If your superhero films sound a little less than super, or your hi-fi is sounding a little lean, adding or upgrading a subwoofer is a great way of beefing up the bottom-end performance of any two- or multi-channel system.
A good subwoofer provides enough bass depth and weight to shake your sofa during those crucial movie moments, but it also needs to be tight and tuneful to make sure that the entire soundtrack is accurately and engagingly reproduced in your living room. A bad one will just drown out all the other frequencies with its bassy sludge and make your movies and music sound worse.
Unlike a lot of product categories that we cover at What Hi-Fi?, subwoofers are additions to your system rather than being products that can function independently of others – nobody’s going to watch a movie or listen to an album through a subwoofer alone.
That can make choosing one particularly tough, so we’ve created this list of the top-performing subwoofers from our exhaustive reviews back catalogue. Every sub below has been through our rigorous testing process, so you can be sure it’s worth your hard-earned cash.
Read on for our pick of the best subwoofers for stereo and surround sound systems, and check out the best speaker packages you can buy if you're looking to create the best home cinema system too.
Recent updates
February 2025: checked pricing, and availability of the entries and removed the Sonos Sub Mini from the list.
The quick list
Best overall
A favourite for over a decade, B&W’s ASW610 packs power, poise and subtlety into a box that’s surprisingly compact.
Best budget
Big in size but not in price, the beastly QB12 puts in a floor-shaking performance worthy of your local multiplex.
Best for Sonos
The larger of the two Sonos subwoofers is the better one, and its intriguing design means you don’t necessarily need to hide it.
I am What Hi-Fi?’s TV and AV Editor but even in my spare time there’s nothing I like more than closing the curtains, putting on a movie and cranking up my home cinema system, so I know exactly how important a good subwoofer is to that experience. Nothing gives a film that cinematic feeling like a good dollop of low-end on the soundtrack, but not being able to make out dialogue is one of my movie pet hates. I’ve got first-hand experience with all of these subwoofers, and none of them would be here if they couldn’t get that all-important balance right.
Best subwoofer overall
Don’t be fooled by the diminutive form of B&W’s ASW610; this is the subwoofer we would recommend over all others if you want to give your surround-sound system a boost at the bottom end.
Despite measuring just 31cm tall, the ASW610 is capable of formidable power, its 200W amplifier controlling the excursions of its 25cm Kevlar/paper drive unit in impressive style. There's depth, drive and authority to belie its size, with a brilliant blend of power and musicality.
Available in either black or white, its compact dimensions make it easy to accommodate in all but the smallest living spaces, but it also has the necessary dynamism to fill rooms of all sizes with sound.
Whether it’s a movie soundtrack or one of your favourite albums, the ASW610 can deliver bass with subtlety and speed, making it a gen uine all-rounder when it comes to delivering solid bass as part of a hi-fi or home cinema system.
Read our full B&W ASW610 review
Best budget subwoofer
Q Acoustics’ QB12 might be the most wallet-friendly choice on our list here, but it could end up costing you in other ways, such is the sheer power that lies within its hefty frame.
The QB12 smashes through the action like a steam train, hitting you right in the stomach and taking your whole body along with it, so you might want to warn your neighbours when it’s movie night (or move to a bigger house).
That’s hardly surprising considering its 12in driver is pushed by 220 watts of Class D amplification, but there’s much more to it than just brute force; the QB12 is also precise, detailed and really rather dynamic.
It’s designed to work best with Q Acoustics’ 3000i suite, as well as the Concept 5.1 speaker range, but as long as what you pair it with has enough oomph to integrate effectively without being overwhelmed, and you have the physical space to accommodate it, the QB12 is a brilliantly affordable way to upgrade the low-end response in your home-cinema set-up. Next door’s peace and quiet be damned.
Read our full Q Acoustics QB12 review
Best subwoofer for Sonos
Sonos started out fully focused on multi-room hi-fi kit, but the launch of the original Sonos Sub back in 2012 showed that the company cared about home cinema sound, too.
The eye-catching contemporary design sets it apart as something a little bit different to the other, more traditional subwoofers further up this page. Apart from the power cable it’s entirely wireless (although you can connect it to your router with an ethernet cable if the Wi-Fi isn’t up to scratch). You can use the Sub to create a multi-channel system with one of Sonos’ soundbars and, if you can afford it, some of its other wireless speakers such as the Era 300.
The Sonos Sub is big and heavy but you can lay it down flat if that will help you to find a home for it. Similar sonic characteristics ensure the Sub integrates well with the company's other wireless speakers, and the extra weight, power and scale is obvious.
It’s not cheap, and when playing music bass lines can be a little on the fat side, but its easy setup and unique characteristics make it a fine addition to any movie-loving Sonos fan’s setup.
Read our full Sonos Sub review
How to choose the best subwoofer for you
Adding a subwoofer to your home cinema setup is essentially the same as buying a new piece of furniture for your living room, so it requires a bit of forward planning. You wouldn’t buy a five-seater sofa and only work out where to put it once it arrived, would you?
Fortunately none of the subwoofers on our list above are quite that large, but they all require about a foot of room around them, so measure your space and bear that in mind when making a decision. Even more fortunately, from a sonic point of view subwoofers aren’t too fussy about placement, so at least you don’t have to worry about positioning it directly underneath the TV.
Size isn’t just a physical consideration when it comes to choosing a subwoofer either. Larger subs tend to be more powerful, with higher RMS figures, so make sure everything is in proportion. Too much power in a small room runs the risk of overwhelming the space, plus the proximity of your neighbours means you’re unlikely to make the most of it anyway (unless you really don’t like them).
Most subwoofers will require a direct wired connection to your AV receiver, so that’s also something to bear in mind when choosing one. If running cables around your living room is going to prove problematic you can also get wireless subs that only need a power cable to function, but bear in mind that a lot of them only work within a specific closed ecosystem (the two Sonos ones above are a good example).
Fundamentally, a subwoofer is always going to be an addition to your setup rather than a standalone item, so making sure it fits with what you’ve already got – and the room you’re using it in – is key.
How we test subwoofers
A lot of products we test at What Hi-Fi? can be evaluated almost in isolation. Things like TVs and headphones need sources, but they’re entirely responsible for their own performance. Subwoofers, however, are only ever additions to other speakers, which makes reviewing them a slightly unusual proposition.
Every subwoofer we test is given the same treatment. In our state-of-the-art facilities we will pair them with a suitable set of reference speakers as part of a surround-sound package. After ensuring they are set up correctly, we will test each subwoofer in different positions in the room and with a range of different films and musical genres.
A key element of the What Hi-Fi? review process is comparative testing, so we will also bring in a rival subwoofer at a comparable price (and often cheaper and more expensive alternatives, too) to see how they stack up.
No matter what we’re reviewing, all of our verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole rather than a single reviewer, helping to ensure consistency and avoid individual subjectivity. The What Hi-Fi? team has more than 100 years collective experience of reviewing, testing and writing about consumer electronics – and that includes subwoofers – so our opinion is trusted by retailers and manufacturers, as well as consumers, the world over.
From all of our reviews, we only choose the top subwoofers to feature in this Best Buy. That's why if you take the plunge and buy one of the products recommended here, or on any other Best Buy page, you can rest assured you're getting a What Hi-Fi?-approved product.
You can read more about how we test and review products on What Hi-Fi? here.
MORE:
- How to set up your subwoofer: our expert guide to room placement and controls
- 10 of the best movie scores to test your system
- 25 of the best tracks for testing bass
- Best AV receivers: best home cinema amplifiers
FAQ
Where should I place my subwoofer?
Bass isn’t as directional as the frequencies further up the range, so the good news is you have significantly more freedom over where you place your subwoofer than you do with your other speakers. That being said, the acoustics of your room will have an impact on the sub’s performance, so it’s worth trying a few positions to find the one that provides the best balance of sound quality and convenience. For more in-depth tips, read our guide on how to set up your subwoofer.
Can I use a Sonos sub with a non-Sonos soundbar or speakers?
There’s a very short answer to this question: no. The longer answer is that Sonos products work on their own proprietary network, so without a Sonos soundbar, or at least one of the company’s other Wi-Fi speakers, the Sonos Sub and Sub Mini are just very large paperweights.
What’s the difference between a sealed and ported subwoofer?
Unless you’re trying to fill a very large room with bass you don’t need to consider a ported subwoofer, and there are none on the list above anyway, but it’s still worth knowing the difference. The cabinet on a sealed sub is, you guessed it, fully sealed, which helps to control the sound the woofer makes. A tuned port (or ports) in the cabinet generates extra output below what the drive unit itself is capable of, but they tend to be bigger and more expensive than sealed subs. For home listening, a sealed subwoofer should be plenty powerful enough.
