Update on my review from 3/7/00. Recently a friend and I combined all of our audio equipment in his basement. His sub, an AudioSource SW Twelve, with a 12" woofer and a 150-watt amp sounded like crap compared to my Kenwood 103SW with a 10" woofer and 100 watt amp. Even thought you get an extra 2" and 50 watts for the same price the Kenwood is definitely my pick.

PS: My Kenwood Sub is going to the service center (under warranty) because an LED on panel is no longer functioning!

Clean looks, price and quality of bass

nonw

This woofer "kicks ass". I got it as an open box at the Kenwood factory for $99. You can't beat the price. The bass is tight and rattles my walls at mid volume only. I am running some Yamaha NSA1638s and this sub totally compliments the setup. Excellent and nice looking sub.

Similar Products Used:

MK, Jensen

Remote control,easy listening adjustments, and good higher end bass.

Distorts at moderate to high listening levels. Remote doesn't allow much mobility, must aim directly at the unit face. Bottoms out fairly easily.

For under $200 this sub isn't a bad deal. It will add much better bass to a smaller system, but don't get this sub and expect it to shake the house down. For my use in a smaller room I think it does very well with most movies and music at a moderate volume. If you're looking for a sub that is going to shake the house down, look elsewhere, but if you would like to add a decent amount of bass to your current system, than this sub will do the job.

Similar Products Used:

BU-150

Good price, moderate volume level, remote

Quite a bit of bottoming out at moderate volumes.

While I was assembling my first real stereo a couple of years ago (I was only 17 at the time). I decided to go with seperate components over the more popular "shelf" systems. My reciever is a Kenwood 16VR with two JBL HLS610's for the front. I decided on this sub over the 12" model mostly because of the cost. While it's not the most impressive sound I've ever heard, it's plenty powerful for a basement rec room. It more than enough for the dorm room that I'm in, makes the walls shake (in fact the crack in one of them has gotten a lot bigger over the semester....) and the door rattle. I've found that while this sub has a fairly high lower frequency limit, it's low enough for most of my musical tastes (Led Zeppelin mostly) and DVS's still have that low end punch, especially in this room. I found that getting the sub up and off the floor was a HUGE help. Overall this sub is a great buy for the price (I think I paid $210 new) and is more than enough for most mid-level systems.

I picked up this Kenwood for only $169/open box at the Good Guys. For the price getting a servo with 100 watts is a deal. Granted, this sub won't knock out much more expensive units, but that is like comparing apples and oranges. For someone putting together a small system for the bedroom or for that teenagers' first real stereo, this is a good choice. Match it with some Paradigm Atoms or Polk RT-3s' or equally good satellites and be amazed. The bottom end is only 35hz. down; but again consider the price. It would be possible to assemble a decent system with receiver and CD player for around $550-$600 that stomps the so-called rack systems available everywhere. Check it out!

After spending near $1500 for a new DD receiver and a tv I didn't really feel like spending a ton of cash on a powered sub. The need for an expensive shake the windows sub wasn't that great since I was putting together the system in a smaller room. After getting some good feedback on the Kenwood 103SW as a good low priced sub I ordered it. I have to say while this sub will not shake the house, it does provide good solid bass for a smaller room. If you place the sub in a smaller room you will get the effect that you wish for, but from what I could tell it probably wouldn't work out so well in a living room type area. But for the price I paid($189) and the size of the room that its placed in, it definitely works out to be a solid powered sub.

I bought this sub on June 6th at Fry's electronics. I was considering the Energy EXLS 8 sub for $300, but thought that I would be happier with this one for $120 less. When I listened to it at Fry's, it was hooked up with only one high-level input, so I figured it would sound better when it was hooked up to the LFE out on my AC-3 receiver. I was wrong.
At this point, I am upgrading my entire home theatre setup. For fronts, I will shortly be aquiring a pair of paradigm mini-monitors, rears will be paradigm Atoms, and front will be paradigm CC-350 or CC-170 depending on cash flow (or lack thereof.) The Kenwood sub will definetly be the weak point of this setup, and in a year or so I will get an Energy or Definitive setup. Even if this is your first system, I strongly suggest that you avoid this sub. You can get a 75
watt 8 in. Atlantic at soundcity.com that would blast the bejesus out of this one.

I am ashamed to say this, but I think that I was tempted by this sub's good clean looks, features, and remote control. The bass isn't very clean, and it distorts badly at moderate volume while listening to music. Not musical at all, and useable bass doesn't go below 40 Hz. I have a small bedroom theatre with hardwood floors to top it all off! I will attempt to use a different driver from Parts Express to get better response. Anybodt else experiance this problem? Any suggestions? Am I the only one? Please e-mail me with any advice or just to rant at me. This will add punch to whatever you listen to, but it will be a sloppy punch. Save up the extra $120 and go for the Energy EXLS 8. Your ears will thank you tremendously!
Sincerely, Travis Kelley

I picked this 10inch sub for only $190, with plenty of features for a sub at this price. Does great it my small home theatre, for the price I'm thinking of adding a second one. I'd rather have two of these than any $400 sub out there.

Bought this at a boxing day sale for $200 canadian. Comes with a remote that allows you to switch phases, adjust the powered sub volume, and switch between movie and music mode. This sub does a fine job with lots of power at 100 watts. It's a bit much for a condo, but really adds the extra oomph where needed. Very pleased with it.

I received the 103SW for this past Christmas. I was not impressed at first. It was able to produce clean high bass notes and as they went lower they didn't sound as well. The 103 will add punch to whatever your listening to but won't make the floor shake. My room is on the second level and when I went downstairs I could of mistaken it for the sub on my computer.