Subwoofers

Fitting a sub into a marine sound system

A marine subwoofer needs somewhere dry and structurally sound to sit, whether that's a sealed enclosure under a seat, a purpose built box, or a wake tower pod, and enclosure volume affects the bass output as much as the driver rating does. Check the manufacturer's recommended box size before building or buying an enclosure, since an undersized box will strain the driver and a badly oversized one wastes output.

Amplifier matching is the other half of getting a sub to perform: pair the driver's power handling with an amplifier rated to suit, and run speaker cable of a sensible gauge for the distance involved to avoid losing output to resistance in the wire. IPX rated drivers and amps cope with spray and damp bilge air, which matters more on an open boat than a fully enclosed cabin cruiser.

If you're building a full system from scratch, it's worth sorting the amplifier and wiring plan before choosing the subwoofer itself.