An in floor subwoofer is a great way to provide serious bass levels to your audio system without compromising the aesthetic of the room. Floor standing subwoofers are great, but interior designers and homeowners alike commonly ask, “Do I really need a subwoofer? I’d rather not have such a large speaker just sitting in the room.” The answer is yes, if proper surround sound is the goal then a subwoofer is necessary. It doesn’t have to sit in the middle of the room though; it could be hidden in the floor. An in floor sub is the solution that both audio enthusiasts and interior designers are happy with.

In Floor Subwoofer Applications
In Floor Subwoofers Product Choices
How to Choose an In Floor Subwoofer
In Floor Subwoofer Amplifiers
Installing an In Floor Subwoofer

In Floor Subwoofer Applications

In floor subwoofers are used when the presence of a floor standing subwoofer would be considered unsightly, but the goal of high quality audio is not to be compromised. This is most commonly the case in surround sound systems, which always require a subwoofer. In a room where the rest of the speakers are either within bookshelves, the wall, or the ceiling, the subwoofer is generally the last component that needs to be hidden, in which case an in floor subwoofer becomes necessary. This could also be true in stereo audio zones where there is a conflict of interest between family members, in which one would prioritize audio over aesthetic, but the other would prioritize aesthetic over audio.

In floor subwoofers are preferable to in wall subs in terms of sound quality. This is because in wall subwoofers are generally designed to be only 4″ in depth, which is a severe limitation on the depth of the speaker and also the air volume of the enclosure (if it’s even a sealed enclosure at all). Not only that, but drywall isn’t exactly a rigid stucture. It’s very common for the vibration of an in wall subwoofer to carry into the drywall which will cause a lot of excrutiatingly annoying unwanted noise. In floor subwoofers are generally 3-4 times as deep as in-wall subwoofers, allowing for a much deeper speaker and a lot more air volume. Since the floor is very rigid, it also avoids creating unwanted noise from vibration of surrounding materials.

In Floor Subwoofer Products

We prefer the 12″ in floor subs in the UTF series from Next Level Acoustics. These are premium grade in floor subs made with no compromise, and can even be customized to suit individual taste. These subs are a great value because they offer an experience you can’t buy in a big box store, but at a price that’s still inline with the rest of the market. Specifications for each subwoofer are in following table.