Best Underseat Subwoofers For Space Savors

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An under-seat subwoofer can be a game-changer if you want to enhance your car’s audio experience without compromising the space. Many beginners tend to underestimate these innovative devices designed to provide robust and quality sound.

It doesn’t matter if you have a small vehicle, truck, or SUV; they can fit snugly under the seat, delivering powerful bass and enriching your music, allowing you to enjoy every beat and rhythm in extraordinary detail.

However, I’ve found many audiophiles struggling to choose a quality under seat subwoofer for their necessities. That’s why I (along with other audio experts) have created this guide (especially for newcomers) to find the best under-seat subwoofer to revolutionize the car stereo system.

Get ready to transform your audio journey!

A Brief Introduction About Under-Seat Subwoofers:

As by the name, under-seat subwoofers are compact audio devices designed to fit underneath the car seats. Despite their small size, these subwoofers deliver a punch regarding sound quality, particularly the bass frequencies.

These under seat subwoofers are specially created for bass lovers who don’t want to fill the trunk space, vehicles with no trunk, people who want to hide the subwoofer, or family guys who don’t want their children to be involved with the audio components.

Moreover, the best under seat subwoofers are also beneficial for their ease of installation, requiring minimal wiring and adjustments. They often come with built-in amplifiers, eliminating the need for a separate one. However, are underseat subwoofers worth it? Well! That’s a different debate!

The Top 7 Best Under-Seat Subwoofers:

According to our experiences and testings, below are the best under seat subwoofers:

Key Features:

• Peak Power Handling: 600W
• RMS Rating: 300W
• Frequency Response: 35Hz – 200Hz
• Impedance Rating: 4 Ohms
• Connectivity: High-level and low-level inputs
• Actual Dimensions: 15.0″ Height x 19.8″ Width x 11.0″/7.0″ Depth
• Enclosure Type: Sealed Enclosure
• Voice Coil Configuration: SVC
• Long Listening Hours: Yes – As it comes with thermal and over-voltage protection

About Our Experience:

What we love most about Rockford Fosgate P-300 12 is its power and depth. It genuinely delivers a rich, clean, and responsive bass without being overwhelming. It’s the perfect balance between loud and clear, enhancing your music without drowning out the other instruments.

If you’re going with this subwoofer, I suggest you measure your car’s under-seat space. However, some people don’t know about the suitable gauge wire to use! Therefore, I recommend they use a 14 AWG for the installation process.

Key Features:

• Peak Power Handling: 160W
• RMS Rating: 50W
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 200Hz @ deep mode
• Impedance Rating: Matched with the built-in amplifier
• Sensitivity Level: 95 dB @ deep / 100 dB at dynamic
• Connectivity: It comes with a signal input wire that you attach to the subwoofer and get RCA inputs.
• Actual Dimensions: 7.79″ x 11″ x 2.75″
• Enclosure Type: Sealed Enclosure
• Voice Coil Configuration: SVC
• Long Listening Hours: Moderately! I will suggest giving some break after a long listening session. 

About Our Experience:

A friend of mine has suggested Pioneer TS-WX130DA to check if it can qualify for one of the best under seat subwoofers. Well! I am not disappointed with this model. This subwoofer has a unique installation setup compared to other models on this list! Hold on! It’s still easy because every necessary wiring comes within the box!

We have tested the subwoofer with different placements. For the best sound quality, you can put it under the passenger’s seat, facing it upward. However, the enclosure may slide if not appropriately mounted.

That’s why you must use its metal mounts built on the corners. Also, I have used 22 AWG for power and tapped the subwoofer on the rear speakers. It worked fine with the door speakers. Also, you don’t need to use a remote turn-on signal if you’re going with a high-level connection. You can also check my full Pioneer TS-WX130DA review for better decision making.

Key Features:

• Peak Power Handling: Not disclosed
• RMS Rating: 150W @ 14.4V
• Frequency Response: 25-120 Hz
• Impedance Rating: 4 Ohms
• Sensitivity Level: Not disclosed
• Connectivity: It comes with both high and low-level inputs
• Actual Dimensions: 13.78″ Long x 9.45 Height x 3.15 Depth
• Enclosure Type: Sealed Enclosure
• Voice Coil Configuration: SVC
• Long Listening Hours: You can listen to it for long hours, but ensure you keep it in a ventilated place for optimal performance

About Our Experience:

We have tested Kicker 11HS8 Hideaway on a Jeep Wrangler! Anyway, the Kicker recommends using a 20 AWG for installation. But it won’t work for some audiophiles who want to place the sub at a distance from the power source.

In this case, you can use 16 AWG. If I talk about the sound output, it took me two weeks to break in the car subwoofer properly for its final bass response. We have tried different crossover settings.

Out of which, 40Hz worked great for us. For essential connections, you will get an all-in-one connector with the power, ground, and high-level inputs (which you splice into your existing speaker wires, too, so you don’t need to use RCA wires) and a remote wire.

Also, there is one suggestion I would like to discuss, which is that you must correctly mount it under the sub. Otherwise, it may keep sliding with every bass note, giving you a terrible sound experience. You can also check our detailed review on Kicker underseat subwoofers.

Key Features:

• Peak Power Handling: 240W
• RMS Rating: 120W
• Frequency Response: 32.5Hz-150Hz
• Impedance Rating: Matched with the built-in amplifier
• Sensitivity Level: N/A
• Connectivity: It contains both speaker-level inputs (with auto turn-on feature) and RCA line-level inputs
• Actual Dimensions: 13.5″ L X 9″ W X 3″ D
• Enclosure Type: Sealed Enclosure
• Voice Coil Configuration: SVC
• Long Listening Hours: It provides long listening session hours!

About Our Experience:

As you know, many vehicles come with factory-installed subwoofers, but they are often not powerful or responsive enough for most audio enthusiasts. We have found the Alpine PWE-S8 very friendly if someone wants to replace the factory subwoofer.

If we talk about the installation experience, you can simply run wires from the battery and head unit to the subwoofer’s efficient class D amplifier and then connect them with a wiring harness located on its back. Also, I have used 3M velcro for mounting the unit, saving me from drilling holes or using brackets.

We have tried different tuning settings but found that a gain setting of 60-80% worked well to get the intense bass. However, the only drawback that I would recall is that you may notice some distortion if you fail to adjust the correct audio settings.

Key Features:

• Peak Power Handling: 200W
• RMS Rating: 120W
• Frequency Range: 50Hz-150Hz (With built-in Variable Crossover)
• Impedance Rating: 2Ω
• Sensitivity Level: 92dB
• Connectivity: It contains both speaker-level inputs and RCA line-level inputs
• Actual Dimensions: 14 3/4″ Length x 11″ Width x 3 9/16″ Height (Different which is mentioned on the box)
• Enclosure Type: Sealed Enclosure
• Voice Coil Configuration: SVC
• Long Listening Hours: Awesome output! The aluminum die-cast heat sink will keep this little dude from overheating, allowing you to use it for long hours.

About Our Experience:

We have tested Blaupunkt GTHS131 in a Ford F150 Supercew. As I have mentioned the correct dimensions above, it was challenging to fit the subwoofer under the F150 passenger seat correctly. The Supercrew already had a mid-range head unit and decent door speakers but lacked bass response.

This subwoofer was the perfect addition to the truck audio system. It doesn’t just add bass; it transforms the music and takes a load off the other speakers, making the entire system sound better. If you are not looking to win any stereo output contests, you should only go with this subwoofer, but it will undoubtedly rattle your car windows.

The only downside was the mounting brackets. They didn’t last long, and I had to get creative with the installation. But once it was securely mounted, it was rock solid. It’s interesting to note the packaging proudly boasts “German quality since 1923,” but the unit is made in China.

Key Features:

• Peak Power Handling: 400W
• RMS Rating: 100W
• Frequency Range: 20Hz-150Hz
• Impedance Rating: 4Ω
• Sensitivity Level: 90dB @ 1w / 1m
• Connectivity: It contains both speaker-level inputs with an auto turn-on feature and RCA line-level inputs
• Actual Dimensions: 11.4″ L x 8.3″ W x 2.8″ H
• Enclosure Type: Sealed Enclosure
• Voice Coil Configuration: SVC
• Long Listening Hours: Yes!

About Our Experience:

The installation process for Rockville SS8P was pretty easy, including mounting hardware and wiring. Its compact design allowed it to be placed under the passenger seat beside the driver efficiently. We chose this location because the sound output is not loud (as described by many audiophiles), so by selecting this spot, we could get the most out of the unit.

The wiring process was also simple, as the included wiring kit had everything we needed to connect the subwoofer to our car’s stereo system. After installing the sub, we started with some music with a good amount of bass and were pleasantly surprised by the performance of this compact subwoofer. Also, its adjustable input sensitivity is a pretty awesome feature to play with.

As mentioned above, it may not be the most powerful subwoofer on the car audio market, but it can add a much-needed depth to our music, making our daily commutes and road trips much more enjoyable. However, we had to deal with heat dissipation, as some users also reported that the unit tends to get hot after prolonged use. However, we eliminated this heating issue by not pushing the subwoofer to its maximum capacity for extended periods.

Key Features:

• Peak Power Handling: 800W
• RMS Rating: 200W
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 150Hz
• Impedance Rating: 2 Ohms
• Connectivity: High-level and low-level inputs
• Actual Dimensions: 12.4″ Length x 13.4″ Width x 2.7″ Height (Thickness)
• Enclosure Type: Sealed Enclosure
• Voice Coil Configuration: SVC
• Long Listening Hours: Yes – As it comes with thermal and over-voltage protection

About Our Experience:

We have used the Rockville RWK81 8 gauge kit and RCA connection to install RW10CA for testing. I would like to mention that this option is on our top priority list for vehicles with minimal space under the seat. However, we played plenty of music genres to test its performance and were pleasantly surprised by the depth and punchiness of the bass it produced.

Well! You won’t notice the great-sounding bass outside the vehicle, but it will surely make your road trip fun as you won’t be able to notice the road noises. As I have mentioned above, the sub sounds distorted at high volumes. Also, I would suggest providing some ventilation to this subwoofer as it may cause some heat dissipation if used for prolonged periods.

Buying Guide – Worth Reading

Features to Consider:

Before you decide to buy any subwoofer from the above list, I recommend reading this section to avoid negative investment.

1. Subwoofer Type:

Selecting the correct type of subwoofer is critical for under-seat installations due to space constraints and the need for optimal sound quality. Active car subwoofers with built-in amplifiers save space and guarantee a perfect match between the amplifier and subwoofer, ensuring excellent performance.

However, they offer less customization. On the other hand, passive subwoofers provide more flexibility for personalization but require external amplifiers, requiring additional space and wiring, making installation more complex.

Someone looking for an under seat subwoofer is undoubtedly a space-conscious person. In that case, I recommend an active subwoofer than a passive one that requires an external amplifier.

2. Size and Dimensions:

Size and dimensions are vital points when hunting for an under-seat subwoofer. A properly sized underseat subwoofer ensures a good fit, avoids the need for vehicle modifications, and delivers a full, rich bass sound.

Larger subwoofers usually produce better low-frequency sounds, but modern technology has dramatically improved the performance of smaller units. You should also consider irregularities and obstructions under the seat, such as seat rails or electrical equipment.

Moreover, you must carefully measure the available space under the seat, checking the subwoofer’s height, width, and depth.

3. Power Output:

A high-power output subwoofer provides a louder, deeper bass, enhancing the audio experience. However, if the power output is too high for your stereo or car’s electrical system, it could cause damage.

On the other hand, a low power output might not deliver the desired bass and may distort at high volumes. Also, higher power output car subwoofers tend to be larger, so ensure they fit the available space under the seat.

4. Ease of Installation:

If you are a beginner, you must define the ease of installation for your under seat subwoofer that you’re going to get:

1. A complex installation process can lead to additional costs if professional assistance is required.
2. It can consume more time, which could be inconvenient for the buyer.
3. Subwoofers that are challenging to install may result in improper setup, affecting the device’s performance and longevity.
4. The limited space in some vehicles might not accommodate all underseat subwoofer models, leading to compatibility issues.

One thing that all best underseat subwoofers require is that you have to mount them under the seat correctly. You can use mounting brackets that come with them or velcro straps.

5. Compatibility With Existing System:

Get a subwoofer that can match your car’s existing audio system. I have seen many people complaining about the blown subwoofers after installing them for a few days. When I checked for the mistakes, I was not surprised as some of them used the wrong components, such as AWG, installation kits, and connections, while others used a too-heavy underseat subwoofer for their car stereo system.

Suppose the subwoofer is not compatible with the existing system. In that case, it may result in poor audio performance, damage to the subwoofer or the existing system, or even failure of the subwoofer or the current system.

General FAQs