Most subwoofers sound worse than they should because of setup, not because of the sub. These eight steps, done in order, will get you most of the way to great bass without spending anything (or very little).
1. Fix the placement first
Placement has the biggest effect. Use the subwoofer crawl to find the smoothest spot near the front of the room. See subwoofer placement.
2. Set the crossover
With a receiver, set speakers to Small and the crossover to 80 Hz, and turn the sub’s own crossover to maximum. See crossover settings.
3. Set the phase
Use a test tone at the crossover frequency and keep the phase setting that sounds loudest at your seat. See phase explained.
4. Run room correction
Audyssey, Dirac, YPAO, Trueplay or your sub’s auto-EQ. Run it after placement, crossover and phase are set.
5. Set the level properly
Sub gain around halfway; fine-tune with the receiver’s sub level. If you can hear where the sub is, it’s too loud. See how loud should a sub be.
6. Tame rattles and transmission
Tighten loose objects, use spikes on carpet, or a dense platform on suspended floors. See subwoofers on carpet and reducing vibration.
7. Consider EQ
If one note still booms, cut it with parametric EQ in your sub’s app, receiver or an external DSP. Measuring with Room EQ Wizard takes the guesswork out. See how to EQ a subwoofer.
8. Think about a second sub
For multiple seats, a second sub smooths out bass more than any other upgrade. See dual subwoofer setup.
Bonus: make sure your source is sending bass to the sub. Some TV apps and “pure” listening modes disable the LFE channel or sub output.