KLH SW-12 Subwoofers Reviews

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Internet

Summary:
I have had mine for close to 3 years. I am impressed with the bang for the buck. I have a Kenwood amp driving it with high end cables. I have noticed the pop when it comes on but have gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me at all. I have not noticed any response lag. It is more well suited for movies than music because it produces a boomy noise very well but lacks the precision to produce intricate bass beats in music. I do use the system for music often and it requires a lot of tweaking to keep the bass and vibrations of things aroud it from overriding the music, however it is acceptable. Placing the unit in a corner greatly affects the way it performs. I have tried both against a wall facing out and in a corner facing in. It is almost twice as loud in the corner. The acoustics of the room directly affect the performance of the equipment.

Strengths:
Good quality for the price. Great for theater sound.

Weaknesses:
Lacks the precision for music but still acceptable.

Similar Products Used:
I also have KLH 8 inch floor towers with tweeters that I am also very impressed by the value. As far as I am concerned KLH makes a very good product.

Price Paid:  $125.00 from Best Buy Sarasota

Summary:
Very boomy. However, the case is much thicker that a previous review indicates. Tried to use the device after 2 years, and it didn't work. I opened it and the positive speaker wire was disconnected from the speaker. There was a loose piece of white fiberous dampening material laying loose inside. The circuit board was blackened and one of the capacitors apparently blown. Not very impressed.

Strengths:
Cheap.

Weaknesses:
Cheap junk. We will see if a schematic is available.

Price Paid:  $139.00 from Sam's Club

Summary:

This sub performed a little differently when driven by spkr inputs from my old Pioneer SX1080. Now driving it on low level line in from a JVC RX8000VBK. But in all fairness, we moved the HT to the den. It's 14 X 28 feet and placing the sub got a little hairy. Close to the walls or floor it gets boomy and "muddy". Ended up placing it on top of the Klipsch KLF20B tower which is 42" off the floor, (front right) and most of the bomminess was gone. Seems a bit shy on the high bass. There's no shortage of power in this beast. Ran "Earthquake" on DVD the other night. Thought it was real. I was reading other reviews on "woofer flatuation" and blown amps. Hasn't happened yet (knock on wood) I agree with most that it needs some "tweaking" of it's inards to be a real musical companion. For HT it's fine.What? For $140 I'm going gripe? I'm considering another for the left tower. Recommend this as a starting place for beginner HT enthusiasts
73 W1FBW

Strengths:
Auto on/off Adjustable level/freq. sub in or spkr in.
plenty of reserve power.

Weaknesses:
None when placed properly.

Similar Products Used:
RS passive floor firing 12"

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Costco

Summary:
Audioreview doesn't list the SW-10 so I'm putting this under the SW-12. I've used mine for about an hour, and so far, it hasn't blown up, which pleases me. For the price, I have no right to complain. Overall, however, it's kind of a toy. You've got your cheap black 1/4" thick resonant (that's bad) particle board/MDF box with no internal damping or bracing, an even cheaper woofer with a smallish magnet and a thin stamped steel frame (I would know; I opened it up), an amplifier the size of a paperback novel, and a prominent one-note bass which might be okay for movies but is kinda awful for music. This KLH makes no humming noises while on or while off, and the auto-turn-on worked very nicely, neither of which I could say about my even-crappier Infinity BU-120 (which I swear looked like it was made in the same factory!).

When you consider that a real subwoofer made in a country where art is not defined as a likeness of Chairman Mao costs at least $800, for $99 at Costco, I'm very very impressed!

Strengths:
Costs $99.00

Weaknesses:
Costs $99.00

Similar Products Used:
Infinity BU-120

Price Paid:  $180.00 from travel Expo

Summary:
I bought this sub because of the price. went to an expo, saw that i could get a DD receiver, center channel, and sub for 500 bucks, about how much i was planning on spending on the receiver alone.
anyways, getting to the point...it is a good sub, I have never had any problems, and I have worked it pretty damn hard. it does pop when it comes on, and makes some noise when it is on without a signal...i could hear it while I was trying to go to sleep on the other side of the apartment, but it was not worth setting it to auto and hearing the pop every time i wanted to hear some bass. anyways, I am going to try stuffing some stuff in the cabinet to help with the boominess, but it is not really that big a deal.

in response to the guy who said that the sub is slow reacting, that is because of the sub cable. i bought a cheap Acoustic Research cable, and this was happening to me too, Really bad! so I cut the cable in half, reassembled the end, and moved the sub closer to my amp, and now it sounds fine. anyways, overall review, it is a good sub for the money. if you are looking in this price range and want a lot of sound, get this one.

Strengths:
huge sound

Weaknesses:
pop when it comes on, pretty boomy

Similar Products Used:
none