Top 11 Best Subwoofer Brands (Car, PA, Home & Studio)

Subwoofers can really add that extra depth, emotion and feeling (literally) to the music and cinema experience. These large bass/sub-bass-focused speakers are commonly included in audio systems of vehicles, public address systems, home stereos/theatres, theatres and studios.

With so many speaker brands/manufacturers that produce subwoofers, there are a few that stand out. So whatever your application is, there are a few brands I feel you should know about that will most likely offer a subwoofer that's right for you.

The Top 11 Best Subwoofer Brands Are:

• Alpine
• MTX
• Kicker
• Pioneer
• QSC
• Alto Professional
• Electro-Voice
• JBL
• Polk Audio
• Klipsch
• Yamaha

In this article, we'll discuss each of these brands and explain why you should know of and use their subwoofers along with the applications in which their subwoofers excel. While doing so, I'll be sure to add in a notable subwoofer for each brand.

I had originally intended to list out the top 11 most popular professional subwoofer brands, but finding proper data was overly difficult or practically impossible (the exact quantities of items sold; current subwoofers in circulation, etc.).

If you’re looking for a full list of speaker manufacturers, click here!

Without further ado, let’s get into our top 11 subwoofer brands you should know about and use.

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Alpine

Apline Electronics is a subsidiary of the Japanese electronics company Alps Electronics.

Alpine specializes in car audio and navigation systems with most of its revenue coming from original equipment manufacturer sales from various motor vehicle brands such as Honda, BMW, Dodge and Jaguar.

In terms of subwoofers, then, Alpine excels at producing subs for car audio systems. They have plenty of speakers to choose from for a wide variety of vehicle makes and models.

Of the many Alpine subwoofer drivers and units, the SBT-S10V is notable. The SBT-S10V has a compact wedge-style design and shallow mount. It's a 2-ohm system engineered to fit and sound great in most truck applications without sacrificing quality and big output.

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MTX

MTX Audio is an American consumer audio company that is well-known for its subwoofers and subwoofer amplifiers. It is involved in manufacturing sound equipment for car audio, home audio, marine audio, power sports audio and live sound.

Many of the MTX subwoofers are standalone drivers to be incorporated in vehicles though the company does have some great enclosed subwoofer options.

MTX produces an over-the-top 24″ square subwoofer speaker known as the TS9924-22 JackHammer SuperWoofer. This subwoofer features a 6.5″ high-temperature voice coil with 17 AWG aluminum wiring and a patented surround allowing the subwoofer to achieve 2.5″ of one-way excursion and the ability to handle 4000 watts RMS. The novelty unit weighs over 400 pounds and may very well require improvement to a vehicle's suspension!

Note that MTX also produces a wide variety of practical subwoofers as well such as the affordable 12″ 400 W_RMS dual-4Ω subwoofer: 5512-44.

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Kicker

Oklahoma-based Kicker has been in the business of manufacturing professional-speaker systems since 1973 with the introduction of the Original KICKER: the first full frequency-range speaker box designed specifically for cars and trucks.

Since then, Kicker has made a name for itself as a manufacturer of car audio equipment.

It's no surprise that Kicker would make this list as one of the best brands for car subwoofers.

Let's quickly discuss the 41L7102. This subwoofer is part of Kicker's awesome L7 Series. The 10″ version is capable of handling 750 watts RMS and its innovative square cone moves much more air than a conventional 10″ round cone. The two 2-ohm voice coils give you extra flexibility in incorporating this sub into your audio system.

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Pioneer

Pioneer has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1938 Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair shop to become a major player in the realm of consumer electronics.

It makes sense that the corporation has become a go-to brand for speakers. That said, it is more specifically a go-to brand for subwoofers.

A popular subwoofer by Pioneer is the TS-A300B. It's an affordable 12″ pre-loaded bass-reflex passive subwoofer that can be flexibly included in various systems.

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QSC

Founded in 1968, the California-based QSC Audio Products has long been a manufacturer of loudspeakers. Today, it has solidified its reputation and is a top manufacturer of professional subwoofers.

The company focuses on many different audio products including power amplifiers, loudspeakers, digital mixers and digital signal processors. Whereas the aforementioned brands mostly focused on car audio subwoofers, QSC excels at producing PA-style subwoofers for live sound applications.

The KS118 is a noteworthy subwoofer from QSC. This direct-radiating 18-inch subwoofer has a 3600 Watt Class D amplifier module and is capable of very high output. It has an adjustable crossover and omnidirectional and cardioid radiation modes (cardioid setup requires a minimum of 2 units).

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Alto Professional

As a member of inMusic brands, Alto Professional is self-described as a live performance reinforcement branch.

They produce speakers, amplifiers and mixers for audio engineers and musicians alike. They also manufacture all-in-one PA systems for solo, duo and small group performance settings.

Alto utilizes modern manufacturing techniques, focuses on both audio professionals and musicians, and manufactures high-quality and intuitive subwoofers for live sound applications.

Alto's biggest subwoofer is its TS318S which is part of its Truesonic 3 series. This 18-inch subwoofer has a high-temperature 3-inch voice coil and a high-efficiency Class-D amplifier with a maximum power handling figure of 2000 watts of peak power

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Electro-Voice

Electro-Voice is one of the oldest audio equipment manufacturers still running independently.

EV is an industry leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of professional audio equipment including loudspeakers and live sound systems. Their uncompromised passion for sound quality is realized in their superb subwoofer designs.

Electro-Voice is one of the few companies of their size to design all components in‑house and have numerous industry-leading loudspeakers.

The ETX-18SP is one of many Electro-Voice subwoofers worth mentioning.

This model has an 18″ DVX subwoofer for extended low-end and an 1800 W Class-D amplifier with integrated FIR-Drive DSP that are capable of producing 135 dB peak SPL. The ETX-18SP also comes with a DSP preset for true cardioid performance across its entire range.

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JBL

JBL has been producing loudspeakers since its inception in 1946. The company has two divisions: JBL Consumer (which focuses on consumer home audio equipment) and JBL Professional (which focuses on audio equipment for professional settings).

Each division produces subwoofers and so JBL fans can get their hands on a JBL speaker for practically all applications including home audio, live sound and car audio.

The variety of JBL’s subwoofer speakers combined with its popularity makes it a go-to company to get what you're looking for. For that reason, JBL has made this list!

The JBL GT-BassPro12 pictured below is an example of a car audio subwoofer from JBL. This 12″ model features a 150-watt amplifier with both line level and speaker level inputs (the amp automatically turns off when a speaker level signal is inputted).

For more info on car audio bass response, check out my article How To Increase Bass Response In Your Car's Audio System.

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Polk Audio

The California-based audio product manufacturer Polk Audio is perhaps best known for its home and audio speakers (including its awesome subwoofers).

The company also produces amplifiers, radio receivers and many other types of general audio equipment.

Polk's wide variety of subwoofers are designed for plenty of applications including car, boat, home and studio audio systems.

The DSW PRO 660 is Polk Audio's largest model in its professional line of subwoofers. It is Polk's most powerful subwoofer with a 400 Watt continuous intelligent digital amplifier moving its 12″ Dynamic Balance driver.

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Klipsch

Klipsch has become synonymous with high-quality speaker manufacturing since its founding date in 1946.

The company has a large selection of new speakers and also a large number of legacy models that are highly sought-after in the new and vintage markets, respectively.

When it comes to subwoofers, Klipsch cuts no corners and the same standard should be expected. Their subwoofer applications include high fidelity; public address; personal computers; home cinema, and more.

The SPL-150SW is the largest model from Klipsch's high-end SPL series of subwoofers. This home audio subwoofer has a 15″ spun copper cerametallic woofer; a bass-reflex enclosure, and a high-efficiency Class-D amplifier with 400W RMS/ 800W peak.

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Yamaha

Yamaha has been around since 1887. The Japanese-based corporation has become a global conglomerate and is involved in sectors such as motorcycles, musical instruments, consumer electronics and, as the article would suggest speakers and subwoofers.

Yamaha offers are a nice variety of subwoofers for various applications and bridges the gap between performance and cost.

The NS-SW300PN is a 10″ square-coil home-audio subwoofer from Yamaha. It features Yamaha's Twisted Flare Port; advanced YST II (Yamaha Active Servo Technology II) with a PWM digital drive high-efficiency amplifier that packs 250 W of output power. The subwoofer is complete with a front control panel for easy control.

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