Car Subwoofers are widely used by car owners and fans. However, a lot of people don't know what a subwoofers are and what do they do? Car Subwoofers are loudspeakers intended to generate the lowest frequencies, or bass end of the audible sound range. Car Subwoofers range from 4" in diameter all the way up to 36" meant for highly specialized scientific purposes. For the majority of consumer purposes however, sizes are pretty much consistent at 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 18 inches, with the 6.5 to 12 inch sizes being the most used.
Because car subwoofers are specialized reproducers, their design maximizes their potential for generating the lowest frequency. Therefore they will have cones that are balanced in such a way as to promote the maximum back and forth motion, called XMAX. Middle frequencies have smaller cones and less excursion, or cone travel. Tweeters have cones, domes, or diaphragms that may seem almost motionless. Even so, they can produce sound in their frequency range that is just as powerful as their larger siblings.
Car Subwoofer cones must move in and out with the longest possible extension because sound waves get longer as they get lower in frequency. Current technology provides us with firm cone materials like Polypropylene, Carbon and Polymer Laminates that preserve their shape under stress, resist moisture, and are very light. The cone works as a piston to compress and alternatively evacuate large masses of air. To do this most effectively, the subwoofer must be connected to an amplifier that produces the high amplitude waveforms that can create this motion. Because such signals require substantial electrical power behind them to control the cone movement, the highest power available is needed strictly for bass reproduction.
Most car subwoofers are housed in a box (enclosures) to achieve their maximum audio power.
