great looking, easy to use, nice depth in movies

kinda weak amp, crossover freq different than advertised

I have had this sub since Xmas and so far I have loved it. I had to break it in a little, but after watching a couple movies and listening to music for awhile cranked up it sounded much better. This is an excellent sub for the money, especially if it matches the frequencies produced by your other speakers. The only problem I have with it is when I turn it up really loud it shakes my whole apartment building. Don't get me wrong though, if you have the money, get a paradigm 12" instead. This sub is better for movies than for music, although it definitely adds a nice roundness to the sound in my apartment with music. Positioning is very important as well as using a good cable.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha, paradigm

Tons of bass; tight, clear sound; may even be too much bass, but too much is better than not enough

size

I read a few negative reviews and thought I'd enter in my opinion. I bought this sub as part of the HC2 package and I think it's fantastic. I watched U-571 with the power at 1/2 one night and my neighbor expressed his displeasure the next day. And that was at 1/2 power. At 3/4 power everything is falling from the shelves. Beleive me, this sub really thumps.

I listen to music ranging from classical to techno (no country) and now realize how much I was missing before. The bass is so clear and filling that it feels as if you are at the concert. It matches perfectly with The Edge by AR. You get the clear, smooth clarinet along with the bass guitar so sweet, you have to close your eyes and let it all soak in.

All I can say is that this sub is superior to any other in its price range. Just give it a try.

P.S. - Don't forget to get quality interconnects or all is for not. I'd suggest AR here too.

excellent sound. Not "boomy" but good solid bass.

none so far

I am a professional musician (50+ years). I own a huge record collection-Jazz and Classical. My PSB Sub gave up the ghost. After searching the web for something good and affordable, I elected to Purchase the AR 112. So far I am delighted with my purchase. I use NHT as main speakers, Accrus amp, Luxman preamp, Nad Cd player, Nakamich casset deck, Denon turntable and a recently added Onkyo CDR unit. I purchase the sub from Vanns.com, good advice and great service.

Similar Products Used:

PSB

Low price, heavy constuction, down firing speaker and powerful amp 120 RMS but the specs in the Manual say 480 peak.

Large, sounds directional

I have very little expience with audio equipment, but I am very impressed with this sub. It does what I want it to do and it would do more. I have the amp set at less than 1/2. I bought it at Sears for $150. It was a great buy in my opinion. The negative reviews about this make me wonder how a higher quilty sub would sound. I think my only problem is the reciever Im using. Which is nothing more than an Aiwa stereo with surround. Thats what I started out with. I was at first impressed with this but the bass distorted and was not clear and deep even at low volume. When I hooked the AR 112PS up to the powered sub jack the result was pretty amazing. The stereo sounds amazing. With a better reciever and surround speakers this sub would sound even more amazing.

maybe good for ht?

boomy, lots of distortion unless barely audible, sound quality very poor

this subwoofer has very little musical quality. we listened to a metallica (enter sandman), steve earle (copperhead road), and vivaldi concerti, and the only music it actually enhanced were the concerti. so if you want to rock out and hear the music, not just feel the windows shake, spend the extra $$ to buy a more expensive unit than any of these three bargain-basement speakers.

Similar Products Used:

auditioned sony and yamaha equivalents, and a couple higher-end models after i returned this one.

tight, loud bass. one of the best bass makers for the buck.

large box, no speaker level outputs.

first off, there seems to be several subs reviewed under this name. some have a min low pass setting of 80Hz and some have speaker level outputs. mine has a low pass of 50-150Hz and no speaker level outputs. as far as i can tell, this is the newest version.

- quality: very well made. nice finish and looks.

- size: seems to be a bit larger that other 12" subs. could be used as a coffee table :)

- connection options: lacks a few of the standard connections. no LFE connection, no speaker level outputs.

- sound: it does make bass and lots of it. to mesh with my AR17s, i have the low pass set in the middle and the volume set right below the middle. if i am not careful, the sub easily overpowers the small AR17s. i find the bass to be tight and overall good. with all other componets off, the sub is quiet (no humming or such).

for $200 shipped, you will have a hard time finding a sub better than the ARS112PS. i was a bit worried about the sound quality of the sub after reading all the reviews here but now that i have received the sub and have put it though the paces, i am very happy with it.

note to those who hated it: this sub costs $200. what did you expect? why does everybody keep comparing it directly to the Klipsch SW12? the Klipsch is a very good sub but can easily cost twice as much.

my current setup:
receiver: Denon AVR-1802
fronts: AR-17
sub: ARS112PS

my setup in the end:
receiver: Denon AVR-1802
fronts: AR-15
rears: AR-17
center: AR-4C

Similar Products Used:

klipsch, mtx, velodyne

Different hookup options both speaker and line input. Variable level and crossover controls.

None so Far

First off I would like to say that alot of the negitive reviews are based on improper placement,levels and musical content. A subwoofer should serve to supplement a systems mains especially bookshelf type not dominate . Overkill on the levels tends to sound distorted and boomey as with any sub. If properlly placed and adjusted it can produce a good subtle tight bass and help clean up the midrange on your mains. If your trying to rattle the objects in your house or your neighbors again your probably over doing it. As for music content my tastes are just as diversified as the next
but unfortunetly a 1960's Stones Recording or a Metallica or Rap just dosent sonically reproduce well even on the best of systems. A good instrumental or well recorded jazz album is a better measure for that. Not all recordings are equal. Keep in mind that that few components are designed to compete with higher end equipment at a fraction of the cost. That aside for the money this sub does a good job.

Similar Products Used:

None

Incredible true,deep bass with no distortion. Outstanding for orchestral music including symphonic, big band, latino,

None. An unusually wide range of adustments on the back panel allows one to select settings outside of the range that most SWd permit.

This AR/Infinity model is an outstanding powered subwoofer for any price. It's better than the Sony WM40 and comparable to the Paradigm PDR12 which costs a lot more. My primary interest is music rather than movies. I own/rent a lot of CD/DVD classical, opera, jazz, rock, etc...

I have a circle of friends who love (and listen to) music regularly. We like to think we keep each other honest. We also like to drink while we do this, so beware. Eight out of nine people in our group heard this SW for the first time at my house "blind" and rated this as one of the best powered subwoofers they had ever heard. As a sub-topic be advised that we "did" speaker cables a year ago and could discern no difference between $200 "quality" cables and zip cord. You may want to move on based on this fact.

As always, when you read any review in a forum such as this, consider the source. If you relate to terms such as "It Sucks" or "It Rocks", move on also. Try doing High School again and learn how to spell. You'll find nothing of interest here. If you love music and are even slightly literate please read on.

One reads all kind of nonsense on how far down the "hearable" frequency spectrum extends. It's really quite simple. If you have a piano or a keyboard , find middle C (256Hz)...Go down one octave and that's 128Hz....3 octaves down from middle middle C is 32 Hz. Can you hear that? Of course you can...so much for "feeling music below 100 Hz". One can hear this SW down to 28 HZ.

We did a lot of placement, adjusting and hearing before we found a fairly good set of control settings and placement for this amazing unit. We found that it performed gloriously once the settings were right and the SW was placed with the open reflex duct facing out (toward the room) rather than in...which means the Plain-Jane speaker cloth faces the wall and what you see is a rather ugly set of terminals and a heat sink. Details, details.

I tested this SW at close to full volume with a rather good system...(Magnepans, Onkyo amp and such)with the MET DVD production of "Tosca", Tschaikovsy's 5th and 6th Symphonies, Mahler's 3rd., vintage Coltrane, U.S.Marine band Sousa Marches...u.s.w.

DVD's are great and I know I sound like an elitist jerk but if you know what I'm talking about, DON'T HESITATE...but one of these puppies...

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Klipsch; Sony

Versatility and customizable controls.

Setup is complicated. Manual is insufficient.

I bought this product at Ubid after reading some of the reviews listed here. When I first hooked it up to my system it sounded terrible. I then went to the web to help understand the controls behind the sub. The manual was almost no help at all. After doing a bit of research, I tweaked the levels and placement of the sub for an entire day before I was able to get a good sound out of it, but the bass still did not go very low. I then bought a 25’ AR subwoofer cable and the low end started to shine through. It wasn’t until the end of the second day (and after many different movies and types of music) that I was pleased with the sound.

I found that this is a great sub. If you are not technically proficient, not very patient, or are not trying to save any cash, this is obviously not the sub for you. However, if you don’t mind doing a little research and listening to multiple types of music to get the sub in the “sweet spot” for all to hear, not to mention save a few dollars, this is the sub for you.

Here is my system:

Receiver: Denon AVR 1801
Fronts: Pair of Acoustic Research S50's
Center: Mission 70c2
Rear: Pair of Mission 701's
Sub: Acoustic Research S112PS

Similar Products Used:

None

Cost, clear deep base

Little large

This is a great sub for the money. I use it along with my
phase techs and I think it delivers what I'm wanting. I must say the velodyne is a better but lot more expensive sub.

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne