The Best Car Subwoofers for Bass Lovers 2023

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!

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 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).

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.