Low cost, nice controls, decent sound

range bottoms out at 35hz, a bit boomy and directional

I got this sub from uBid, and with shipping it came to just under $170, which I think was a pretty good price. The sub was easy to work with, though the phase control doesn't seem to make much difference to me. It's a bit large, but not unmanageable, and feels solid and well-built.

The bass quality is good, but not great. It can get a bit boomy, and the sound is somewhat directional, but not too bad. One issue I have is that uBid listed it as having a frequency response of 20hz-200hz, but its actual range (per the manual) is 35hz-150hz. A big difference, really, but not one I'm going to fret over at this price range.

Overall, a very good value. I find it hard to believe anyone rates it 5 stars overall, as there are inarguably much better subs out there from Sunfire, Velodyne, Definitive Technologies, and many others. But if you want to save a LOT of money and be pretty happy with your purchase, this is a good sub. It's much less than 50% the cost of some of those great subs, and on the whole it's about 75% of their quality. A pretty good tradeoff, in my opinion.

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first sub for me

Kicks harder than grandma's donkey! Shakes my whole house.

Getting tired of putting my pictures back on the wall.

I bought this sub at Sears for $220. I hooked it up with Monster Cable's subwoofer cable, threw it in the corner and it sounds great. I did a lot of reaseach before deciding on this sub, and it was well worth it. Great sub for any enthusiast.

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Polk 8in.

Very good price for 12"
Claimed 20Hz range is very deep for price range
Loudness is even for all tones heard

As boxed by A.R., unlikely to survive mailorder shipping!
Subwoofer amp nearly at max when balancing main spkrs

Ordered for $200 + shipping from Netmarket, shipped UPS ground. Arrived damaged, with punctured carton, and 7 of 8 tiny styrofoam corner holders shattered, and subwoofer askew in carton. Loud rattle/rumble from inside subwoofer when played upright (or on left side); rattle gone when subwoofer upside down or on front or right faces. Likely caused by something shaken loose during shipping. When repacked for return shipping, found that reassembled styrofoam corner holders did not snugly fill the box in any dimension. A.R.'s packaging is totally inadequate for shipping individual units to homes; a gamble for surviving even normal handling. Buy this at local stores only!

Musically, this upended subwoofer was quieter but more even-sounding than its 200w 12" Radio Shack replacement which booms at certain notes. At the default settings of my Kenwood VR309 A/V rcvr, balance with my main speakers required the A.R. 120w amp to be high near its max, whereas the Radio Shack 200w amp was at 1/3rd. A.R. rates their subwoofer as 20Hz (conditions unspecified) whereas the Radio Shack is rated 36Hz (at 1% distortion). I could not personally hear any difference in lowest notes reached during music.

During action movie scenes, the Radio Shack subwoofer was much more impacting & fun. (This is in a large room, subwoofers not at same spot.)

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Radio Shack Optimus Pro SW200P

Good powerful bass

weight

Lucky me. I decided to check out Sears during their 10% off customer appreciation days. Usually this does not yeild many finds, but sitting there with the clearance stuff I spotted the AR logo. I quickly went over and saw the AR S112PS subwoofer reduced to a mere $139 (plus an extra 10% off). At that considerable discount from the list price, and considering it was cheaper than Sherwood and other powered subs I had looked at in the past I decided to purchase it. I figured it would be a better match for my AR 226PS speakers (ironically also a Sears clearance special) than another brand might have been. I hooked it up to my bedroom system which consists of a Pioneer minisystem and the above mentioned AR 226PS speakers. I popped in some bass heavy music and turned up the volume. The 120watt amp proved more than sufficient in the bedroom. Didnt distort at all, at least at any volume level that one could stand in a small bedroom. Overall I have been very satisfied with this subwoofer.

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Kenwood SW-50 passive subwoofer modified with a Koiiler Car Audio 10 inch Subwoofer, one self built Bandpass Subwoofer (passive) utilizing an MTX Road Thunder 12 inch Subwoofer, and one passive bandpass subwoofer built from the Kenwood driver taken out of the SW50 and put into an MTX bandpass enclosure.

Pounding bass, good looking cabinet,
head imploding bass

none

Wow is all i can say after buying this sub. I ordered mine from citishopper for $199 Took a little bit of time to find ideal placement spot, and settings, but once i did, was severely impressed with the output from the sub. Gets a bit muddy at times, but the overall effect is very good. Can give myself a good headache in no time with this sub and my AR 208's. (also good speakers) Neighbors aren't too thrilled about it, but i really love the sub. for the price and sound quality, you cant beat it.

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infinity bu 120

NONE

It really sux sounds bright

i think the AR sounded bright and really didnt go very low at all and i took it apart only to find that the postive was on the negative's side so i changed that around and it did make it sound better but it still sounded crappy but for 299 what can you expect...I now own a velodyne and it sounds way Better.....

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KLH sw-910 thats was also junk

Clear deep bass with no distortion.Price.Design.Overall the best sub in it's price range.

None

"WOW" this is the best sub I have heard for 200-300 bucks. It has an excellent frequency response(20-200HZ),a pretty hefty amp(120 RMS),and a slot loaded enclosure. I have tried everything I have to make this thing flaten out but it never does! I love this sub it is such a great value. The bass is great for any source be it movies or music it delivers. If you are looking at a sub in this price range do not even think,buy this one because it is worth every penny.

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None like this!

Strong bass, no distortion EVER

none so far

This sub is great....I have a 15" eclipse sub in my can, and this is just as loud....They are a pretty close comparison because my amp in my car is 125 watts....I think for the price I paid ($205 delivered from www.audiovideo4u.com)it can't be beat....Right now I have the volume on the sub at about 75% because I don't trun the reciever up very much, and besides I don't think I can turn the reciever up past half volume without getting shaken from the room....Overall I think this is a great sub, if you have $200, buy it for sure....I gave it an overall rating of 4 because I think they should have put a 150 watt or 200 watt amp, but it still pounds with the 125 watt amp.

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my roommate has a powered altec lansing computer sub, no comparison to this though

very stong for the money

keeps sucking things off my floor into the slotted port! cool.

i use the AR with my computer...if you can believe that. i have an onkyo amp and sony 300 disc changer with bose 301's and mostly listen to mp3's from the computer. the sub is a little big for the bedroom but sometimes the slightly over-heavy bass is fun in games. this sub would work well in a home theater system put together from similarly priced components...the bass is plenty deep enough for med. sized rooms (unless you had really high end front speakers...it would go flat) and it's really just plain cheap. i've owned many subs...don't worry about this one, its a wonderful value.

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many subs...mitsubishi, cerwin-vega, velodyne, yamaha...etc...

Plenty of good, tight bass; superb value

Nome

I tried JBL and Cerwin Vega, they were just too boomy. I auditioned the Velodynes and they were good but too expensive. I got my S112 from Sears for $225 tax and all (They matched the lowest price I found on the web), and am deliriously happy with the sub.
I have AR 428PS speakers for my fronts, and they come with their own 120W subwoofers, but they are 8" and I feel one needs at least a 12" to go way low.
The S112 fills the low-frequency gap very well, and has plenty of power for my 13X20 room. The bass is tight and controlled, and money for money you can't beat this sub. Actually, and flame me if you will, I think I like the bass from this sub more than that from the Velodyne CT120, which is more than twice the money!!!

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JBL Cerwin Vega