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A soundbar is getting more popular day by day. The proof of that is that a lot of newbies want to know one or two things about it. This question is at the extreme side of the newbies’ questions spectrum. Can a soundbar replace a subwoofer?
At A Glance: A soundbar can never replace a subwoofer because a soundbar and subwoofer both have different roles to play. The soundbar’s job is to produce frequencies of 200 Hz to 20 kHz while the subwoofer’s job is to produce 20 Hz to 200 Hz of frequencies.
Keep reading to know more about it. At the end of this article, you will know what a soundbar and subwoofer are and for what purposes they can be used. I will also answer the related questions to this at the end of the article.
What is a soundbar and for what purpose can it be used?
Soundbar has one role to deliver better performance than the Built-in speakers of the TV.
The speakers in TVs are very small, that’s why they can’t produce good frequencies that can be loved by audio enthusiasts so easily.
The speakers on the TV. Each driver of that speaker is as small as one inch or Half an inch. This much size of drivers can’t give depth to the voices and music of the TV. In many TVs, the speakers sound good at low volume but once you raise the volume they distort there because they have no capacity to produce frequencies at high volume.
That’s why brands have introduced soundbars. The soundbar’s job is to produce those frequencies better than the TV. What are those frequencies? Those frequencies are from 200 Hz to 20kHz. It means these frequencies completely miss the low end of the frequency spectrum.
The TV speaker’s job is to produce those frequencies and the soundbar’s job is to produce them better. That’s why soundbars are equipped with mid-range drivers and tweeters for high-end frequencies. They are not equipped with woofers.
That’s why they are good at producing better dialogues and music but those dialogues and music lag depth in it.
To know that depth keeps reading this article.
Read this review guide about the best soundbar for home theater. I have reviewed the top 7.
What is a subwoofer and for what purpose can it be used?
The subwoofer’s job is to give depth to the existing music and dialogues coming out of other speakers or soundbars.
The subwoofer can play low-end frequencies of 20 Hz to 200 Hz. In this range, all the depth of the sound exists. This depth contributes to the realism of the visual content.
When the door slams or someone is punched in the movie. With a subwoofer, those impacts feel real and right in your room.
Along with these impacts. Huge parts of the human voice frequencies lay at the lower end of the frequency spectrum. That’s why the dialogue with the subwoofer feels more deeper and realistic.
Along with dialogues and impact sounds there are many more music parts that lay at the lower end of the frequencies spectrum.
For all these lower-end frequencies the subwoofer is responsible. That’s why a subwoofer is a must for every home theater system. Without a subwoofer, there is no top-notch realism in the movies for me.
Now that you know what are the roles of these two devices. Let’s jump to the final verdict of this argument.
Read this review guide about the best subwoofer for home theater. I have reviewed the top 7 here.
Final Verdict: Can a soundbar replace a subwoofer?
| Sound Device | Frequency Range |
|---|---|
| Soundbar | 200 Hz to 20 kHz |
| Subwoofer | 20 Hz to 200 Hz |
The final verdict is that a soundbar can never replace a subwoofer. The soundbar and subwoofer have distinctive jobs to carry out.
They are so different from each other that you can’t even compare them. It is a sin to compare them. If you can’t compare them then how can you replace one with another?
If you want better sound than the TV’s speakers, you can go for a soundbar, but if you want bass and realism in that sound, then there is no other way to go other than a subwoofer.
You will be good to go with a soundbar if you intend to understand the dialogues better but for bass, only a subwoofer is the solution.
Many soundbars do come with a separate subwoofer and they are one of the best in the market. I have reviewed a few of them in the above review guide of soundbars I referred you to. But if you want to know the difference between a soundbar with a subwoofer vs a soundbar without a subwoofer then read my this guide. You will know what qualities a dedicated subwoofer can bring to the soundbar experience.
Did you get something out of this Soundbar guide? Hold On We Have Something Exciting To Share.
[the_ad id=”4771″]FAQs
Will any subwoofer work with any soundbar?
If the subwoofer has a Bluetooth connectivity option and the brand has labeled it as universal then you can connect it to your soundbar.
But few brands don’t want their soundbar or subwoofer to connect to another brand’s soundbar or subwoofer. The Bose subwoofer can only be connected to the Bose soundbar. That’s why first find out whether the subwoofer you want to connect to the soundbar is universal or not.
Although I have invented the universal word right now. You can just search out that this subwoofer connects to its brand soundbar or other too.
Can I use my old subwoofer with a new soundbar?
If your soundbar has support for the RCA cables connectivity then you can connect your old subwoofer to the new soundbar but if doesn’t have RCA support then you can’t
The reason only RCA-supported soundbars can connect to old subwoofers is that old subwoofers don’t have Bluetooth connectivity options.
Helpful Resources For The FAQs To Read More
- This was my opinion, read more about the subwoofer and soundbar connectivity in this guide by Yamaha. (Resource for the first answer)
