Sounded good in store, but hard to audition subwoofers at anyplace but your home.

Product specs have been changed!!??

Nobody out there seems to have caught on, but the manufacturer appears to have changed this product. On the AR website www.acoustic-research.com, the variable crossover frequency selection range is listed as 40-200 Hz. So I went to Sears and they price-matched a Web price of $198. But when I got home and unpacked the box (sealed from the factory), the back of the subwoofer (where the amp cooling fins and terminal are) looked completely different than the floor model at Sears, and the crossover frequency knob now allows a selection only between 80-220 Hz. I thought it was supposed to be 40-200 Hz? What gives? 40 Hz to 80 Hz is a whole octave, and there are an awful lot of people that want a subwoofer crossover point below 80 Hz. I myself want this subwoofer to start cutting out at around 60-70 Hz, which according to the new specs can't be done. I swear I am looking at the exact same model number - AR-S112PS.

Now I have to take the product back to Sears and point out to them that the model AR is shipping them differs from their own demo on this crucial spec and from the AR web page. I note that below someone complained that the crossover range was too high (at 80-220 Hz), and I agree, though the original crossover range seemed right on. I'll give the subwoofer a good rating (for Home Theater especially), since it still sounds good when used with the right speakers (little-bitty ones that don't go much below 80 Hz), but a shame I can't use it with my planned speakers and shame on AR for changing it without notice and getting it wrong on their own web page. And I don't think raising the crossover range improves the product - if anything, it makes it less useful. I have been involved in audio for a long time and even used to build my own speakers (from Dynaudio, Peerless, and Becker drivers, and various capacitors, inductors, resistors, wire, wood, etc.), so I am not a domplete novice, but I don't think I am wrong that something is fishy about this crossover spec.

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Heard various Yamaha, JBL, Cerwin-Vega

Great Booming sound! This baby will rumble your walls! Also great price & design! Alot of "Bang For The Buck".

Havn't found any yet?

I was using my home theatre setup without a Sub-Woofer for approx 8-9 months until i purchased the AR S112PS. My front speakers are fairly large and contain (2) 12 inch woofers with midrange and tweeters in each and my rear speakers are basically bookshelf size. Being i had large front speakers i thought i didn't need a sub-woofer. I thought the (2) 12's in each of my front speakers would give me enough Bass but boy was i wrong! I hooked up the Acoustic Research S112PS Sub-Woofer and i couldn't believe my ears! What a difference! I was amazed on how great my system sounded now! This baby added complete depth to my sound system! I cannot believe how shallow my system sounds now when i turn off the Sub-Woofer! I guess it's like that old saying "You don't know what you're missing until you have it". This sub is great for it's price. I paid $169 brand new in 6th Ave Electronics here in New Jersey and i couldn't be happier! I will tell you one thing, if you do buy this sub get a set of good quality Sub-Woofer cables like "Monster Cables". I tried to go the cheap route and bought some cheapo "RECOTON" cables and boy what a mistake! The Sub was humming and all with the cheap cables!It was terrible! I then bought a 13 ft Monster Cable which cost me $40 but it was well worth it! I can now turn the sub's volume all the way up and not hear the slightest hum or hiss etc. So if you get this Sub or probably any Sub for that matter invest in good cables! You'll thanks yourself in the end! Overall you cannot beat this Sub for it's price range! I'm a happy camper!

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This is my 1st Home Theatre Sub-Woofer

Value for price

none that I've noticed so far

Actually I don't have much new to add about the sub that hasn't been said below. I am also very impressed with the quality of the bass and even more impressed with the price. I bought mine from AudioVideo4u.com, and couldn't be happier with them. Although they weren't able to offer the price listed below ($200 shipped. Mike, the owner, said he'd actually made a mistake and was simply honouring his original quote... which I took to be a sign that I was dealing with a good shop), Mike was able to offer me a VERY competitive price, with service that far surpassed the price I paid. After the sale he was very responsive to my questions and helped me diagnose a problem I was having with another piece of equipment that I had not even bought from him. I'll definitely be sending all of my business back to them.

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12" passive sub

Sound, Price, Fact that its Acoustic Research!

Paper Cone, small Amp

GREAT sub for the price! paid @215.00+ at Sound Distributors, (via ebay) The sub is placed in a corner, and on a hard wood floor. Wired to a Sony HT amp via Monster cable. Bass is much deeper compared to the Infinity BU-120. I think overall the Acoustic sub is of higher quality than the Infinity.. dont get me wrong I am a fan of Infinity products, but in comparing the 12" subs.. Ive got to go with the Acoustic. For home theater use:4/5 stars. For music:4/5 stars. In short, at a price this low.. you cant go wrong! Great sound/product!

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Infinity BU-120, Sony-?

I believe this sub compliments AR's EDGE speakers well and proves to be an outstanding value for a home theatre system. The porting and positioning of the sub also make it more effective in its performance for a moderately sized room. It is light but solid so don't let that fool you.

Not quite as powerful as I think it should be. 150Watts would be more sufficient. Gets a little boomy on some movies

I have found this sub proves to be quite a great deal for its price. I purchased it with 5 AR edge speakers from a dealer (soundpros.com) for a total of $650. That is not an exceptional price but I have not been disappointed by any means. AR may have just thrown this home theater package together but they threw it well. I have found this sub to perform well when playing louder music and movies. It also picks up lower frequency instrumentals as well for more classical listeners. Its no Velodyne but it does the job. Energy has an 8 in sub with powered 100W amp that has been praised extensively. I find the AR S112PS to be comparable if not better. I've bought used and sold about 6 different kinds of Home theater systems of varying prices and this sub is definitely one of the best in not the best.

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JBL 12", Bose Acoustimass 15, Energy 8", Polk, Wharfedale, Velodyne

sound, and aesthetics

none

I really like this sub, it sound much better than the passive 10" sub it replaced. Much more rumble. With the built in amp, I guess that could be expected. My mother inlaw watch a dvd movie at my house this weekend, and said "WOW! it really does sound like we are at the movie theater".

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10" passive cerwin-vega

Value,powerful bass

none

This sub rocks! I don't even have it at half power, but there's enough bass to easily fill the entire room (which is rather large). I got mine off the web from JVC Wholesale (http://store.yahoo.com/jvc-wholesale) for $240 after shipping, and for that price you can't find a better sub! I can't believe any of the reviews on this product are negative - especially the one which mentioned that the sub had to be run at max power to get enough bass. I'm afraid I'd break a window if I turned it up much more! Also, the packaging on mine was great, but it was a box within a box, so I'm not sure how it would be otherwise. I'm absolutely pleased with the sub's performance, and completely recommend it to anyone looking for quality home audio at an affordable price!

tight, hard hitting bass, elegant looks

none

Unfortunately the average rating for this sub has gone down recently due to certain so called "casual listeners" that don't quite grasp what these reviews are all about. They are not based on packaging, nor personal experiences buying from unauthorized dealers. They are based on the performance and value of a product. Thats all. Also, placement of the subwoofer around a room will affect output tremendously. Experiment with different locations until you hit a place you like, and by all means, buy a decent subwoofer cable! You'd be suprised of the difference a decent cable makes. (i'm not talking about spending hundreds of dollars, spend $25-40 on an AR or Monster subwoofer cable.) The Acoustic Reasearch S112PS is an excellent example of a product that is well designed, extremely funtional and an exceptional value. I bought mine last week after hearing a demo unit in Sears and listening to a friends unit at his house. I challenge anyone to find a powered subwoofer at this price ($284.99 on sale at Sears) that can outperform the AR. The bass comes out clear, tight and damn loud if need be. As for the previous review by Duane, you obviously got a damaged unit from an unauthorized dealer, so don't blame your troubles on Acoustic Research. Comparing this unit to a Radio Shack 12' sub, is madness, anybody who knows anything about home audio knows that some of the worst audio products out there come from Radio Shack. Saying that your Optimus is "more impacting and fun" shows us that you aren't qualified to write a review that would give us an intelligent, accurate description of the performance and value of this product. Think before you write.

clear,deep bass, adjustable crossover and volume control. Low, low price.

Neighbors below complain too much from downfiring woofer

I bought this sub from audiovideo4u.com shipped to me for $200 total. Unbelievable performance from this low cost sub. The cabinet is elegant with it not taking up too large a footprint. This sub rattles my windows when I crank up the receivers volume. I have this thing hooked up to my Sony STR-DA50ES receiver and the bass is absolutely remarkable for the price. If you have a $200 burning a whole in your pocket, then only the Velodynes will beat this. If your in the market for an inexpensive powered sub that will add that room-shaking bass to your HT, don't pass this one up

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Bose powered sub from AM-15 set

Shines for Home Theater rumble use. This puppy shakes my house. It's downright scary sitting on the couch located next to my s112ps sub.

For music audio listening the kick drum is not as tight.

Thanks to you folks for taking the time to review the s112ps that I was sold on getting one from SEARS. I had seriously considered getting the Infinity BU-120 UNTIL I read all the reviews about burn out problems. My dad just got an Infinity HTS-10 setup with an 8" 75W downfiring sub and for a non-technical listener like me I found that lil' 8" sub to be impressive. So I continued my quest for a good sub I could afford. I liked the Boston acoustics PV600 but I found it out of my price range. After reading the reviews for the s112ps I figured I had to hop on over to SEARS and audition one for myself. Luckily, there was a room setup with the s112ps that was playing Godzilla on DVD. My main goal for getting this sub was for home theater use. It met all my expectations. As some of you suggested, I asked the SEARS salesman if he would meet the lowest Internet price I could find and he said that they do match internet prices.

My Home Theater setup includes:
Comjet DVD player with a built-in karaoke and a cool pitch control. {It's got all the bells and whistles and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in karaoke}
Sony STR-DE915 receiver, BOSE Acoustimass 10 HT satellites (with a passive base module), Two 12" Bumpers connected as my B speakers ( I run the A + B speakers at the same time)
The BOSE bass module is seriously lacking. I read all the negative reviews other owners of the Acoustimass had to say about how weak the bass module was and agree with their sentiments. That's why I got the AR s112ps cause I wanted to feel the DVD movies. The LFE stuff really shines.

My unit did not come with a Y splitter. I purchased on myself although I really don't hear any difference. Also, I plan on getting the fiber glass insulation from Radio Shack in hopes of getting a tighter sound. The bass does sound great when I pop in a VCD or DVD karaoke disk.

For the s112ps, the price is right and I highly recommend it! I give it a 5 for a value rating and a 4 for an overall rating. REMEMBER that SEARS will match internet prices for the s112ps.

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None. This is my first Home theater subwoofer.