Price Paid:  $375.00 from University Audio

Summary:
I think this is the best subwoofer out there for the money. Goes very deep with tight bass. No room boom. I was able to dial it in with my main speakers within an hour of listening. No need to spend more $$$.

Strengths:
Great impact, very accurate and smooth. Goes very deep with little power.

Weaknesses:
NONE

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne, NHT, Energy...

Price Paid:  $310.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
I got this sub to be an addition to the Sony sub that came with my home theater package. This thing just hammers the bass out, if you want loud thunderous bass at a modest price this is the one for you. I did have one problem though, the first one that Crutchfield sent me blew its own fuse the second day and continued to blow replacment fuses. I have to say Crutchfield has the best customer service, I called tech support and they sent me out a replacement without receiving the defective one first. The second one has been just fine. I guess its just my dumb luck to get one with a short.

Strengths:
Huge woofer, pair of inputs and output. I heard the newer version of this sub only has a mono input, since mine had the right and left input I got a Y splitter to split the signal from my receivers single sub output, I know the sub operates in mono, but if I only use the left input on the sub I get diminished bass, I called AR's tech support and he acted as if I was talking in Klingon. Anyhow this sub is worth the money.

Weaknesses:
NONE

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
This is the best sub out their. The bass is by far the best I have ever come accros. I thought I payed a lot of money for it but when I hooked it up I was 100% percent satisfied. It will give you as much or as little bass as you want and has always given me what I ask for. I have used it at parties and it has decemated all. The bass is so pure, I will never think of it as a bad investment. But those guys at crutchfield, they need some help.

Strengths:
Great bass, great sub, great value, solid construction

Weaknesses:
not light at all

Similar Products Used:
KLH

Price Paid:  $239.00 from Sears

Summary:
Hook Up:

My receiver has no subwoofer port, so I had to use the line connects requiring extra wiring. However, with Sony’s and AR’s blessing, I connected the subwoofer to the “B” speaker terminals on my receiver (and my mains remained on the “A” terminals). This way I could switch the subwoofer in or out with my speaker selection switch. Great for making comparison listening!

Sound Experience:

No clicks, pops, hums or noises – even when shifting to off or on auto (on) mode. Absolutely quiet when idle.

Many reviews of subs I had read said their subwoofer shakes the floor, knocks pictures off wall, whole house shakes, pounds their chest. Despite its power, the AR didn’t knock any pictures down or cause structural damage. Rather it is well integrated, in blends in very smoothly without being overpowering. Yes, I can feel the bass now, and at times it can be felt in the floor too.

The sub has provided a whole new dimension to the sound experience. It fills in the entire low end of the sound spectrum. It is like the entire low end now flows across the bottom half of my living room where before there was just a void. Note, all my other speakers are on top of bookcases or mounted near the ceiling - so I may have exacerbated this void.

My Receiver cannot take advantage of the Dolby Digital or DTS output of my DVD player (and my TV does not have these capabilities). Despite this, performance of the sub has been outstanding to this listener.

Samplings:

Playing the Moody Blues concert CD was like being there. We have attended Moody Blue concerts so we know how they sound live and it was that realistic with the subwoofer.

Not all movies take advantage of the subwoofer capabilities (such as Traffic, The Sixth Sense). But U571, and Event Horizon will now make you jump off the couch. In Gladiator - it’s like being there in the battle scenes and the coliseum events. Even VHS tapes like StarTrek First Contact bring in a whole new sound experience.

Strengths:
Economics and quality. Sears had a closeout sale on the normally $400 S115PS for $250 plus another 10% discount for using my trusty Sears card. AR is a name I trust for quality, based on the excellent performance I continue to receive from my 32 year old AR2X main speakers.

Weaknesses:
Big and ugly like a Borg cube, heavy – 66 lbs. Where it is placed in the room makes a difference. You will needs lots of wire to experiment appropriately.

Similar Products Used:
None - this is my first sub.

Price Paid:  $239.00

Summary:
No clicks, pops, hums or noises – even when shifting to off or on auto (on) mode. Absolutely quiet when idle.

Many reviews of subs I had read said their subwoofer shakes the floor, knocks pictures off wall, whole house shakes, pounds their chest. Despite its power, the AR didn’t knock any pictures down or cause structural damage. Rather it is well integrated, in blends in very smoothly without being overpowering. Yes, I can feel the bass now, and at times it can be felt in the floor too.

The sub has provided a whole new dimension to the sound experience. It fills in the entire low end of the sound spectrum. It is like the entire low end now flows across the bottom half of my living room where before there was just a void. Note, all my other speakers are on top of bookcases or mounted near the ceiling - so I may have exacerbated this void.

My Receiver cannot take advantage of the Dolby Digital or DTS output of my DVD player (and my TV does not have these capabilities). Despite this, performance of the sub has been outstanding to this listener.

Strengths:
Price and quality. Sears had a closeout sale on the normally $400 S115PS for $250 plus another 10% discount for using my trusty Sears card. AR is a name I trust for quality, based on the excellent performance I continue to receive from my 32 year old AR2X main speakers.

Weaknesses:
Big and ugly like a Borg cube, heavy – 66 lbs. Where it is placed in the room makes a difference. You will needs lots of wire to experiment appropriately.

Similar Products Used:
This is my first sub.