How to Select a Home Theater Subwoofer

A home theater system has many different components that help it work together to create great audio. For example, the subwoofer of your system has a very important job. It helps to increase the range of sounds the system produces, making it possible to hear the music or sound all over your house, not just while sitting next to the system. If you would like to use a subwoofer to boost your home theater system's performance, then you should carefully research your options to make the best selection.

• 1

  Find the powered subwoofer options. Powered subwoofers work best with home theater systems. These have the amplification built right in and work very well in large spaces, according to Crutchfield.com.

• 2

  Pay attention to the size of the woofer cone. The larger the cone, the deeper the bass.

• 3

  Check to see that the subwoofer includes low frequency effects or LFE. The LFE of a subwoofer offers a level of bass that other types cannot and typically have low distortion percentage for a better-quality sound.

• 4

  Look for home theater systems that come with smaller center channel speakers. These will work better with the subwoofer than larger ones, according to Crutchfield.

• 5

  Test it. Listening to the subwoofers hooked up to home theater systems in the electronics store or in your own home on a trial basis gives you the best idea of sound quality. Before making a selection, try to actually listen to the subwoofer.

• 6

  Pay close attention to the size recommendations for your subwoofer. Each manufacturer will have different size recommendations for its models. Having a subwoofer too large for your room is better than having one too small.