Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I purchased this sub about a month ago and to date am very impressed by the performance of this unit. It produces very deep clean bass for small to large rooms. If you have a large room and want alot of bass then you might consider a sub with a 12"-15" woofer with more power. But in my living room 16'/16 it shakes the walls put is pleasing to the ear not boomy but as with any sub you should take the time to set up the unit so it will perform correctly.

Strengths:
Everything!!

Weaknesses:
None to speak of.

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha HTR5490,Cambridge soundworks ensemble IV, Yamaha SW45,Harmon Kardon DVD5

Price Paid:  $150.00 from http://www.superfi.c

Summary:
I bought this sub to handle low frequencies that my bookshelfs couldnt reach. For music, it is good, bass is strong and clear. the controls are top class and very useful.
For DVD's, I guess it is decent, nothing special.
I have a 65WPC reciever and this sub is rated at 130W, so I thought the sub would easily handle the bass, this was not always the case. most of the time it was fine in movies, however when the deep/rumbling bass started to hit in it couldnt cope, it just distorts. I think the best thing to do would be to replace the box and speaker, this is what some1 I know did to his SW205, and on a 120WPC sony reciever it sounds amazing. he put in a 12" speaker and a terminator box and used the original amp and wiring.

Overall I think its a decent sub, for music id recommend it, however if you watch DVD's alot, then get something else.

Strengths:
Good for music, price, nice controls.

Weaknesses:
Distorts on DVD's when deep bass is required, could be louder and more punchy

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $180.00 from JandR

Summary:
I was looking for a sub to help my B&W 601 bookshelf speakers with the stuff below 70Hz.

I went and bought 4 subs in the $200 range from local stores:
Sony SAW-m500 $200
Yamaha SW205 $210
Radio shack RCA SW120P $130
B&W as1 $225

I burned them in for 8 hours at mid volume using the Stereophile test cd 3.

Worst was Sony it was big, boomy, un-even and cabinet resonated at loud volumes.

the polk was musical but it had a limited frequency range so it is only good if you have really small satellite speakers.

the Radio shack was actually pretty good for the money. It did not go very low for a 10 inch though. Was a little musical and cabinet was not bad for the price.

The yamaha has a button that allows you to put it in music or movie mode. I put it in music mode. It was very musical, and seemed to have a very flat response to about 35hz when it started to drop off. It kept up ok with the bass coming out of my bookshelfs. The only drawback was the cabinet resonated at very loud volumes. But for average listening was very nice.

The best sound came out of the B&W as1. Wierd since it only had a 6.5 inch woofer! very tight fast bass, cabinet was not as stiff as I would have liked it though. Belended perfectly with my bookshelfs. It also has a switch that lets you choose between movie and music mode. But it does not have a frequency selector? And I had to crank the volume all the way up to get it to match the other subs.

I decided to look around for a better deal on the Yamaha 205 and found it for $180 delivered from jandr...great deal, get em while you can.

Perfect sub for music with bookshelfs.

Strengths:
good musical response
switch for music or movie mode
clean amp, no hum
tall and narrow takes up lesss space

Weaknesses:
cabinet could be sturdier, but not bad for $180

Similar Products Used:
too many to list

Price Paid:  $150.00 from local store

Summary:
I was looking for a little sub to extend a low response of my AEGIS EVO ONE bookshelf speakers and unfortunately came across this sub.
I’m not going to make a long story here. It’s just a shame!
The worst sub I’ve ever known and listen to.
Extra boomy and indistinctive sound ever.
I’ve just thrown it away even not trying to sell it to anybody.
If you expect something good from this speaker, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Strengths:
size

Weaknesses:
Boomy,Not for movies, not for music, muddy bass.

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I replaced my Cult favorite Radio Shack SW12 Passive sub with this unit. My old Kenwood Amp went bad and its hard to find a small affordable amp these days to drive the sub. Compared the sw205 to the Sony 12in everone talks about and a small 8in Boston Acoustic. I onlty use the sub for Movies so I was not interested in paying a fortune. I have Paradigm 5SE's as my mains and I am more than happy with them. I was really surprised when I got it home. The adjustments allowed me to tailor the bass response to exactly hoe I like it . I set the crossover at about 80 and the volumn at about half and left it on the music setting. I tried it on some music and actually liked it on the Last of the Mohicans sountrack. I may play with it more. Watched K-12 the Widowmaker and the low end was there when it needed to be. Very impressed . especially for the money

Strengths:
Value. Adjustments (on the Front!!!)
Solid not boomey bass. Measured strong to @40HZ with Radio Shack meter.

Weaknesses:
None yet

Similar Products Used:
Radioshack sp12