The CSW Powered sub is fantastic. It blew away all other subs I have listened to. Very very accurate base response all the way down to 30hrz! For $700 I felt like I was stealing the thing. Bravo on a fantastic piece!

Cambridge Soundworks Powered Subwoofer 1
At home in England I use a downward-firing REL Stratus II ($1000)- very nice and very accurate
down to about 35 Hz flat (and about 6db down at 25 Hz). My friend here has just bought a Harman
Kardon AVR55, partnered with CSW Model 6's. We used two sources: regular AIWA CD player
linked via optical TOSlink output to the HK (and thence to the HK's onboard DACs), and DVD player
linked via Dolby AC3 connectors.

When I auditioned his new system with a couple of CDs and DVDs I know well, there was no real
deep bass at all and the slam and impact of some passages was totally absent. Where were the 64
foot pedal notes of Norwich Cathedral's organ? Where was the deep deep sound of Engineering on
the Enterprise? Where indeed were the gutsy bass notes felt (yes felt!) on the Blue Nile's Hats
album?

I explained what he was missing and we went out and auditioned the CSW Powered Subwoofers -
both the 12 Cube and PSW. Given that the apartment is rather large we concluded that the 12 cube
was a touch lacking in muscle and opted for the PSW (without slave). I wish I could have taken a
photo of my friend's face when he heard and felt the PSW in his new system. Blue Nile were back
with a vengeance, as was the Enterprise and the 64 foot pedal stops.

Having listened to the subwoofer for two days now I must say I am impressed with this product.
Sited in free space it is very neutral and accurate. In fact, the PSW performs better than my REL
(probably because my listening room is smaller than my friend's and prone to standing waves from
very low bass). Subject to a caution about different room acoustics, there is more of an airy,
unrestricted and slightly more accurate delivery from this unit when compared with my REL. Be
cautious with the level control though, and if your normal speakers go down to 50Hz or so, select the
"55Hz" low pass setting. See also the important advice in the CSW manual regarding the LFE
output from an AC3 amplifier - that advice is extremely important if you do not want to cut off the LF
response of your stereo speakers prematurely!

Well done Cambridge Soundworks for an extremely well-made, designed and competitively-priced
audio product. I unhesitatingly award five stars at this price point and up to $1000. Now to partner
them with the slave...

I give it 3 stars but there are much better subs for the same price. I saw a 15 inch 500w rated sub for only $370. I heard it and it was ear busting at only a fraction of a way up. Just then It was easily pushing more spl at 20 Hz than the powered or slave could all the way up. I didn't dare turn it any higher even though it could of gone much higher. Thats just what this sub did in a store in a large, cement floored room. Cerwin Vega also makes much better subs. Their HTS-15 has an spl over 120db. It has a 15 inch floor firing sub and a 200 watt amplifyer.

I agree with Brian about this Cambridge SoundWorks powered subwoofer 1a. It sucks. I had to trade in for 300$ credit at Cookin' which I bought for 600$. It is a piece of garbage, bottom out too easily, when you listen to DVD music, it is a disaster because it sounds too muddy, like crap. Stay away, Go listen to a velodyne subwoofer at your local Circuit City.

I have had quite a long, painstaking experience with cambridge's subwoofer line. I can in no way recommend this sub, much less any other from this company for a few VERY important reasons:
Cambridge is advertised as a "price conscious" value company. Now, we all know of a company called Velodyne (best subs in the world). They have a fairly new line of subs called the "Classic Theater" line. These range from $250 to $700 (est street price). The powered sub from cambridge is sold normally for $700 and is now on sale for $600. It is NOT worth either of these prices. For movies or music, this is a horrible sub for large and small rooms. It bottoms out way too easily, however the bass is quite unbelievable in the higher notes.

The specs for the PSW1 are as follows: 12" forward firing acoustic suspension woofer running on a 150 watt amp RMS.

The Velodyne CT150's specs are as follows: 15" forward firing woofer running on a Velodyne patented Current Sensing Servo System (which monitors the signal to deliver cleaner, les distorted bass) on a 250 Watt amp RMS (peaks at 750 watts).

The PSW1 has no servo system whatsoever, and the sound definately reflects. I feel this sub is WAY too over priced. Listen, if u want to pay too much for something, go ahead. If you want a sub that's a hell of a lot better, go to www.velodyne.com and make up your own mind as to whether or not you think one's better than the other. But, as it stands, I now have a CT150 in my home theater, and I have not ever looked back to the cambridge.

This is more an update then a new review, anyway this weekend I added the Slave Sub to the PSW1.
For those who don't know, the PSW1 has a 200 watt amp that can power a 2nd sub (banana plug out). The Slave Sub is the same box and speaker as the PSW1, but no amp, so it's alot cheaper, $250 direct from CSW.

Everything I posted before applies here - some of the most powerful bass you'll ever here.

If you look around, you can pick up both subs for about $700, and have a system that puts most movie theatres to shame.

Listening to anyting with alot of bass gets the blood flowing.

Very very satisfied.

This subwoofer is excellent. I have not heard any subwoofer come close to matching its overall balance of volume, accuracy, and construction quality under $1000. The bass is low, powerful, and tight, with just a hint of excessive warmness in the lowest registers. The design is refreshing, since no other company seems to want to drift from the "cube" shape. Overall, this sub gives the most bang for the buck that I've heard (both quality and quantity).

Ten years ago, I ordered a CSW Powered sub with non-powered twin originally. I returned the twin and bought another powered unit to have a stereo pair of subs. The auto switch-on feature (which powers up the subs when a signal is detected) would occasionally switch on and off as if finding and losing a signal. The techs at CSW bypassed this auto switch on, so the subs power up or off when my receiver is switched on or off. Another note is these subs make a low-level hum when no signal is being played, something that's probably there all the time, but noticeable on occasion. The hum cannot be heard while music or DVDs are being played, even during quiet selections and scenes.
After these initial problems, we could really enjoy the enhancement these subs offered with both music and movies. However, proper set up is essential. We placed them in the right and left rear corners of our 12 x 15 x 8 family room, with the main speakers at one 12-foot end and the subs at the other. We experimented with the subwoofer volume setting — position three (out of ten) was far too strong and the bass overwhelmed the rest of the frequency range. Position two was just right for our room, most likely because of their corner locations. We have the filter selector set at 55 Hz. Other CSW powered sub users won't necessarily have the same result and must experiment as well.

We have never heard the woofer cone bottom out that some reviewers have reported. Was the volume control advanced too high on those units? Subwoofers, like any other piece of audio equipment, should not be operated at extremes. Who would test a receiver or amplifier by advancing its volume to near maximum? After all, receivers and speakers are not to be operated so as to damage them.

The CSW powered sub presents a palpable bass where it's recorded. Jazz, classical, pop, vocal, instrumental, movies all benefit from the low end of about 28 Hz. Certainly subwoofers do exist that plumb sonic depths (I've read, not heard) to 18, even to 15 Hz. Such profound performance must, of necesssity, come at prices well beyond the price of the Cambridge SoundWorks Powered Subwoofer. After ten years of excellent low-frequency sound, these subs are strongly recommended.

TOP NOTCH PERFORMER FOR DETAILED MUSICAL BASS,TIGHT AND ACCURATE, NEVER FATIGUING. AND THERE IS SO MUCH POWER THAT I CANNOT FIND A 5.1 SOUNDTRACK THAT IT CANNOT MASTER WITH ROOM SHAKING BASS AT 30% POWER.

NONE

IF YOU WANT THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK, THIS IS IT. AUDIOPHILE MUSICAL PERFORMANCE, AND ROOM SHAKING,WINDOW RATTLING OUTPUT ON 5.1 SOUNDTRACKS.

Great sub.....Awesome power, delivers the goods where it counts