tight, clean bass

cheap volume knob (not the location, just the knob!)

Awesome. After spending an hour listening to subs, I chose this one. I could hear every note from bass guitars and real basses (I listen to smooth jazz). I compared this sub to a $600 M&K and could hear no difference. Sure, the 12" M&K can shake you more, but the bass of both units was clean and accurate. However, the PV 600 will shake you too! One of the great features about the PV 600 is that it will never bottom out. That's because Boston subs have a feature called "basstrac" which monitors the input signal and never supplies the sub with more power than it can handle. Hence, the sub will never distort or blow out. Another great feature is the placement of the volume knob, which is on the front. Trust me, you'll have to adjust the volume for each CD you listen to because every CD is engineered differently and it's nice to NOT have to reach behind the unit to do so. Check this sub out. I paid $410.

80

The bass produced by this sub is boomy and muddled. Great for movies, bad for music. I couldn't hear individual notes from bass guitars and real basses, just boom, boom, boom, boom. I bought the Boston PV 600 for about $80 more and it produces nice, clean bass with a 10" woofer instead of an 8". Also, the specs say that this Def. Tech sub goes down to 21 hz. Note that none of Def. Tech's specs are based on the industry standard of +/- 3db. For example, a sub that says its frequency response is 30-150hz at +/- 3db means that the sub reproduces a 30 hz signal at 3 db below 0 db (0 db being a perfect reproduction of a signal). There's just no way that this Def. Tech sub can reproduce 21 hz signals using only an 8" sub. My guess is that it reaches 35hz at -3 db. See my review for the Boston PV 600 (and Boston VR 950 and VR 910), if interested.

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M and K, Def. Tech.

Awsome bass! Deep, loud, Bass you can feel. What else can I say? It rattles my house to the core. Very compact and good looking.

Could Take your house down....Just kidding. None I see

WOW, is how i'm going to start. Boston Acoustics has made A sub with Bass that goes through you and rattles your teeth out. All at a really good price! You would have to hear this sub to understand how much power it packs in it's little encloser.

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First Sub

Powerful Bass down to 25hz, "Basstrac" Technology to ensure no bottoming out. 3 Different types of inputs, Polarity control, Optional crossover.

No power switch, so you have to cut the power to sub and receiver in order to connect and disconnect. Also placement is crucial.

Living in an apartment I never really believed I needed a subwoofer, but what good is having a 5.1 system without the .1? For over 2 years I've been outputting my LFE channel from my Boston Acoustics VR-950s (46hz at lowest frequency coming from a total of 4 5.25" bass units). Sounded good for the time, but I wanted a complete full range system so I started researching subs. I found the Boston PV series to be one of the best (in reviews when compared to others in the same category/price range), and since I own an entire Boston front stage, having one of their subs would fit in just fine.
I felt the Boston PV600 was just what I needed, and didn't carry too high a price. The PV600 has a 10" DCD (Deep Channel Design) down firing bass unit, with Dual 2" down firing ports. The internal amp is 120 watts (not 100, not 150, I see so many misprints on this). This sub has 1 passive input (for receivers without a Sub pre-out, in which you have to have an extra set of speaker wires from the main L and R outputs into the passive inputs on the sub), and 2 active inputs. It has crossover and non-crossover active inputs. All systems that are Dolby Digital 5.1 (6.1) or DTS 5.1 (6.1) and certainly all THX certified receivers will use the non-crossover input. You'll only use the crossover input on just Dolby Stereo, Surround, and Pro Logic only systems (NOT Digital 5.1 or 6.1 systems), from there you can adjust the high cut, from which BA recomends setting to 10hz higher than your main's lowest frequency (Ex. your mains go as low as 60hz, than you'd set the crossover for 70hz, or you can set it for the THX spec of 80hz).
Placement of this sub is very important. I can't stress enough that you place this sub in a corner! Otherwise it'll be somewhat lacking. A corner will greatly increase the bass output, despite room acoustics. Some rooms may have a "Bass Null" in which the bass is outputted, but you just don't feel it, in which case you'll need to flip the Polarity switch (aka a Phase Switch) to the other position (0 degrees or 180 degrees), which should correct this. Currently mine works perfect at the factory default 0 degrees.
So, as for performance, bass is tight, punches, and rumbles when it's supposed to, bass is clean, powerful (I couldn't imagine using the 300 watt PV800, or the 1000 watt PV1000, that thing you have to strap down or it'll jump! a little too much for my needs, and out of my price range). This sub can rattle your whole house (at least it does my whole apartment, but in our building there are always contractors working, so because of contruction you can make all the noise you want from 8am till 5pm, but I can't dare crank this sub up any other time than that)! This sub is almost too much for a small room, great for medium rooms, and can still handle a large room, just up the volume. According to BA 10 o'clock, or 3 on the volume control is normal, but I set it to 4, I like the extra impact. And if I play music and set it above 5 (like ar 6 or 7)... oh man... sounds bigger and louder than those big 15" car subs with the radio turned all the way up! The "Basstrac" technology ensures the driver is never overpowered, and therefore it will never bottom out or play a signal it can't handle. I've so far been able to try this sub out with radio, TV (Pro-Logic), MP3s from my computer, CDs, and DVDs (Both Dolby and DTS). The DVDs being: DTS Demo #3 (Nice bass in Dragonheart and Relic Demos as well as Apollo 13 and the Titanic Trailer), Titanic (Engine room scenes, iceberg crash, ship splitting in two), ID4 (Attack scene, aerial battle scenes), Godzilla (scenes when Godzilla is walking or something is blowing up, there are lots of those!), Twister (tried all twister intense scenes, try the final scene with that F5 Tornado, WOW), and from all those I can hear and feel clean tight bass. You can feel Godzilla smashing up NYC with those big feet, the destruction of cities in ID4 is clearly felt, and you feel the power of the Titanic's engines, as well as the intenstiy of the sinking, this sub handles all that very well. Also it Isn't just a theater sub, it is very musical also!
If for some reason this sub may not be enough for you (Is that possible???), than check out the PV800 or PV1000, but only if you like the overkill in a med sized room, or have an auditorium sized room that demands more filling, but for the price, and what it can do the PV600 is a real winner! Any questions or comments please feel free to e-mail me.

Current Setup:
Yamaha RX-V995 Receiver
Boston VR-950 Mains
Boston VR-10 Center
Definitive BP1x Bipolar Surrounds
Boston PV600 Subwoofer
Pioneer DV-525 DVD Player
Panasonic 32" Superflat TV (CT32SF36)
Cables: Monster S-Video 2 (DVD->TV), Monster Optical Digital Cable (DVD->Receiver), Monster Standard XP (Receiver->Front Stage Speakers), Monster Standard 16/2 THX (Receiver->Surrounds), MonsterBass 300 12ft (To Sub, although I wanted a M351 THX Cable for this, but this cable seems to do everything perfectly, no complaints on it).

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First sub. Been outputting LFE signals from my Boston VR-950s.

Basstrac, Volume control in front

no power switch

I started out with a KSW12 from Klipsch and hooked it up to my Denon AVR-1700. It played good for a bit but then the fuse blew and it would not work when replaced. So I gave this sub a try having never owned a Boston product before. I am really impressed with the value for the dollar, the only thing that I don't like is that there is no power switch so when making any connections the unit must be unplugged. Never had a problem with this blowing fuses, probably impart of the Basstrac feature. This prevents the sub from bottoming out by never overpowering the driver. This sub sounds as good and better than the troublesome Klipsch. It gets a bit lower and produces tighter bass. It also does not take up as much floor space as the Klipsch. It also has got a bit more power, thats always nice in a sub. Overall a great value in comparison with the more exspensive Klipsch.

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Klipsch KSW12

Fast and accurate bass for music

Fine looking sub, small footprint. I'm so impressed with this finely crafted sub, especially on music. It's really a steal. Value for money, I will definitely recommend you guys to check this sub from BA. I have no regrets, cheers!

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B&W ASW500

Good solid bass

none

I listened to the 12 inch models mentioned above and none came close to the Boston PV600...The bass is tight and solid...I listen to latin jazz...And the responce was great...On dolby digital 5.1 it was out of this world...The terminator 2 collectors edition sounded like they were right in my living room...This was the best choice I made...If you like a hard hitting bass but not muddie this sub is for you...



Onkyo tx-ds 777
Boston subsat7
Boston surroundsat6
Boston cr2 center
JVC dvd xvs65gd

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Polk, JBL, Velodyne

Very Musical

No off switch

This sub is very musical, It is very tight and not boomy. On movies it is very powefull and clear. I don't use the crossover in the sub because I have thx suround reciever. To bad they do not make this sub in other finishes besides black.

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vr-10, vrm-50, vrmx

Very musical sub

Auto power on/off, amplifier just inactive

This is my second review. The sub after a few months of use has already settled-in and is giving out much better bass I mean really low bass. As I have mentioned, for music I'm very impressed with this BA Sub. I upgraded the power cord for a higher grade higher gauge cable and it seems that it has improved and gave the unit a more controlled low frequency. I'll do an AB comparison over the weekend and maybe share the results later. I'm still impress with this Value-for-money-wise so I'll still rate this sub a clean 5-star. Cheers!!

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Jamo 1008
B&W ASW500

Tight bass, small enclosure, excellent value

there are better, more expensive subwoofers

The PV600 is a nice addition to my existing system:

dvd Toshiba SD-1200
receiver Denon AVR-2801
front speakers Klipsch RF-3s
center speaker Klipsch RC-3
surrounds Cambridgesoundworks surround II
tv Mitsubihi 50" projection

For home theater the PV600 adds a dimension to the listening that was simply missing before. As good as the Klipsch speakers are in handling lower frequencies the subwoofer gives more depth to the experience.

I plan on upgrading the surround speakers in the future (RS-3s) but am very pleased with the overall sound of the system at this point. Each step in the process simply makes the very good better.

Tight bass from a compact size enclosure, smart looking cherry finish, nice for Home Theater but incredible value for mid-range stereo setup

Doesn't go down below 25Hz but then again unless you have a cavernous living room who needs it, requires some positioning or else it goes boom, boom, boom

This is just an initial impression and I have to say I really like this Boston. Its reasonably small size allows you to tuck it away from sight. When I first connected it to my Marantz receiver through "subwoofer out," the sonic result was rather disappointing, boomy, disconnected, not well integrated at all. After some positioning, the subwoofer started to sound cleaner, less boomy. It does add some bass weight to CAST AWAY crash scene, Arnold charging away at T1000 in TERMINATOR 2, AKIRA's Javanese "gamelan" beats, and MATRIX's techno-flavored soundtrack. But I still think that the Marantz SR8000 has poor bass management as the difference from before and after the installation is not something to write home about.

But when I connected VP600 to my stereo amp, the incredible value-for-money 120-watt NAD 370, on speaker level, suddenly FOURPLAY's Bali Run has new scale and dimension that I haven't heard before. Mark Morrison's RETURN TO THE MACK has a sonic attack and silky bass that's missing from previous listening sessions. And --this is probably a testament to NAD's superb engineering-- the above-mentioned movies sound even better, cleaner highs, superb full bodied range, and the bass is significantly better integrated (even though this NAD is only a stereo amp). It will be interesting to see how NAD's Silverline HT line (S170, S250) compares to the Denons and Sonys.

Equipment list:
Sony 29" Wega
Sony DVP S7000
Musical Fidelity A3
Mission 782
Boston Acoustics VP600