Why Your Home Studio needs a Studio Subwoofer

As an experienced sound engineer, you must already own a pair of great-sounding studio monitors. However, if you wish to accurately monitor lower bass frequencies that your speakers cannot reproduce (or without sufficient output), adding an active subwoofer to your monitor setup could be the answer. Whatever style of music you’re producing – Rock, Hip Hop, or Jazz – a clear and accurate bass response provides a more complete picture of what your mixing, and is rather indispensable in a professional monitoring setup.

Does your Recording Studio need a Subwoofer?

The idea of adding a subwoofer to a monitoring setup is nothing new, however, it is still accompanied by a few misconceptions. Supplementing your studio setup with a subwoofer is more about expanding the spectrum of frequencies you can accurately monitor. It’s not about boosting the bass in your studio (and making it sound like a dance club), but rather about gaining access to low frequencies that your setup (and the songs you’re working on) can output.

Subwoofers not only fill out the sound of small speakers in a home studio, but they are also extremely useful for mixing, mastering, and video post-production work. That’s because they extend the range of your system to reveal the ultra-low frequencies that most monitors can’t reproduce. However, it is vital to calibrate your subwoofer with your L/R mains to provide the right amount of bass. You want to avoid doing more harm than good to your music by throwing off the accuracy of your system with too much low-end or having it out of phase with your system.

Choosing a Subwoofer

By and large, studio monitor manufacturers also sell subwoofers for that particular line of speakers, so that should be your first choice. A matching subwoofer ensures that the entire system was designed to work together, and the sub has been tuned to provide exactly what your monitors are missing. But if you cannot find a dedicated subwoofer for your specific set of monitors, your best option is to get the closest thing possible from the same brand.

How to Set up a Subwoofer

Once you’ve figured out how your subwoofer will integrate into your system, you need to decide where to put it. As lower frequencies are omnidirectional, there’s no need to stress about pinpoint placement—anywhere on the floor near your desk should be fine, and firing towards the listener is preferred. What is also important is your subwoofer’s proximity to walls and corners. Nearby boundaries are liable to create “loading” or an increase in the sub’s volume at certain frequencies, so it’s better to avoid walls and especially corners. Also, be mindful of using top-quality shielded cables when connecting your equipment. This helps in avoiding interference, noise, and signal degradation.

Another crucial step is setting the crossover frequency to your L/R mains. You want the subwoofer response (or Low pass) to “crossover” at roughly the same frequency as your L and R mains. This can be anywhere between 50Hz and 250Hz (depending on the subwoofer). Doing this will avoid acoustic overlap in the low-midrange, creating a muddy or disjointed sound. If your subwoofer also has a variable phase dial, like the one found on the F8S by Fluid Audio, you can dial in the phase of the subwoofer to better integrate with your mains, for improved sound quality.

Fine-Tuning Your Subwoofer

Once you’ve set the crossover frequency, it’s time to fine-tune your subwoofer’s output level to provide the right amount of bass. Here, using acoustic measurement software is extremely helpful, as you’ll be able to actually measure the output levels and achieve a flat response and great sound by trial and error: Set the level, record a measurement with a test tone, make an adjustment, and repeat until the reading is as flat as you can get it. In case you fail in using measurements to properly align the output, you can always listen to a variety of reference tracks and adjust the sub-level until every song sounds full yet realistic. 

To summarize, should you buy a studio subwoofer for your home studio? Possibly, but it’s worth considering all the factors before you simply buy one. Experimentation, evaluation, trial and error, and training your ear will help you learn the setup you have and help you decide whether a subwoofer is right for your particular recording/mixing situation.