Part of the Early History of Subwoofers 1-1950s-1970s

Anyone who is a car audiophile or who passes by will know what a subwoofer is. Subwoofers are usually used to produce that intense, deep bass sensation that is outside the range of most average speakers. Subwoofers are used not only in car audio, but also in home stereos to achieve the ultimate bass in small areas such as rooms and cars.

The subwoofer may look simple enough, but it’s not really as simple as it looks. Over the years, they have been researched, tested and developed to get the best possible sound. However, like other products, subwoofers vary in quality and type and are suitable for different requirements and situations.

Acoustic Research (AR) was the first to introduce a decent subwoofer, announcing the AR-1W in 1954. The AR-1W was a woofer that could extend bass to 20Hz without the help of equalization and was literally effectively closed inside the enclosure. The AR-1W has been an outstanding design for many years, and in fact, by using the principles of acoustic suspension, it still has a significant impact on the design of modern subwoofers. The AR-1W is a compact subwoofer that can be easily paired and mounted on a bookshelf, unlike the huge size sealed speakers that have hitherto been on the market.

Dr. Harry Olsen also contributed significantly to the design of today’s audio systems. In the 1930s / 40s, he first claimed that speakers needed not only the front but also the back. Otherwise, the sound waves from the back will interfere with the sound waves from the front. He also designed a passive radiator. It was designed to replace the vent. This is a system with many failures at the time. The vent design required a large duct to avoid wind noise. This often meant that the duct was larger than the vent itself. Instead, Olsen used a suspension diaphragm with a mass equal to the mass of the air column in the vent, making it much smaller and much more efficient than other designs.

Very talented research engineer and mathematician James Novak of Jensen was supposed to come up with a bass reflex design. Through his knowledge as a mathematician and his experience as an engineer, he was able to create and integrate the ideas of what is known today as closed, bent and passive speaker systems.

Though considered an essential component today, base extensions were still relatively extravagant in the 1950s and 1970s. The film industry was a major figure interested in the first commercially used bass extension in the 1977 blockbuster Star Wars.

In the last century, these master engineers and mathematicians have probably been the most influential in the excellent acoustics available in today’s car audio systems and home stereos.