...somebody please tell me the difference between a woofer and a subwoofer...
and please no unneccessary criticism, thanks

 

A subwoofer is used to produce the very lowest of bass frequencies. Usually from 80Hz on down. A woofer (or more commonly referred to as a mid-woofer when used with a subwoofer) is used to produce the frequencies between the sub-bass and the upper midrange. In a typical 3-way setup you have the subs producing everything from 80Hz on down. The mid-woofer would handle everything from 80Hz up to around 3kHz or so. From 3kHz on up would be handled by the tweeters.