Top Picks

2020 Top Picks of the Year Subwoofers

320jl.promo_

Subwoofers

Top Pick of the Year:

JL Audio Fathom F110V2 Subwoofer
(April/May) Read Review

Despite its compact size, JL Audio's Fathom F110V2 delivers powerful output and packs sophisticated features including Onboard Digital Automatic Room Optimization with a dual-sub setup option. With its sleek design and beautifully finished gloss-black cabinet, it also has a high spouse acceptance factor. Here's how David Vaughn summed the sub up in his review: "I was blown away by how well the f110v2 performed, and while $3,500 is undoubtedly expensive for an average consumer, you will get what you pay for." $3,500, jlaudio.com

Finalists:

SVS SB-2000 Pro Subwoofer
(September) Read Review

This compact 12-inch sub from SVS offers tremendous value and comes with a versatile smartphone control app that lets you easily tune its output for your room. Performance? "The SB-2000 Pro is just as proficient at pumping out huge explosions in action movies as it is blending into a two-channel audiophile setup," said reviewer Michael Trei. $799, svsound.com

MartinLogan Dynamo 1600X Subwoofer
(April/May) Read Review

With 900 watts of continuous power (1,800 watts peak) driving a 15-inch woofer in a sealed enclosure, the Dynamo 1600X delivered deep and tightly controlled bass when we reviewed it as part of a MartinLogan Motion XTi system. Reviewer Michael Trei further appreciated its SubControl App, which works in tandem with ARC room correction to provide a comprehensive set of subwoofer tuning and control features. $2,000, martinlogan.com

Elac SUB3030 Subwoofer
(February/March 2020)

With a front-facing 12-inch woofer powered by a 500-watt continuous, 1,000-watt peak BASH amp and a a bottom-mounted 12-inch passive radiator, Elac's SUB3030 is designed to bring the thunder, and it certainly did so in our review of the company's Uni-Fi 2.0 speaker system. At first, editor Al Griffin was confused by the lack of physical controls; later after downloading Elac's Sub Control 2.0 app, he was very impressed with its easy-to-use Auto EQ feature. $800, elac.com

COMMENTS
SuicideSquid's picture
Submitted by SuicideSquid on January 7, 2021 - 10:35am

It's nice to see a range of pricing across your picks - good to see a mid-range priced bookshelf speaker as your top pick of the year, and a $700 set of B&Ws to sit alongside some of the $5,000 options. It's a lot more helpful to most readers than just leaning hard into the top-end.

The feature set of that Monoprice preamp looks amazing, but am I the only one who thinks it looks ugly as sin? The aesthetics of most of monoprice's gear makes me cringe.

mjmiller715's picture
Submitted by mjmiller715 on January 18, 2021 - 7:57am

Couldnt agree more.

I havent heard any of their products other than basic hdmi cables and the like.

I find it hard to believe they can copycat their way into such high quality but maybe im mistaken.

This coming from someone who uses an old anthem receiver that is not the prettiest girl at the party but it does quite well under most conditions.

X