Inexpensive with strong, powerful bass.

Boomy, extension is not quite low enough

Overall I love this subwoofer. It has treated me very well and works great with my HT setup. I will most likely upgrade to another sub within the year but this is a GREAT budget subwoofer for the money.

I have a question for all of you WM40 lovers. I tried the Polyfil tweak but am not sure if I did it "correctly". There were two kinds of Polyfil at the store. One kind was loose, kind of like a bag full of pulled cotton balls and the other was a rolled sheet of fiber. I ended up buying the loose stuff and filling the sub with it. Will it work better if I line the walls with the rolled polyfil instead?

You can email me at kurtisblo@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Kurt

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none

Low price, super value!

None noted.

Excellent product for the price! A little experimentation gives really tight bass. When I first set it up, it was much too "boomy", but I adjusted crossover to 60-70 Hz and it's great. I also noticed that now my existing speakers (12" in 3-way cabs) seem to put out more bass: maybe they were power-starved from my 60w receiver. I have listened to many subs and owned a couple. I don't think you can come close to this one for the price (gift, but under $200 at Best Buy and others). It has a lot of punch and sounds great with movies, but what really impressed me was how good it sounds with music! In the old mono days, the dream was an economical home system with as much bass as a jukebox. I have LOVED bass for years, and I finally have as much as I could want for home (I guess I should learn to dream larger, although I did have a considerable wait).

It sounds awesome, thumps hard, never disappoints. The price!

Difficult to find the perfect spot to place it.

**This is a follow-up to the review I posted here on 10/30/01.**

I would say the sub is definitely broken in now and I have resolved all previous concerns. Except I still can't figure out the perfect place to put it. I think my living room is just too small and oddly set up. Where you place this sub makes a HUGE difference.

I did go ahead with the recommended modification. I bought some nice, but pricey, carpet spikes from partsexpress.com and some foam polyfill. I sprayed the inside walls of the cabinet with some 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive (you can get a little can at any Home Depot) and then applied the polyfill. I had never before taken a subwoofer apart, so I must say that this was an incredibly easy process. The other reviewers who tried this are correct, the mod makes this sub a force to be reckoned with. I honestly don't know how much of a difference carpet spikes make, but they were kind of fun to install.

I am still blown away. Just the fact that this sub shakes the walls, rattles the windows, and makes the pets run for cover, all for under $200, is what makes this such a good deal. Listening to CD's is also much better now that it is broken in and modified. Every DVD sounds incredible, especially the DTS versions.

For those of you still pondering the decision of whether or not to buy a sub, this is what your system has been lacking so go get one.

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My first subwoofer.

everything , front controls sensitive switching, perfect size.

could be overdriven if crossover set too high.

this sub is amazing the boom that comes out of this sub is earthquake shaking. I bought 2 if them because of there ability to link up with another so i have total ground shaking power with these subs i set one of them at a high freq. and the other at the low end freq. to get all the sounds possible through the subs. I also have sony sms600 front speakers with sub ports and 250 watts of total power matched to perfection. sony shows again that it can make quality products for low prices.

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jbl, bic, infinity

Price and performance. Front controls.

I honestly had high expectations based on the reviews here. I upgraded from a low-end Yamaha, and this sub is a nice improvement. I was hoping for this unit to fill up the room better, which is about 20x20. But for $190, the sub is a nice value.

I considered JBL and Cerwin Vega. JBL had poor enough reviews on this site, that I did not consider it any further. The CV had rear controls, which is not practical for me. I'd probably need to spend $500 to get what I want. I have too many other electronic needs, so $200 is not bad for what you get.

I would have selected the CV, but the rear controls were a show-stopper. If the sub was in an area in my room where I could access it easier, the CV would be a good choice at $289 from Best Buy.

Compact design, nice finish, solid amplifier, sensitive auto-on switching

driver cone material,thin-gauge internal wiring

I bought this sub to compliment my JBL N26 series and S-center Theater setup, and is an excellent combo. I did replace the original driver with the one mentioned above from partsexpress.com, but the price was actually $45
for that Ultimate 12" with the 50oz magnet. After addiding 1.5 lbs of polyfill, the sub does NOT sound at all any "louder", but it does sound more defined, tight, and hits lows around 30Hz. The task of making the hole larger to accomidate that driver is best accomplished with a dremel tool with the cutoutsidecutting attachment. It would take many hours with a file, though a router should work well. I don't recommend the driver replacement unless you are going to listen to a lot of digital music because for movies , it did not make that much difference.

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AudioSource SW-4

Strong, deep bass you can feel. Hits without noticeable distortion. Earthquake in a box.

None found yet.

Did not consider this one until I read the reviews here. I am glad I did. First my system. Receiver: Sony STR-SE 501 100x5. TV: Toshiba 50" 50A50. DVD: Toshiba SD-1600. I have had the system over a year and have been thrilled with it. The only problem was a rather thin low end. I have all of the reference quality DVDs, Gladiator, T2, ID4, The Rock, The Fifth Element, U-571, Twister, etc. In every case, especially with the DTS track, the bass came up thin in my opinion. My room is 17x25 (configured longway). I knew that scenes like the depth charge scene in U-571 should rumble the floor. It just had no punch in the low end. I could turn it up loud but it still sounded more like a shotgun than a depth charge. While I am very happy with the rest of the system, I knew that a better sub would have to be in my future. I compared the 40 to Yamaha dual 8", Cerwin-Vega 12" and JBL 12". This one sounded better to my ear at $100 less than the others. I found the Sony to be much more stable on the bottom end than the Yamaha for instance. I still use the old sub in conjunction with the new one. I experimented with positioning and found that one in each corner (front) facing 45 degrees toward center was the best arrangement for my room. I set the 40 at half volume and the high frequency cut at 100Hz. The old sub has no setting other than volume and I set it on half as well. This provides all of the boneshaking lows that I missed and allows me to listen to my system at a significantly reduced volume and derive a more enjoyable experience from it to boot. If you have a system similar to mine and feel that "something" is missing, don't hesitate. Go get the Sony now. All of these people are not lying. This is an excellent sub at a fraction of the price of many that I consider inferior in sound. I only wish I had gotten it sooner. Thanks to all who reviewed.

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Sony SAW MS-230 8". Part of package HT system.

Price

Communication about Shipping Costs

* The good *
This subwoofer is a good deal. I read many reviews and concluded this was the best sub for the money. I felt that I needed a 12" at mininum to satisfy my bass needs. I have listened to many subs that come with those budget home theater in a box deals. They just don't cut it. (It's like the difference between a 4-cyl and a big block V-8.) Most of them come with a 6-1/2" to 8" subwoofer unless you pay $600 or more. This Sony sub appeared to be the lowest price with good reviews.

When I brought it home and plugged it in, I was impressed by the extension of the bass. Yes it goes low, and performs it's job well as a subwoofer. It is boomy as one would expect from a ported enclosure. If I decide I don't like the boominess, I can always pad the interior and/or plug the port. I like the efficiency of the port for now.

* The bad *
For the price, there is really nothing bad about the subwoofer itself. Everything is as you would expect: 120 Watts, 12" Woofer. If you want more, buy more.

I read that Sears will match internet pricing. I read of people buying this subwoofer for $129 or $139 matching the www.inetshopping.com price at Sears. So I went to inetshopping, printed the screen at $139 (I guess I could have manipulated the price before I printed it, no matter.) I called before I went in and asked how they work the price matching for internet prices. The guy said just print it up and bring it in and they would match it. They said nothing of shipping costs. To make a long story short, they don't match the price unless it is an authorized website, or an authorized dealer. I spent an hour of high db conversation with the manager. They called some magical "Wizard of Oz" person several times. The manager finally came back saying the best they could do was $170 and he wasn't even suppose to do that. I told him that we were the shipper, that he was not shipping the thing to my doorstep. I came to him in good faith in the Sears sales representative that I spoke with on the phone who stated the printed price would be honored. It was not. The manager allowed me another $10 for gas when I said that I was leaving. I thought it was a stupid gesture, but I went for it, I paid $160 plus $10.40 for tax. I guess I should have tried Circuit City or came back when there was a more friendly manager.
Moral of the price matching story: You can play your luck and hope you don't get a difficult sales rep, or you can call and tell them the website, price and ask if this is what they will match. Shipping on this sub is typically $30-35.

* The ugly *
I guess I got a little ugly on the drive home from Sears. If I was mentally prepared to pay the shipping, I would have paid it and had a good experience. The Sub is a good deal even at $199. I wasn't expecting to pay the shipping and had an ugly experience at Sears.

* Conclusion *
Stop reading these reviews, go out and buy one!! If you don't like it, take it back!! This is a good sub for a good price. Value is 3, Overall a 3. I give it this rating because I feel it is a fair deal and an average product.

IT PUTS OUT VERY NICE LOW BASS. I MEAN I RATTLES MY WINDOWS AT LOW VOLUME.

NONE

I DID MY RESEARCH AT THIS SITE FIRST. EVERYONE HERE WAS REALLY HELPFUL. I BOUGHT IT IN JUNE 2001 AT BEST BUY, SO FAR I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS WHAT SO EVER. IT BOOMS! IT SET OF MY HOME THEATER SYSTEM PERFECTLY. OH YEAH, DON'T BE CHEAP, PURCHASE THAT EXTENDED WARRANTY. IT'S NICE INSURANCE BUT, I HAVEN'T HAD TO USE MINE...

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Thanks, I'll try them.