This is a gentle beast that can break you in two or pull you in to audio nirvana. It plays clean and powerfully. Great for movies, good for music. PRICE!!!

Somewhat finicky about positioning.

I have been listening to this sub for about a year now and must say that I have grown more attached to it than almost any other part of my system. Before I bought this I didn't think a sub was that big of a deal--I am running paradigm Monitor 9's for my mains and they have a good amount of bass. But then I began to notice, when I watched movies, sometimes the BOOMS didn't do it for me. I tried moving my speakers around and even touching the dread tone controls on my receiver. To no avail, but ah! I realized that I needed to add a sub to my system. So I went down to my local Hi-Fi shop and auditioned some subs. I checked a few offerings from paradigm (PW2200, Servo 15, PW2500), and the Sunfire True. I must say that out of all the subs I listened to the Servo 15 was the best but the PW2200 was close behind and costs a hell of a lot less. So I dropped my $700 and lugged the box of doom home. The rest is history now, the BOOMS make me happy now and I even noticed a pretty darn big difference in my music listening with the sub. Some things just need to be THERE in a recording and the full range and volume of bass is certainly one of them. The PW2200 delivers in spades and I am quite pleased with my purchase. For what I spent on the sub, I would reccommend that anyone in the market for a sub checks this one out. The integration and sound is seamless and very delicious. Go try a bite for yourself.

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None

Solid low end. Makes me smile.

I went to the Paradigm dealer to listen to their line of subs. My first priority was the 2200, but the one they had, they had taken the amp out (go figure). Anyway the salesguy said I should go and hear the M&K sub. It was brand new and he said it was better than the 2200. They didn't even carry M&K so I thought it must be good, he's not even trying for a sale. So went and heard it. I had brought along John Rutters "Requiem" a cd that has sustained organ notes @ 20hz and is accompainied by awesome vocals. The M&K did it ok so I brought it home and tried it. It was very easy to place and I loved it. It blended great with my 7se's. I was still curious about the 2200, so I went to a different dealer and took one home from them. They also carried M&K and the sales guy said the Paradigm was built alot better and went lower cleaner, and louder, which in my house it did. It did not sound as tight and musical unitl I found its' proper place. The M&K just didn't have it in the "hell zone" like the 2200 did. In the "Fifth Element" when Bruce Willis escapes from the cruise ship there is some pretty low information that again was heard more on the 2200. That sound-track, by the way, has tons of bass. On track 2, on the cd, a minute or so in, the bass slowly plumets to almost inaudible depths. Pick it up if you can and listen. The salesguy said, to really see what it can do, take it outside where there is no walls and let her go(although I think mines a him).Outside is kinda like an anechoic chamber maybe not as quiet. I haven't done this yet but would like to see what'll happen. I think Paradigm has a great product on their hands. I am very happy with it.
Associated equipment:
Pioneer ELITE VSX97
Pioneer ELITE CLD79
Pioneer ELITE SP99D
Pioneer ELITE CT05D
Phase Linear Labratory Standard Amplifrier
Paradigm MK7SE
Paradigm Titans
Paradigm CC200 (does any one else have one of these?)

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M&K THX SELECT V1250

earth shaking bass, good definition, goes pretty low

big and bulky, some may consider the price

I had been looking to replace my old sub (it will remain nameless) for a couple of months. I had just replaced all my speakers (except for center) with Paradigm Mini monitors, and needed to add more bass. My existing sub just couldn't cut it. I went down to my local Paradigm dealer to see what he recommended, and I told him that I was looking to spend 800 to 1500 $$$ canadian. Now, because of my Mini Monitor setup, he recommended going with a paradigm sub ...understandable. He showed me the Servo 15 and the PW2200. We demoed both and the Servo was definitely the better performer...but surprisingly not by much. After demoing both a number of times, I decided that the Servo is a great sub but you need to give it a wide berth for it to work at it's best. I couldn't do that. The same thing can be said about the PW2200, it needs space to work well. I already a spot from my old 12 inch sub...but i had to move the 2200 about 6 inches farther out from each wall.

Now the review of the sound: (after break in period)

on test tones, 20hz was loud but distorted, 25 hz was very loud and with a lot less ditortion, 30 hz was destructive. At 30 I really felt sorry for the walls of my room...they
were simply being tormented.

On music the PW2200 played very well. I could play very low, some of the Drum n' bass music I listed to goes down to 15 hz. I can play fast as well but there were some instrumental drum music that it had a bit of trouble with (an area where the servo shined)

On HT, the PW2200 blew me away. On some really bass intensive scenes like explosions in Ronin, the PW2200 moved so much air that I could feel my hair vibrate. LA shootout
scene in Heat was very defined and precise. SPR was amazing being able to play theloud explosions with authority, but it was also able to play the distant explosions lightly but very convincingly. The Prince of Egypt sounded amazing, and with the refined bass really brought out the emotion in that film. Blade crunched. Armeggedon blew me away. The Matrix...well it was the Matrix.

All in all, the PW2200 has to be one of the best buys on the market for subs. One this to keep in mind though. If your room is bigger than 25 X 15 (mine is 20 X 10) I would say
go for the Servo 15. But if your room is under 25 X 15 I would go with the 2200, it gives you far more boom then you will need.

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Servo 15, PSB subsonic6

Many, see my 1/20/99 review.

Some transformer hum...

The '2200 is without a doubt one of the best dual-purpose subwoofers under $1,200.00 period. However, if you're looking for similar performance and need a sub. that's roughly 1/3 the size AND want to spend less, look no further than Athena Technologies' P3; it is absolutely astounding for the money!

When I get the chance, I'll borrow the '2200 (now thoroughly broken-in) I bought for my friend and do a three-way comparison with the Sunfire True II and the A.T. P3. For now, consider this a heads-up"...

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Athena Technologies P3, Energy ES-12XL, Mirage FRx-S12,
Paradigm PS-1000, 1200, PW-2200 and Servo-15, Sunfire True II and Signature, Linn 5150, and Velodyne HGS-12.

accurate,deep and quick bass.

it is rather large

Once this sub was broken in'took me about three months'
the accuracy and sheer volume are outstanding.During the
dvd of Grosse Point Blank during one on the many shoot em up
scenes it felt at times as if you were being punched in the chest and your shirt actually moved.i have been very happy
with this purchase and this sub has cured my upgrade itch
for awhile.previous sub was a polk psw 120.A nice sub for
a small room or an apartment it did not quite have what I
needed for my dvds.
my mid-fi system
yamaha rx1105v
onkyo 535 dvd
polk cs 400
bw dm602 s2
paradigm in walls for surround

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polk psw series,para 2500,sveral older passive dq models

Incredible foundation rattling bass

Large size limits placement

After extensive research, I drove two hours to give this thing a listen. When the store said they'd let it go for $650 I packed it in the car and headed home.

It's big and heavy and the only places I could put it were on either side of the sofa, about a foot from the wall. The manual gives a good explanation on how to adjust the gain, low pass, and variable phase.

Once set up, I put it to the test-for music, the opening track from the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack has what ended up being some floor rattling bass and the same can be said for track 11 from the Run Lola, Run soundtrack. All very nice, very tight.

For DVD, I fed it Armageddon and was amazed at what I had been missing. I was hoping to test it with Lost in Space but the copy I rented was bad and I returned it. While out, I purchased The Haunting and was I ever in for a shock. This movie has some of the most intensive low frequency effects of anything I have ever listened to. I had my system set to a decent listening level, nothing too loud. When the ghost of Hugh Crane made his presence felt in the movie, he made it felt in my house as well-the bass was rattling every dish and glass in the cupboards not to mention my butt in the sofa. Simply unbelievable.

Needless to say, I am extremely satisfied with the performance of the PW2200. I've yet to run my mains (Klipsch SF1) through its high pass filter as it would require an extra 60 feet of cable which I don't currently have. I'd like to find out how it changes the performance of the system.

If you're looking spend $450 on a sub, scratch up the extra cash and buy this one (assuming your neighbors don't live too close). If you're wanting to spend $1100, buy the PW2200 and pocket the difference. It's definitely worth it.

Best sub in its price range.

I shopped around and tested many subwoofers in this price range. The Paradigm 2200 came out the winner. The bass is smooth, clean and hits hard when called upon. Exactly what I was looking for. Highly recommended!

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Velodyne, Definitive Technology others.....

Can be both loud and clean, great extension, can compete with a lot of 18"s, price

I dont have two!

I've only had this sub for 4 days, so this review is pretty premature. But let me say that you won't find a better bang-for-buck that the PW-2200. I was lucky to pick one up so fast because stereoland (store in twin cities) had like a 2 month back order. I compared the sub directly to the sufire jr. and mk2. It killed them both in clarity, and was much better for music, which is what i listen to mostly. Very good build quality, and suprisingly a very good woofer build. Usually things in this price range are paper-composite, but not this one. It can play very deep with minimal distortion. Very low port-noise (flared). Well done Paradigm!
I'm considering getting another one, or just getting a servo. Can't imaging how that would sound!

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Auditioned sunfire Jr. and mk2, Def. Tech PF15, klipsch ksw-10&12, acoustic research s500.