robfj

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $450.00 from progressive audio

Summary:
i have read some mixed reviews on the va8100x which is unsettling. the subwoofer, despite being a fairly mid range "sub" is an amazing piece of any audio enthusiast system. I was on the edge of buying the sunfire but a great price made me reconsider. the sub seems best in a centered small room, but the quality and clarity of sound are shocking. although my review is breif i would strongly recomend this sub to others. if you are looking to buy a sub you dont need to show off the size , take for example the sunfire, but instead go for audio clarity and function. i really want the rating to reach 5 this sub deserves it.

Strengths:
looks great name quality sound

Weaknesses:
passive radiater can be damaged if your not careful......ummmmm.

Price Paid:  $400.00

Summary:
I've owned the above brands in powered subwoofers equivalent to the velodyne 8100. Only the M&K compares; it's close to the performance of the Vel, but the Vel's a much better value. This unit for an eight inch sub is absolutely perfect. Sure it won't do what a twelve or bigger will do, but if you need a sub, HT or audio, and you're either restricted by size or money, you'd have to spend at least twice the price to get a NOTICABLE improvement over this product. NO complaints here. Can only rate this a 4, because 5's are where the awesome subs play.

Velodyne 8100X
Klipsch RB-5's, RC-3, RS-3's (HT)
Paradigm Studio 20's (Audio)
B&K 1030 pre
Perreaux MC 6100 amp
Rotel line conditioner
Toshiba 3108 DVD
Rotel 965 BX Limited CD dplayer
Kimber 4ag wire
Matt Kim's custom interconnects (best bang for the buck out there)

Strengths:
Size, looks, performance for the dollar

Weaknesses:
high level speaker ins and outs

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha, M&K,Paradigm, Klipsch

Summary:
I recently picked up this subwoofer for about $450. My intention was to integrate this sub into my system and improve mid-upper bass performance (50-80Hz). I have my Active 20s handling 80Hz+, the Velodyne VA1800x handling the 50-80Hz, and the Servo 15 handles everything below 50Hz. This provides me with the cleanest possible bass without sacrificing total output; it plays loud and tight. I must say overall I am very pleased with the value of my purchase. This subwoofer probably won't rock your room when used for movies if you have a very large room, but that's why I have the Servo-15.

My equipment for those who care:
Sunfire Theater Grand preamp
Pioneer PD-F19 301 CD changer
Toshiba 5109 DVD player
Paradigm Active 20s
Paradigm Active CC-450
Paradigm ADP-450
Paradigm Servo-15
Velodyne VA1800X
Unity Motion UHD-3200 widescreen monitor
RCA DTC-100
Monster HTS-3500 line conditioner
Harmonic Technology Truthlink
Lovan Classic II & Pyramid AVR racks and Caliber stands
Marantz RC-5000 universal remote

Strengths:
Integrates easily into system. Inexpensive

Weaknesses:
Cheap skeaker level inputs/outputs

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Servo-15, Paradigm PS-1000

Summary:
I was tossing up between two Velodynes: the VA-8100X and the CT-120.
The VA-8100X is an 8", side and bottom firing, sealed enclosure. $549
The CT-120 is a 12", side firing, ported enclosure. $529

I'd probably be happier with either of them. My main motivation of getting a sub is to cover the bottom frequencies that's missing from my Mangepan SMGa's. The sub added a lot more guts to the sound, while it doesn't spoil the transparency of the Maggies.

For close to $600, it's not worth exactly every penny the way the Maggies do. But it does a suprisingly pleasant add-on to my system.

Summary:
This is a cute little sub. I owned one for about 6 months. Probably well suited for bedroom systems or dorm rooms. It's really almost more of a woofer than a subwoofer. For the right money and in the right place this sub's quite good. But don't expect THX levels and window rattling output. This is almost a sub you could use for computer games if you had the space. Now if you want serious bass on a budget I'd recommend HSU instead. For about $500-$550 you get a 12 inch sub with 150 watt amp. It would blow away this little sub. That's why I woudln't pay more than $200 for it. It would also make an interesting sub for surround speakers in a 5.1 setup. Although the pinch type speaker level connectors suck, I guess 5 way binding posts are too much to ask (even though they cost about $5 at any Radio Shack). So basically this is a decent sub if you know what to expect. I think though as far as 8 inch subs go the Energy ES8 I believe would probably outperform it but that's just my conjecture.