Hyped brand name

Boomy bass, oversized, overpriced

I bought this sub to complement my DM604 S2. The bass is not really punchy as I'd expected - I get better tighter and more accurate bass from the $75 8" Yamaha sub connected to my computer!

The response is very average...not something you'd expect from a "premium" product. I even tried reversing the phase just to be sure...but it is the inherent poor quality of this product that is the problem.

The "auto" on/off feature does not seem to be working correctly as the power is always on even when my main amp is switched off!

I've used a 10" Polk Audio sub before and this one is much more expensive but is inferior to the Polk.

Similar Products Used:

Polk Audio, Bose, JBL

Strong, tight bass
Great build quality
Complements well with other B&Ws

Very sensitive to placement
Needs extensive tuning to get best sound
Quite large

This is a good sub with strong tight bass. At first it was quite boomy but as other reviewers have noted I had to do a lot of tuning and find the exact spot that works in my living room. Quite a bit of work as this sub is extremely sensitive to placement. Otherwise it is an example of another superb B&W product.

bass quality, integrates well with other B&W speakers.

large size.

When adjusted properly, this sub integrates well in a stereo environment with other B&W speakers. I believe I'm getting better bass response than many other subs in the same price range. Of course, this may be due to the fact that I wire all speakers directly from the stereo amp rather than using the sub crossover (i.e. larger B&W stereo speakers are capable of handling some of the bass as well). I have not experienced any of the problems encountered by other reviewers, but I'm also not using this sub in a theater environment.

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne, Polk, B&W

The bass is tight, see below

Large, can rummble too much if not tuned properly, see below

I have had this sub for close to 2 years now. I was never really happy with it, not becuase of how it performed but because I had a hard time finding the "sweet spot" in my room for it.

In some locations it made the whole room rattle which drove me crazy, and in other spots it came up flat. I spent most weekends moving it around and adjusting the volume etc. It became a project rather than a compliment to my home theatre.

I never gave up on this sub so invested in a sound pressure meter and the AVIA DVD. It took me a couple of days but I found the perfect volume level on the sub and output on the amp and set the cross over at the lowest level, put this baby next to my couch and WOW.

This is exactly what I could ever wish for in a sub. I no longer hear it but it will send sound waves through your whole body. No more rumble just pure air movement. I always thougth it was better to feel explosions rather than hear them and this sub definitly delivers full punch.

I love it.

power, clarity, phase switch, auto on/off

size if thats of any importance

at first i had no clue what i was willing to spend on a powered sub. my roomate a few years back had a velodyne and it sucked, it just sounded muddy and annoying. however after "feeling" it in a demonstration room i thought otherwise. i think my old roomate had a horrible set up, connections, and miss used it. however, as compared to sunfire and b&w the velodyne did sound a bit muddy.

the infinity was better then the velodyne but it was also muddy. it was only about 150 dollars more then the ct120 (which was 300+). however i wasn't impressed with either one and was doubting whether or not i should even buy a sub. i felt that the other 5 speakers were enough.

while buying my cd player, the salesman used the b&w sub during the demonstration. after listening to it i loved it. they also happen to have my reciever in another demo room where he allowed me to feel the asw1000 while watching a dvd. still very impressed since i got to use the same equipment i had at home to try the sub out on (except the huge hdtv the demo room had).

While waiting for payday, i figured that i should listen to something else before i spent 750 dollars! i listened to a little sunfire, which was boomy and vibrating on the hard wood floors in the demo room. It was also a little too much for a sub (something like 1,100 dollars). So needless to say, once payday came around i bought the B&W asw1000. i love it, its very musical while listening to the radio/cds and gets down to business while watching dvd's. the sceen in end of days where the train is about to crash is cool, you feel the train on the tracks and when it crashes you heart ships a beat from impact.

my equipment

Sony KV32FV26 (flat screen monitor)
Nak AV10 (reciever)
Nak MB10 (5 disc cd bank)
Pioneer DV333 (dvd player)
Monster HTS2500 (power conditioner)
Wharfdale Modus (center speaker)
Wharfdale MFM-7's (front speakers-biwired)
Wharfdale MFM-5's (rear speakers)
B&W ASW1000 (powered subwoofer)
Cables are all monster cables refrence Z2

Similar Products Used:

velodyne 12"ct-120, sunfire 8", infinity 10".

The quality of bass,price.

Nothing at the price.

This is a real ground-shaking subwoofer for everyone who just can't afford ASW2000.But it's not a big difference between them.In my 4x5m room it sounds fast,strong and accurate.After more than a year of exploatation I'm still very proud of it.
The system is:
Sony KV-S2951
Sony DVP-S7700
Sony STR-DA50ES
Van den Hul the First[coaxial for DVD]
Van den Hul CS122 speaker cables [I'm thinking about upgrading it to the Revelation...]
B&W ASW1000
B&W CDM SE speakers.
I strongly recommend it.

After listening to several subs I came to listen to the ASW1000. This is really impressive both in a home cinema setup as well as a really hi-fi subwoofer. It's very worthwile to experiment with the settings (level /cross-over frequency), location etc.
In the beginning a played the sub a little bit to loud (just for fun). But now after a lot of listening hours I've found a good overall setting (cross-over at 45 Hz, level at about 25% of max.) for the music (classical/pop/jazz). It really adds a very solid basement to the music and blends very well with my main speakers (i.e. Wharfedale Precision 507.1 (?) series), the bass is now more tight, punchier and faster; and if there's now low bass you won't hear the bass, I really like that.

For the movies I use a different setting to get really earthshaking effects :-): just awesome. I've paid for this active sub approx. 750 US$ in the Netherlands and think this sub is worth it all! For the specs see:
http://www.bwspeakers.com/asw/

Punchy.clean,fill the room

a little bommy with hi volume

bought this subwoofer after testing for a week,I compare it with my first subwoofer Yamaha sw-160 but the diffrent is clear the B&W is more punchy and shake the stomache,fill the room wich is 6mX8M,now i connect both of them to my system:
Denon avr-3300
Pioneer dv-515
Phillips s-video
Sony hi fi video
sony LD
Humax d.box reciever
LG projector tv 60 inch
B&W 603 s2 fronts biwired
B&W cc6 s2 centre
B&W 601 s2 rear a
B&W LM1 rear b
Yamaha sw-160
B&W sw-1000
MITerminator 5 for front and centre
Monster for rear
audioquest Pro coax. cable
JVC optical cable

Similar Products Used:

not tried

price, performance, looks

Size

Purchased this sub to match my B&W speakers at the time. Amazing performance for the price. Doesnt go as low as some of the competition but is more musical. Currently using them with Paradigm studio 60's and CC. Suggest you use good interconnect to maximise performance. Switched from Monstercable to Rhinocables.com interconnect and the sub's performance is noticably better. Faster and tighter bass is the result. No longer bloated, sloppy bass!

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Pioneer

Deep, extended bass. Good value for home theater

It is big, black, ugly box in my living room!

Very impressive deep and extended bass with sufficient built-in amp to power it. With this sub, you don't really feel like you miss those big sound in the cinema anymore.