt high-definition bass lines. Specs: subwoofer , 12.5 in x 16 in x 14.8 in , Black , Active , 250 Watt

JBL Northridge E Series E250P Released: 09/15/2003	7.5 Very good	Email me when product is available	The E250P's well-defined bass rocks on home theater and music. Specs: subwoofer , 14.4 in x 16.5 in x 19.8 in , Active , 250 Watt

Polk Audio PSW10 (black) Released: 07/15/2004	7.4 Very good	$97-$149 from 7 stores	Polk's baby subwoofer belts out tight home-theater bass and sounds sweet with music, too. Specs: subwoofer , 14 in x 16.1 in x 14.4 in , Active , 50 Watt

ButtKicker LFE Released: 06/01/2002	7.0 Very good	$179	The ButtKicker LFE delivers palpable bass that adds an extra, furniture-shaking dimension to DVDs, games, and bass-intensive music.