I must say after reading some of these reviews I feel much better about my purchase. I picked this sub up from a guy who was just going to throw it out because his last tenant left it behind. I almost flipped when he really only wanted $50. I picked it up thinking something would be wrong with it and long behold....everything works perfectly. I am really thrilled with this powerhouse! I actually sold my 2 yes count them 2 JBL D110's for this one sub. It hits way lower than both of the JBL's ever did. I love my movies and let me tell you I really enjoy watching them now especially since now I can feel even what I can't hear. I have my frequency set at 90 hz and level at 6 and I can't even begin to say how this sub is amazing! I think I got a steal and will never give this thing up! I will say I think I am going to open it up to see about the insulation thing. I guess I will have to give a follow up review if I change anything.

HUGE amount of bass Lots of controls and features Good bang or bass for the buck

Big and heavy A little slow and boomy for music.

I actually purchase the d1210r 12" sub with 200 watt output. Let me just say that this thing is a monster. It is as big as a dorm roof fridge, but unfortunately does not have room for storing any beverages. It is also heavy (about 50 lbs). Like other reviewers, I had to stuff the cabinet with polyfill. When I opened up the cabinet, I only found 2 sheets of polyfill and they were just jammed into the cabinet. So, I went to Home Depot and had to buy the giant roll of home insulation, but it was pretty cheap. I also got some 3M spray glue to glue the polyfill to all sides of the cabinet. Don't block the vent ports. Also, use gloves and a mask when handling the insulation because the fibers get under your skin and make you itch like the Dickens. Be careful with the spray glue also because I glued some insulation to my hand by accident. Just use gloves and a mask. By the way, I have also heard that you can use that spray foam that is used to insulate windows. I thought about it but then thought better of it since it is hard to remove once in the cabinet. If anyone has tried it, I would love to know the results. Anyway, after putting in the insulation, the bass was much more tight and the overall output was increased. Now, I have the crossover set at 80mhz and the volume only at 4 and I can feel the bass from 20 ft away. Sometimes, I have to turn it down more because I feel like someone is squeezing my skull. Let me just say that it is more bass than I need in a 20'x15' room. I don't think that I will ever have to turn this thing up all the way, unless I need to break up some kidney stones. Musically, it is a little slow and boomy, but i'm sure that has a lot to do with the placement. Since it is so big, i have limited options on where I can park it. The bass output overwhelms my speakers, so I always have to turn up the crossover when listening to music. With movies, it really shines. I haven't done a true test yet, but it probably shakes the entire apartment complex. I do know that explosions and gun shots will wake people right out of a dead sleep even when they are upstairs. With a test tone, the sub feels and sounds like a small earthquake. I should know, I'm from San Francisco. You can definitely find a better subwoofer out there, but for the price this thing really kicks butt. Add some insulation, which is an easy fix and sit back and get ready to have your head squashed with bass. Surprisingly, the sub also has a lot of nice features at such a low price point (crossover control; standby mode; 0 or 180 degree phase controller).

Powerful, tight bass

Barely audible Hum at high volume at 6 ft. in totally quiet room before movie starts, Pops when auto on and off and when manually changing DVD tracks.

I bought this from VSS-electronics and they were great (got product in 1 week with $30 S+H due to 52# weight via UPS ground). Sub has standard crossover 40-180Hz (100Hz is fine for me) dial, auto and always on mode, volume dial (0-10, 5 is plenty for me), Hi-level in and out, Pre-amp Dolby Surround Sub out and Dolby Digital Sub out (single input unlike stereo input on my Audiosource sub before), 12" downfiring paper woofer, 2 vents (front and back), 200 wts amp with heat sink, 6 ft. non-grounded but polarized power cord, black laminate wood enclosure, solid and heavy construction, and cone spikes to isolate from floor and prevent motion. Sub works great except for barely audible hum at 6 ft. before movie starts especially with volume over 5 and small pops when kicks on and manually changing tracks on DVD. Called toll-free tech support (very nice and courteous) who recommended better cables and route away from AC devices (tough to do if all your equipment is near amplifier and sub). He also felt it may be my amp which is Toshiba SD-6109C (combo DVD and 50 watts X 5 DTS/Dolby Digital receiver--great unit by the way) putting out noise and amp. just amplifies these noises. Once movie starts this baby runs quiet with lots of tight bass. You can do CPR with this baby if you sit it on your chest :-). I mean for $200 what do you expect. It probably won't compare to your >$400 subs but it'll kick ass on any thing less than $400. The Sony 12" 120 watts is also $200 at Sears but not as powerful. I also have BIC DV-62CLR center, Bose 301 fronts, and AR 215PS surrounds, and this baby integrates well. Matrix, Titans AE, U-571 sounds great especially in DTS mode. My 5-y/o son thought it was an earthquake and he was sleeping on the 2nd floor (I was in basement with all doors closed--sub shook the whole house). D1210 was an older model at 170 watts and more hum. D1210R has more power (200 watts) and less hum. BIC in general makes great, value-conscious speakers. Try it you'll like it provided you can stand its quirks (small pops and barely audible hums--not a problem once movie starts).

Similar Products Used:

Audiosource SW-6 (8", 50 watts, powered sub).

Relatively inexpensive, powerful, tight bass, quality construction.

Amp hum and pops when auto on and off and manually changing DVD tracks, scant fiberglass filler in speaker.

This is an add on to previous review. I'm still happy with D1210R BIC Venturi sub but detected some boomyness and minimal distortion at max volume and crossover. I moved the sub to the furthest corner of my home theater room and I don't notice the hum or the pops. This appears sweeter (bass wise) than just against a wall. I got brave and opened up the heavy 12" driver to peak inside (8 screws-whew!!). It only had a single sheet of yellow fiberglass liner on one of the walls. Of course I was too lazy to go to Radioshack so I climbed up to my attic and took some R-13 fiberglass insulation of my house and cut a square 12"x12" piece. I pulled it apart into 1" thick layers(too thick otherwise), using gloves and mask of course. I stuffed this insulation and affixed to the other 3 walls using some 3M spray-on glue being careful not to block the 2 vents and allow air paths from the driver to the vents. Guess what, the bass tighten up even more and no distortion even at max volume. My point is mass producers were too lazy to insulate the whole sub so your sub may improve if you insulate ALL the walls--just don't block your vents as this allows air movements to help create the deep unmuffled bass. I did fine an Audiosource 15" 200 watts sub on Amazon.com with free shipping (62# will cost you $50 ground UPS) for $225 but they were out of stock. This sub got decent reviews here as well and may be a better buy due to larger driver. This sub was reviewed as lacking insulation too so make sure you stuff some in there :-). By the way, Radioshack speaker fill is basically the same stuff as your house insulation except easier to handle (1" thick by design). Have fun and don't be afraid to look in your sub. I also stuffed some fiberglass insulation in my Audiosource 8" 50 watts powered sub (it had cheap and scant polyfill) and improved it greatly also.

Similar Products Used:

Audiosource SW6 (8", 50 watts powered sub--fair in performance, 2 stars)

Good low frequency reproduction....

None for the price....

It's hard for me to write a review on this product because I have never used a sub before. However, to my ears, it sounds fine for music and movies. It provides clean, accurate bass for music and wants to shake my house apart during bassy movie scenes. The sub I purchased is actually the D1210R which has several design improvements over the D1210. Overall, I'm very satisfied.

Similar Products Used:

None

Overall Value, good sound quality.

Poor low-freq response

System Config:

Reciever: Onkyo TX-DS595
Fronts: BIC V52si Plus
Surrounds: BIC DV32si
Sub: D1220R


The product I purchased was the Venturi D1220R (BIC "Venturi" Ported 12" Floor Firing Vented Long-Throw 200 Watt Sub)

This product is a newer version of the 1220 Series of Subs. I bought mine from ubid, for 89 bucks, plus another 60 odd dollars in shipping (3.99 + .99 cents per pound). And is without a doubt the best sounding sub I've ever heard from the $300 and under range. I listed to several H/K and Infinity and even an Onkyo Sub before spotting this a ubid.

The ONLY downside to this sub is the freq response from 35Hz and lower drops off really quickly. This sub is supposed to be rated down to 25Hz according to the docs, and I find that hard to believe. I ran a test disc on this thing and sat beside it with my hand on it to feel the lower-freqs. There is a very sharp drop in response around 35Hz, and all response vanishes about 28-29Hz. I haven't noticed this very much at all for my day to day watching. And I would be surpised if anyone spending less than $500 on a sub would notice it. I like a nice bassy sound and this sub gets the job done really well.

I positioned this sub in a corner with the Venturi ports at about a 45 degree angle to the walls (1 port on the right side and 1 port on the left side) and it really improved the sound quality of this sub. It just completely filled the room with a full bass that I never heard when I demoed H/K, and Infinity Subs price around 300.

Feature wise, this sub is very nice. It has a built-in crossover, with variable selection from 180Hz to 40Hz for those of you without a LFE (Low-Freq. Effects) RCA jack for DTS 5.1. It also has a seperate RCA jack for Dolby Pro-Logic input. You can also set the AMP to auto, off, or ON. The auto works reasonably well, but I don't care much for the feature on any sub. It slows down response too much in my opinion. This sub does have a 15 min time delay for auto-off which I Like. Another nice feature is a Phase Reverse Switch.

The cabinet is a nice polished black wood-grain (not really wood, but very sturdy) and comes with four screw-on Floor Spikes.

Okay so you have to asking, How well does this Sub Really Sound? Keep in mind that Sounds are a very subjective thing. But here's my take.

BIC (pronouced Bee-Eye-Cee). vs Klipsch

Hands Down Bic just sounds much less "tinny" than any Klipsch I've heard. If fact I really think Klipsch is a horrible sounding speaker.

BIC vs. Yamaha

I think BIC sounds pretty close to a Yamaha with equivalent features. But that's just me. I was told by a fiend of mine I was nutes. Bottom line the BIC can be hand for Much less cost for the same features and I think it sounds nicer.

BIC vs. H/K

Yeah, you can probably find H/K that sound better, but Nothing even close to this price. The BIC I think has a much "cleaner" less-rattling sound that the HKs I looked at.

BIC vs. Cerwin-Vega

Cerwin-Vega makes some nice sounding stuff. I really like a powerful Bass and Cerwin-Vega always delievers. I do think Cerwin-Vega sounds better, ever so-slightly. But it also costs a lot more (at least if you pay retail).

BIC vs. Paradigm Reference

Okay, who am I kidding? A good friend of mine has a Paradigm Reference Servo-15. The Servo-15 blows the BIC 1220R out of the water. But I would expect a $1500 dollar sub to do just that. I actually to this over to his house and he hooked it up for me in place of his (I ordered my reciever after the sub). The Freq. Response I mentioned earlier was very noticeable up against the Servo-15. The Servo-15 has a much nicer more power end-of-the-world sound that I've never heard on any other Sub.

BIC vs. KLH

BIC can be had for a similar price and sounds light years better. If you want value, look around for some BIC Speakers.


Would I recommend this speaker to my friends? Hell yes. Better sounding Subs can be had, but there's something about pay $150.00 dollars for a Sub that produces a sound that subs at twice the price have a hard time matching. I just became a big fan of BIC and you should too.

If you want to know about something I didn't mention or still have questions I didn't answer, drop me a line at audioreview.reviews@markchitti.com. I'd be happy to answer any questions I can.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, H/K, KLH, Infinity

GREAT BASS AT A GREAT PRICE

NOT A ONE

I'VE OWNED AND LISTENED TOO MANY SUBS OUT THERE FROM $100 TO $1000. SURE THERE ARE "BIGGER AND BADDER" BUT NOT ONE CAN COMPETE WITH THE PERFORMANCE YOU GET FOR UNDER $200.THE BOTTOM LINE IS IF YOU COME ACROSSA BIC 1210R FOR UNDER $200 DO NOT HESITATE,GRAB IT BEFORE I DO. SUPERB QUALITY WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED.

Similar Products Used:

POLK KLH

Quality sub for a low price....

Makes popping noise when auto-switch is engaged....(more on this in my review)

This is a follow up review to what I had posted earlier. I now have much more experience with this sub and can elaborate on a few things that I've noticed about it. The first thing I learned is to experiment with the placement of the sub, experiment, experiment, experiment! Moving it around really does make a difference in how it sounds. Read the manual before you set it up, it is very good on getting you started in setup and making final adjustments. Overall, this sub is a great unit. It puts out clean, deep bass with minimal effort. It does have one flaw relating to the auto-switch(this switch will automatically turn the sub on and off when low frequencies are sent from the receiver). Sometimes it makes a small popping noise when it cuts on while I'm watching television. It doesn't do it when I'm watching a movie on videotape or dvd or listening to music on cd. This is a minor complaint since It doesn't happen very often. I'm really pleased with the BIC and with a two year warranty on the amp and seven years for the speaker, I plan on keeping it for quite some time.

Similar Products Used:

None