Richard Lightner

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $660.00 from Ebay

Summary:
I have a Velodyne ULD-18 which I am quite pleased with, yet I couldn't rid myself of the niggling sense that there was more, and better, to be had. I'd been following the sub market on Ebay and found a pair of BGW M2200s. They had known service at a San Fran museum or tourist attraction of some sort which featured sonic recreations of the 1906 Earthquake.
I thought, "I NEED those subs!" But I couldn't afford them and the dream withered and died. Then I spotted a single M 1100 for sale. Oh happy day!

The M 1100 is roughly a cube about 27 inches per side. It houses two 15 inch woofers, a variable electronic crossover and a BGW Grand Touring Amplifier A bridged to put out 960 watts RMS. It weighs a hundred-ninety pounds.

I hooked it up along with my ULD-18. I couldn't even tell that the Velodyne was on. It wasn't that the BGW was louder because I put some time into making sure they were being faily compared. No, the BGW was THAT MUCH richer and full-sounding, It hit lows that the Velodyne couldn't even imagine. I moved it to the bedroom system to spare it any further humiliation.


Here's a link to a review at the BGW website:
http://www.bgw.com/news/subwoofer_advantage.asp

Strengths:
Massive, floorboard rippling bass.
Self-powered
Variable crossover

Weaknesses:
Crossover has only a one-channel HF output, so if you want to use the sub's crossover to run stereo HF satellites, you have to buy two subs. At their MSRP this should have been standard. It will be a long time til I see another one at a affordable price, until then the HF output is just a useless feature.

IOutput level potentiometer knob is a tiny metal tit about a half inch long and about three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. Further it has a lock nut on the shaft reducing the area you can grasp it to about a quarter inch. It's hard to find when reaching blindly behind to sub to make adjustments. And it's hard to get a grip on. Luckily it's ribbed. The only thing they could have done to make that knob even LESS ergonomically attractive would have been to put a smooth finish on it.

Caster wheels should have been standard rather than an option.

Original price quite high. Not reflected in my value rating as I got mine for a terrific price used.

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne ULD-18
JBL B 380

Price Paid:  $660.00 from Ebay

Summary:
I have a Velodyne ULD-18 which I am quite pleased with, yet I couldn't rid myself of the niggling sense that there was more, and better, to be had. I'd been following the sub market on Ebay and found a pair of BGW M2200s. They had known service at a San Fran museum or tourist attraction of some sort which featured sonic recreations of the 1906 Earthquake.
I thought, "I NEED those subs!" But I couldn't afford them and the dream withered and died. Then I spotted a single M 1100 for sale. Oh happy day!

The M 1100 is roughly a cube about 27 inches per side. It houses two 15 inch woofers, a variable electronic crossover and a BGW Grand Touring Amplifier A bridged to put out 960 watts RMS. It weighs a hundred-ninety pounds.

I hooked it up along with my ULD-18. I couldn't even tell that the Velodyne was on. It wasn't that the BGW was louder because I put some time into making sure they were being faily compared. No, the BGW was THAT MUCH richer and full-sounding, It hit lows that the Velodyne couldn't even imagine. I moved it to the bedroom system to spare it any further humiliation.


Here's a link to a review at the BGW website:
http://www.bgw.com/news/subwoofer_advantage.asp

Strengths:
Massive, floorboard rippling bass.
Self-powered
Variable crossover

Weaknesses:
Crossover has only a one-channel HF output, so if you want to use the sub's crossover to run stereo HF satellites, you have to buy two subs. At their MSRP this should have been standard. It will be a long time til I see another one at a affordable price, until then the HF output is just a useless feature.

IOutput level potentiometer knob is a tiny metal tit about a half inch long and about three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. Further it has a lock nut on the shaft reducing the area you can grasp it to about a quarter inch. It's hard to find when reaching blindly behind to sub to make adjustments. And it's hard to get a grip on. Luckily it's ribbed. The only thing they could have done to make that knob even LESS ergonomically attractive would have been to put a smooth finish on it.

Caster wheels should have been standard rather than an option.

Original price quite high. Not reflected in my value rating as I got mine for a terrific price used.

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne ULD-18
JBL B 380

Price Paid:  $660.00 from eBay

Summary:
I had been interested in this particular subwoofer since I had heard that a pair of the M2200s had been used to simulate the 1906 (?) San Francisco earthquake at a historical recreation in that city.
I figured these had to be simply badass subs.
Lo and behold, one of the smaller siblings showed up on Ebay. Some rich guy's toy that he'd tired of. It was in absolutely pristine condition.
It features 950 watts into, I assume, 4 ohms.
Weighs 190 pounds,
Can acheive 124 db SPL above 40 hz and 120 db SPL above 23 hz
Frequency response 25 to 180 hz.
24 db/octave crossover with detent slider crossover settings of 63, 71, 80, 89, 100, 125, 140, 160 and 180 hz.
It can be wired for 230 volt power input.

Due to the size and weight of both this sub and my main speakers, I haven't really played with placement with this sub as I should. There are a lot of standing waves but it all comes together pretty well in my armchair sweet spot.
The sound is full rich and authoritative. I swear it actually ripples my floorboards. Just for laughs, I turned on my Velodyne ULD-18 and did my best to match the volume. I coultn't even tell that the Velodyne was turned on!
Needless to say, I am quite pleased with this product. I would be a much harsher critic had I payed full price for this beast but since I got it at about 10 percent of the MSRP, I'm giving it five stars for value,

This is a serious piece of professional sound equipment, It may not be for everyone. But if you're a headbanger you'll just flippin' love it.

Strengths:
Self powered.
Propietary crossover.(stepped)
Recessed handles (4) for easy transport

Weaknesses:
Single High Pass outlet from crossover. If you want satellite speakers to play from the BGW M-1100 you have to buy two of them.
The ibig brother, M-2200, has dual high pass outlets.

XLR input jacks. Which are fine, but it's awful hard to find RCA to XLR patch cords at your local music store or Radio Shack. I had to mail order for mine.

Ver low WAF. Luckily my wife is very tolerant of my addiction.

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne ULD-18
JBL B-380