cost, easily fixed/improved to sound VERY good

muddy sounding bass

I have had this sub for a while now (2+ years). In its factory form, it’s very muddy/boomy/poor sounding unless it is on VERY low setting. Just running it on a low power setting was "ok" while I had low end speakers but I just bought a Bose center and am going to be upgrading the FR/FL to the Bose ACs VERY soon and the RR/RL will soon follow. With this, I demanded more clarity out of the sub. This weekend I went and removed the port, covered it with some 3/8" plywood (sealed the box), and stuffed it with 1lb of poly fill. While it’s still not “perfect”, it is A LOT better (comparable to a $300+ sub). The "boom" is gone and it blends much better with the rest of the system (more musical). In tuning, I found that if I run the crossover up to 150Hz and the volume down a bit, everything blends VERY well. This “hiss” from the amp is still there, but it is inaudible unless I put my head up against the driver its self so I can’t complain about that.

Cheap, good bass for jazz and easy listening.

Cavatates. Sound track CD's like Apollo 13 or Jurassic Park
sound weak and bass falls off. On DVD's you must lower the
LFE level or it simply oscillates in a low rumble which
is not musical or in sync with the real sound.

I have the Optimus twisty speakers with this sub. The
twisty speakers are great, and I hoped the sub would
be fine as well.

I've replaced the original 10" woofer with an OEM with
a 1 lb. magnet, took out bass port and sealed the speaker.
It now functions as a bass reflect. Sounds as good as
a more expensive JBL, etc. But not as good as a Reil or
Tonnoy. (I plan to purchase the Tonnoy, soon.)

One of the problems of the Optimus power amp is hiss.
There should be no hiss, and it is just an example
of cheap import amps used on many less expensive subs.

Appearance, tonal balance, PRICE

I've had this sub for only two weeks. I bought it in order to audition it at home with the idea that if I wasn't satisfied with it I could take it back. So far, I'm pretty pleased. Of course after my last lemon of a sub (csw psII), it doesn't take too much to make me happy.

First off, it's a very attractive looking unit despite the cheesy faux black ash vinyl finish. But what can you say about a black cube. It's a forward firing 10' with a downward firing port. It has a nice looking grill and legs to elevate it off the floor to give the port some breathing room.

It has a nice back panel. Heat sinks, high & low level ins & outs (no low cut filters on the outs that I can see), typical cheap spring clips, crossover control (50-150 hz), level dial and a phase switch that toggles between 0 and 180. Construction looks decent to me. Vinyl clad mdf. It's fairly heavy (31 lbs) for a low end sub. The port is a carboard tube with a plastic lip at the opening. Haven't seen too many subs in this price range without cardboard tubes. The driver has a treated paper cone.

The sound is okay. I've heard tighter and more musical subs, but they cost a lot more. Just like any sub, without proper placement and tuning of the crossover and level, this sub can sound boomy and muddy. But with the proper calibration and placement, it blends very well with my system (csw ensemble III's). Not too muddy, fairly musical and the range of sound it does cover seems fairly flat.

The most important thing to me was that it does not distort or bottom out like my last sub did. The csw psII is the distortion king. It brought down the sound quality of the whole system.

I'm not saying that the optimus sub has the best low level extension. In fact the documentation says its only rated down to 42 hz. I was afraid this would be too shallow but I haven't noticed anything lacking. I'm not sure what the 20-41 hz frequencies are suppose to sound like, maybe they're just not that important or maybe radio shack was just being conservative with they documentation. In anycase, it doesn't bottom out as easily as the csw psII did. (which isn't that big a feat)

The best part of this sub was the price. Radio Shack is clearancing them at half price. Now only $150. I wouldn't have even considered this sub at its full price since I was really looking for dirt cheap. I originally planned to audition the Audiosource and KLH 8" models which I've seen for only $100, but I couldn't find any available at that price anywhere. The radio shack sub looks more solid to me anyway.

Bottom line, if I had the $300 reg price to spend on a sub, I'm sure I could have found a better sub. This sub is pretty average in that price catagory, but I'd try to get one of the best performers for that price. But, as far as cut rate subs go, I think this sub is an excellent value. I don't think there are any powered subs that have an msrp of less than $250. So for a powered sub priced at a level that's not really suppose to exist, I think it's an excellent value. I'd rate it's performance 3 stars at it's given price catagory, 5 stars at its clearance price and both things considered, overall I guess its 4 stars.

By the way, the auto on/off switch works flawlessly and I get absolutely no hum on or off (knock on wood). Does everything it should and nothing it shouldn't.

I'd also like to add that I think that taking apart a speaker and putting back together often compromises the integrity of the box resulting in poorer sound. I personally don't know anything about Q's or slu's or whatever, so I don't mess with the driver the manufacturer supplies in the speakers. If I did know about this stuff, I'd probably just make a DIY sub. Why mess with things you consider inferior unless your willing to accept it.

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CSW Powers Sub II

Price; LOOKS expensive

Lower bass could be more prominent; overall tightness of sound lacking.

Unit lacks the ultra-ultra-low-end thump and tightness. However, it does more that its share of filling out music and movie sound playback. (Note: Shack's 42 hZ low-end response spec is somewhat conservative; I was able to get the unit to go down as low as 32 hZ, before the sound dropped off. This is what many subwoofers in the common price range go down to. Still...)

A tip for getting the most out of this model: Use a higher quality cable to make the bass response less muddy (I switched to the Monster subwoofer cable, and boy what a difference it made from the $5 connections I previously used). Then, turn it up, and your room WILL shake.

For the $299 list, I'd have bought something else. For $149.99, I'll shut up.

Inexpensive, good size and looks

Noisy amp, has noticable hiss when on. Cavatates and distorts on LFE DTS and DD audio, unless level is low!

I have given up and completly rebuilt the speaker.

Previously I installed another 10" speaker with a poly-cone, but ran into more hiss! The orginal paper cone is reinstalled.

I took out the paper bottom deflecting tube and replaced it with a 4" I.D. and 10" tall PVC sewer pipe. Now lots of air moves.

I also installed a bit of batting on the back inside to cut some deflection from the internal amp. The rest of the walls are the particle board and PVC tube.

Placed directly in the center of a 5.1 set up the sound is now as good as any sub under $350-400, except for the hiss from the amp. I have auditioned nearly every lower cost sub and they have some hiss. (Includes Klipsch and Energy)

Its still a bit boomey, and the low end is not very musical, but it sounds okay --- until I can afford a higher end sub like Tonnoy or Paradigm.

By the way, Radio Shack sells the non modified version at $149.

My son, 15 will take the sub for his computer when dad is flush!

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no prior, had Klipsch speakers until wife took over family room

PRICE!!!

I am in awe of the difference a subwoofer makes in a HT system. I used to love going to the movies to hear the awesome systems that they have. Now I think they all suck. Why go there when I have a better sounding, harder hitting system at home? When I bought this sub I was a little wary of its size, but I figured with some of the really cheap stuff using 5" and 6" subs, how bad could it possibly be? Well I learned that 10" and 100 watts are more than adequate to produce plenty of hard hitting bass and a good dose of gut massage. Positioning this sub is important I believe because of its smaller size, but it puts out plenty of sound when its set up properly. If you are planning your first system or maybe even your second or third, based on room size and overall system power this may be the sub for you.

tighter, cleaner and deeper than most in its (ahem) retail price range ($150 sale); price; big sound in a rather small package

heh, for the price i paid... oh yeah, too much for my little room :)

I was putting together a budget HT which included a yamaha htr-5230 and cambridge's ensemble IV speaker package. The ensemble IV's are awesome ($150- see my review) but the "sub" wasn't enough to satisfy me. I figured I would have to add a dedicated LFE sub. I looked at a few:

cambridge soundworks basecube8 ($169): couldn't listen too it but the reviews were fantastic and I'm already a believer in the brand... would probably have bought it if I hadn't got such a great deal on the optimus.

sony (the $150 one...): crap, didn't even check the model.

yamaha yst-sw45 ($150): pretty nice but thought low output would be better suited to a computer (my altec is sweet); also I doubt this thing really reaches 30Hz.

rca pro-sw100 ($150-sale): same as the optimus I bought; impressive for the price.

My buddy upgraded his radioshack 100watt to the similar (now RCA) 200watt. I bought his used 100watt. I'm very pleased with the purchase. My HT is in a very small room, thus the ensemble IV's, and this sub has no problems filling it. I have the sub in the front corner connected with radioshack gold series A/V cable to the LFE output on my receiver. I have the volume set pretty low (about 9 o'clock), and the crossover at 120Hz.
Tight, relatively clean, thunderous base (I swear that 42-200Hz rating is conservative). I haven't had any problems with the "boomy" or muddy sounds other reviewers have complained about. Tho this might have something to do with the fact I don't have to turn up the volume very high to fill out my small system.

A great compliment to my ensemble IV's and a great deal for anyone looking for a cheap HT subwoofer. I have a feeling the Basecube8 will be more musical but I'm sure the Radioshack is more powerful.

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personally: altec lansing. have friends with: rca 200w, jbl 15"

It looks nice

Very muddy sounding bass, Very poor quality woofer and amplifier.

I bought this thing knowing it was a total POS because I wanted a commercial looking cabinet with a small built in amp. There is no way I could find a cabinet and amplifier for less than 120 bucks so I bought it. I had an old JL Audio 10W4 2 Ohm Car sub and a 3" flare port and I installed it. It sounded pretty dang good. Infact it sounded better, louder, and deeper than my Paradigm PDR10. I turned around and sold it for $350 bucks to someone who had to have it.

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Paradigm PDR-10

Cheap, looks expensive

Very soft unrefined bass response

For $200 (on sale, not a bad value, but when it comes to performance, it lacks a lot. The bass is more of a soft rumble than a bass. I bought this after returning a crackling Yamaha subwoofer, now I don't know what to buy.

Loud and Strong

There is no on/off switch on unit. Just umplug it.

I use the Optimus Pro-100, primarily for videos with
Dolby surround tracks. The Pro-100 will rock an entire
house, if you have a decent receiver and good speaker
wire. 16 gauge speaker wire works fine, with mine.
It is my impression that a good subwoofer should
supplement bass, which is not generated through the
center, main, and surround speakers. The Pro-100 is
more than adequate for accomplishing that. It is
so powerful, you don't want to locate it, too close,
to your seat. I have mine, way in a corner. As with
all audio products, check your receiver "hook-up"
or "jacks" to insure the equipment you purchase
can be connected, without having to use auxillary
methods or hook-ups.

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My first subwoofer.