value, quality/price, 15" DEEP bass, auto on, COSTCO policy, Home Theater

none for this PRICE!

I can't really add anything else to all the great responses.
Any subwoofer is going to rock your walls, but this thing can really go LOW. I use it mostly for HT and it is great.
It is a great entry level subwoofer -- fantastic for first
time subwoofer buyers like me. The costco deal is hard to beat: 15" sub, 200Watts, auto-on, line level inputs, hi-level inputs, 40-120 Hz crossover, calibration CD for
$179 + tax + $19 shipping. Audiophiles need not consider this sub. First timers, budget minded (sub $300), and HT enthusiasts should consider.

For value, 5 stars: I don't think any $179 sub can compete
Overall: 5 stars: goes way low, you can tweek it to sound better, auto-on

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DEEP BASS

ITS THE SIZE OF A YUGO

OK, I HAVE NOT OWNED ANOTHER SUB BUT I HAVE LISTENED TO MANY. SURE, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A VELODYNE OR SUNFIRE BUT THE TRUTH IS, I TAKE WHAT I CAN AFFORD AND FOR 200 BUCKS, THIS IS THE BEST SUB OUT THERE. IT IS A LITTLE BOOMY. I STUFFED IT WITH THE SPEAKER FILL AND ADDED A BETTER CABLE. THIS TWEAKED THE SOUND A BIT AND TOOK OFF SOME OF THE BOOMINESS. FOR MY SETUP (DENON RECEIVER, PIONEER DVD PLAYER, KLIPSCH SPEAKERS) IT WORKS WELL. FOR HOME THEATER IT IS FANTASTIC AND FOR MUSIC IT IS OK. IT WILL TAKE YOU SOME TIME TO TWEAK IT TO YOUR LIKING BUT FOR THE PRICE, I TRULY BELEIVE IT IS THE BEST GOING. GIVE IT A TRY BEFORE YOU DROP AN ADDITIONAL 200. IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, TAKE IT BACK. WORTH A LISTEN.

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cheap.

cheap.

I bought this sub on the strength of reviews from this site.

Oops.

I was running NHT 1.5's as my mains, an NHT 1C in the center and NHT super zeroes as surrounds. I know what you're thinking--how could I even think of screwing up such a beautiful-sounding setup with a piece of junk like this sub?

I was cheap. Fortunately, I was able to sell the thing to a guy who absolutely loves it--he would give it 5 stars.

It just wouldn't work for me. NHT 1.5's are in the realm of reference-grade sonics. I still wanted bass for my movies, though--and I wanted a little more than your average powered sub supplies. So I did some research, and found out that Soundstream's SS10R (yes, a 10" car audio sub) was perhaps the sweetest-sounding 10" bass driver ever produced by any company. It's fast, it's tight, and it handles prodigious power in a sealed enclosure. It's also discontinued and nearly impossible to find.

When I found a pair, I went to work finding suitable enclosure plans. I found a local kid with some joinery skills, paid him $250 to build 2 cabinets to my specs out of 1" MDF finished in teak veneer, and sunk my nice Soundstream subs into them. Then I had him finish them in a beautiful reddish-bown stain, and brought them home. They look spectacular.

Meanwhile, I located an old 1980's Phase Linear 400 series II (the one with the L & R gain controls on the front panel), split my AC-3 decoder's subwoofer signal using a Hafler y-cord, and ran it into the amp's L and R channels. Hooked my subs up, one to each channel, and now have two 360-watt subs that are the tightest, fastest, most accurate bass reproducers I've yet heard. All I had to do was tweak the placement and gain controls to get everything reaching the listening area at the same time, at flat volume levels.

After a couple weeks, I had everything where I wanted it, and I pretty much haven't touched it since. Can you imagine spending less than $800 for TWO top-of-the-line subs, in fancy teak cabinets, with total amplification in excess of 700 real, non-Circuit-City watts?

Sure, you could get four Audiosource SW15's for the same money, and a lot less work.

But who would want to?

***Afterword:

Please ignore the above rant if you are very happy with big, ground-pounding bass and like the sound this sub gives your system.

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my own custom setup.

Great bass, great price

its huge!

This thing rocks, and I got it for $175! Read reviews on this site that you could get it for that price after a discount and there was no shipping charge. It doesnt get better for this price. This thing is way better than my friends Paradigm, even though his is an 8" and this is a 15", but he paid way more. I only have to turn up the level to 10 o'clock and thats enough bass and Im a bass head.

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Infinty BU-2

Loud Bass - Low Price

Not many for that price

First off, when you purchase from ubid, you have to consider the shipping when you bid. The item page shows per pound shipping prices as well as the weight (at the bottom) so you know how much shipping will be before you bid. Even paying $52.00 for shipping, I got a good deal. As far as the sub goes, it ROCKS. I have 15" 2 way fronts and small rears. I use the speakers on my Toshiba for the center channel. This added the super lows I needed and couldn't channel to my fronts. I have it set up in my lower level and the wife complains that the floor shakes on the third level while playing some DVD's (Gladiator, SPR, U571 recommended). I highly recommend this unit.

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The substantial cabinet vibration and resonance of this subwoofer can be tammed by applying 3 layers of ICE GUARD panels to the interior. ICE GUARD is a self adhessive roofing panel that is similar to Dynamat but a lot cheaper (about 1/8 the price). It translates mechanical energy into heat. Be warned..ICE GUARD is VERY sticky...

Excellent sound at a good price.

Large size, but then again it is a fifteen.

I have heard nearly a hundred of the "best" subs out there and I think that the SW-15 gives you the most bass for your buck.
I understand the complaints that people have about boomieness but I think that they are looking for a sunfire quality sub and an entry-level price.
First of all if you are looking for volume this is the perfect sub because of the generous 200 watt amp.
Second I ran a sweep generator through my home theater system and it began to hit at 12Hz! ! this is not something that AudioSource advertises probably because the sound quality at this level is poor but you can't hear that low anyway; all you can do at that level is FEEL which is the purpose of a sub especially in a home theater setting.
Third this sub can play 120Hz cleanly. For a woofer of this size it is amazing. This means that if you hook it up to most bookshelf speakers you'll get full range sound. The only drawback is that at that level you can tell what sound is comming from the sub.
Finally, I don't think that there is a sub out there that is easier to intigrate into an exsisting system. This sub has High and Low power inputs and outputs, a variable crossover, a volume control, a phase switch, and a three position on/off/auto on switch.
If you need a sub and don't have $600.00+ to blow on one get this one!

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Boston PV-2000, Sunfire, Polk Audio subs.

Awesome punch for the price

Ugly

This monster shakes the house bigtime! It took about a week to find the right place for it and I used VE to callibrate it and it is the perfect addition to my HT. I am using Infinity's RS3s and a CC3 center powered by a Pioneer 608. I have the unit's power line plugged into my 608 so it turns on whenever my reciever is on. Currently I am unwilling to spend a grand on a subwoofer and this price was more in line with my other HT and I can tell you that I am quite pleased with my purchase. I would be truly amazed if anyone can find a sub in this price range (

Big bang for the buck

It is not as good as a $3000 subwoofer ;)

Tom, you got a bum sub. Return it and get a new one. I have the Radioshack Y connector and I get so much volume that I have my sub's volume level at 25% and after calibrating my system with VE, my recievers sub level is at -8!

It was a little boomy and I cant move my sub around since my room does not allow that kind of flexibility. I added some polyfill inside and it tightened up the sub quite nicely and after re-calibration my subs volume level is at 30% and my reciever is at -7. Plenty more bang to go around.
Oh, I have a 12X12 room.

I will say that the interior of the box was reinforced with 2 wooden boards going from the top to the bottom between the amp on the back and the woffer on the front and there was a little poly fill in there before I added some more.

For $170 it is hard to beat. You want better you will have to pay more.

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Sony Active Subwoofer

Sub-woofer for the audio cheap-skate. Home theather is application is a big maybe [C-].

Very, Very, Very Boomy, no bass articulation, no bass transient response [bass attack]. Un-musicial experience; you hear only super sonic low bass extension with no mid-bass frequency. The subwoofer is big and bulk and constructed with inferior wood materials and components.

Do not buy the Audio Source SW15. It produce inaccurate bass frequency response. In Music presentation score a big F; however in home theater application it score C- [caution].
Save your $200 and buy the Cambridge Soundworks Cube 8 for only $179.00 and you will thank me. Please read Audioreview.com review on the Cube 8. In addition read about Cambridge Soundworks new subwoofer Cube 15; amazing for $500 ! Audiophile dream-come-true.

I returned the Audio Source SW15 at Costco for a full refund; great return policy !

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Cambridge Soundworks Cube 8 Sub-woofer