Does a Subwoofer Make a Difference in a Home Studio

Here’s something you may or may not of thought about.

Getting a subwoofer for your home studio!

I’ll tell you right now, a subwoofer makes an amazing difference hearing the low-end, making you hear your song’s full frequency range.

Really, there’s only good to say about a subwoofer in regards to mixing, but there are a few things to consider before purchasing a sub for the home studio.

Consideration for Others!

Low frequencies travel a lot further than high frequencies. So you know what that means.. You may be getting some phone calls, or family members telling you to turn it down often!

Your living situation will really determine whether or not a sub is even allowed with your studio set up!

Space + Price Point

The M-Audio SBX10 is actually quite large in size. So if you’re tight on space, you’re going to have to find room to make it fit. And with a sub, you’ll want to hear how it sounds when you place it in different areas to get the most out of the sub’s sound!

So that probably also means you’ll need to purchase longer speaker cables, too!

And for price, sub’s aren’t super affordable for the home studio, depending on the brand and product you choose, but I would definitely say a sub’s worth it!

But if you’re getting serious with your productions + mixing, think about these points:

Mixing with a Subwoofer

An awesome benefit of the M-Audio SBX10 is that it has a foot pedal. This allows the user to push down the pedal to turn on and off the sub.

So while mixing, you can hit the pedal to hear how the track sounds with and without a sub. This is great for getting an idea of how your mix will translate to multiple audio systems.

But here’s a question for you. How can you properly mix your track if you can’t hear everything that’s going on inside your track’s audio?

A subwoofer will definitely give you a full look into your track’s audio, allowing you to make wiser mixing decisions.

Now, this isn’t to say your mixes are going to start sounding amazing now that you have a subwoofer, cause what if your room isn’t acoustically treated? But it will give you more insight to what’s going on with your song.

Levels

When adjusting your subwoofer’s volume for the home studio, you want to adjust it so that it gives you a transparent sound. This is not the same as listening to a song in car with a nice audio system with your buddies.

In a car, sure, boost the sub to feel the bass, and let the outside world know your coming.

But while mixing, you want accurate results. So boosting a sub, just cause it sounds good, is not the best choice for results which translate great to other audio systems.

As you’ll see in the video, I actually have my sub’s volume VERY LOW, just a little above the lowest volume setting my sub allows. And since I have a foot pedal to turn the sub on and off, I can still test to see if the subwoofer is audible and making a difference.

Save up for a Subwoofer!

So I’d highly recommend getting a subwoofer for your home studio. There really is nothing like FEELING that kick drum and bassline groove together.

The SBX10 is a great choice for anyone in the market for one.

Just be cautious of the negatives mentioned above: consideration to neighbors, room space, and price-point.

Hope the video helps!