Woofer vs. Subwoofer — What's the Difference?

A woofer or bass speaker is a technical term for a loudspeaker driver designed to produce low frequency sounds, typically from 50 Hz up to 1000 Hz. The name is from the onomatopoeic English word for a dog's bark, "woof" (in contrast to the name used for loudspeakers designed to reproduce high-frequency sounds, tweeter).

A subwoofer (or sub) is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce low-pitched audio frequencies known as bass and sub-bass, lower in frequency than those which can be (optimally) generated by a woofer. The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20–200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below 80 Hz in THX-certified systems.

A loudspeaker designed to reproduce bass frequencies.

A loudspeaker that is designed to produce sounds that are very low-pitched.

A loudspeaker that produces low-frequency sound.

An electronic speaker designed to produce low-frequency sound, especially bass.

(Internet slang) A dog.

A loudspeaker that reproduces lower audio frequency sounds