Room Shaking bass on DVDs.

Hard to assess and read controls.

I run a Yamaha 100 watt Dolby Digital to power my front Boston Acoustic Towers, with a Denon as a second amp to power the second set of Boston Acoustic Towers. I also run a top-of-the line Cambridge Sound Design Center Channel.
I have always been spoiled with the B.A.s for my music and movies, but then I purchased a DVD and decided to complete the package with a S.W. I bought with the most bang-for-the buck mentality; I am not dissappointed.
Having watched the Matrix, Perfect Storm, Jurasic Park and Toy Story II, this thing shakes the room (mid-sized living room) and is sharp and crisp. It adds a punch and physicality to the movies without being overwhelmed.
This is a good performing, very reasonably priced S.W. that will not disappoint.

Great price, nice size, and incredible bass response

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After using the Basscube 8 for about a month, I decided to take advantage of the 45 day trade in period and trade up to the Basscube 10. I found that the 8 really couldn't keep up with the rest of the system when you started to push the volume up. So when I went back and compared the 2 subs, I found the 10 had much more of a presence in the system and sounded much better.

With it's small size you can hide it pretty well in the room, and it still really pounds the bass out. I am completely satisfied with this speaker and all the other Cambridge Soundworks speakers that make up my HT setup.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Soundworks Basscube 8

strong bass for movies, clear

a bit too much bass for music

originally purchased a klh subwoofer at costco only to return it. the klh needs work and from reading a few reviews, i found out it needed work on it. i didn't have the time to mess around with the subwoofer and to me time is money so i opted for another budget subwoofer. i purchased this subwoofer in an auction on ebay and extremely pleased with the clarity and nice bass it produces for my home theater setup. i didn't buy this first because of some negative reviews. but those negative reviews are unreasonable as they aren't comparing products that are even close in price. i'm a casual listener so i don't plan on spending a thousand bucks on just a sub alone.

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KLH

Great Bass for the price

none yet (only 1 month old)

Although this is my first powered sub, I have been around a couple that cost 2-3 times what I paid (Bose, Infinity), and sounded the same or worse. I have the sub in a corner of our living/family room which is 20ft x 18ft with a cathedral ceilings and it fills the room great.
I think the key is to play around with the settings till you find where it sounds right. At first I had it cranked all the way up and it popped and boomed terribly. I then tried it at lower settings and different crossover freqs. till it matched the sound I was looking for. All in all, I am completely pleased with it, especially for the price ($250 at hifi.com).
I have noticed that for music it is a little loud, but that is easily taken care of by dropping the base level on the receiver by a bit.

Best subwoofer you'll find in this price and size, have to spend a lot more $$ to get better. Phase switch is a plus.

In the Speaker Level Input mode, works best with very
high-efficiency satellite speakers

Talk about curling your carpet with low-bass output, this subwoofer gives you your money's worth and more. It's very clean and adequately well-controlled. There are so many hookup options, you could probably hook this set up to a Walkman and get away with it. It has a built-in electronic
crossover, variable from about 60 to 150 Hz, with a 24db
rolloff above the chosen frequency -- this matches well with any main speaker system, but if you use it with a small-sized bookshelf with 4" or so woofers, make sure your satellites can get down to at least a streong 150 Hz or the satellites will sound "detached". Unit also has a phase
switch that comes in handy with some systems. I used the
Cube 10 with an Adcom preamp and Dyanco Stereo-400 power
amp with two spare CSW Surround-IV satellites, also with
some old 8-in. 2-way Advents: Really terrific bargain!

Similar Products Used:

CSW Bass Cube 8, NHT subwoofers

When placed in the corner of the room, this sub is louder and provides tighter bass than other much more expensive subs I have heard. (Boston Acu, Klipsch)Plus if your a just a teenage kid who wants to impress your friends with loud bass, this is the place and its mad cheap relativly!

None, unless you really need obscenely loud bass.

All in all, what more could you want? The bass is responsive, accurate, and cheap. Cambridge Soundworks offers this at a great value and I even got my 10" for the price of an 8". This guy can bump.

I agree with some of the other reviews here that the BC10 is a giant improvement over the PS2 that it replaces. In a small room, this sucker really shakes things if you want it to. The PS2 suffered from horrible slapping as the driver bottomed out. The BC10 is much more forgiving in this respect. The extension is not great (35 Hz is a good estimate of its lower limit) but when you consider its low power rating and low cost, what can you really expect from a 13" square package.
I would suggest this sub to anyone who wants a good starter sub on the cheap. I picked mine up for $299 from a CSW outlet and was not dissapointed. Sure there are tons of subs that are much better, but not many for this price. And the downfiring design is more consistent with CSW's original philosophy that decent sound systems should not clutter a room with equipment. The BC10 is slightly larger than the PS2, but looks nicer in a room. You can stick a heavy lamp or other diversion on top of it, and you won't even notice that it's there. (It kind of looks like an odd piece of furniture at this point)

I know that this review has not focussed much on actual SOUND, but I think that to do so would belittle the overall picture of this sub. I maintain that the output of this sub is solid and clear, and will satisfy just about every consumer level listenner in existence. All of you hardcore audiophiles may be dissapointed, but if you're that concerned with sound, you really shouldn't be messing with a $300 sub in the first place.

This sub is the best value that CSW has. The BC12 is not worth the extra $100, and the PS1 is significantly more expensive.($699 retail) High end consumers and low-budget enthusiasts should give it a try. If you don't like it, return it. Where's the harm in that?

I give it 3 stars for sound, but its attractive price and elegant design boost it to 4.

Cambridge Soundworks Powered Subwoofer
At home in England I use a downward-firing REL Stratus II ($1000)- very nice and very accurate down to about 35 Hz flat (and about 6db down at 25 Hz). My friend here has just bought a Harman Kardon AVR55, partnered with CSW Model 6's. We used two sources: regular AIWA CD player linked via optical TOSlink output to the HK (and thence to the HK's onboard DACs), and DVD player linked via Dolby AC3 connectors.

When I auditioned his new system with a couple of CDs and DVDs I know well, there was no real deep bass at all and the slam and impact of some passages was totally absent. Where were the 64 foot pedal notes of Norwich Cathedral's organ? Where was the deep deep sound of Engineering on the Enterprise? Where indeed were the gutsy bass notes felt (yes felt!) on the Blue Nile's Hats album?

I explained what he was missing and we went out and auditioned the CSW Powered Subwoofers - both the 12 Cube and PSW. Given that the apartment is rather large we concluded that the 12 cube was a touch lacking in muscle and opted for the PSW (without slave). I wish I could have taken a photo of my friend's face when he heard and felt the PSW in his new system. Blue Nile were back with a vengeance, as was the Enterprise and the 64 foot pedal stops.

Having listened to the subwoofer for two days now I must say I am impressed with this product. Sited in free space it is very neutral and accurate. In fact, the PSW performs better than my REL (probably because my listening room is smaller than my friend's and prone to standing waves from very low bass). Subject to a caution about different room acoustics, there is more of an airy, unrestricted and slightly more accurate delivery from this unit when compared with my REL. Be cautious with the level control though, and if your normal speakers go down to 50Hz or so, select the "55Hz" low pass setting. See also the important advice in the CSW manual regarding the LFE output from an AC3 amplifier - that advice is extremely important if you do not want to cut off the LF response of your stereo speakers prematurely!

Well done Cambridge Soundworks for an extremely well-made, designed and competitively-priced audio product. I unhesitatingly award five stars at this price point and up to $1000. Now to partner them with the slave...

PLEASE NOTE!!!!AUDIOREVIEW - I posted this review in error for the (full-sized) Cambridge Powered Subwoofer ($599). The comments above do NOT refer to the bass cube 10! SORRY!

Good quality controls, nice design, flexibility with hookups, consistent sharp bass

Unprotected woofer (no grille, etc.) - not sure if this is ok, but it could easily be damaged if not careful. Made in China :(

Good sound - not too boomy. Flexibility in controls and hookups. Perhaps bass is slightly weak, but good for the price. Seemingly solid design, but disappointed these are made in China.

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KLH passive subwoofer

Good Bass

60 Hz hum

This is the second Bass Cube 10 I've had. I returned the first unit due to an audible 60hz hum (low but can be heard from several feet away) while the unit was on but no input from the main amp. I tried all the "tricks" like reversing the polarity of the power input and checking the cable from the receiver to the sub to no avail.This unit also has a hum albeit at a lower volume. Just power on the unit and listen the hum is there. It appears that the internal power supply or amp is causing the problem )poor filtering or shielding). The units are made in China. Although the bass is good and the 60hz hum can't be heard while music or movies are playing, I am going to return this unit also. If I can't find one without the hum I am going to switch to a Klipsch KSW-10 or 12. My system consists of Denon AVR 2801, Klipsch KSF 8.5's front, S5's rear, and CSW Center Stage.

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