Price Paid:  $500.00 from Audio Excellence

Summary:
After casually researching the market for a decent audio/home theater sub, I stumbled upon the JM Lab SW 700. Having a complete set of the Monitor Audio Silver line mains and surrounds, I was just not in the mood to spend another $1,000 Canadian to complete my speaker set with an MA sub. So I got the JM SW 700. When I initially hooked up this sub, my impressions weren't very good at all. My main speakers (MA Silver 8i) were simply overpowering it in every respect. I put on some audio CD's and then some DVD's (Snatch, Goldmember) to see how much bottom end this little sucker could punch out. Let me tell you, with the levels set to full, we (my brother and I) just couldn't hear it; so I kept switching it on and off without telling my brother to see if he could notice when it was operating (or not). No difference at all... :-( Okay, so I have to admit, I didn't exactly have it in the best part of the room (and it's a huge room). I then set it right up againg the corner of two walls, re-adjusted the sub levels on my receiver (Onkyo TS DX 696) and the sub, and poof, holy fuddleducking difference! This little baby of only 75 watts filled the room! After auditioning it extensively with just about every type of music I could think of, I slapped on "Entagled" from my old vinyl Genesis album, "A trick of the tail" - and - unbelievable! The song took on a whole new life - I could finally FEEL those Moog pedals perform!

Strengths:
Very tight and clean; ideal, primarily for audio listening. You can't tell it's on unless you turn it off - subtely complements the sound without being overbearing or boomy. Price was also a huge motivating factor to buy ($500 Canadian, incl. tax).

Weaknesses:
Not a powerful "monster" sub at all; won't rock the house - so if you're neighbours call, it's probably to ask you to turn the damn thing up! Not great for large rooms at 75 watts; Perhaps the MA sub ASW 110 (at 110 watts) would have been better, but again, didn't want to spend the extra cash. I can't stand the "finish" - plastic covered sheet made to look like wood veneer - if you scratch it, it's permanent, and it can bubble in the edges - would have been nice if it were real wood veneer to match the Monitor Audio's - but the price would have been higher.

Similar Products Used:
None.

Price Paid:  $490.00 from J.B.Sonic, Genval

Summary:
Beautiful bass. After listening to several subs under 1000$, I found the JMLab SW700 to be the best buy for me. I wanted to have a sub for both audio & home cinema usage. It''s probably not the most powerful bass you can get for home cinema although it''s more than enough to shake the whole house (ask my neighbours). But the difference with many other subs is evident when it comes to audio listening. It adds something to nearly all kind of music without attracting to much attention on itself. The bass has a lot of nuances. It fits very well into my Tannoy MX speakers set(MX3+MX2+MXC). JMLab had a bad reputation for their subs. They have learnt the lesson obviously.

Strengths:
Very good for Home Cinema AND audio listening. Clean bass. Dolby digital .1 input (no need to play with the crossover when your A/V receiver can do it). Auto Power off.

Weaknesses:
No "monster" bass.

Similar Products Used:
Listened to Triangle Zapping, Tannoy MXSub, Yamaha YST-SW305 & YST-SW320 , JBL PB10 & PB12, REL Q150 (REL was the best but at nearly twice the price of the JMLab)

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Sounds Terrific, Pinellas Park

Summary:
JM Labs is a large high-end speaker manufacturer in France. JM-Labs is the parent company of FOCAL. Focal makes some of the finest drivers in the world and they receive accolades from audiophiles everywhere. I found this sub to be a very reasonably priced product considering the audiophile quality of the components. JM-Labs makes speakers that sell for $30,000 so there is a trickle down effect going into their less expensive products too.

I bought a set of speakers with Focal components from a custom speaker builder about 10 years ago. They are very well designed. Woofers: kevlar sandwich cone, dual voice coil, flat wound. Tweeters: inverted cone kevlar. They sound incredible!!! But as much as I have loved my Focal speakers they were just a little bass shy. And now that I've upgraded my receiver to a surround sound 5.1 configuration - I wanted to add a sub.

I listened to several subs including Polk, JBL, Klipsh, and none of them impressed me. The subs I listened to all produced bass that didn't sound natural to me. The JM Labs SW 700 sounded very natural! Plus I already knew from experience that Focal products are excellent.

Initially when I got it home I needed to make adjustments with the settings on the receiver until I got it dialed in. After quite a bit of tweaking the sub performed beautifully.

The JM Labs SW 700 is not a BIG bass sub by any stretch. It is not the earth shaker for movie material. But for music it is very real sounding. The bass is believable. It is definitely there. It does not have the whoomp sound that poorer subs have. It sounds very clean.

I would highly recommend the JM Labs SW 700 for those who are interested in a natural sounding bass progression in their music.

Strengths:
Very natural sounding! Excellent value.

Weaknesses:
It's not a powerhouse bass unit. If you're simply looking for BIG bass, look elsewhere.

Similar Products Used:
Polk, JBL, Klipsh