Active vs. Passive Subwoofer - Which is More Convenient for Your Sound System?
Sep 07, 2021
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Without a subwoofer the sound system can get really dull, just like rock music without bass. And since without subwoofers you can’t get the best output from your sound system, you can’t really call the system complete.
So, in order to have the best listening experience and to enrich the sound system and to amplify the sound to all corners of the room, adding a subwoofer to the sound system is a must. Check out the Best Subwoofer for Music Only.
The subwoofer means below the woofer and it should be applied for those products that amplify bass response to below 20Hz.
There are many categories of subwoofers depending on many things. But mainly depending on the power, there are 2 varieties of subwoofers. They are ‘Active Subwoofers’ and ‘Passive Subwoofers’.
Active subwoofers have internal amplifiers, and it is also called powered subwoofers. On the other hand, passive subwoofers run with external amplifiers. Depending on your rest of the sound system and your other preferences, you will have to determine which one to buy and comparing side by side is the best way to find out desired subwoofer klipsch vs svs subwoofer.
Passive Subwoofers
The passive subwoofer does not come with a built-in amplifier. Like traditional loudspeakers, passive subwoofers need to be powered by an external amplifier or receiver. It is called a passive speaker as it requires an external power source to run.
Large rooms that might need multiple subwoofers can work well with passive subwoofers. Also home theatre designers prefer this kind of subwoofers as well. For producing sound, subwoofers need to draw power from something.
In case of passive subwoofers, since the power source is external, it is important to choose an amplifier that can provide enough output to properly sustain the deep sound of the device. Also while using it with a large sound system, how much power is necessary for the subwoofer also needs to be considered.
A passive subwoofer needs extra cabling as it uses an additional amplifier. So it is a bit more complex for passive ones to connect all the components.
People who have custom home theater installations, use passive subwoofers mostly. In fact as part of custom installations, they are mostly kept mounted on walls. So custom installations and powerful amplifiers can cost extra.
Subwoofers themselves are cheaper than active ones. You can easily link multiple units together for dynamic or larger home theater rooms in terms of passives, so that you can make the sound spread throughout the room without problems.
And for your home theater you can go for cheaper 5.1 receiver or loudspeaker bundles and cut your expenses. With this you can feel various types of music at home. Like you can play party music to get deep bass or watch movies and feel the sound of tanks, planes, or waves of sea water.
If you are planning to add a subwoofer in your car audio then passive subwoofer is more suitable. Because you can build your own and customize the loudness of your music. You can also choose amplifier power and create glass shaking loudspeakers.
Advantage of Passive Subwoofers:
- You can get more control over your home theater buy using passive subwoofer
- Require less power to run and save your electricity bills
- Cheaper than active subwoofer
- Easy installation process and work with various type of receiver and amplifiers
- Suitable for both room size room and big size room
- Best option for car audio system
- You can easily change the amplifier and replace with different power one
Disadvantage of Passive Subwoofer:
- Does not comes with built-in amplifiers
- Need to buy separate equipment to run it properly
- You may have to deal with so many cables for power and signal
- Amplifiers can get broken if it take too much load
Active Subwoofers
Unlike passive subwoofers, the active subwoofers use their own power source, for instance a built-in amplifier and crossover. That’s why they are also known as powered subwoofers.
They work best in a single subwoofer configuration, more than in a home theatre system. And so the placement of active subwoofers is an important issue. By placing them correctly you can feel the music.
However, they are really easy to set up. Powered subwoofers generally depend on all the built-in components. And as the amplifier is also built-up, it is evenly matched with the power needs of the subwoofer.
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That’s why they are completely hassle free and work as an all-in-one solution. As they are not connected with any external power sources, they don’t require as many cables as passive ones, as a result the set up is easier.
But another thing is, active subwoofers use more power to run than passive subwoofers. They are also more expensive than passive ones as they include more components in the powered ones which can help to have a more optimal bass sound.
Dolby Digital 5.1 is a powered subwoofer which has five main channels with a low frequency effects (LFE) channel that became the standard for DVDs and established a new norm as well as paving a way for a designated bass channel. The bottom line is it can provide quality sound with a single unit; it doesn’t have to use multiple ones.
But if you can always use multiple active subwoofers at your home theater system. You can easily connect them and place them in your convenient area. Nowadays active subwoofers come with wireless facility to make hassle free setup.
But an active subwoofer is not suitable for a car audio system because the amplifier is built-in and the power is fixed. You cannot change the amplifier power to feel loud bass music. For car audio systems, a passive subwoofer is best.
Advantage of Active Subwoofer:
- Comes with built-in amplifiers and crossover
- Single active subwoofer is perfect for small size room
- No need to worry about cables
- Can place anywhere you want to get best music experience
- Can place subwoofer and receiver separately
- Also comes with bass extension, midrange clarity and dynamic range system
Disadvantage of Active Subwoofer:
- Active subwoofer is expensive than passive subwoofer
- Can cause extra electricity bills because it need more power to run
- Misplacements can cause bed music experience
- Amplifier power is fix and you cannot replace it easily
- Not suitable for car audio system
Related Reading: Is there a big difference between 10 and 12 inch subs?
Main Difference: Active vs Passive Subwoofer
You cannot find a major difference between active and passive subwoofers. The active subwoofer comes with a built-in amplifier and crossover to produce a variety of tunes and let you enjoy the movie or music you are playing at your home.
On the other hand, the passive subwoofer does not come with a built-in amplifier. You need to buy separate amplifiers or receivers to complete your sound systems. With a passive subwoofer you can choose your own tunes and enjoy the music.
Sound quality:
Both subwoofers can produce the best quality sound depending on the situations. With a passive subwoofer you can choose the power of the amplifier. Depending on the amplifier your sound quality can vary and you can change the sound system.
And the active subwoofer comes with a built-in amplifier and can produce different music tunes. If you need more sound you can always buy another one and connect with the previous one.
Price
In terms of price the passive subwoofer is cheaper than the active subwoofer. But if you consider complete setup then both of them have similar cost.
The active subwoofer is expensive, because it has a built-in amplifier but the passive subwoofer does not come with an amplifier.
But if you want quality sound and more tune options then you have to spend more to complete the setup.
Which one is more suitable for a home theater system?
The experts prefer active subwoofers for home theater systems. Because they come with the whole package and can produce different tunes of music. And you can always add one more active subwoofer in your sound system.
If you want you can also use a passive subwoofer at your home. But you need to set up and buy other components to complete the sound systems. You need to deal with cables to set up the passive subwoofer but you can create your own sound system with different tunes.
Placement:
Placement is an important side of the subwoofer if you are willing to get the best music experience. If you think you are not getting the best sound feeling then you need to calculate and change the subwoofer position to get right the place.
Preferable subwoofer setup for car audio system:
The most preferable subwoofer of a car is the passive one. Because you can set different bass loudspeakers on your car and create air-shaking sound. You can choose the power of the amplifier and replace it anytime you want.
You can also use an active subwoofer inside your car, if you are not looking for loud bass sound. But in car audio systems active subwoofers are not recommended by experts. Because the active one is not powerful enough to create a loud sound.
Decision Point of Active vs Passive Subwoofer
However, you need to check which one is suitable for you. If in your home theater system, AV, surround sound receiver etc. have a subwoofer preamp output. Then powered subwoofers are for you.
Mainly the choice is mostly up to you. For being easy to use, compact and all inclusive, the active subwoofers have become way more popular these days and now they are getting used mostly with home theatre systems.
Even though they might be costlier than the passive ones, you won’t need an external power source for it, so the cost comes down a bit. Active subwoofers also have powerful bass sound and designated frequency channels.
So, as it seems the active subwoofers are better options. On the other hand, you can capitalize on an already purchased receiver with a built-in amplifier with a passive subwoofer and reduce the cost.
Also passive ones allow you to have custom designs and connect multiple units which will be a help for larger rooms. Also wall-mounting features are something else too.
And for car audio passive subwoofers are better options. Because you can select the power of the amplifier in order to get the sound quality you want. You cannot get glass-shaking performance with an active subwoofer but a passive subwoofer is customizable and lets you build a powerful sound system.
Conclusion
The bottom line is, active vs passive subwoofers is a really hot topic for debate. But if you are a music fan and want to set up the best sound system for yourself, you’ll know which subwoofer will allow you to have your preferred system the most and meet your requirements.
Also, you should care about the budget too. All this being said, the active might have a bit upperhand, but not much. But in the end, it all depends on you.
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