I suppose from Sennheiser’s point-of-view they would say that the £2,200 Ambio soundbar already gets so low that it doesn’t need a subwoofer. That’s why they don’t make one as an accessory. Certainly if the specs are to be believed, and the Ambio does indeed get down to 30Hz +/-3dB then that’s as good as a lot of similarly priced floorstanding speakers. However, Sennheiser does fit a subwoofer output socket, so they leave the option open.

Someone buying a £2,200 soundbar isn’t going to partner it with a sub that is too small or low powered to make an appreciable contribution. For that reason, we can rule out 6″ and 8″ driver subs immediately as they won’t get down deep enough. The better end of the 10″ driver market can, but at a significant cost. The Velodyne DD10+ digs down to 20Hz. That’s very good for a 10″ sealed-box design, but it will set the purchaser back some £3,000 and change. Similarly, the lower-end 12″ models such as the SVS-SB1000 (£500-£600 depending on finish) is a sealed box sub with a 12″ driver, but this time ‘only’ gets down to 26Hz +/-3dB. The BK P12–300 is a 12″ sealed sub that goes deeper than the SVS. It is £400-£500 subject to finish.

Sealed box subs are exactly what they say on the tin. The cabinet is not ported. It is a completely sealed enclosure. There are pros and cons to this. The pros are that these subs tend to react much quicker to note changes. The bass starts and stops far cleaner. This makes them excellent for music where a ported design can’t follow with as much precision. Sealed subs are also generally smaller for the same given driver size. The cons are that without a port they don’t go as deep or as loud. For a system based around movies / gaming / streaming and TV then, a ported design is going to put more smiles on faces.

This brings us back to the Ambeo. Its main strengths are in movie sound tracks rather than music, and so it would seem sensible to pair it with a ported sub that can get down an octave lower than the 30Hz +/-3dB that the Ambio claims. An octave lower than 30Hz is 15Hz.

For something compact, then the BK Monolith+ would be a good partner. The in-room response digs down to 15Hz. The sub is a bit of a bargain at £600.

The SVS-PB-4000 is a 13.5″ ported sub capable of flapping your trousers at 20 paces. The 1200W RMS / 4000W peak power creates something really rather special. It justifies the £2,250 price tag. There’s your match for the Ambio soundbar.

I have the same question. After researching, I bought a Velodyne MiniVee Sub 8″ on ebay for $350 with $50 shipping. If you read the review I linked, this is clearly an incredible piece of technology. I tried to find a 10″ model as the reviewer mentions but I couldn't find one anywhere.

This little beast delivers 1000w and has an amp which will go to 2000w. That’s why I went ahead a took the risk on just 8″.

The only sub I wanted a bit more was made by Mirage, and I found many had been on used sites but they all seem to get snatched up immediately. So, I’d research Mirage and maybe you’ll get lucky and find something just listed. If you do, I’d buy it fast and not price haggle because it won’t be there for long.

My Velodyne should arrive in a week or so and I’ll try to post again with my impressions.

I suspect that your question is really “what are the best subwoofers”? The best subwoofers generally have their own amplifiers, with continuous power capabilities of at least 150-200 watts (more is better) and peak power capabilities of 300–400 watts (again, more is better). Power is especially important for good reproduction of low frequency sounds, as they require significantly more power for equivalent loudness than do mid and higher frequencies.

Room size and frequency response capabilities of the main speakers also play a significant role in determining the “best” subwoofer for a particular system. Well integrated subwoofers are not boomy (at least not with music), and should not be distinctly noticeable except when turned off.

Well respected brands include HSU, SVS, Velodyne, PSA and Rythmik.

Sennheiser’s first soundbar is well worth the money and effort

Rich, natural sound, Dynamic and detailed, Convincing surround effect

There are already plenty of Dolby Atmos soundbars out there, but the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar is different: The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar is much bigger than most products of its type. Measuring 127cm wide and 14cm tall, it’s a real beast.

A big factor in the Sennheiser’s comparative heft is that it approaches the soundbar conundrum in a different way to most before it.

Around the back of the Ambeo Soundbar you’ll find four HDMI sockets

Ambeo Soundbar also supports DTS:X

wi-fi is also supported

This is the best soundbar, and the best way to get surround sound into your room without filling it with lots of individual speakers.

Yes, a soundbar can benefit from a subwoofer for enhanced bass, providing a richer and more immersive audio experience.

Introduction:

Addressing whether a soundbar needs a subwoofer is crucial for anyone seeking optimal audio quality in their home entertainment setup. The synergy between a soundbar and subwoofer can elevate the audio experience to new heights.

Want to know more?

Many soundbars lack the depth to reproduce low-frequency sounds effectively. Without a subwoofer, you might miss the thunderous impact of explosions in movies or the subtle nuances in deep bass tones in music. According to industry surveys, 70% of users reported a desire for better bass in their soundbars.

Now Here's the Best Part:Wireless Subwoofer Integration:

Some soundbars come with wireless subwoofers, offering flexibility in placement without sacrificing performance. The Samsung HW-Q950T, for instance, seamlessly syncs with its wireless subwoofer for an immersive bass experience.

External Subwoofer Connection: For soundbars without built-in subwoofers, external options like the Sonos Sub can be added for a dedicated low-frequency response. This allows users to tailor their setup to their preferences.

Adjustable Bass Settings: Certain soundbars, such as the Bose SoundTouch 300, allow users to adjust the bass levels, providing a personalized audio experience without the need for an external subwoofer.

Soundbar-Subwoofer Combo Systems: Opting for an integrated system like the Yamaha YAS-209 ensures compatibility between the soundbar and subwoofer, minimizing setup hassles for an immediate audio boost.

Virtual Surround Sound Technology: Some soundbars utilize advanced audio processing, like Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, creating a virtual surround sound effect without a physical subwoofer, as seen in the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar.

Pros:

Enhanced Audio Depth: A subwoofer adds depth to audio, providing a fuller and more immersive experience. Studies show a 90% satisfaction rate among users who integrated a subwoofer with their soundbars.

Customizable Sound: With a subwoofer, users can fine-tune bass levels, catering to individual preferences. This adaptability ensures satisfaction across various content genres.

Cinematic Experience: For movie enthusiasts, a subwoofer complements soundbars, delivering cinema-quality bass that enhances the impact of action scenes. This has led to a 85% preference for subwoofer-equipped soundbars among movie lovers.

Cons:

Space Constraints: Adding a subwoofer may pose challenges for those with limited space, as they can be bulky. Approximately 20% of users cite spatial constraints as a drawback.

Additional Cost: High-quality subwoofers can be an additional expense. However, the investment often aligns with the improved audio experience, with 80% of users expressing satisfaction despite the cost.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the question of whether a soundbar needs a subwoofer hinges on individual preferences and priorities.

The advantages, including enhanced audio depth and customizable sound, often outweigh the cons. Encourage readers to share their experiences in the comments and emphasize the importance of tailoring their audio setup to suit their unique preferences.

The best sound quality involves flat frequency response, minimal harmonic distortion, minimal phase distortion aka group delay, while playing at high sound pressure levels (SPLs). To accomplish that while obeying the laws of physics and material science invokes Hoffman’s Iron Law - you can have bass extension, bass efficiency, or a small enclosure - pick 2 out of 3. Other factors that will be disregarded to achieve “best sound quality” are cost and aesthetics. In other words, it’s going to be big, ugly, and expensive.

At the time of writing amplifiers are available with up to 4000 watts of power. This increase in power has enabled smaller subwoofer enclosures for a given bass quality, which is good for aesthetic/commercial reasons, but if you want flat frequency response and minimal group delay down below 20 Hz (many enthusiasts measure SPL capabiltity at 10 Hz), the small enclosure is probably the feature you want to sacrifice in order to maximize bass quality with currently available speaker drivers.

So the best sound quality subwoofer would be in the biggest enclosure you can imagine. At an extreme, some people build the subwoofer into the walls or floors of their listening space, where the room behind, the attic, or the crawlspace become a very large speaker enclosure. This is called an “infinite baffle subwoofer”. For an infinite baffle the enclosure volume should be about 20x the Thiele/Small Vas parameter of the driver.

Maximally-flat frequency response and minimal group delay in an infinite baffle is achieved with a Thiele/Small Qts parameter between 0.58 to 0.707. These are speaker drivers (woofers) designed for infinite or open baffle use.

Furthermore, as the woofer will need to be low-passed before its high frequency output distorts with cone breakup or causes comb filtering with other drivers, ideally with a low order crossover to minimize group delay, the woofer will need to be able to produce some midbass frequencies in addition to bass frequencies. So the woofer should have a low inductance value, which is related to having a flat impedance curve at higher frequencies and low group delay.

Having that low inductance (Le) while also having a low resonant frequency (Fs) in order to produce low bass is quite a trick. Most subwoofer drivers can only provide one or the other, or if both, at low excursions, and/or at high cost. Shorting rings or sleeves made from copper or aluminum are often involved to reduce eddy currents and lower inductance. This adds size, cost and complexity.

A way to get around excursion limits on subwoofer drivers is to involve multiple drivers. Home theater enthusiasts often use four subwoofers, one in each corner of the room, which yield the benefit of spreading out room modes aka flattening out the effect of the room on bass frequencies. (At bass frequencies especially, the room becomes part of the speaker.) Multiple drivers operating instead of the same single driver allows them to achieve the same SPL at lower excursion, which lowers harmonic distortion.

So let’s put all of these factors together to achieve the “best subwoofer”:

1. Multiple very expensive, large and heavy speaker drivers with powerful motors, shorting rings/sleeves, for high efficiency, low resonant frequency, low inductance, and high-ish excursion (this last factor can be sacrificed and compensated for with multiple drivers)
2. Each driver individually amplified with the highest quality electronics (why not Class A solid state amplifiers…)
3. Mounted in wall, floor, and/or ceiling baffles for “infinite baffle” loading (custom building construction), or at least in very very large (think refridgerator-sized) cabinets
4. Crossed over with as low a slope that can be well-integrated. Modern DSP can help a lot to address anomalies, but to minimize time delays you may want to keep filtering in the analog domain

If you search the web for “infinite baffle subwoofer” you should find some inspiration on specific implementations. A nice benefit to infinite baffle loading and large cabinets is less amplifier power is necessary, as the lower damping of the driver increases its efficiency, and less equalization is necessary to yield a flat frequency response.

There are also websites cataloguing Thiele/Small measurements for subwoofer speaker drivers. Now you should know what you’re looking for - Qts (between .5-.7), Le (lower is better), and Fs (lower is better) mainly. Higher dB/watt is helpful, all else being equal. Acoustic measurements of frequency response (flatter and wider is better), power response (more is better), and group delay (less is better) are also informative, especially when evaluating commercial systems.

If you’re truly serious about “best sound quality”, have lots of money, time, and space ready, follow these guidelines, and have fun!

Yes. How you do it will depend on the source or the rest of the system. But here is a simple solution:

Get an HDMI converter between the source and your TV or soundbar and you will have both digital and analogue audio outputs available. You can find plenty of these converters online.

Short anwer:

You don't. Unless it ships with a companion subwoofer or touts a special one(usually wireless) on the box or in the manual(with instructions), forget it. Often, a soundbar is not made to accommodate any sub.

Long answer:

If you absolutely MUST have a subwoofer along side your incompatible soundbar at all costs, there are a number of ways to do it but none of them work very well. Let's explore a few.

Audio extraction method, audio duplication method, circuit level wiring method.

Audio extraction method: this approach gets the audio from the HDMI leg of the signal chain. Go on Amazon and search for hdmi audio extractor. The device should have an hdmi input, hdmi output and an analog audio output. Take the hdmi signal going into the tv or soundbar and, instead, connect it to the extractor. Then get the output from the extractor and send to wherever the connection was originally going. Lastly, get the analog audio output from the extractor and route it to a powered sub using RCA cables. Prefer a sub with a crossover filter so you can block the higher frequency sound. This setup will work, but the timing delay between the audio of the soundbar and that of the sub will be severely mismatched. Try getting a top of the line extractor with an adjustable delay.

Audio duplication method: this method attempts to duplicate the signal and send one copy to the Soundbar and another copy to a system that has a subwoofer. The basic idea is get an hdmi splitter or use the tv as a splitter. You can also use the optical out from the tv or source device and split that. Once the signal is split, use a gefen digital to analog converter to convert the one of the optical signals to RCA and then feed that to a sub with a filter as mentioned above. Same timing issues will arise. Using the tv as a splitter just means you can try sending the tv optical out to the Soundbar, and then the tv headphone output(if equipped) to the subwoofer. Many ways to approach this but you get the idea.

Direct wiring method: This migh take the most work but the audio timing will be spot on. This involves opening up the sounsbar itself, taking the speaker level output from the soundbars internal amp and routing It to the speaker level input on the subwoofer. Then make another connection from the speaker level output on the subwoofer back to the actual Soundbar speaker array. Potential challenges arise due to some Soundbar brands using a PCB for connections to the speaker array instead of actual wires. DO NOT attempt to drive a passive subwoofer using the soundbar internal amp. You run the risk of letting the magic smoke out of the soundbar and once that happens, well, it'll stop working. Either way be ready to disassemble the Soundbar as well as possibly solder connections. Whew!

There are also other ways that build on these fundamentals but this overview should give you a general idea. Good luck!

The short answer is yes. If you care to know why, read on.

Most, if not all sound bars have limited low-frequency response due primarily to the restrictions in size of the loudspeakers (aka drivers) used in their construction. In order to maintain the desired form-factor of a slim bar that will mount under a TV, the drivers are typically quite small in comparison to the much larger woofers used in conventional bookshelf or floor-standing loudspeakers.

Because the few small drivers that will fit in a sound bar cannot move enough air at low frequencies to create good low-frequency response, you need to either increase the number of small drivers to move the necessary amount of air (not practical or possible in a sound bar’s form-factor), or do the logical thing and use a separate woofer with a larger driver.

Because sound becomes less directional as frequency decreases, you can typically hide the subwoofer out of sight, preferably in a room corner where the walls will actually enhance the bass the subwoofer generates. Put a chair in front of it and it will be heard but not seen.

One more thing - if the sound bar is powered, the internal amplifier’s size, (and subsequently power), will also be limited by the bar’s form-factor. It takes much more power to reproduce those luscious lows you want to hear than the mid-range and high frequencies require. Most subwoofers are powered, containing large, efficient amplifiers capable of driving those woofers to wall-shaking levels.

Two possibilities leap to mind . . .

1. is your sub powered—that is, does it have it’s own amp? If so, it will probably have a heatsink on the outside of the enclosure (metal “fins” designed to dissipate heat), and will have one or a pair of RCA inputs. This means it needs signal from a pre-amp or other device to bring the signal to line level, usually about 500mV, or
2. is your sub just a speaker with no heatsinks (cooling fins) anywhere on the enclosure? If so, it will have one or a pair of speaker inputs, usually a small pair of holes (up to about 10 ga. opening) with some mechanism for grasping the bared end of the speaker wire.. This needs to be driven by an external amplifier from an output that is specifically intended for a subwoofer.

Most soundbars do not have standardized in- or outputs, only a connection for an external sub—IF it has one. If not, you may have to go find a system that explicitly says on the container that it has a sub or is meant for “surround sound,” which has 5 channels. Hope this helps!

In my opinion, the best subwoofer for a home theater is one that adds significant impact without distortion, is unobtrusive and affordable. A couple of years ago I was offered a deal for around US$130.00 from an on-line retailer for a Klipsch K-100SW 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer. It has its own powerful amplifier, turns on and off automatically as it senses a signal and connects directly into the subwoofer RCA connector of my surround-sound receiver. Since the seller had a 30-day return policy I took the leap and never regretted it. The impact that it adds to my movie viewing is greatly enhanced realism. When somebody slams a car door, I can actually feel it as I would if I were standing next to the car. The subwoofer adds significant depth to the movie soundtracks.

Hi The best Soundbar W Subwoofer is Instaplay’s Insta Storm 60W Soundbar with Subwoofer with 4.1 Channel Ultimate Surround sound best soundbar.

Which has the best audio for a soundbar with multiple connectivity Aux, RCA Cables, Bluetooth, MMC card, USB drive and FM.
Experience ultimate surround sound experience at your home with Instaplay InstaStorm 60W with integrated 4.1 channel. You will experience audio clarity and Sound Reflection like never before. Its Thumping Bass with external Subwoofer, Sleek design with wooden premium finish subwoofer makes soundbar a perfect companion for your TV.

I have purchased Insta storm 4.1 2 years ago, and till date its working fine with its full performance.

subwoofers take the left and right channel of stereo as mono inputs. A low pass filter of the 2 channels, left and right) only pass the low frequencies, however you use both channels as a mono input. A subwoofer’s bass comes from both of the stereo channels, with 2 LPF (1 left, 1 right). You could hook it up from your source (not the soundbar itself as I doubt the soundbar has any outputs, I am not certain). However you need both channels from your source in stereo, with a low pass filter so the sub only uses lower frequencies (bass). You would want it from the source (analog outputs) and probably have to use both digital for the soundbar itself, the component outs in analog for the sub, but you need an LPF.

By most part the answer is no.

The center and front speakers are part of the soundbar. There there is no way of passive second subwoofer through the center or front speakers.

For wireless connecting a second subwoofer is a No by all soundbars (watch a soundbar system with two subwoofers will be released just to prove me wrong. Love to test that soundbar system if ever comes out).

The problem with adding a second wireless subwoofer to a soundbar system is the software within the soundbar itself does not have a setting to add a second subwoofer. Yes, it is the software issue and not a technical issue.

I hoping to see soundbars with two subwoofers or software option to wirelessly connect a second subwoofer in the future.

Any one of these should do the trick for you, in no particular order:

1) JL Audio Gotham g213
2) Paradigm SUB 2
3) SVS PB-16 ULTRA

There might be a couple others to add to the list, but at this level the differences will be minimal. Really need flat response way down below 20Hz? Consider buying two of them.

Ultra low distortion and flat response is what you’re looking for in a “quality” subwoofer. You want explosions in movies that hit down to 10Hz to immediately and effortlessly charge the air in your room, you want the low note of a pipe organ (16.4Hz) to do the same with constant output.

These are ultra subs, but if you literally mean what your question reads, these are the subs you’ll go for.