When I first went after my current system I was going to stay Polk Audio exclusive, but when I walked into the audio store's sound booth someone was watching a movie with a lot of action and the low end booms and crashes were pounding to the chest. I immediately asked what speakers were hot and the salesman pointed to two Polk Audio bookshelf speakers and the Boston Acoustics PV400. I thought to myself, N WAY.

Needless to say I walked out with this subwoofer.

very smooth laid back sound that rocks when it needs to, plenty enough volume for most, goes almost deep enough for anyone, great styling, easy room placement.

Advertised as dual flared bandpass ports at both ends, ports are flared at one end only, offering some port noise at high volumes.

I was a bit hesitant in purchasing this sub after reading the reviews on this site, but I've known Boston for years and decided to dismiss some of the negative reviews in favor of former experiences I've had with Boston components for car audio, and purchase the sub. First, it does have ample bass. Plenty in fact. My listening room is approximately 16'x15', medium height carpet, 8' ceiling. The sub is placed in the left front corner, out from the back wall approx 3" and the side wall about 2". It's plugged into a Harman Kardon AVR230, with Bose 501 V mains (don't start, I've got Ifinity on layaway) and Bose 201 series II surround (you can say what you wish about those, but I like the little surrounds!) The subwoofer is crossed over at 100Hz, is set to +2 on the HK receiver, with the volume a tad left of 12 O'clock on the subwoofer itself. I tried the sub first on a movie I recently purchased (Terminator 3) because, like most people, I wanted to hear explosions and helicopters, and so on. I immediately thought, "Well, its okay, but I expected it to SOUND better!" At that time I had not achieved the setup I described above, and the subwoofer did sound "boomy." Now, however it does not. (The phase switch is at the 180 degree position) With the setup described above, the sub sounds sweet, adds depth and fullness to both movies and music, and is powerful enough that I had to move some things around in my kitchen to avoid rattles. Volume does not appear to be a problem with the subwoofer, either. I can crank up "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and horse hoofs pound by accurately and loudly, and yes I can feel the bass in my chest. Also, on "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" the pod race scene will blow you away. The PV400 manages this while maintaining accuracy to as loud of levels as I personally can stand in my listening room. There are some noticeable detractions from an otherwise nearly flawless speaker. With all the literature and advertisements I have seen, evidently Boston has claimed dual flared ports, flared at both ends. My product may be a year 2000 (possibly 2001) production date model, but I bought it new, and the ports are NOT flared at both ends. I know this because I did hear what I thought was distortion (speaker distortion) while trying out the sub on "Enigma: Sadness" track. I removed the bottom and replayed the song and found the 7" driver to be in perfect working order. I then added foam batting (there is none) to try and "check" the rattle. It did help solve the distorted sound, but the bass response decreased by about a 3rd. Finally, I removed the batting, sealed the bottom cover back on the sub and made sure I had the screws tight (but not TOO tight), and what I discovered is, wind noise from the ports was the problem all along. So if you have a very discerning ear, the port noise may be of some concern but, I advise this: When I heard the port noise was during my first few hours of home auditioning, when we all run our new equipment through its paces. Since that time I do not hear the noise, as I usually do not have the volume so high. Also, the main and surround speakers were disconnected and I was listening to only the sub, so I suspect most listeners will never hear the port noise. Finally, styling and quality of build. The subwoofer is a bit taller than I expected it to be, it's slender and tall, with an almost piano lacquer finish on top, with the sides black laminate. It really does look good. The amplifier appears to be a decent little amp, the power supply is of good size and and the capacitors, although I didn't read the capacities, are of good size as well, at least as large as those inside my Harman Kardon AVR 230. Power does seem ample for the sub, perhaps even a little too much for those with heavy volume fingers. The sub box itself is adequate but nothing special, made of a similar thickness mdf as most mid-fi speakers, save for the bottom panel which contains two flared at ONE end bandpass ports, and cool shiny top panel, which we all get to look at even when the track lighting is down low. Overall, this is an excellent subwoofer, great accurate sound for both movies and music, I tend to like it a little better for music, but nonetheless its a great little sub for those not needing or not able to afford a $600 on up 12-incher. Most subs at its price will definitely not sound as good, though there may be some that will "blat" out bass booms at higher volumes. I highly recommend this sub for those who place a high value on the quality of sound over sheer volume, and especially for those who love quality along with enough volume to watch the occasional action flick at near movie theater volumes.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Sub (current model with 2-10"), Bose Acoustimass Sony Dream (complete home theater)Subwoofer.

size, clean bass, price

not earthquake, but even that gets old.

after hitting several audio stores i decided that ebay might have a deal on a sub. for about 100.00 i knew i could not go wrong, boy was i right. the pv400 does the job exceptionally well for music or movies if you listen to them in less than 70% of volume. bass is clean with no buzz. a nice sub for the average home theater.

Tight bass that works very well with music, no boominess. Compact size opens up placement options.

No auto on/off with my system - at least that I have figured out so far....

Searched high and low for a CR 400 to go with my BA CR8 fronts, CR2center and CR5 rears. Tweeter and others were offering close-out pricing of $199 - but were out of stock everywhere. Read a number of good reviews on the VR 500 and finally located one through Tweeter's Bryn Mawr affiliate. Brought it home and hooked it up and put on several of my favorite CD's. Too muddled, even at lower settings - a noticible hole in bass between 7" woofers in CR8's and the 10" VR 500. Maybe marble floors and front firing subs don't go together. Was really afraid that the PV 400 ($299)was just a toy that couldn't possibly cut it. A 7" downfiring model had to be a wimp right??? But-bought it our of desperation to try to timbre match the other BA's. What a surprise. This is just the ticket for music as well as HT. I have a very wide soundstage too - 26' wide room by only 14" deep. This still gives solid tight bass from the front left corner location that lets you know there's more than my CR8 bookshelves lurking behind the explosions. Very impressive for such a small piece. Highly recommend the BA CR series as a better music alternative than their 9000 HT series. If you are a serious music listener, but don't have the space or decor for monolithic floorstanding speakers. For less than $900 you can put together a serious music/HT sound package that just must be the best bang for the buck under $1200.

Similar Products Used:

Boston VR 500

price, small footprint, clean & powerful bass

This is a great sub for the price. I heard this speaker without knowing the specs beforehand. I would have never imagined a sub with only a 65 watt amp and 7 inch woofer to sound so tight, clean, and powerful. I compared this Boston to one of Definitive Technology's best subwoofers that was twice as big and twice as expensive. While the Definitive Tech sounded fuller and deeper, the PV400 was more than able to hold its own. I was looking for a sub that was not the typical, huge, black box that takes up way too much space. The PV400's slim design fits almost anywhere and is perfect for anyone seeking a compact, powerful, clean sub that can provide more than enough "oomph" to any system. This is a great sounding sub for both home theater and music, and with the Boston name stamped on the front, you know you can't go wrong.

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JBL, Yamaha, Phase Technology, Definitive Technology

Good price, small profile, reasonable aesthetics

Not a booming sub, but what do you expect with 7"?

Impressive in that it really provides the missing bass in a moderately sized room (25x25). Not a boomer, but I wasn't looking for that. More of a refined sound. Works for what I am looking for: combo HT and audio use, for someone who doesn't really want to scare the dog or the neighbors. System is BIC center, BA VR950 mains, some freebee KLH rears, Sony TV,DVD/CD,Receiver. PV400 really blends nicely with the VR950's to give a great warm sound. Haggle with the sales guys, they'll drop the price.

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JBL, Yamaha, Energy, Cerwin-Vega

Very compact design, fit and finish are better then average, higher then expected output from such a small unit, blends well with my CR6s

Considering the design goal and price, none, as long as you don't expect it to recreate an earthquake or pressurize a large room

I needed a small compact sub that wouldn't draw attention and could easily be hidden without taking up a lot of floor space. The PV400 is compact and has a small footprint, standing ~19" tall, and roughly 11" square. Specifications are deceiving, with only a 7" woofer, and 65 watts it would be easy to pass this one by on paper. But the PV400 performs in the same league or better then most other 100 watt 8"-10" subs. It has limited low frequency extension, but enough to give those low rumbling sensations required for home theater as well as add impact for explosions. On music it blends in well with my CR6 mains. There are limits with this sub. I am using this sub in a rather large room (13x23) with archways into other rooms. It doesn't pressurize or shake the room anywhere near the likes of my M&K THX350 which I use in my main system. But then were talking six times the price and size of the PV400. If you have the room the PV600 at $149 more is actually a better value. It goes much lower, has almost twice the power, and has a 10" driver. However, its footprint is 12w x 17d x 17h and it has a volume knob on the front. Since this was a second system asthetics forced me to go with the PV400.

Similar Products Used:

M&K VX75/VX125/THX350, PDR-8, CSW Bass Cube 8

none

produces no bass

When I first heard this sub, I said to myself "whoever designed this sub should be fired." When I turned it on I couldn't even hear any bass until I was within 1 foot of it and had the sub's volume at its max (and yes, I also changed the phase switch back and forth). In fact, it added no discernable bass to the main speakers (they were the Boston VR 950, which have dual 5 1/4 " woofers. They're great speakers!). Anyway, unless your speakers are unable to reproduce frequencies below 150hz, don't by this sub. I don't know why Boston didn't use an 8" driver for this unit instead of a 7".

I bought the Boston PV 600 sub (10" woofer). Please see my review if interested.

Similar Products Used:

M and K, Def. Tech. and Boston pv 600

Compact and powerful. I compared this unit with a Sunfire subwoofer in a variety of formats at the audio store. There was no audible advantage to the more powerfull, lower Hz rated subwoofer. This is a great unit and a great value.

Great unit, excellent value

Tight, quick, accurate. Small size. Price!

This is an amazing Sub for the size & price! Matches my BA Micro's & surround speakers, great for DVD's or music. Paul from Raleigh - Are you sure you had this hooked up correctly? I can make the hardwoods in my condo vibrate at 60% volume with the PV400, definitly not possible from a Sub that "produces no bass"? If have limited space and money you can't buy a better Sub!