Construction, Ease of use, Solid Bass

Ignorant users

I feel sorry for the people at Cambridge Soundworks for the bad reviews this speaker this is getting. It really is an excellent subwoofer. I have used it for over 4 months now and have not had a problem or one bit of bottoming out. Really, if you know what you are doing when you set this thing up, I don't think any subwoofer in this price range($400) comes close.

If you don't know how to properly adjust your $1500 Velodyne sub it's not going to sound so hot either. Hey, if not set up right it will bottom out, too.

Right off the bat, I was very impressed. The first five minutes of the Matrix was the seller for me. I could not believe the bass this thing puts out. Super for Home Theater. To my surprise excellent for music, also. I have it matched with the New Ensemble's and it just rocks. Anything from classical to Big Band to Rock it handles well. Not too boomy like others I have heard, just good sounding, solid bass.

I recommend people learn a little more about the products they are using and how to set them up before they start badmouthing and writing poor reviews. I really wonder if the one guy earlier has even heard this speaker. If he hasn't, too bad for him, because he's missing out on a great speaker.

Highly recommended and gets the full compliment of stars for value and overall.

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne, JBL THX Subs

Base Cube 12
I purchased the CSW Base Cube back in December only to quickly return it. THe low price may attract many new to the hometheater market, but buyer beware. This sub only works well in small rooms that are not open, and with low to moderate listening levels (don't try to approach theater levels with this sub). I found that the power rating was way too weak (I can only feel sorry for the poor souls that have purchased the Base Cube 8). The sub seemed to bottom out on virtually music source, and movies were only worse. Then I returned it (Base Cube 10) for the Base Cube 12 (I know this is a review for the 10, but this is what happened). Still no good. I do realize that I have a much larger room than the testing area at the local Cambridge Sound Works store and it is not anyware nearly as closed, but I was expecting much better response from the 12. My final thoughts, Energy has a 10" sub (soon to have a 12") with 1000 watts total power for just slightly over $1,000. It would be worth the wait to save for a little while longer to purchase something with more power (when I heard the Energy sub, it was the poening for the Zorro movie, it nearly stopped my heart). Once again, these CSW powered subs are better for smaller rooms, closed rooms or low listening levels (at moderate to low volume levels, this sub is just right only while sitting right next to it). Even the monster Powered Sub (coupled with the Slave sub) does not do justice to scenes like Event Horizon's opening fly over (or Independence Day's for that matter). A large dissappointment from a company that has really outstanding speakers (the Tower line is priced perfectly [see Mirage Omnipolar speakers], a set of four makes the absolute finest small scale home theater).

Lows that will make your whole body shake.

Not great for music but that isn't why I bought it.

I got this to finish off my surround sound system. I have a decent sized bonus room (over a two car garage) and this system blows me away. I have never heard any pops and alwyas use it on the auto setting. Buy it. you will love it. It is way better than I thought.

This Subwoofer handles a lot of power. Great for large rooms. Great for DVD action movies with lots of deep sound effects.

I have not found any yet.

Outstanding sound very deep lows. Nice cabinet construction, very solid. This subwoofer has handled everything I've played through it from the DVD movie Armageddon to Beethoven's 9th and hasn't flinched yet. A $450.00 12" subwoofer for $170.00 what can I say? This was one incredible deal! I would buy this subwoofer again in a heart beat. The only thing that would make this gem better would be to add a remote control for volume adjustments.

Excellent addition to any home theater system that lacks a bass punch. The BassCube 12 has worked flawlessly since I've owned it and it really is a compliment to the CSW Ensemble system. It's worth the extra few $$ to buy this over the BassCube 10 since you will get MUCH better sound and no bottoming-out of the speaker.

Purchasing the Base Cube 12 from Cambridge Soundworks has to be the most money that I have ever thrown away. Any time I try to turn up the movie/music I am forced to get up and adjust the sub. Save a little longer and avoid this product at all costs.

Ease of use, price/performance ratio, fairly compact for 12" sub, down-firing design

Will only hit 32hz, thus bottoms out on demanding soundtracks

I used this sub as part of my main set-up for several months (paired with a Yamaha HTR-5150, Optimus CS-5 center, LX-10 mains and LX-8 surrounds), 99% Home Theater use only. While the sub is adequately powered and fine for most movies, it's range of 32hz did not audibly make much of an improvement over the LX-10s, which reportedly will hit 35hz on their own. I replaced it with an AudioSource SW15 (an amazing deal- a 200wat 15" powered sub available for only $199 at Costco), which has much greater extension (literature claims 20hz, probably more like 25hz) and greatly enhances the "home theater exoerience." The Bass Cube 12 will undoubtedly be more appreciated in the bedroom, where it will be moved to pair up with a TEAC AGD-9100, another Optimus CS-5 center, and LX-5II fronts and surrounds. Got a refurbished unit for $349, not terribly bad but nowhere near as good a deal as the $199 SW15. Seems to be well made, at least. Auto-on function (also on SW15) is appreciated.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Source SW15

Great bass at even the highest level of output. I have a friggin' 1500 watt system and it hasn't bottomed out Once.. Not Once! For a sub that can handle bass like this, It shoulda cost way more than it did.

Stupid people that don't know how to set their hardware up.

Overall I'd give this product 2 thumbs up. For those of you who have had problems with it, I feel very sorry for you. It's probably because you guys don't know how to set it up correctly. lol Like one of the past reviewer's said.. Even the best sound system int he world can suck if you set it up incorrectly.

Maybe you should try reading the manual. ;) that or get a real system for the sub to show you what it can really do. Oo OO Maybe That's it! Maybe yer other hardware is too crappy for the sub.. Maybe that's why you're having problems. hah

- Trag

Similar Products Used:

Old Subs along with DTT systems.

Fills out the deep end of my system nicely, good value

Popping sound when set to "Auto"

I've used the CSW bass cube 12 for about two months and so far I've been very pleased with its performance, with one small exception.

The sub definitely has enough power for my system, and does a nice job of filling in the deep end. I do have to adjust it's output level sometimes when I switch between music and movie listening, but I don't really mind. The sub sounds wonderful, adding that earthshaking rumble of the dinosaur footstep that I was looking for, as well as accenting the thump of the jazz bass.

The negative point I've found so far is a popping noise generated by the sub when left in "Auto" mode. CSW tells me that this is normal for this speaker and the popping noise is caused when the built-in amplifier turns on or off, and they suggest that I just leave the speaker in "Always On" mode (which seems to have cured the problem). I classify this as a design flaw, but I can't complain too much for the price.

Overall I think this sub provides great value and is a very good quality product. The other subwoofers I've listened to that sounded better all cost significantly more than the CSW BassCube 12. A definite choice for the budget home theater.

Clear, defined pitch, natural sound, plenty of punch.

None that I've discovered so far.

I bought the Bass Cube 12 on eBay for less than half the list price. HiFi.com sells refurbished Cambridge Soundworks items with full warranty on eBay, and the deals are great. I've only had this product for three days, but I like it so much I wanted to share my experience with it. It adds a clearly defined, well-pitched, low-frequency extension to my Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble system. I'd hesitated for a long time before buying a subwoofer because I've heard some that add flabby sounding bass--boomy with muddy pitch. (This may have been because of the way they were set up?)The Bass Cube 12 is clean as a whistle. Listening to a Cleveland Orchestra recording on Telarc, I was amazed by the presence of the basses and tympani. I also tried some some techno music with very low syntesizer notes and there was more than enough punch, but once again, I didn't find that pitch or clarity were sacrificed. I haven't tried it out with any movie soundtracks yet, but I can't wait to see how it performs as a "sound effects" speaker.