We can unequivocally say that the SVS SB-16 Ultra is the best subwoofer. With its outrageously powerful amp, and stylish good looks, it will fill a room with bass you can feel deep in your bones. It’s so good, we gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 in our review, something which rarely happens.
Our team has more than 50 years of consumer and pro audio experience, and much of that time — thousand of hours — has been spent listening to home theater gear, including subwoofers. We think most people will be deliriously happy with the SVS SB-16 Ultra, but if it’s not right for you, we’ve compiled a list of five alternatives, each with its own specific strength, so you can find the one that’s best for your needs.
Shop Best Buy for regular and in-wall subwoofer cables to connect a subwoofer to an amplifier or a receiver. By: AmazonBasic Speaker Wires; As the best speaker cable wire in our review, this is a 14-gauge speaker wire that comes while winded around a hard-plastic spool. As such, it is easy to dispense, while making it ideal for long signal transmissions with less current flow resistance.
If you’ve already made your choice, check our subwoofer setup guide to get everything put together correctly and our calibration guide to help maximize performance in any listening space.
At a glance
Product | Category | Rating |
The best subwoofer | SVS SB-16 Ultra | 5 out of 5 |
The best budget subwoofer | Monoprice 9723 Powered Subwoofer | Not yet rated |
The best compact subwoofer | GoldenEar Technology SuperSub X | Not yet rated |
The best hideaway subwoofer | Paradigm MilleniaSub | Not yet rated |
The dark horse subwoofer | Definitive Technology ProSub 1000 | Not yet rated |
The best attractive subwoofer | KEF R400b | Not yet rated |
SVS SB-16 Ultra
The best
Why you should buy it: It’s our favorite subwoofer ever, built to excel in any and all circumstances.
Who it’s for: Those who want a powerful, versatile subwoofer that cuts no corners.
Why we picked the SVS SB-16 Ultra:
We’ve had the SB-16 Ultra in our testing chambers for many months now — not because we’re too lazy to move it out (though it does weigh in at a hefty 122 pounds), but because we haven’t found anything worthy to take its place. This subwoofer has become our measuring stick, which might actually be unfair to the competition — it’s that good. Beneath a sleek, stylish exterior, the cubic SB-16 houses a monstrous 16-inch Ultra driver with an 8-inch, edge-wound voice coil, and a ridiculous 1,500-watt continuous Sledge amplifier with discrete MOSFET output that tops out at 5,000 watts peak power.
All of this is to say: No matter how you’re using the SB-16, it impresses. Gunshots and explosions in films register with a hefty thump to the chest, and the sub manages low-end instrumentation beautifully, allowing acoustic bass to bounce smoothly while electronic bass and kick drums shake the foundations of your home. For our money, this is the best subwoofer you can buy, period.
Read our full SVS SB-16 Ultra review
Monoprice 9723 Powered Subwoofer
The best budget subwoofer
Why you should buy it: It’s compact, reliable, and just $100.
Who it’s for: Those who want to add some thump on the cheap.
Why we picked the Monoprice 9723:
If you’re short on cash or if you’re looking for a support subwoofer to put in the bedroom (or office, or whatever your secondary entertainment space may be), don’t stress — there are viable, affordable options out there. For our money (and yours), your best bet is Monoprice’s 12-inch 9723 Powered Subwoofer, which can be acquired for less than $200. Though this guy won’t knock down any walls, it’s capable of producing full bass that never sounds tinny or boomy.
A nondescript, black-on-black design should help the sub fit comfortably into most rooms without drawing undue attention, and at about 17 inches cubed, it’s big enough to rattle some hardwood. If you’re a casual viewer or listener looking for a budget sub to round out your system, try the Monoprice 9723 on for size.
GoldenEar Technology SuperSub X
The best compact subwoofer
Why you should buy it: This pint-sized cabinet belies some serious power.
Who it’s for: Those who want a small sub with exceptionally powerful and articulate bass.
Why we picked the GoldenEar Technology SuperSub X:
Like its equally impressive bigger sibling, the SuperSub XXL (and, frankly, most GoldenEar Technology products), the SuperSub X is a very impressive piece of tech. Despite its relatively small frame — 14 x 12.75 x 13.25 inches, 40 pounds — a quartet of transducers make the X both beefy and musical. Two 8-inch long-throw active drivers are located at either end of the subwoofer, while two fixed passive radiators live near the top and bottom, all powered by a 1,400-watt ForceField digital amplifier.
In practice, this means the X produces deep, forceful bass that outpunches its meager size while somehow managing to avoid distortion, vibration, and sloppiness entirely. At $1,250, this is not a particularly cheap subwoofer — in fact, that’s not cheap at all — but if you want the best bass from the smallest box, this is it.
Paradigm MilleniaSub
The best hideaway subwoofer
Why you should buy it: Its thin profile allows for convenient concealment.
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Who it’s for: Anyone concerned about the aesthetic of their entertainment space.
Why we picked the Paradigm MilleniaSub:
Yes, the MilleniaSub looks like an oversized router, and no, it won’t work underwater (despite the name). Its weird shape, though, is the main reason we’ve included it on our list. The skinny MilleniaSub can be mounted on your wall, but we see its svelte design as an opportunity to beef up your home theater’s bass without busying up your living space.
The MilenniaSub fits neatly behind couches, chairs, and tables, and the extruded aluminum housing means it weighs just 24 pounds. Back-to-back 14-inch “bipolar” polymer cone woofers are driven by 300 watts (up to 900 watts at peak) for pure low-end rumble, and they’re arranged in a manner that nearly eliminates distortion altogether. The $1,400 price is no small ask, but if you’re truly looking for a classy, concealable subwoofer, look here first.
Definitive Technology ProSub 1000
The dark horse subwoofer
Why you should buy it: It’s reasonably priced, surprisingly effective, and versatile to boot.
Who it’s for: Those looking for the best possible performance at just a few hundred dollars.
Why we picked the Definitive Technology ProSub 1000:
The ProSub 1000 punches well above its price point, which hovers under $400 at most retailers. Definitive Technology has a long and storied history of producing excellent bass, and this subwoofer is an outstanding example of that pedigree.
Armed with a 10-inch active driver and a 10-inch passive radiator, you’ll get 300 watts of bass that’s both punchy and poignant, all at a price that is almost too good to be true. The ProSub’s non-resonant MDF cabinets prevent distortion at the lowest frequencies, while its unique, steep “dual-stage” roll-off helps to blend with main speakers.
KEF R400b
The best attractive subwoofer
Why you should buy it: It’s a gorgeous addition to any home theater, and its performance speaks for itself.
Who it’s for: Anyone who wants powerful, tight, and musical low end in an attractive package.
Why we picked the KEF R400b:
We’ve already seen plenty of incredible gear from British-based KEF, including the innovative (and gorgeous) LS50 Wireless, so we weren’t very surprised to find out how awesome the R400b is. This subwoofer features twin 9-inch drivers powered by two 250W class-D amplifiers. KEF mounted the speakers back to back, making for massive-yet-tight low frequencies while keeping unwanted cabinet resonance at bay.
You won’t often find yourself putting a subwoofer in a prominent place, but with the R400b, it wouldn’t be a problem thanks to its eye-catching look, with no visible screws. The $1,300 price tag isn’t cheap, but the combination of looks and performance won’t have you regretting the purchase.
How we test
You’d think a box of bass would be fairly easy to test and evaluate, but given how much a room can affect bass response from a subwoofer — along with the growing number of subs that come with room equalization features that aim to deal with those room-based influences — we’ve developed a fairly extensive process for gathering as much information as we can about a subwoofer’s performance.
Before we get to performance-based evaluations, we take a step back and look at the subwoofer on the whole. Is it bulky or compact? Is it solidly constructed or does it feel a bit flimsy or cheap? How extensive are the connection options and how do those affect connectivity? If there’s an app to help with subwoofer control and settings, is it intuitive and useful?
Once we’ve gathered information on those touch points listed above, we run the subwoofer for several hours before beginning any critical evaluation. While there is much debate over whether the “break-in effect” is real, we prefer to get that factor covered so it doesn’t play a role in our evaluation one way or another.
Our subwoofer tests take place in at least two different rooms, any of which we are intimately familiar with, and we generally test the subwoofer in three locations that we know offer the best possible response within those rooms. Testing material includes everything from test tone sweeps to blockbuster movies and a selection of music from multiple genres. We seek to learn how deep a sub can play, how visceral the low bass response is, how well it can be adjusted to integrate with both small and large satellite speakers, and how musically accurate it is capable of playing.
We hope for a versatile subwoofer, which can not only belt out the big bass notes needed for a high-impact action movie, but one which can also stay tight and tuneful when playing acoustic upright bass, or reproducing the classic Fender P-bass tone. A good subwoofer will avoid tubby, boomy sound that lacks definition, and instead integrate itself seamlessly into a larger audio system, calling attention to itself only during instances in which its pure muscle can’t be ignored.