While this initially was a great sub for my listening needs, it soon (2 years) developed a 60Hz hum forcing me to shut off power when not using. Finally the amp board smoked/smelled of something odd and stopped working altogether (8 years). Very disappointing. Have replaced amp with Dayton Audio SPA250, may have to recone or replace speaker. Arrg.

room and ground shaking bass

pops but , not while musics playing

i got a sho12 and reworked it, it has the 140 watt amp and i installed a new 400 watt polk audio 12 inch subwoofer inside and its awesome,the amp is rated at 4 ohms so its a monster, connected to a sony str-491 receiver and a pair of polk audio mains

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tried sony 100 watt subwoofer, very weak next to this ar sh12 now but consider it a custom job now,since woofers been replaced

Price & Performance.....

read my review........

I may be two years late to posting this, but who cares, anyway, I have this bad boy connected on my Yamaha HTR-5280 paired w/ Polk-Audio speakers & wired w/ Acoustic Research wire/subwoffer cables (a little bit cheaper than Monster but same quality & performance). I agree w/ most of the reviewers complaints regarding hums, the pops when you turn it off & the vibration if gets to low.... With some tweaking and alterations, I must say I will be keeping this bad boys for some time.... I recently replaced the plastic screws w/ steel ones (size is 1/4 x 1 1/4 coarse thread screws) added a rubber bumper w/ holes in the middle to reduce vibration, fellas, I tell you, a BIG improvement compared when those plastic screws where there, that is if you have hardwood floor. About the hums., it only happens occasionally, so it's pretty much tolerable... The popping, just leave it on, it shuts down automatically when not in use, not 100% shutdown though, just turn it off when you know you wont be using it for a while.... Lastly, the vibrations, there's a little bit left, but then again, tweak & do the alteration that I mentioned above, you'll be smiling like me....

Strong room shaking bass

N/A

I like it a lot, all my friends are impressed and has convinced them that a good sub is need in every HT. We watch ed Saving Private Ryan and the sub shined, worked perfected and rocked the room(felt like your on the beach, felt in your insides). Any sub that can pass Saving Private Ryan chapter two without a hitch, is pretty good. Not a bad price, and a nice company and name for a great price ($240).

Goes down to 20Hz

It cracks when you turn the volume control button sometimes.

I have owned this speaker for a year and I must say
I am satisfied with it. I got for only $240 at Netmarket
last February. It really makes my walls rumble when
I am watching movies and I only have the loudness set
at 4. The only thing I do not like is that sometimes
when I adjust the volume it cracks.

I purchased this sub from www.shop4.com for around $300. When I recieved it, the amp was bad, and I ended up having to take it for repair. When I finally got it home, I must say I was pleased. While this sub is not going to win any awards for its clarity it is loud, it is neverless a good buy. I listen to mostly electronic music and so far it has performed well, always able to reproduce the deepest beats. I am disappointed with the "shoddy" construction materials used by AR. I do not feel that I have treated my sub with any neglect and yet three of the four plastic feet have fallen off. Overall this sub is pretty good, and I must admit that I am pleased with its performance.

It rocks. If you don't have a sub now and are thinking about one this one is key. This sub goes down to 20 hz and has a 140 watt rms amp built in. Movies have never been better. It has a variable crossover from 50 to 200 hz as well as a level control. The base is tight and in large quantities (if that suits you) , If not, turn it down. I strongly suggest this sub to anyone looking.

After listening to subs in the $400-600 range (Boston, Def Tech. M&K, Paradigm, Klipch, etc.) I settled on the Acoustic Research S12HO. I had a very difficult time trying to judge subs, either in a full surround system, in a stereo system, and especially by itself. They all sounded pretty boomy and distorted unless I was listening to action scenes in a surround setup, where the impact was the most positive. The main reason I chose the AR sub was because of fairly positive reviews, listening, discussions with salesmen, and price. I was able to purchase it mail order for $310 including shipping, and I've since seen it for slightly less. I am happy with it. I use it in a system w/ Definitive Technology BP8s, in a surround system. I turn the volume of the sub up about 1/2 way when watching movies, and turn it down to about 1/3 for music. It is clean, loud, and physical. Some down sides which probably apply to most subs: when loud enough to feel during movies it shakes many of the doo dads,etc sitting in the room, causing buzzing sounds and extra noise in general; it can be kind of a pain changing the volume when I change sources (when I get a new receiver w/ sub out w/ volume control this will no longer be a problem), there is a set of RCA in jacks, but no RCA out jacks, which makes it impossible to put between the main in and pre out jacks of my amp (again will be no problem w/ a new receiver). I rate this a 3 for quality, but a 4 for value.

Sorry to say, I had nothing but problems with this sub. It hummed and made a loud pop when I turned off my system. I even tried a second one, and the problems still continued. I finally gave-up and traded it in for a Polk PSW150. I have had no problems since!

I am reasonably satisfied with this unit, especially for the money. I paid $247 at Shop4.com, and I have heard that it is available elsewhere for less. I do not have a test CD, and have not been able to verify AR's claims for flat frequency response, but after relatively little tweaking, I was able to achieve a response that has no readily identifiable humps. My main speakers are KEF Q15s, which are claimed to have a flat response to 50Hz. By setting the (low pass only) crossover on the sub to its lowest setting of 50Hz and the sub volume level to about 1/3, I have been able to avoid audible effects on speech (that "chesty" sound), while noticeably enriching low end response on pipe organ and other very low frequency music. I have some program material for which frequencies in the low 20s are known, and I can hear those frequencies satisfactorily. I have muted other emitters and listened to the sub alone and verified that it produces more than "one note". I wish that the controls were more flexible, but I didn't pay the price for those. This sub has been a welcome addition to my system, and an excellent value for the price. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a very inexpensive subwoofer.