KLH AWS-110 Subwoofers

KLH AWS-110 Subwoofers 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 61-70 of 130  
[Sep 26, 2001]
Gary
Casual Listener

Strength:

Price and deep bass

Weakness:

None

I've had this sub-woofer with none of the pitfalls that other consumers have mentioned. For the price, how can you go wrong! It acheived exactly what I wanted it to do is put in some punch that my current speakers were lacking. As some other consumers mentioned positioning and floor and wall finishes will affect the sub-woofers performance as it does with your main speakers. I have a highly reflective room that does not require the amp on the speaker to be any higher than 2. maybe the people that have blown amps are just cranking it up too high....glad I 'm not there neighbor!

Similar Products Used:

Bose

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 09, 2001]
Gary
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Impressive looking. HUGE sound for the buck.

Weakness:

Poor quality. Auto on/off does not work. Worthless instructions! Huge bass that does not seem controlled. This is my second unit and I am returning it. This has a rating average of 3.05 and you get what you pay FOR!!

I will not buy any KLH products in the future as they seem to put their brand name on anything to make a BUCK. I have a quality Six speaker system and want a good powered subwoofer. After research I have decided on the Acoustic Research S108Ps for $149 at J & R. The KLH speaker is LOUD. Best of luck if you buy this unit. My advice to KLH is make a unit that works properly(Quality?) and provide good instructions. They also did not respond to an email seeking help.

Similar Products Used:

I am buying an AR 108PS - 4.63 Rating average from J & R $149.00

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Sep 24, 2001]
JB
Audiophile

Strength:

* $99
* Outstanding price/features
* Deep Low Bass
* adjustable gain and x-over freq.
* Line and speaker level in/Line out (diasy chain)

Weakness:

KLH badge on grill

This is for KLH KSUB-10 (120W-10" powered subwoofer). OK, so I go to Costco and I see this sub for $99 and I say what the heck and buy it, my system does need low, low end. Earlier, I had sampled a Cerwin Vega 12" powered sub and the KLH 10" at Best Buy ($150) and I just couldn't belive that the KLH sounded "lower" (using the same source material) even after endlessly adjusting the gain and x-over on both (and I'm a die hard CV fan). True the CVs will play louder in the end when you crank them, but I bought the KLH for low volume deep bass. To make a long story short, I was amazed at the fill these have. the T-Rex foot pounds in Jurasic Park, the Matrix, and Nelly are awsome. Presently, I have the gain set to the 3 o'clock position and the x-over to 10-10:30 position (~80Hz) (I don't like higher x-overs, it makes the bass too thumpy/thudy). Now for those that complain that this sub is too "loud", well, just lower the gain on the sub or use your receivers sub level (if it has one) to control the sub. And for those that say that it distorts at high volume levels, well, I don't live in a frat house nor I do I need to impress anyone with eviction-warning sound levels. All I need is low deep bass at low to moderatly high levels, and this thing delivers BIG.

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega Subs

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 20, 2001]
Brandon
Audiophile

Strength:

good build, kina

Weakness:

none for price

Well, i have had this sub scince last december, ive put over $1500 into my system scince i bought it so i dont use it anymore, But the other day i took it apart just for laughs, the amp unit that is ok, i got it out of the cabinet and apart, and was kina shocked, and mad heres the good news, it has a good enough power supply to deliver the current the 10" driver needs, ( not exactly the kina electrical componets of my NAD integrated, but for 99 bucks its ok. I noticed a somewhat sloppy solder job, probbaly some drunk in china made it, but anyway looked like someone took a welding torch to that circuit board, lol right under a couple of large resistors, probbaly got a little hot thats all, After seeing that i wasnt too thrilled, for 99 bucks its still a killer sub. It still works fine and all, but i would me somewhat worrided about...maybe a fire. maybe. So if i were to go on vacation for a month i would unplug it for safety, i was surprised to see though that it was simple, and wasnt at all too bad for 99 dollars, definetly line it with some polyfill, would do somegood. And maybe even to a complete overhaul, get a good driver and maybe a mono amp for 250, you gota a beautyfull thing. If KLH is all you can afford hey, go for it but i would reccomend saving up afew hundred for a Energy,JBL,infinity, something...maybe DIY Just so you all know. here is my 2 channel baby...

Nad C-370 120 wpc integrated amp
JBL ND-310 dual 10" 3 way speakers
Sansui TU-517 Tuner
Clarity Wires "emberglow" interconnect
Teac Pd-d 2750 cdp..soon to be a NAD.
Monster cable 12 gauge W/spades (not those P.O.S. pins)

Similar Products Used:

nothing in this low fi of equip

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 03, 2001]
vince
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Price, Value, Sound

Weakness:

Muddy sound at high levels, reliability?

I'm shocked to see all of the bad reviews of this product. I just got my AWS 10 120. I hope I don't have any problems with this product as the ones listed below. The model I have is not a "B" unit, but I'm hoping that problem has been fixed. The reason being is that I noticed the unit on display at Costco had "made in China" on the back of the unit, however the unit I got is printed with "Made & Assembled in the USA" on the back. Also the speaker cone was slighty different on the unit made in China. Possible quality control problem with the ones made in China? I hope so! I'm interested in hearing from anyone with problems with their sub and if they recall if it was made in China. I'll keep my fingers crossed and my receipt in hand just in case the thing decides to die on me. So far it sounds great for the price.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 05, 2001]
Damian
Audiophile

Strength:

Inexpensive, well made, booming and big sound. Perfect for the cheap person wanting to thicken up their cheap home theater. Woo Hoo, that’s me!!

Weakness:

A true audiophile will find it's sound muddy. Not tight.

Ok, Ok, Ok. I admit it. I am a cheap man. I a 1994 Aerostar with 100 k + miles and fight my wife about getting a newer car daily. I buy all my furniture from warehouse sales (items returned to the store for one reason or another by non-cheap people) and I squeeze every last drop out of a tube of toothpaste before opening a new one. So when I was thinking about wanting to thicken up the sound of my (cheap mans) home theater, guess what my first criteria was… yep.. price!! Well I am glad to say that again I am vindicated on my “Old Man” way of thinking. The KLH AWS-120B I bought from Costco for 99 bones is just what I was looking for.

Replacing the passive box with 2 six incher’s that came with my surround sound package with this single 120watt 10” was the best 99 bucks I have spent in a while. After connecting the high speaker in (my cheap amp has no low subwoofer out) and connecting the outputs from the woofer to the main speakers I was ready to feel the burn of buyers remorse. I mean 99 dollars is hard to part with. Loading Phantom Menace in the VCR I turn on the amp, turned the volume up and hit play on my 6 year old VCR.

As the THX logo and sound started to play my 5 year old, who is my helper and best critic when it comes to audio stuff, went from sitting quietly to slamming his hands to his ears as the floor rumbled at the lowest note during the THX thang. Then screaming as loud as he could.. “That’s Cool Dad!!!” At that moment, I was the coolest dad on the planet and was grinning ear to ear.

As the movie started I reached behind the booming box, fussed with the volume and frequency knobs a few times, finding the best mix of the two for the room. I then found myself sitting next to my son enjoying this movie like I had not seen it before. Soon my daughter and my wife came into the room while mouthing the word WOW. Yep this cheap man is the king of all cheap men everywhere!!

Would I recommend this sub to everyone?? Nope, It’s a little muddy and a little too booming for the true audiophile. Would I recommend this sub to everyone else?? You bet, yes!!! It is a great sub for the money.. I should now!! I am a ... well, you know (smiling).

Similar Products Used:

Small KLH surround sound speakers.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 01, 2001]
David
Casual Listener

Strength:

Cheap, makes rumbly noises, shakes floor, etc. :)

Weakness:

At this price, none

I purchased this sub at the same time I ordered a set of KLH 911B bookshelf speakers, as an experiment in cheap home theater. (For details on info the 911s, see my review at http://audioreview.com/reviews/Speaker/product_7668.shtml)

I have never had a sub before, so I have no basis of comparison, except for the mid-range models on demo at Circuit City, etc.

This sub makes rumbly-brumbly sounds, shakes the floor, and goes "Boom!" during movies at the right time. Having paid only $100, I think I'm getting my money's worth (and perhaps then some :)

This plus the KLH 911's make a great, cheap intro to home-theater speaker systems. If you want higher quality, pay more money and buy higher-quality speakers. But if you're tight for money, or just plain cheap (like me :), this is a great way to go.

FWIW, I set the crossover at 100Hz (50%), and volume at 50% for movies. I set the crossover at 150Hz (100%) and volume 40% - 70% for music. That seems to work best for my setup.

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 28, 2001]
WR Jones

Strength:

Good price. Good sound for the money. Great for those who want to take the load off main speakers for DTS or Dolby 5.1

Weakness:

Can be over-powered too easily causing the woofer to flutter

I bought this speaker as insurance... my reciever re-routes the sub-sonics to the front & rear speakers if you shut off the sub, a few times it seemed they would take damage, since these speakers cost me quite a sum, I felt it might be wise to get a cheap (yet sturdy) sub-woofer to absorb the punishment. Now if I blow the sub at a 100 bucks a shot, fine, but spending over 1000 dollars to replace front or rear set would be painful. So, I keep the volume low on the sub and have less fear of turning up the master volume and damaging my other speakers.
The quality is a bit better than I expected for $99.00, no problems in over a month of use and sound is good if you don't push the volume too much, it is after all a inexpensive choice for the budget minded buyer, not a monster $900.00 Velodyne.

Similar Products Used:

None

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 27, 2001]
Russ Alman
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Price, return policy (if bought at Costco)

Weakness:

A little "boomy," as described by others, but please read summary.

First of all, I'd like to thank audioreview.com and the very helpful reviews I've read over the last couple of months. I bought a new receiver, DVD player, and VCR during the last couple of months, and now am replacing my speakers. I made all of my decisions based on reveiws written here. The reviews have helped me make informed decisions, and so far, I have not made any returns (unusual for me). Considering that audio gear is not my strongpoint, I am very thankful for the help this site has given me.

I saw the AWS-110 at Costco, and based on their return policies and the savings on shipping (vs. online purchasing), I decided to consider this model. Of course, I came here first to check on the reviews.

After reading the negative reviews here, I had almost written off this model, but as I went farther down the long list of responses, it seemed that the "B" model, which is the one Costco now has, seemed to be receiving much better feedback. So I decided to give it a shot.

So far, I am pleased with this subwoofer. I'm sure I could do a better -- for a lot more money -- but for my size room (and the tolerance of my family for shaking the walls), this will do just fine.

I haven't pushed the unit at all, but I can easily make my couch bounce up and down during explosions. I've rattled some things in our kitchen as well. My wife told me she could hear it from down the street -- and didn't sound too happy about it :)

At first, the lows were boomy, and the unit seemed not to blend well with my system. However, after some experimenting, it is sounding much better. Here are some steps that I took:

As suggested by some other reviewers, I was careful to let the unit wear in a bit before I pushed it at all. I have noticed that the lows sound cleaner than they did when I first installed it, all things being equal.

I found some extra bathroom tiles in the garage, and made a simple platform to put the subwoofer on so it wouldn't be resting on the carpet. This definitely seemed to clean things up.

Finally, I spent quite a bit of time listening the same things over and over again -- like explosions, gunshots, etc., making slight adjustments to the crossover frequency and volume. It was very touchy, but I eventually found a spot that blended in very nicely with my system. Of couse when my new BIC DV62CLR center and DV32 rear speakers get here, I'm sure I'll have some readjusting to do :)

As of yet, I have not tried packing in extra insulation, as suggested by a number of reviewers here. At some point, I might get industrious and give that a try. But at this point, I am quite satisfied with the sound.

I am receiving some AC hum after I shut the receiver off, but I suspect this may be the calbe I'm using. I'll upgrade all my cables shortly, when my other new speakers arrive.

Being somewhat of a rookie at audio, I wish the manual had more information. For example, there is nothing to describe how to optimize the adjustments or use the phase reverse function.

For the price, though, I can't imagine finding anything better than this. It's a huge step up from the previous subwoofer I had, and with Costco's excellent return policies, there's no way I could wrong here.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 26, 2001]
Ken
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Costco

Weakness:

cheap very low q

hmm... I bet that guy below (Gamisx?) is a KLH employee
because otherwise I don;t understand how co anybody
recommed this piece of crap. It gave me such a hard time last year (2 exchanges).

BTW.. Best Buy won't refund or exchange it after 30 days.
if you're lucky enough it will fry before that
otherwise you'll keep it as a coffee table. nice though he.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, jbl

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
Showing 61-70 of 130  

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