Home Theater Sound System – The Importance Of A Good Subwoofer


When setting up your home theater sound system it is best that you closely follow the instructions that accompany the system.  This is a tricky operation and you will need to get it done just right.

You will need a very good television set so the buy the largest and best one you can afford, but remember that the size of the screen will depend on how big your room is and the distance at which you will be seated from the screen.  The audio quality of your home theater sound system is a very important aspect of your home theater and responsible for giving you the sound effects that bring your pictures to life.

There is no shortage of options for your home theater sound system and you will need to consider a range of factors that include brands, configurations, technical ratings and sizes.  The configuration options include stereo systems, subwoofers and surround systems.  Your surround system has a direct relationship to the size of the area in which it is to be place, is the room spacious and not too crowded or crammed with stuff should be considered as well.  With regard to size you will have to consider the various types of speakers available, in ceiling, in wall or the newer satellite style.  There is no point to buying speakers that are too big and too powerful for your room.

The subwoofer deals with the lowest frequencies that the speakers cannot produce are an integral part of your sound system and as such special care should be taken when selecting one.  Your speaker system without a subwoofer is quite capable of producing low noises but no home theater surround system is complete without the subwoofer.  There is no shortage of choices for the subwoofer and it could be a little difficult to choose a suitable one.

Given below are some of the features that should not be overlooked when selecting your subwoofer.

Placing the subwoofer right: since the subwoofer produces only the lowest frequencies, placement is not really a very important factor.  You can place the subwoofer anywhere you choose because it really doesn’t make much difference in the sound produced. You can relax with regard to placement, setup and size of the subwoofer.

Going powered or passive – depending on the size of your room, and the set up of your home theater surround system, you can opt for a powered or passive subwoofer.  Passive subwoofers are attached to the main system and draw on this source of power, in effect making them a part of the speaker system.  Powered subwoofers on the other hand while connected to the main system rely on a different power supply.

Your subwoofer falls into one of two main categories – the down firing or front firing, which refers to the placement and the direction of the woofer cone.  The woofer cone is placed on the bottom for down firing and on the side for front firing.  Both options interact differently with the home theater system in different ways and will need that you set up your system in different ways.