Price Paid:  $579.00 from Outlaw Audio

Summary:
Although I did listen to a number of subwoofers before making my decision, they were all in retail invironments instead of my own listening space. And since these units are rarely set up properly, I really didn't feel comfortable basing my decision on the direct listening experience. So, I resorted to the opinions of professionals.

Since the LFM-1 came out, it has received dozens of glowing reviews from audio magazines, internet forums and word-of- mouth from end users. I have yet to read a review that was in the least bit negative. So I decided to take the plunge.

Wow! What a beast! What I was hearing was not only miles beyond the power that my Energy ES-8 was capable of producing, but the ability to reproduce musical delicacy was also superior. Given that the ES-8 is a 100 watt, 8" sub, I was expecting that the 12" 325 watt LFM-1 would be slower, less capable of keeping up with complicated musical passages. Boy, was I wrong! This unit is capable of reproducing the most subtle musical nuances one moment, and parting your hair with sheer aggression the next. Extemely powerful bass passages that used to cause the Energy extreme distress don't even begin to bother the Outlaw. My ES-8 has been relegated to the rear of the room, quietly filling in the bottom octaves of my back surrounds.

I should also mention that, in addition to providing superior audio performance, this thing also looks great! It has better fit and finish than my furniture. The inset black plexiglas top is a nice touch, and the matte black finish on the rest of the unit tends to blend nicely into the background. Score one for the old WAF!

All in all, I don't see how I could be more satisfied with this purchase. I would heartily recommend it to anyone with champagne taste on a beer budget.

Strengths:
Incredible power.
Musical finesse.
Tasteful finish.
Affordable price.

Weaknesses:
None that I've found

Similar Products Used:
Energy ES-8

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Outlaw

Summary:
This is the bomb. Designed by Dr. Hsu who is the professor of subwoofers. 12 inch woofer bottom firing. It can rattle my windows and I live in a brick fortress. That's about it. Why would yu buy a moe expensive sub? Only 1 reason that I can see and that is more multi-dimensionality to the low frequency output. That is, prticularly in music the sound tends to be unidimensional.
Explosions and all that is awesome.
If you are a jazz bass freak then you probably want to throw down 3k for a very responsive sub. Other then that you'll love this monster!

Strengths:
power
tight bass
fairly clear bass output
explosions are increadible
if you buy two you get a price discount which make it an absolute steal

Weaknesses:
unidimensional sound when listening to music

Similar Products Used:
Had a crappy Kenwood sub that sounded worse than my farts

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Let me say first that the Outlaw is a very good subwoofer. But let me also say that it is no REL. I currently own both, the Outlaw and Stadium II. Bought the Outlaw because of several positive reviewers both professional reviewers and owners, especially the first one below, reportedly liking the Outlaw better than the Storm III. I have owned the Storm III in the past but didn't have the opportunity to compare them side by side. It really is not fair to compare a $600 subwoofer against a $3000 subwoofer. Simply put, the Stadium II has better extension and tonality. But then again, only those who are obsessed with bass would care on the minor differences. Believe me, I really wanted to the Outlaw to outperform the REL. I would save a lot of money! Overall, the Outlaw is a very good subwoofer.

Strengths:
Good slam, decent depth, average extension, and average tonality.
The best in its class.

Weaknesses:
None at this price.

Similar Products Used:
Bag End Infrasub 18, Velodyne HGS 12 and ULD 15, Definitive Tech Super Cube, Paradigm PDR 12, Vandersteen V2W, REL Storm III and a few others that I can't remember.

Price Paid:  $579.00 from Outlaw Audio

Summary:
This is an absolutely outstanding product! It's finish is superb, its sound is accurate and it is flexible enough to work with any system. What a bargain! Thanks to Outlaw Audio for marketing such a fine product at such a fair price.

Strengths:
Tight accurate bass. I wasn't sure my big $6K/pr Klipsch speakers needed a sub-woofer. Boy was I wrong!

Weaknesses:
Absolutely no weaknesses I can see or hear.

Similar Products Used:
Polk, Klipsch

Price Paid:  $579.00 from Outlaw Audio

Summary:
This is without a doubt the best sounding subwoofer I have heard in this class. It has a 12" downfiring woofer. You would have to pay thousands more to get better. It's great for music and home theater. It fits perfect in a corner. It is styled very nice. It has a black glass top which looks awesome! This sub is built like a tank. It has more bass than any sub I have heard. I put it to the test with the movie U571 and I was blown away how it handled. You could feel the explosions in your chest which is what I wanted. I looked and researched for a long time for a perfect sub and the Outlaw passed all tests.

Strengths:
Everything

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Phase Technology
B&W