The Best Subwoofers for home studio!
In the world of music creation, a good low-end response is crucial, especially if you like bass-heavy musical genres. If that is your game, then a studio subwoofer should be a must-have. However, it’s difficult to sort through hundreds of alternatives and opinions to determine which subwoofer is the best.
As an aspiring music producer, you should be able to keep an ear out for the lowest frequencies when making music. But, most of the time, most studio monitors simply can’t reproduce the whole range of frequencies. This is why it is necessary to invest in a great subwoofer to deliver that lovely oomph sound.
A subwoofer, sub in short, is useful in such a situation since it provides instant feedback on the bass. Despite what appears, subwoofers don’t have to be cranked up to full volume to give you a more realistic picture of your mix. It’s crucial to get a sub that fits your room properly because accuracy, not volume, is your top priority. For your ideal start-up speaker arrangement, it should compose of a subwoofer and a smaller pair of speakers. In addition to filling in the bottom end of the listening experience, subwoofers allow you to get away with less bass-related movement in your primary studio monitors.
Why We Need to Use a Subwoofer
Having a subwoofer is truly useful for any type of mixing and editing of music. Apart from music, subs are also crucial for editing a film or a TV show. Movies often use booming subwoofer drops or explosions to increase the dramatic impact of a scene. Since it is impossible to blend frequencies for maximum effect, a subwoofer fulfills its duty to provide the best sound there is.
As mentioned, your ordinary speakers will not help you determine the sound with low frequencies, thus it’s important to use a subwoofer to enhance its effect. Subs are perfect for any ideal situation that involves amplifying low-frequency sounds and if you’re in the market for such, we’d like to introduce you to these 6 high-end subwoofers to complete your ideal at-home music production setup. Check it out below.
NEUMANN KH 750
The literal definition of “small but incredible,” the Neumann KH 750 is a 10-inch subwoofer with great characteristics. While it works best with Neumann studio speakers, other brands could also be compatible with it. Moreover, it is well-beloved by experts for its quality and efficiency and low frequencies can be easily detected due it its intactness. Arguably, it is among the best studio subwoofers you can buy if you want the best sound quality for your music. But, if you’re looking for something cheaper that still delivers excellence, Neumann may not be for you due to its expensive price.
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YAMAHA HS8S
Yamaha has constantly proven itself to be the best in the field of music equipment. So, with its HS8S, you can expect its portability and power. The HS8S subs are a great complement to Yamaha’s HS8 studio monitors, and they do a great job of filling out the sound. Studio owners would truly like its detailed low frequencies and strong punch from the bass reflex port design of the enclosure. But, it doesn’t have a footswitch option which might not be more user-friendly for beginners.
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PRESONUS TEMBLOR T10
We welcome another contender in the best subwoofer field: Presonus Temblor T10. With its lightweight glass-composite cone, it allows to reproduce low frequencies with remarkable accuracy. Then, at extremely loud volumes, the bass remains tight and clear, with rubber feet, footswitch plug, and footswitch included. In addition, there is a high pass filter and a continuously changing low pass filter with a frequency range of 50 Hz to 130 Hz and a maximum sound pressure level of 113 dB. In general, they work well with any monitor speakers to generate a neutral, realistic soundstage. However, Temblor isn’t a recommended choice if you do not want a limited power capacity from subwoofers.
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MACKIE MRS10 MK3
Since Mackie has been around for a while, we know we can rely on them always. The MRS10 subwoofers live up to their reputation of being simple, effective, and inexpensive. This 120-watt version has a frequency response of 40 Hz to 180 Hz and a crossover that may be tuned to your preferences. Furthermore, a signal polarity switch, a footswitch jack, and an automatic power-off feature are also included. With that, the Makie subs produce music with virtually minimal distortion. Its disadvantage, however, is its weak power and the fact that the woofer is covered in a soft mesh cloth rather than a metal grill.
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JBL LSR310S
If you’re on a tight budget but in need of subs, opt-in with the JBL LSR310S series. It’s one of the most flexible and cost-effective choices available in the market. In terms of style, its build quality is adequate, but it’s a little bigger than you’d expect for a 10-inch studio subwoofer. This sub is great because JBL included their patented “Slip Stream” bass port, which allows for precise low-frequency monitoring at even the lowest volume settings. Although it has several flaws, it excels at the moderate volumes required for everyday mixing. It has clear lows at low to medium volumes but becomes muddy when turned up.
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FOCAL SUB6
Focal Sub6’s wood cabinet design and red burr-ash finish is a must-have subwoofer. With its fair price, the excellent bass performance and traditional “big” monitor features are a must. This subwoofer can produce extremely low frequencies with pinpoint accuracy and explosive power, all without distorting the sound. Additionally, it features a constantly changeable phase selector, volume control, mute, and polarity switches. In addition to that, a footswitch can be used to increase precision in listening, mixing, and mastering. With this number of pros, its cons would be that it’s quite expensive, so you need to think before buying this.
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Overall, selecting a subwoofer will ultimately lead to personal preferences as it is not necessary to have them match your studio monitors. If you like the way a combination of brands sounds, you can freely use it together. Subwoofers may not be always essential for listening, but you can definitely boost your experience if you buy one.
