Best car powered subwoofers for 2026
Customer favorites for adding bass to your car stereo
In this article: We'll look at some of our most popular powered subwoofers for the car:
- A 300w space-saving enclosure — Rockford Fosgate Punch P300-10
- A 400w truck-style enclosure — JL Audio ACS110LG-TW1
- 500 watts with a 12" speaker and passive radiator — Kicker 51PTRTP12
- Tiny footprint that delivers tight, strong bass — Alpine PWE-S8
- One of our most powerful under the seat subs — Kicker 51HS8
- One of our smallest subs ever — JBL BassPro Nano
- Innovative design that doesn't take up space — JBL BassPro Hub
Which one is the best subwoofer for you? We'll discuss that after the list. Let's take a look!
E
verybody knows that a good subwoofer brings out the best in any kind of music from classical to hip-hop. A powered subwoofer makes it easy to add depth to your music by matching the speaker, amplifier, and enclosure for the best possible sound. Just connect the sub to your vehicle's power and sound system for an upgrade that'll really make your favorite tunes come alive.
We offer a variety of powered sub designs that'll help you bring the boom to almost any vehicle. Whether you're looking for high power and a big woofer or fine detail from a small box, you'll find something that suits your style and your budget. We've highlighted some of our customers' favorite powered subwoofers to give you an idea of what's available.
What makes these favorite subs for the car?
The powered subs highlighted below are not only some of our best-selling car subwoofers. They have also earned an average Crutchfield customer rating of 4 (or more) stars, which means that our customers really like the subs once they've installed them.
These powered enclosures all feature line- and speaker-level inputs that give you the flexibility to connect the sub to your car's stereo system whether you're connecting to a stock radio or a custom installation.
Space-saving compact boxes let you fit your sound into tighter spots
Rockford Fosgate Punch P300-10 — Space-saving enclosure with 300 watts of power
What you get: When you need to fit big boom into a smaller space, the Rockford Fosgate Punch P300-10 drops into spaces as shallow as 9" including behind the seats of many pickup trucks. Its 300 watts of RMS power will rattle your windows and make your liver quiver.
Features: The P300-10's low-pass crossover, bass boost control, and phase switch give you even more adjustability. The included wired remote control overrrides the amp's gain control to let you crank up the volume.
JL Audio ACS110LG-TW1 — Truck-style sealed enclosure with 400 watts of bass power
What you get: The JL Audio ACS110LG-TW1 packs a 10" cone and a whopping 400 watts of power into a sealed box that'll stuff behind the back seat of light trucks and SUVs or along the wall of your cargo compartment.
Features: A mica-filled polyproplyene cone combines lightness and stiffness to give this sub clean, deep sound that stands up to high volume levels. Its ultra-low impedance draws maximum power from the specially designed amplifier.
Kicker 51PTRTP12 — Down-firing enclosure with 12" sub and passive radiator
What you get: With 500 watts of RMS power and the combo of a 12" sub and 12" passive radiator, Kicker's 51PTRTP12 gives you all the bass you expect and more.
Features: The 51PTRTP12's low-pass crossover, phase switch, and bass boost let you fine-tune the bass response. High- and low-level inputs adapt to any system, and the box is designed to protect the sub and radiator from impact.
Shallow-mount subs that fit under your seat
Alpine PWE-S8 — 120 watts and the impact of an 8" sub under your seat
What you get: With a shallow-mount high-excursion 8" sub in a metal case only 3" tall, you'll get great bass in small spaces. The Alpine PWE-S8's 120 watts of RMS power and low-profile metal chassis put solid low end under many car seats.
Features: This little powerhouse delivers the bass you're looking for from a package the size of a book, with controls to dial in your sound and a handy wired remote.
Kicker 51HS8 — 150 watts and the impact of an 8" sub under your seat
What you get: One of our most powerful under-seat 8" subwoofers. Bring your bass up close and personal with this compact underseat enclosure that's made to fit spaces other powered subs can't. The sealed enclosure channels 150 watts through the 8" woofer to put clean, precise bass right in your lap.
Features: The rugged aluminum enclosure and integrated grille stand up to the stresses of your ride's interior, trunk, or cargo compartment. With a frequency range that goes down to 25Hz, the Kicker 51HS8 gives you bass you can really feel.
Specialized subs expand your installation options
JBL BassPro Nano — Tiny subwoofer fits in almost anywhere
What you get: JBL's BassPro Nano gives you 100 solid watts of RMS power in a 10" x 8" x 3" enclosure that fits under almost any seat. Its die-cast anodized aluminum enclosure and metal grille protect the speaker from accidental damage.
Features: A specially-designed shallow-profile 6"x8" woofer gives the impact of a larger speaker while saving space. With lows down to 30 Hz, this little giant fits big boom in the smallest spaces.
JBL BassPro Hub — keep your trunk space and gain great bass
What you get: The BassPro Hub is an innovative enclosure that mounts over the hub of your car's spare tire to preserve maximum cargo space while giving you the impact of a big subwoofer and 200 watts of RMS power.
Features: The 11" speaker's rugged fiberglass cone punches out deep lows, and the wired remote lets you access a full set of controls including a 12dB bass boost at 50Hz to bring out the full depth of modern music. An easy-to-connect wiring harness makes it simple to remove the sub to access the spare tire.
Get a closer look in our story about a Crutchfield employee's experience with the JBL BassPro Hub.
Which is the best car subwoofer for you?
When thinking about a powered car subwoofer, here are some things to consider to find one that's right for you.
What kind of music do you play? A bigger speaker will give you more output and a fuller frequency response. The type of enclosure also plays a big part in how your music sounds:
- Ported enclosures produce the kind of low bass that brings major boom to rock, techno, and hip-hop.
- The clarity of a sealed box is especially suited to the balanced, ambient sound of classical and jazz music.
- A bandpass box booms hardest at low frequencies, perfect for music with strong, focused bass hits.
These aren't hard limits, though...you may find that a ported box is just the thing for your favorite jazz bass solos.
What's your budget? Crutchfield has an option for almost any budget, from value-conscious to price-is-no-object. Get great sound for a pittance, or splurge for the perfect solution...it's all up to you!
How much space do you have? Our compact, space-saving enclosures let you fill your ride with rich, deep bass no matter how little space you have available.
You can learn more about shopping for subwoofers in our Car Subwoofer Buying Guide.
Let Crutchfield help you shop
Our experienced Advisors are standing by to help you with product selection and detailed information about your options. Contact them via phone or chat. We look forward to hearing from you, and hope this article helps with your search for the perfect sound!
Popular questions customers ask
Powered subwoofers provide musical bass fill without taking up all of your cargo space like large boxes loaded with large speakers wired to extra-powerful amplifiers do. In a powered subwoofer, the amplifier is built into the enclosure and prewired to the woofer. This makes for a smaller package and simpler installation. Compact powered subs fit in a lot of different places any in almost any vehicle.
Even little speaker cones can produce large bass sound waves, which are generally between 12 and 30 feet long. Such large sound waves will be unaffected by something as small as a car seat. They won't get reflected or absorbed and will be heard everywhere in your vehicle. The large size of bass waves also makes it almost impossible for our ears to locate their source precisely, so mounting positions for your compact powered subwoofer can vary with minimal adverse effects.
If you're handy with tools, you shouldn't have any problems. You'll need to run a power wire from your vehicle's battery to your powered sub's location, and then a ground wire from there to the chassis. You'll also need RCA cables to carry signal from your aftermarket stereo, or factory stereo interface device, to your new powered subwoofer. Don't worry — when you buy your gear from Crutchfield, our Tech Support people can help you if any issues come up.
You can install two powered subs in your vehicle if you have the space and your vehicle's electrical system can support them both. We recommend running the power wire for each sub from a power distribution block, which would get wired directly to the battery with a wiring kit built to handle the total amount of power of both subs. Give us a call, so an Advisor can help you get all the right installation gear you need to install your powered subwoofer.
The amount of power your powered sub needs depends on how loud you want your bass to sound and how much auxiliary power your vehicle can support. If you drive an all-electric or hybrid-electric vehicle, we recommend limiting the size to no more than about 300 watts RMS, so it won’t interfere with the electric vehicle's normal operation. Otherwise, 150 watts RMS will provide ample bass fill with a factory stereo, and up to 500 watts RMS delivers powerful bass for any stereo.
Keif from Louisiana
Posted on 11/2/2023
Need some bass, behind the rear seat or under front seats. 2022 Toyota Tundra Crewmax! NOT under rear seats though! Got any suggestions?
Bj
Posted on 5/6/2022
Why dont they make them bluetooth so ya can use factory deck
David c from Pinole
Posted on 3/25/2022
I want super bass in my Lexus es300 can I use stock everything except radio and add aftermarket amp and subwoofer?need recommendations on tight budget 300max$
Craig from Constable
Posted on 3/3/2022
Do you carry any pioneer mono amplifiers which deliver around 400 to 600 watts rims? And if you do, how much are they?
DJ from Henderson
Posted on 3/1/2022
Best option for a Genesis G70
Donovan from Yakima
Posted on 1/24/2022
You left out the kicker pt250! 200 bucks 100 watts 10" subwoofer in a truck style enclosure!
Jerry Greer from Merrillville
Posted on 1/27/2021
I have a 2014 Infiniti QX70 with the Bose system 11 speakers. The bass speaker was a spare tire subwoofer 5 1/4 100 watt speaker. You could not hear it unless you stood by the hatchback with it open. I bought the JBL hub and my friends swore it was a 12 ported box! When I show people they can't believe it!!! Brought my Bose system alive. I usually change the whole system when it comes to Bose. But I have 2 daughters in college!