10 great subwoofer brands that you have never heard of!

There are a lot of great subwoofers brands on the market right now.  Most people are familiar with mainstream brands like Alpine, Sony, Polk, Kenwood, Klipsch, Yamaha, Kicker and JL Audio*.  But there are a ton of others that you may not know about, but you SHOULD!  Since this is a DIY page we are going to focus on raw drivers that will work well in both the home and the car.  These are the subwoofers that the insiders and the experts know and love.  So if you know these subs then you are either an insider or an expert. 

#1 Dayton Audio 

Dayton Audio 10" Ultimax

Let's kick off the list with a brand that we have LOT of personal experience with.  Dayton Audio is the house brand for Parts Express, Parts Express specializes in DIY audio and they supply parts to OEM speaker manufactures.  We have personally built several projects using these drivers. 

 

They offer the “classic” line of value priced entry-level subwoofers, these are great subwoofers for an entry level home theater build.  

Dayton Audio Classic 12"

 

The Dayton Audio Reference Series are aluminum cone drivers available in both High Fidelity and High Output versions.  The Ultimax is an awesome home theater or car audio subwoofer.

 

 

 

#2 NVX

Speaking of house brands our next subwoofer is NVX, this is the house brand for Sonic Electronix, an online car audio retailer.  They offer a wide variety of subwoofers, and it is not uncommon to see these drivers at car audio competitions.  The VCW line is an absolute beast.  Check out this massive 1,000 watt 15” sub with a three-inch voice coil that you can pick up on Amazon:

NVX VCW152 1000W 15" VC-Series Dual 2-ohm Car Subwoofer

    #3 Savard

Speaking of Amazon, Savard is another great brand that you can get on amazon.  Back in the 1990's this small company out of Baton Rouge had a cult following, and made fantastic speaker system for the car and the home.  Bill Savard's son, Will, as resurrected the brand.  It is back and better than ever.  The 6.5”HI-Q subwoofers is an absolute beast!  This is a 300 watt 6.5 with a 2" inch voice coil. 

SAVARD Speakers HiQ Series 6.5" inch Dual 2 Ohm Subwoofer

They also have the less expensive RAP series, but don't be fooled by the entry level price.  Just give this this 1,000 watt RAP 12 with 16 mm of XMAX a look.  AT $150 shipped you going to have a hard time finding a better bass for your buck.

Rap Series 12" D2v2 Subwoofer

#4 GRS

Next up is GRS, the budget champion.  GRS stands for great replacement speakers.  If you want to breath some life into old speakers these are affordable drop-in replacements.  The subwoofers work well in a wide variety of ported and sealed enclosures. When I say affordable, I am not kidding.  The 12” model is less than $25.  If you are looking for a budget subwoofer this is the hands down winner. You would pay twice that for a similar subwoofer from a mainstream car audio company.  The DIY Audio guy used one of these in the budget bass box:

#5 Image Dynamics

IDMAX12 V.4 D4

Not every subwoofer on this list is a budget subwoofer.  Image Dynamics has a great reputation and they have been around for a long time, so you have probably heard of them.  The IDMAX line of subwoofers are handmade in the US!  They are are known for their amazing sound quality, and look fantastic with an understated, elegant logo across the front!

It is common to find these in infinite baffle trunk builds.  If you want something that can get nasty low, make some serious bass, and sound good doing it you can't go wrong with Image Dynamics.  On top of all that Image Dynamics can be re-coned in a matter of minutes with their re-cone kits!

#6 Wavecor

Here is another amazing sound quality subwoofer, Wavecor.  They have a wide variety of shapes and sizes, like this funky looking shallow mount.  Check out this big 12 with the aluminum cone:

Wavecor SW312WA03 12-1/4" Aluminum Cone Subwoofer

You may look at this and think that the power handling just ain’t what it should be on a sub at this price point. But check out the sensitivity.  This thing does not need a lot of power to get loud. You can pick these up at parts express.

#7 Rockville 

Now it is time to stir up controversy with a sub from audiosavings.com, the Rockville K9!

Rockville W12K9D2 12" 4000w Car Audio Subwoofer

What do I mean by controversy?  Rockville very famously LIES about their power ratings.  This driver can only handle 500 watts RMS.  There was even a class action lawsuit filed against audiosavings.com. So, why are we recommending this sub?  Because it is a great subwoofer offered at a bargain price.  We are not the only ones that think so.  The YouTuber HiFi Vega thinks it is the best 12" for under $150.  Here is his video:

   

#8 Tang Band

 

Tang Band W8

Tang Band is very popular among the DIY audio crowd.  "The Uglies" by Toid's DIY Audio makes use of a pair of the W8's in each tower.

The DIY Audio Guy used a 6.5" version the W6 in this compact subwoofer build:

If you want to make a compact subwoofer these drivers are hard to beat, but if they are to big for your needs Tang Band also offers a 5.25" version, the W5:

Tang Band W5

#9 Eminence

How about another made in the USA brand?  Eminence, made in the small town of Eminence, Kentucky.  This brand is best known for making guitar amp speakers.  But, they produce drivers for many different companies and applications. Just click on this pic and look at the stats on the 12C!  This is a nice subwoofer: 

Eminence Lab 12C

#10 SKAR

SKAR is known for making powerful subwoofers at bargin prices.  They provide excellent bass for the buck and have gotten very popular over the last few years.  As best we can tell SKAR is copying the look you would find on a Sundown and DC Audio, but doing it much, much cheaper.  They also have a line of affordable amplifiers.   Check out this 15" subwoofer it is an ABSOLUTE MONSTER!

 

SKAR ZVX 15"

Is this the end of the list?

Of course not!  There are TONS of awesome subwoofer brands that most people have never heard of.  Which ones did we miss?  Leave a comment and tell us about them!

*This site uses affiliate links, when you click on an affiliate link and place an order we may earn a small commission, as an Amazon Associate we earn a small commission on qualified sales. 

Building your first Subwoofer: Before you start cutting

If you want to build a subwoofer, here is what you need to know before you start cutting wood.

You have the bug!  A friend with a great subwoofer (home or car) has shown you their setup.  You have been browsing various online retailers and you think you can build it better, or cheaper.  Perhaps you have been into audio for years and you are ready to up your game and DIY.  This is a multipart guide on how to get started!  Here is what you need to do before you start ordering parts and cutting wood.

1.  BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

This is an old quote from Steven Covey.  Focus on the result that you want, define the purpose of this project, and clearly understand why you are doing it yourself.  Here are some things to think about.

• Is this for music or home theater?  For home theater you need to reproduce bass frequencies that are below the normal human hearing range (20 HZ).  For most types of music you don't need to play as low.
  
• Is this for nullor home?  Car's have less space to work with, but benefit from cabin gain.  The design principles are the same, but the end goal is different.
• Do you want sound quality or do you just want to be loud?
• Are you going to build one subwoofer, or is this a lifelong hobby?  This will make a difference later when start to build your tool collection.
• How are you going to "finish" the enclosure?  Paint?  Carpet? Veneer?  Vinyl?  Make sure you plan ahead so that the end project will look good, or at least tolerable.  

 

2.  IDENTIFY YOUR CONSTRAINTS

Like any other DIY project you need to understand the factors that are going to prevent you from creating the perfect subwoofer.  The three most important constraints are:

• SPACE:  Big bass requires large drivers in large enclosures and it is very important to put the driver in an appropriate sized enclosure.  Putting a large driver in an undersized enclosure will give you horrible results.  So start by understanding your available space.  How much space do you have to work with?  Will your wife let you put a big wooden box in the living room?  How much room do you have under the seat in your four door pickup truck?  How much of your car trunk are you willing to sacrifice?   
  

• BUDGET: Most audio websites never talk about budgets, but they should.  This hobby ain't cheap.  If you are looking at entry level gear, you can buy it cheaper than you can build it.  You are only going to save money if you are trying to recreate a high end subwoofer, and only if you have access to the tools you need to do the job.   

• POWER:  If you are building a subwoofer for your car or truck there is one more thing to consider:  POWER.  Your alternator provides the juice while the car is running and your aftermarket subwoofer amplifier is going to compete with important things like headlights, spark plugs, and cooling fans.  Every car is different, so every car will have a different maximum amount of power available for your subwoofer.  Just remember that your car's electrical system is not an infinite source of instant power and modern car electrical systems are more complex than you can imagine.

 

3.  INVENTORY YOUR TOOLS

If you build things for a living (carpenter, electrician, etc) or if you are already an avid DIY'er you probably have the tools that you need.  Otherwise you will need to start collecting tools.  Don't be afraid to start small, and start with cheap tools.  Don't get stuck into the "buy once cry once" mentality, this is just a marketing slogan designed to get you to spend more money than you need to.  You don't need a dedicated workshop loaded with industrial grade woodworking tools to build a 2 cubic foot box with a single hole in it.  Here is a short list of basic tools that you will need to get started, along with links* to amazon so you can order the ones you don't have.

• A workbench, a pair of decent sawhorses and some scrap wood is a good place to start.  My first workbench was an old desk that somebody left on the side of the road.
  
• A jigsaw.  This is the cheapest tool for cutting speaker holes.  Don't buy an expensive corded jigsaw.  You will eventually want to upgraded to a cordless model. 
  
• A circular saw.  Again, don't spend a lot on a corded model.  You will eventually upgrade to a table saw and you will eventually want a cordless circular saw.
• A cordless drill.  You can get buy with just one, and it does not have to be expensive.  But life is easier if you have two.  That way you don't have to waste time swapping out a drill bit for a Phillips head bit while you are assembling the enclosure.  Some speaker builders will glue and screw the box together.  But there are plenty of other ways.  You will, however, need to drill holes and drive screws to mount the driver in the enclosure. 
  
• Clamps. Some speaker builders clamp and glue their entire enclosure, this works great.  I use clamps as extra hands. 
  
• A sanding block or a handheld electric sander.  Again, you will upgrade to a cordless one eventually so don't spend a lot of money on this item.
• An edge guide, so you can make straight cuts.  Even if you just use a straight piece of wood you need an edge guide.  I like the kreg rip cut.
• Wire crimpers, strippers, and cutters.
  

If you want to kick it up a notch here are some more advanced tools that will make life a lot easier:

• A brad nailer, either battery or pneumatic.  Your enclosure will be held together with wood glue.  Clamps, nails, and screws are just used to hold things together while the glue sets. My preferred method is to apply glue, clamp the pieces in place temporarily, drive in a few 18 gauge brad nails, remove the clamps and move on to the next piece.   
• A router with a circle jig.  Cutting perfect circles with a jigsaw is hard.  A circle jig on a router is almost idiot proof.  You can also use the router to flush trim and round-over the edges.  This will really improve your end product.
• A table saw.
• A torch for solder and shrink wrap

The DIY Audio Guy has a video showing how to build a box with basic tools:

 

4.  INVENTORY YOUR SKILLS

What do you know how to do?  What are you good at and what is beyond your ability? Are you good at drawing?  How about basic arithmetic?  Do you know how to read a tape measure?  Are you a professional cabinet maker?  If you don't have some basic DIY skills, don't let that stop you.  Instead, practice a bit.  If you have never used a circular saw, then go get one, get some wood and start cutting.  Don't know how to solder?  Go get a soldering iron and spend a few hours a night practicing.  You will get better.  Your first box will look like crap.  So what?  Go get some more wood and try again.  Learn from your mistakes.  You will get better.  Jump on YouTube and watch some woodworking videos.  I recommend Steve Ramsey's Wood Working for Mere Mortals.  He teaches basic woodworking techniques and he uses affordable tools.  Here is his video on how to make a simple box:

Another great resources is Toid's DIY Audio, Toid covers topics and builds from beginner level to advanced.  Here is one of my favorite videos where he helps us understand and fix a very common mistake that is often made when building a ported subwoofer enclosure.

 5.  START SIMPLE, NOT SMALL

Large speakers are no harder to build than small speakers.  In my experience small projects (boomboxes, small bookshelf speakers) are much harder to work with because of the tight space inside the enclosure.  So don't start with a 6.5" woofer, start with a 12.  But, keep it simple.  Start with a sealed enclosure.  If you start with a ported enclosure then build an existing design, or a kit, or stick to the manufacturer's recommended specifications.  Don't try something complex until you have mastered something simple. Avoid exotic speaker coverings at first, then expand as your skill increases.  Don't start with plexiglass windows, exotic shapes, or advanced techniques. Sure, that stack-fab, fiberglass, passive radiator, eighth order bandpass you saw online looks nice.  But you need start with a simple rectangular box with a single hole in it.  After you can make a simple box look and sound nice then you can advance to the next level.

*Most of the links on this page are affiliate/associate links, if you click on the links and make a purchase I may earn a small commission.  As an Amazon associate I may earn a small commission from qualified sales.