How to Test a Subwoofer

Subwoofers are a common addition to home or car stereo systems.

If you like the bass in your music to rattle windows and drown out conversation, then your audio system needs a subwoofer. This specialized speaker amplifies low frequency sounds, adding some punch to your music and movies. An incorrectly configured subwoofer can result in grainy or distorted sounding music. When setting up a subwoofer for the first time, you will want to play some test samples to adjust your settings accordingly.

Instructions

1. Choose several songs to use as test subjects for your subwoofer. Find music that features heavy beats and bass. Alternately, there are many home-brewed audio files available on the Internet that were made solely for the purpose of testing subwoofers. It doesn't particularly matter what material you use, so long as it generates plenty of low frequency sound waves.

2. Turn on your subwoofer. Set the volume low and the gain control all the way down. You don't want to blow out your woofers on the first try.

3. Begin playback of your audio samples. Very slowly, increase the gain control. Continue to increase it until the sound becomes distorted. At this point, lower the gain back down to the nearest undistorted level.

4. Increase the volume as loud as is comfortable.

References

• Overstock: FAQs About Subwoofers
• Sound on Sound: All You Wanted to Know About Subwoofers
• Audioholics: Subwoofer Calibration Using Rives Audio Test CD 2