Whether you’re watching TV or movies, playing games or listening to music, the SB-3000 has you covered with the kind of deep bass extension you can physically feel. The sealed enclosure ensures a level of refinement and musicality that’s genuinely excellent, but still manages to deliver seismic levels of low frequency energy. A downward-firing subwoofer mounts the bass driver in the bottom, and this approach works well in corners. The output of this style of subwoofer can be increased by using it on a solid floor, though doing so is best avoided if your room is on an upper floor with people below. A top quality sub of infra-bass ability I was already using a pair of Cambridge Audio X500 subs (not the later paper coned ones) but I felt they were not quite exploring the infra-sonic range, so I started to look for a sub that would do that task which could accompany the X500’s.

A number of factors determine whether a subwoofer is any good or not, but the most important metric is how it sounds, so we spend a great deal of time testing audio quality. We expose the sub to a variety of different content, including films, music and video games, at varying volume levels, assessing its ability to reproduce low-end frequencies with power, accuracy and clarity.How the driver is mounted will be a factor, with a choice of forward, downward or sideways. Since bass is non-directional, the design doesn’t actually make a massive difference to performance, but which is best for you will depend on where you want to position the subwoofer. If it’s at the front of the room and near your main speakers, then a forward-firing sub can be a good choice.

Adhering to Dali’s low-loss sound design principle, the surround of the 8” down-firing woofer is built to allow long and linear excursion. The integrated 170 Watt RMS Class D amplifier enables the Dali Sub C-8 D to follow and render the required signal with an absolute minimum of bias. For the deepest bass you need a large cone and you won't find a lot bigger than the Dali's 14 inch beast. This sizeable cone shifts plenty of air so you can feel the lowest bass notes rather than just hearing them. The long stroke woofer is made from aluminium, meaning it's light and rigid - perfect for clean, accurate low frequencies. The benefit of a sealed design is that performance is tighter and more controlled, but at the expense of overall output and extension. Conversely, a ported sub will deliver increased volume and deeper bass extension, while sacrificing a degree of subtlety and definition. As is often the case with REL subwoofers, the T/9x includes high-level connections for use with a stereo amplifier, and it handles music with commendable skill. It’s equally capable when it comes to movies, but if music is your passion this remarkable subwoofer is sure to please.Sound reflects off walls in an acoustic phenomenon called “standing waves” and these waves result in peaks (nodes) and dips (anti-nodes) in a sub’s response. When placing a subwoofer you want to avoid both to ensure a smooth bass response within the room. A high-level connection is primarily used for two-channel amplifiers that don’t have a dedicated subwoofer output. However, a multichannel AV amplifier or receiver will have a dedicated subwoofer output, so all you need is a single cable to connect to the LFE input on the sub. The 1.1-inch soft dome tweeter is bigger than the standard 1-inch tweeter found on most speakers and is designed to provide a larger sweet spot for listening and blend better with the mid-range driver. In fact, these are the first speakers I have auditioned that sound better when not toed in or out. The recommended placement should be with the speakers pointing straight out into the listening room. I’ll speak more about this in my listening section of this review. I placed the Oberon 3s on speaker stands with the tweeters at ear height from my couch and roughly two feet from the front wall.

Always look for the RMS (continuous) power output, because this reflects the normal performance of the sub. The peak or dynamic power numbers relate to the maximum output over a short period of time, which can be very deceptive in terms of actual performance. Dali Sub C-8 D renders a performance, which is true to the input signal. It's a Subwoofer with its heart set on high fidelity. It feels equally at home in a surround setup destined for movies, as it does in a compact stereo setup meant primarily for musical enjoyment. This versatile subwoofer is everything but a ‘boombox’. The Sub (Gen 3) is fairly large, and although Sonos doesn’t mention the size of the drivers, they use a force-cancelling configuration to produce deeper bass. There are also dual acoustic ports for increased low-end extension, and a pair of Class D amplifiers (although once again the actual power rating isn’t given). However, Sonos does claim the Sub (Gen 3) goes down to 25Hz. While the built-in amplification will play a role in the amount of energy a sub can produce, as a general rule of thumb, the bigger the driver the better. For deep bass you should be looking for a sub with a driver that is at least 10in, but you could consider a 12in or even larger woofer. Interestingly, a big driver doesn’t necessarily mean the subwoofer has to be huge, and there are a number of sealed units that manage to cram 12in drivers into surprisingly compact cabinets. Does driver orientation matter for subwoofers?The regular Sub is better suited to larger rooms and remains the superior choice for those who own larger, more powerful Sonos devices like the Sonos Arc. But for those with small to medium sized listening environments, the Sonos Sub Mini is an exceptional device offering most of the same features as its bigger sibling for significantly less money. When it comes to connecting a subwoofer, there are often a number of options available, primarily based around stereo and mono line level inputs using either RCA or balanced XLR connectors. These are also sometimes referred to as low-level or LFE (low frequency effects) connections.