The Best Car Subwoofers for Bass Lovers 2023

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A Good Subwoofer = The Ultimate Back-Seat Driver.

A good subwoofer is like putting a live band in the back seat, with a rhythm section you can feel even when the music is low. A great subwoofer will have you looking for the long way home, so you can enjoy more of your music – as loud as you like. But which one should you get? Subwoofers for the car come in all sorts of variations, and at all price levels. The good news: you don’t have to spend a fortune to significantly upgrade your system – if you know what to look for, or who to talk to. And that’s what our “Best Car Subwoofers of 2023” list is all about: our car audio experts cherry-picking the best on the market, by category.

Questions along the way? Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and talk to one of our mobile technicians at our Route 309 Montgomeryville locale (215.368.8343) or email us here. (You will make their day – they love this stuff.)

Here Are Our Picks for the Best Car Subwoofers of 2023:

  1. The Best 8" Shallow-Mount Car Subwoofer: Focal Sub P20FSE 8" Expert Flax Shallow-Mount 4-Ohm Subwoofer
  2. The Best 10" Car Subwoofer Under $150: Kicker 44CWCD104 10" CompC 4-Ohm DVC Subwoofer
  3. The Best 12" Car Subwoofer: Kicker 42CWQ124 12" CompQ Subwoofer w/ Dual 4-Ohm Voice Coils
  4. The Best Compact Loaded Subwoofer Enclosure: JL Audio CS110LG-TW1-2 2-ohm 10" TW1-Series Subwoofer with Compact Enclosure

The Best 8" Shallow-Mount Car Subwoofer

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Focal Sub P20FSE 8" Expert Flax Shallow-Mount 4-Ohm Subwoofer

Regular price $349.99
Sale price $349.99 Regular price
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  • Subwoofer Size: 8"
  • Continuous Power Handling: 200 watts
  • Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms
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There is no better-sounding shallow-mount car subwoofer than the Focal 8” SUB P 20 FSE. Why? There are a bunch of reasons that we feel this way, but we will temper our enthusiasm and share just the ones that are super-important to consider! First (and arguably most importantly), the subwoofer’s cone is made of a “sandwich” design which sees two ultra-thin layers of glass fiber acting as the “bread” while the flax material acts as the “meat.” Coupling these two materials gives the subwoofer superb rigidity, allowing the subwoofer to produce incredibly clean, musically accurate sound.

Second, the surround that connects the aforementioned woofer cone to the basket of the driver is made of rubber, not foam like cheaper subwoofers. Why does this matter? Because rubber lasts longer than foam, so you’ll have a subwoofer that keeps chugging along for years to come!

Lastly, the subwoofer only requires a sealed enclosure with an internal volume between 0.20 and 0.38 cubic feet to get excellent performance. Since the subwoofer only needs 3” of mounting depth available, you can get creative in designing the enclosure for the SUB P 20 FSE and potentially hide it away somewhere under the rear floor of your car or SUV! Marry Focal’s 4-ohm subwoofer to the proper enclosure and have it fed by a 200-watt amplifier, and you will be thrilled with the results!

The Best 10" Car Subwoofer Under $150

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Kicker 44CWCD104 10" CompC 4-Ohm DVC Subwoofer

Regular price $109.99
Sale price $109.99 Regular price
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  • Subwoofer Size: 10"
  • Continuous Power Handling: 250 watts
  • Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms
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Kicker's CompC-series car subwoofers offer tremendous value versus performance – so much so that no one else even comes close. The 44CWCD104 10" 4-ohm subwoofer is a part of this value lineup, and it's really a solid performer. The subwoofer's cone is made of injection-molded polypropylene, so it's lightweight but rigid, while the surround that attaches the cone to the basket of the driver is of ribbed UV-coated polyurethane to keep it strong yet supple throughout the life of the subwoofer.

You will have a couple of box designs to consider: sealed or ported. With a sealed enclosure, the subwoofer is most happy with an internal cubic footage of 1.00 – 2.40. However, if you opt for the ported design, the box volume changes to 1.25 – 1.75 cubic feet. If you're up in the air about which enclosure to choose, a crash course in box design would tell you that a sealed enclosure generally allows the best sound quality. At the same time, its ported counterpart focuses more on output (or louder volume). Connect this Kicker subwoofer to a 250-watt amplifier and just listen – you won't be disappointed!

The Best 12" Car Subwoofer

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Kicker 42CWQ124 12" CompQ Subwoofer w/ Dual 4-Ohm Voice Coils

Regular price $329.99
Sale price $329.99 Regular price
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  • Subwoofer Size: 12"
  • Continuous Power Handling: 850 watts
  • Nominal Impedance: 2 or 8 ohms (dual 4-ohm voice coil design)
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The Kicker 42CWQ124 car subwoofer may very well be the king amongst kings when it comes to 12” subwoofers. Seriously. It’s capable of handling up to 850 watts without breaking a sweat while requiring only 0.88 cubic feet of internal volume in a sealed enclosure (meaning it doesn’t need a HUGE box to perform quite well). The subwoofer’s SoloKon™ injection-molded polypropylene cone is backed with special bracing to ensure strength and maximum output. You’ll be rattling your trunk apart in no time! This strong woofer cone is married to the frame of the driver via a Santoprene™ rubber surround for the utmost durability. The 42CWQ124’s dual 4-ohm voice coil design offers flexibility in wiring a single (or multiple) subwoofer(s).

The Best Compact Loaded Subwoofer Enclosure

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JL Audio CS110LG-TW1-2 2-ohm 10" TW1-Series Subwoofer with Compact Enclosure

Regular price $399.99
Sale price $399.99 Regular price
Save $-399.99 (%)
  • Subwoofer Size: 10"
  • Continuous Power Handling: 300 watts
  • Nominal Impedance: 2 ohms
  • Dimensions (W x H x D): 15” x 11-3/4” x 5-1/2”
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Car subwoofers are great, but sometimes they can be so large that they just take up too much room in the trunk or don’t fit behind your truck’s seats. Allow us to introduce JL Audio’s CS110LG-TW1-2 to you. Measuring only 15” W x 11-3/4” H x 5-1/2” D, it doesn’t take up much valuable real estate, but adds the impact that your current system is sorely lacking. This 2-ohm enclosure mates up perfectly to a 300-watt monoblock subwoofer amplifier (we have a few of those if you find yourself in need of one). The enclosure is crafted from 5/8” MDF (medium density fiberboard) to help eliminate resonance and wrapped in a durable black automotive-grade carpet with “JL Audio” stitched in white on the top. The enclosure is finished off with a steel mesh grille to help protect the subwoofer from foreign objects.

Awesome car audio? We got this.

That photo below? That’s part of our own custom car audio bay, and it’s where we’ve been doing award-winning, custom installations on cars, boats, and ATVs since 1979. The reason we’re pointing it out: so you know that we’re not just another online car stereo reseller – we have a national reputation for hands-on excellence. We don’t sell junk, we don’t do gimmicks, and we know what works. Whether you’re driving a 10-year-old Honda Civic or a brand new Tesla Model S, we can show you best-case-scenario options in all price ranges.

Need a great car stereo gift idea for dad? Looking to upgrade your car stereo, without ruining your car’s stock look? Our mobile electronics technicians love talking about this stuff, so please – call us at 215.368.8343 or email us here.

One more thing...

Once you pick out your new sub, a last word of advice: buy it from a trusted dealer, and the more experience / the longer the track record, the better. A good dealer will take care of you in the event anything happens. And if you have any questions along the way, please don’t hesitate to talk to one of our car techs.

Speaking of trusted dealers…

World Wide Stereo is home to some 90+ industry-leading audio/video professionals who love what they do, and talking about it, too. We opened our doors in 1979, gained a small yet diehard following, won a slew of national awards for everything from killer car audio installations to customer service, grew the business online… and today we enjoy a faithful following of like-minded TV-watching, music-listening, gear-loving defenders of fun for the whole family. Our only rule: no one leaves unhappy. We’re brutally honest when it comes to this stuff. Want to know if something is as good as advertised? Even if you're shopping somewhere else? Call us or stop by one of our showrooms — we’ll give it to you straight. We love what we do, and we love sharing that love.

With us, you get our guarantee, which includes perks like free shipping, 60-day returns, and support even years after the sale — always. Hence our rule: "no one leaves unhappy." Ever.

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2023 Car Subwoofer Deals

We’ve made it easy to find the best deals on car subwoofers. Our deals update daily so you don’t miss a beat, and we’ve got your back through with our price match guarantee, 60-day returns, easy financing, and free shipping. Don’t see what you want on sale? Give us at 1.866.961.7781 or chat with an expert.

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