I've been wanting to add a sub to my HT system for awhile now. After doing some listening and reading the reviews here I had it down to the Velodyne Ct100 and the klipsch KSW12. I went with the Klipsch because of it's downward firing design, my main speakers are a Polk satellite/sub system, it's bass module is down firing and I've never noticed any directivity in the bass. My receiver is a Yamaha RX-V995, I set my speaker types to all SMALL in it's setup menu. This supposedly directs everything below 90Hz. to the sub out jack. The Klipsch is set at around 5 with the cutoff at about 100Hz. This gave great bass with music sources, it kind of unmuddies the lower ranges without being boomy. This setting was a bit too much for movies but there is an adjustment in the 995 that lets you back off the sub level, it droped it 2db and it's fine now. Got the sub from my local Tweeter Etc. store for 460.00 with a monster sub cable thrown in.

Overall value, overall sound

None noticed

For a simple, economical home theater system, the KSW-12 was probably a bit overkill (the KSW-10 probably would have been fine for me), but it is an outstanding subwoofer in every respect. For the price, I'm glad I went with the 12. Using this has dramatically improved the overall sound of everything.

Just for reference, I'm using the little Klipsch Quintets with a Sony STR-DB830 receiver. For testing with CD/DVDs, I'm using a Toshiba SD-3109 DVD player.

I purchased the KSW-12 for an amazingly low price of $321. I printed out the page that had the KSW-12 listed at http://www.tatumelectronics.com. Whatever you do, do NOT buy directly from Tatum Electronics. It is a very shady company that will probably rip you off. I took that printout to the local Good Guys (authorized dealers of Klipsch) and they price matched it. A little dishonest, but for $321, it can't be beat and it's worth it.

Also, you may want to stay away from places such as eBay to purchase Klipsch products because Klipsch will not honor the warranty unless you get it through an authorized dealer.

Quality for the price

None yet

Normally I would wait until I had a
product longer before I review.
However, I got it for such a good
price that I wanted to tell all
interested parties where to buy this
amazing sub. I called the 800 number
of Vanns.com and they sold it to me
for $297 delivered. That compares to
$500 that my local overpriced audio
store wanted. It also compared
favorably to any other prices I could
find with a search of the net. You
can read the previous reviews and see
that this is a great product. I
wanted to let you know where to get
it. Because some people like to tell
you how much they paid for a product
and don't tell you how.

Tight bass

output seems low

My 2nd follow review. Again the sound remains tight and good. But its output seems a bit low. My old Infinity BU1 (8" woofer) probably has more output than the Klipsch at the same volume level. strange. Anyone has a clue why?

Similar Products Used:

Infinity BU-1

Clean tight musical bass on CD's, incredible punch on DVD's, Manual is not that bad.

Somewhat placement dependent, lower quality sources such as FM brings a boomy sound (my wife listens to the radio).

With a high quality source such as CD's and DVD's, this is an excellent, versatile sub. For $309, I would challenge anyone to find a better performing sub. Even at it's list price of $500, it is still an excellent value.

This sub makes its presence felt without having to be overpowering. I have Klipsch KG3 speakers that I run full range and I have the sub crossover set at 70hz. It blends very nicely and does what a sub should do....fill in the lows on music and add impact to home theater. I use the line level inputs. I have yet to try the RCA inputs. I have the sub on the main level of my house and I have a basement. Perhaps for this reason, I really feel what the sub is doing as opposed to just hearing it. Perhaps that is one of the characteristics of a down firing sub set on a floor that will vibrate....feeling as opposed to just hearing.

The manual is not as bad as some have indicated here. I think it is pretty clear on wiring it up. There could be more on placement, however I think most people would know to experiment with placement if they've done any research at all.

I contemplated giving this an overall rating of 4 stars because on an absolute scale, there are better subs out there. But within its price range and even somewhat above I really feel it is one of the best performers available so I gave it 5 stars.

Similar Products Used:

Polk PSW-100.

Tight Bass!

None in this price range

I bought the BU-120 and returned it after reading the reviews here for the KSW-12. At the $150 price point the Infinity is a great value. At the $399 price point the KSW-12 is also a great value. It greatly outperforms the Infinity by having a much tighter bass and being useful for music AND home theater. Rapid bass sounds going into this sub come out as distinct sounds. My room is 17'x17' and this thing will shake the floors and walls like an earthquake. I love this sub!

Similar Products Used:

Infinity BU-120

amazingly tight bass for the price

None

I decided to try the KSW 12 after having no luck with the KSW 10. The step up is definitely worth the money. The bass is tight and has kept up with just about any music I have thrown at it. As far as home theater goes, I don't think I could justify the need for anything bigger. The KSW 12 fills my mid-size room with enough bass to shake the floors and windows with line level set to half. If your looking for a relatively inexpensive sub that packs a mean punch, this is the one for you!!

Similar Products Used:

B&W ASW 500

Clean tight deep bass!...enough said.

none.

In one word........WOW!!!

I mean come on, can 26 other people be wrong with a rating of 5 stars overall...and and not one bad review? Well. lets keep the tradition going shall we?

Similar Products Used:

Infinity,JBL,NHT,Pinnacle,and Acoustic Research(all 12"subs)

Low-cost, high performance, tight bass, high power

I was using some home-built speakers with 2 15" woofers and didn't get the same punch that this sub offers. I originally was going to replace the old HUGE tower speakers with some nice, small Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble speakers, but they sounded so flat. No low end. After contacting CSW, they recommended a powered sub, but wouldn't give me credit on the passive 8" subs that came w/ the satellites, so I went elsewhere. I ran across this board and read the praise of this sub, the KSCC1 center channel and the KSW2.1 satellites and I'm just amazed. Proof that God does exist. (And in Arkansas, nonetheless!)

The crispness and solid tones that came from the sub/sat combination literally made me weep. (what a putz I am). I have been searching for years for this sound, and now I could afford to spend a few bucks and get a really world-class system. The total package from www.jandr.com cost me less than $800 including UPS ground. (note: Cyberteria offered the sub for $100 less than J&R, but J&R matched it. They were already cheaper on the sats an center).

I combined this with the Onkyo 575 DTS receiver and I can't imagine getting a better-sounding system, even for 2x the price. Great values all.

put's out a hell of a lot of -bass-
very accurate
sub cable plugs

sub box is to light, it dose a little dance for me when i crank the s-o-b, but thats not really a weakness

i love bass
this sub rattles all the windows in my house
when i play music i play it loud, very loud
so loud the sub-cable wiggles it's way off the connector
thats my only problem
this subwoofer put's out deep deep bass, but on those really deep notes i can just hear air being moved { i probably need a 18" for those }
but overall this is a k i c k - a s s sub. if you want your windows to rattle all over the place get this baby.

-smoky bear-

Similar Products Used:

kenwood 12" 150 watt amp