What's a subwoofer?

[Carlos1010]

Hi all,

Lots of people have been talking about a subwoofer and I have no clue what it is. The wekipedia definition doesn't really make sense. Can anybody explain to me what it is? Thanks in advanced!

[Slottr]

In the most simplest, its a speaker that delivers lower toned audio

[GSTARR]

it delivers the lowest frequency sounds

It is also thought of as the main source of bass (bass is low frequency, snares in a song are high frequency)

 

Opposite of a subwoofer is a tweeter

[ThinkWithPortals]

6 minutes ago, Carlos1010 said:

Hi all,

Lots of people have been talking about a subwoofer and I have no clue what it is. The wekipedia definition doesn't really make sense. Can anybody explain to me what it is? Thanks in advanced!

It's a speaker that focuses on delivering powerful, low-frequency sounds like bass.

[AdamH96]

subwoofer is the box with the air hole that the speaker is attached to, something like that. produces very low sound waves usually ~100Hz-20Hz

[Carlos1010]

2 minutes ago, GSTARR said:

it delivers the lowest frequency sounds

It is also thought of as the main source of bass (bass is low frequency, snares in a song are high frequency)

 

Opposite of a subwoofer is a tweeter

 

1 minute ago, ThinkWithPortals said:

It's a speaker that focuses on delivering powerful, low-frequency sounds like bass.

Is there like a video of some sort that explains like everything tied to sound and all these stuff like a subwoofer? Also like which cables to get and all that. I'm really weak in the sound part of gaming. Thanks also for your responses! 

[BurstSMG]

8 minutes ago, Carlos1010 said:

Hi all,

Lots of people have been talking about a subwoofer and I have no clue what it is. The wekipedia definition doesn't really make sense. Can anybody explain to me what it is? Thanks in advanced!

Essentially the bass cannon of your speaker setup. It makes stuff vibrate and make your insides rattle around when you're watching a Michael Bay movie in theatres

[MaxBunny]

11 minutes ago, Carlos1010 said:

Hi all,

Lots of people have been talking about a subwoofer and I have no clue what it is. The wekipedia definition doesn't really make sense. Can anybody explain to me what it is? Thanks in advanced!

A subwoofer is a dog that doesn't bark at full capacity.

[bgibbz]

2 minutes ago, Carlos1010 said:

 

Is there like a video of some sort that explains like everything tied to sound and all these stuff like a subwoofer? Also like which cables to get and all that. I'm really weak in the sound part of gaming. Thanks also for your responses! 

I would recommend just getting a decent headset. Getting a full audio setup exclusively for gaming is a waste imo. 

[AdamH96]

5 minutes ago, Carlos1010 said:

 

Is there like a video of some sort that explains like everything tied to sound and all these stuff like a subwoofer? Also like which cables to get and all that. I'm really weak in the sound part of gaming. Thanks also for your responses! 

are you planning to get an all in one? or buy the speakers separate? Logitech (and others) have 2.1 and 5.1 (.1 is the sub) setups that just need to plug the power into the wall and a audio output in your PC.

 

[Carlos1010]

Just now, AdamHolt96 said:

are you planning to get an all in one? or buy the speakers separate? Logitech (and others) have 2.1 and 5.1 (.1 is the sub) setups that just need to plug the power into the wall and a audio output in your PC.

I latterly just want to learn about them so that when I want to get something tied to audio, I will know. I just want like a 1 hour video explaining how to like get audio products and what to look for when getting them.

[manikyath]

this is a subwoofer, and a guy that needs to compensate for something that is really, REALLY undersized.

[Carlos1010]

1 hour ago, AdamHolt96 said:

are you planning to get an all in one? or buy the speakers separate? Logitech (and others) have 2.1 and 5.1 (.1 is the sub) setups that just need to plug the power into the wall and a audio output in your PC.

 

1 hour ago, bgibbz said:

I would recommend just getting a decent headset. Getting a full audio setup exclusively for gaming is a waste imo. 

 

1 hour ago, ZillaGames said:

Essentially the bass cannon of your speaker setup. It makes stuff vibrate and make your insides rattle around when you're watching a Michael Bay movie in theatres

Are Subwoofers, Woofers, and Tweeters the only type of speakers there are on the market?

[klh2000]

1 hour ago, Carlos1010 said:

 

 

Are Subwoofers, Woofers, and Tweeters the only type of speakers there are on the market?

Subwoofers,  Woofers, Midranges, and Tweeters are called drivers, they are what make up an actual speaker. Most modern speakers just use a tweeter and one more more woofers in the same "box". A subwoofer is used to produce lower frequency sound that the woofers can't produce.

[KaminKevCrew]

1 hour ago, Carlos1010 said:

 

 

Are Subwoofers, Woofers, and Tweeters the only type of speakers there are on the market?

subwoofer, woofer, and tweeter have to do with the range of frequencies that the driver is able to produce. (e.g. 15-100hz or so for really good subs, 80-whatever hz for woofers, and 20,000 to something lower hz for tweeters, although some tweeters do go higher.)

 

Those are only to do with the frequencies that they can reproduce. If you want to know about the types of speakers on the marker, then you will be looking in an entirely different area. What you're wanting to look into in that case would be dynamic (sometimes referred to as electro-dynamic), Planar Magnetic (Or Orthodynamic), and electrostatic for speakers. Those are the main ones, although dynamic is definitely the most common. For headphones, all of the above types are valid, but for In ears, there are also things called balanced armature drivers. 

 

Another term for driver is transducer. Honestly, if you want to learn about all of this, you'll be better off looking into forum posts and books that have already been written. There is WAYYYYYYYYYY too much to post in a single thread...

[Acquire]

5 hours ago, Carlos1010 said:

Hi all,

Lots of people have been talking about a subwoofer and I have no clue what it is. The wekipedia definition doesn't really make sense. Can anybody explain to me what it is? Thanks in advanced!

It's a speaker that specializes in low frequency response time.  It creates a lot of bass.

[SSL]

3 hours ago, KaminKevCrew said:

subwoofer, woofer, and tweeter have to do with the range of frequencies that the driver is able to produce. (e.g. 15-100hz or so for really good subs, 80-whatever hz for woofers, and 20,000 to something lower hz for tweeters, although some tweeters do go higher.)

 

Those are only to do with the frequencies that they can reproduce. If you want to know about the types of speakers on the marker, then you will be looking in an entirely different area. What you're wanting to look into in that case would be dynamic (sometimes referred to as electro-dynamic), Planar Magnetic (Or Orthodynamic), and electrostatic for speakers. Those are the main ones, although dynamic is definitely the most common. For headphones, all of the above types are valid, but for In ears, there are also things called balanced armature drivers. 

 

Another term for driver is transducer. Honestly, if you want to learn about all of this, you'll be better off looking into forum posts and books that have already been written. There is WAYYYYYYYYYY too much to post in a single thread...

 

But we're going to make an entire thread for every possible question anyway.

 

Some more cool threads we should start:

• Do I need an amp?
• Do I still need a DAC?
• Help me pick a great soundcard
• Need headphone with great base and clear treble
• Best speakers?
• Best headphone under $100?
• Help me choose a headphone under $100
• Seriously, wut headphone should i buy if i only have $100 to spend
• Mic suggestion
• What is a DAC?
• What is "digital"?
• What is audio?
• What is sound?
• What is air (do I need)?
• HELP

[KaminKevCrew]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

 

But we're going to make an entire thread for every possible question anyway.

 

Some more cool threads we should start:

• Do I need an amp?
• Do I still need a DAC?
• Help me pick a great soundcard
• Need headphone with great base and clear treble
• Best speakers?
• Best headphone under $100?
• Help me choose a headphone under $100
• Seriously, wut headphone should i buy if i only have $100 to spend
• Mic suggestion
• What is a DAC?
• What is "digital"?
• What is audio?
• What is sound?
• What is air (do I need)?
• HELP

lol! oh, tomorrow I might have a couple of things to add to the audio board topic. I'll shoot you a message when I have written everything up!

[spwath]

3 hours ago, KaminKevCrew said:

subwoofer, woofer, and tweeter have to do with the range of frequencies that the driver is able to produce. (e.g. 15-100hz or so for really good subs, 80-whatever hz for woofers, and 20,000 to something lower hz for tweeters, although some tweeters do go higher.)

 

Those are only to do with the frequencies that they can reproduce. If you want to know about the types of speakers on the marker, then you will be looking in an entirely different area. What you're wanting to look into in that case would be dynamic (sometimes referred to as electro-dynamic), Planar Magnetic (Or Orthodynamic), and electrostatic for speakers. Those are the main ones, although dynamic is definitely the most common. For headphones, all of the above types are valid, but for In ears, there are also things called balanced armature drivers. 

 

Another term for driver is transducer. Honestly, if you want to learn about all of this, you'll be better off looking into forum posts and books that have already been written. There is WAYYYYYYYYYY too much to post in a single thread...

Also plasma speakers. They are pretty cool. Fire that makes sound.

17 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

But we're going to make an entire thread for every possible question anyway.

 

Some more cool threads we should start:

• Do I need an amp?
• Do I still need a DAC?
• Help me pick a great soundcard
• Need headphone with great base and clear treble
• Best speakers?
• Best headphone under $100?
• Help me choose a headphone under $100
• Seriously, wut headphone should i buy if i only have $100 to spend
• Mic suggestion
• What is a DAC?
• What is "digital"?
• What is audio?
• What is sound?
• What is air (do I need)?
• HELP

I'll get started on those.

Last few should be pretty difficult.

 

Also, perfect spelling of base. Everyone always wants headphones with clear treble and good base.

Idk, I might like muddy treble and bad bass.

[Carlos1010]

16 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

lol! oh, tomorrow I might have a couple of things to add to the audio board topic. I'll shoot you a message when I have written everything up!

Thank you!

 

18 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

But we're going to make an entire thread for every possible question anyway.

 

Some more cool threads we should start:

• Do I need an amp?
• Do I still need a DAC?
• Help me pick a great soundcard
• Need headphone with great base and clear treble
• Best speakers?
• Best headphone under $100?
• Help me choose a headphone under $100
• Seriously, wut headphone should i buy if i only have $100 to spend
• Mic suggestion
• What is a DAC?
• What is "digital"?
• What is audio?
• What is sound?
• What is air (do I need)?
• HELP

Yes, I will do so! 

 

1 hour ago, Acquire said:

It's a speaker that specializes in low frequency response time.  It creates a lot of bass.

Yep, thanks for your response!

[mariushm]

Human ears perceive sound at frequencies between around 16-20 Hz and all the way up to around 15000-16000 hz.

When you're younger, or right after a doctor cleans your ears, you can hear sounds higher than 15000-16000 hz but as you age, the ears become less sensitive.

Sounds with frequencies below 20 Hz are not as much as heard, it's more like they're felt and in order to feel those vibrations , hums etc it's best to have large diameter speakers

The normal speakers (round, average sized) are more optimized for frequencies around 100-150 hz and up to 10000-14000 hz, they will reproduce frequencies outside that range but at less accuracy.

Tweeters are usually smaller diameter and often conical and can reproduce very well high frequencies but they're lousy at normal or low frequencies.

 

The cheapest speakers () have only the normal size drivers (optimized for general frequencies). As you go up towards more expensive speakers, you may get a tweeter besides the normal driver. At the high end, each speaker will also get a driver optimized for low frequencies

 

in 5.1 systems, the subwoofer is the .1 , it's the speaker that usually can be placed anywhere in the room but typically is under the TV or under the desk, because the floor helps with those vibrations and low frequencies.

 

// as a side note, because human ears can't hear much above 16 khz is the reason why CDs were designed for up to 44100 Hz, which means sounds with frequencies up to half of that (22050 hz) can be stored on disc and reproduced accurately. That's why it generally makes no sense to encode audio files using more than 48khz (48000) because human ears can't hear those sounds anyway.

For the same reasons, one of the first things audio codecs like MP3 or AAC do when compressing audio files with lower bitrates like 160kbps or 128 kbps (for stereo), is to apply flters which remove any sound with frequencies above 15.5-16 Khz and remove/attenuate a big part of low frequency sounds (making audio files less "bass"-y)

 

 

[Dackzy]

4 hours ago, mariushm said:

 

 

SNIP

you have some things really wrong, the human hearing goes up to 20kHz when you are a kid, when you are a teenager it should be around 18kHz, that is at least the average, but there are cases of some people being able to hear above the 20kHz. I have been tested on a hospital and my hearing was up to 29kHz when I was 14-15, now it is up to about 26-27kHz, there are really few people like me, but we are out there, that is also why people say the normal max hearing a human has is about 20kHz. Those 16kHz you are talking about are more for people ind their late 20s and up. It would be bad and sad if you are 10 years old and can only hear up to 16kHz, just imagine how bad your hearing would be later in life, the average human hearing is already pretty bad later in life.

 

[mariushm]

I wouldn't say really wrong. I was simply making things easier to understand by a completely noob person (you would have figured this out by checking his post history)

 

Yeah, if you want to be textbook correct, than I suppose it would be correct to say that a very small percentage of humans can correctly and repeatedly detect and process sounds close to 20 000 Hz but from the moment you're born everything plots against you on this subject. The internals of your ear become weaker, you get dirt and hair and wax in your ear that attenuates and muffles high frequencies, so it's safe to say that most people from ... - let's throw a number out there - from 8 years to around 20 years can probably hear sounds up to around 18000 Hz.  Anatomicaly, the last bone that contributes to human hearing is "optimized" for 15kHz and up, not 18-20kHz and up ... and the frequency range our ears are best tweaked for is around 2-5000 hz, which matches the frequencies used by normal talking... the further you are from this range, the less accurate and less sensitive your hearing is. 

Above 20-30 years of age, the sensitivity goes further down, so if you want to produce something that's audible by everyone you would be wise to not go over 16kHz 

 

As for your statement that you can hear above 20 kHz that's just bogus. Just no. Sincerely doubt you have the sound card and the headphones or speaker capable of more than 20kHz and even then, you'd basically be a superman and worthy of study... the highest number in laboratory conditions and with young people is 28kHz

 

if you want to learn more about hearing, see this page and click on the bubbles in the picture there : http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/hearcon.html

 

[AlisterM]

Bass speaker. Commonly for PC audio it's found as a square box. 

[Dackzy]

2 hours ago, mariushm said:

As for your statement that you can hear above 20 kHz that's just bogus. Just no. Sincerely doubt you have the sound card and the headphones or speaker capable of more than 20kHz and even then, you'd basically be a superman and worthy of study... the highest number in laboratory conditions and with young people is 28kHz

 

if you want to learn more about hearing, see this page and click on the bubbles in the picture there : http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/hearcon.html

 

did you miss the part where I told you that I was tested at a hospital? I have been doing a lot of tests, since I was 14, every 4 months I go in for a test, because they want to know how my hearing is doing.

 

Don't come here and say I cannot hear above 20kHz when it says so in my medical papers. This is such a classic way of response, I know jack shit about this guy, but I do think that I know this.

Let me tell you some facts about me that the doctors have found out. 

1. I am born with tinnitus on both ears, there is a connection in my brain that is not correct when it comes to hearing

2. I am very sensitive to sound. What you would hear as about 90dB would be about 120dB for me, this also means that anything above 90dB hurts me really badly

3. Because of my hearing I pick up very small things in sound

4. My hearing right now goes up to those 26-27kHz. The doctors say that I will have above average hearing most of my life, but in the 40s I will be fairly close to average hearing

5. No I am not a superhuman, that would be the same as calling people with just something special about their body a superhuman

 

So let me tell you something the doctors told me, sometimes very rarely they get people in that can do things that is not normal. One of the doctors even told me about a teory where the people with lets say a bit longer right leg where a form of next step for humans, not just 1-2cm, but 4cm+, you might think oh that is fairly normal, well he said that I was in that group just with hearing instead. I have some hearing aid that sends noise into my ear, but a doctor discovered that I could hear the little bone inside of my ear move a bit sometimes.

 

And no it is not nice having this hearing or tinnitus. There are many things I cannot do. Going to the movies? Nope only if I have those earbuds that lower the volume with 20-30dB. Going to a concert? 100% No, no matter what I will not be able to go. Going to a party? Maybe, but I would have to be outside a lot. Family events? Maybe, depends on where and what we a doing. Going to the mall? With the earbuds sure, without them nah.