What Is A Free Air Subwoofer And Its Types

The most common type of subwoofer is called “free air subwoofer system”.

A free air subwoofer is one of the most straightforward subwoofer mounting structure, yet it must be explicitly designed. 

A free air subwoofer is a professionally designed speaker that does not require mounting in an enclosure. 

These sounds are generally too low for the human ear to detect, but they can be felt as vibrations in the body.

Free air mounting subs are typically on the floor and produce sound waves by vibrating against your home’s walls, furniture, and other surfaces.

What Is A Free Air Subwoofer Features To Look For

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The most common feature of a free-air subwoofer is that it enables you to connect your sound system and play music throughout your home without needing separate speakers or an external amp. You can also adjust your device’s volume, which will control how much power the woofer uses. 

Some models come with controls for adjusting the signal, which will allow you to adjust where the bass is coming from in your home.

Another essential feature of a free air subwoofer is how it’s wired to other speakers and devices. Some models come with a speaker wire that connects directly into an external amplifier or receiver so you can play music through them using any source–even if it’s not a subwoofer.

In this case, you’ll want the speaker wire to have an RCA connector on one end and a few other cords that will connect to your receiver or amp.

Other free air subs come with plug-and-play wiring so they can be connected directly to any device without needing additional equipment.

If you have a free air sub with this type of wiring, you’ll need to connect it directly into the speaker or headphone jack on your device. This may restrict you to only playing music through the woofer from specific sources.

Infinite Baffle Back Seat Installation

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When you have a free air setup subwoofer, it’s essential to know how the bass will affect your home. These types of speakers are designed to vibrate so they can produce sound waves throughout your space. 

This means that if you don’t provide some type of physical barrier between the woofers and other surfaces in your home, then you may experience damage to your walls or other furniture. This is called “rattle back” because the bass will vibrate in one direction, and it can cause vibrations that rebound throughout your room in another direction.

To reduce rattling back, you’ll need to install some type of barrier between the free air subwoofer and nearby surfaces.

This can be as simple as attaching a rubber pad to your wall or furniture with adhesive, and it will help prevent the sound waves from rebounding off of those surfaces.

You’ll also want to make sure that you don’t place any speakers too close together because this may cause bass frequencies to cancel each other out–so they won’t transfer throughout your home.

Plain and simple: a free air subwoofer is just that, with no additional pieces of equipment needed for it to function.

Free Air Subwoofer against infinity Baffle

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Infinite Baffle and Free-Air are very similar, aren’t they? It is a typical inquiry that comes now and then.

To begin with, the term “Infinite Baffle” is a description utilized in-car audio. It alludes to an essential idea of what can be expected from this method of subwoofer execution.

It implies by and large that there are no limits on how your vehicle’s boot space can suitably have its capacity utilized.

Component of Infinite Baffle Back Seat

The most vital component of a free air subwoofer is the speaker wire connection, and this can be displayed in two ways; either with an RCA connector or speaker wire that has multiple cords to connect into your amplifier receiver or device.

What Is The Difference Between Free-Air And Infinite Baffles

  • Free air subwoofers are self-contained and don’t require additional components or equipment.
  • Infinite Baffle uses the car’s boot space to produce bass frequencies.
  • Free air subwoofers have a speaker wire connection that can either be RCA or with multiple cords to connect into your amplifier or device.
  • Infinite Baffle back seat installation requires you to attach a rubber pad with adhesive onto your wall or surfaces around the speaker to prevent sound waves from rebounding off of those surfaces.
  • Infinite Baffle allows the car’s boot space to be utilized in a way that it can use the space to produce bass frequencies.

Types Of Free Air Subwoofers Application

There are different approaches to mounting your subwoofer using the infinite baffle method. This is a concept that will allow your trunk space to be used in an efficient way.

Rear Deck Installation In Large Sedans

What Is A Free Air Subwoofer by speakerjournal.com

If you have an enormous vehicle, then the best location to install your subwoofer is in the back of it.

The rear deck has a lot of space and allows you to effortlessly hide all wires, which makes this place seem like an ideal spot for carrying out such an application.
You can make use of the infinite baffle mounting technique if you opt for using multiple woofers instead of a single one.

Boot Space Installation In Sports Vehicles

What Is A Free Air Subwoofer by speakerjournal.com

If you have a sports vehicle, then the best location to install your subwoofer is in its boot space. The rear deck has limited space and won’t allow you to hide all wires for this installation method, so it isn’t recommended if you opt for using multiple woofers.

Rear Deck Installation In SUVs

What Is A Free Air Subwoofer by speakerjournal.com

SUV’s have a lot of space, which makes them appropriate for infinite baffle mounting techniques with multiple woofers.

It will give you the best result in terms of maximum bass presence and extension within your vehicle’s cabin without causing any rattling or damage to its components.

Installation Of The Secondary Lounge

Mounting your free air subwoofer car audio behind the rear seat is also a good choice, especially when you want to use multiple woofers in your vehicle.

This will give the best possible result when it comes to maximum bass presence and extension within the cabin without causing any rattling or damage to its components.

In most cases, this is more straightforward and cheaper than cutting the back deck and won’t require major changes to the existing deck board.

Small Deck Installation

The absence of the surface zone expected to mount a substantial free air woofer can be counteracted by the utilization of a solitary subwoofer in your boot space.

This will give you an excellent bass presence with minimal effort, yet it won’t offer anything like the same volume or extension as when using multiple woofers.

What Do Free Air Subwoofers Need

What Is A Free Air Subwoofer by speakerjournal.com

Free air sub-applications need a woofer system with a bulkier suspension for high force dealing with and one with better cone damping. This will stop the woofer from being damaged by any rattling or resonance.

The higher suspension is necessary for this application because of its ability to deal with high power levels.

It needs a better cone damping to reduce wear on the suspension after long use. All things considered, a free air subwoofer arrangement is not much different from other woofer systems in relation to its requirements.

Conclusion

If you are an audio enthusiast looking to install subwoofers in your vehicle, then the infinite baffle is a good choice for you.

It offers great results without requiring much effort or money and can be installed behind any seat in your car’s boot space, making it one of the least invasive installation methods available.

FAQ'S

What are the advantages of free air subwoofers?

The main advantage is that it can be installed in any car without requiring much effort. It also has a lot to do with its ability to produce maximum bass within your vehicle’s cabin, which makes it an ideal option for people who want their sound system loud and clear.

The most significant benefit of free air subwoofers is that they are a lot more affordable than regular car audio systems, making them popular among people on a tight budget.

What is the best location for free air subwoofers?

The most accessible and most straightforward option is to install them in your car’s boot space or behind the rear seat. These areas will give you great results without requiring any extra effort since they are out of sight from people in the vehicle.

What is a typical enclosure design for free air subwoofers?

The most basic and typical designs are infinite Baffle and rear deck designs, which are both out of sight from people inside the vehicle. These types will also provide you with a great bass response that is comparable to regular car audio systems.

What are the disadvantages of free air subwoofers?

The biggest drawback of this type of car audio is that it doesn’t give you the same bass response as a regular woofer system, making them unsuitable for people who want a more powerful and overwhelming sound.

Additionally, free air subwoofers aren’t the best option if you want to impress your friends or family with a loud system since they are underpowered compared to traditional woofer systems.