ProRecordingGuy

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.17 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $90.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Before parting with this lovely little sub (funding new speakers) I wanted to drop a review for potential buyers. Buy it! Seriously, this is a true bargain in subwoofers for small to medium sized rooms. It excels with small two-ways (think Polk, JBL, Paradigm) that need that extra bottom octave. The bass is tight and fast, and although the port is doing a lot of the work it doesn't get huffy until you really turn it up. Only 50 watts, but it is well matched to the driver and delivers decent output for it's modest size. Extends down to 40hz, not a lot of action under that you're already below the lowest fundamentals on a bass guitar. All in all, you won't do much better for the money!

Strengths:
- decent output for 50watts/8inch - easy to integrate into small/med rooms - both pre and speaker level inputs - phase reverse switch (yeah!) - adjustable crossover frequency - adjustable level - easy, listenable low end to complement popular bookshelf models or nearfield reference monitors - big bang for the buck

Weaknesses:
- bottoms out when overdriven, be careful about levels and subsonics - benefits from adding a bit of damping material, helps smooth out sound a bit - no remote power management, you have to turn it on/off on top panel (I just left mine on most the time)

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Bestbuy

Summary:
Bought this little sub to fill in the bass in a stereo set up in my bedroom. The room is about 14'x16' and I have a 16 year old stereo receiver and a pair of Axiom M3 bookshelf speakers on stands. The receiver has no sub out jack so the speakers wires go to the sub and then on to the speakers. I set the crossover at about 70 - 80 hz and the sub level at about 40%. The sound from this rig is much better than I expected, total cost of the 3 speakers was $380 and it sounds like a million bucks. I dont ask too much from the sub - lets be real its small, less than 100 watts and only $100. Its no match for my Velodyne in the living room but it shines in a small room at moderate levels. In all the little Sony is a better performer than I expected for the price.

Strengths:
Very low price, small size compared to the "big subs".

Weaknesses:
No true DEEP bass, low power

Similar Products Used:
large Velodyne sub

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
This subwoofer gives you a lot of performance for the money. It does well with lows at a moderete level, but will max out quickly when turned up. The volume can't be set more than 1/4 or it will start howling.

Strengths:
nice lows price dependable brand

Weaknesses:
maxes out easily terrible howling when maxed out

Similar Products Used:
sony wm500 altec lansing 4100 rca 150sp

Price Paid:  $50.00 from Brandsmart

Summary:
This is a great sub for a small room. It will surprise you. I have other subs (JBL) and other systems and in a smaller room this sub holds it's own. I connected them to my Denon rev'r which is driving Klipsh Chorus speakers with 15 in drivers and you could actually hear the little sub make a difference. Its great for home audio at moderate levels. Now I have them married up with my Mission 6" 2-ways and they work great.

Strengths:
size price

Weaknesses:
no auto cut off

Price Paid:  $95.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
This is a pretty damn amazing little black box--especially at the price! I was convinced that Sony's 28Hz claim was pure puffery, but was pleasantly surprised to here substantial ddep bass from this unit. (Lowest note on the piano keyboard is 27.5HZ--it's there, man! I have this hooked up to a Kenwood AR-404 stereo receiver in my 12x14' carpeted exercise room using the receiver's sub/pre out, in tandem with a pair of Polk R-10 speakers. Sound sources include JVC "D" series TV, JVC hi-fi VCR, and a Toshiba DVD. I was previously frustrated by the speakers' lack of ambience, but no more! With crossover set at about 75Hz and sub volume set at barely 1/4, the sound is enjoyable for classical music, awesome for my wife's disco workout CD's, and quite realistic for DVD movies. This is the first sub that I have owned, despite having been an audio freak for the past 40 years or so. (My main audio/video setup has large JBL towers--one of my daughter's old boyfriends was so sure that I had a sub that he crawled around the floor searching for it!) I've been irritated by the unnatural bass boom emanating from a friend's home theater (very expensive) setup. This is a sub I can live with--slightly boomy at first until I fitted it with some 2-1/2" legs. Probably not for an audiophile suite, but a godsend for my treadmill workout--makes the time pass quickly!

Strengths:
Lotsa bang for the buck! Lows are there, but not too obtrusive.

Weaknesses:
Lack of auto power management is no problem--I just have it plugged into receiver's switched outlet. Still a little "untight" for my taste--might try some fiberfill at a later date.