Purchased two SW-315 Yamaha subs. on Amazon.. WOW It doesn't get any better unless you go to studio, in the 500w range.. Lov
e 'em!

I purchased this sub as a replacement for my Polk PSW120 which is now my rear sub ( nice sub as well ). I don't have a big room and mainly interested in a sub that could be used for music and movies. I auditioned bigger Polks, Klipsch, Boston. All were good, but I just felt that for just over $300 I was getting the best deal around. One thing I can tell you that *my ears* found the tightness and clarity of this bass to be un-matched by any sub I auditioned in the $600-$800 ( retail prices ) dollar range. The SW300 has a "treble" which allows you to trim the low end for music or boost it for movies. I keep mine right in the middle producing a flat signal all the way to the bottom, and I mean bottom. This baby goes looowwww... This baby has a 12" cone, 185watt amp, line in, speaker ins, treble, volume, auto on and off. All of the features I expect and use. With the Active Servo Technology keeps that driver from fluctuating out of control under any *reasonable* condition. I auditioned this baby with my DTS demo CD running the explosive Daylight scene and it really shakes the house.
I absolutely love this sub and the fact that I got a heck of a lot more for my money just tickles me pink. Its too bad that Yamaha has discontinued this sub.

I read reviews where subwoofers in excess of $1000 are frequently recommended as the best choice. Perhaps I've never heard these expensive subs but I can't see the justification for the price.
I bought my SW-300 back in September. My primary impetus for buying this sub was due to my satisfaction with my Yamaha receiver. I paid just under $300 and feel that I got a great sub at a good price.

Initially I ran the sub from the main high power speaker wires and used the internal crossover to my fronts which were KLH. This produced a very satisfactory soundfield, the timber of the sub seemed to match very well with the KLHs and my sound was continuous throughout the spectrum. I did notice one problem with the sound, bass rumble would often be very noticeable and distracting. I blamed this on the room though and thought I would need a bass trap or two to elimate what I believed were standing waves. The rumble would frequently manifest itself in outside scenes in movies, usually as the result of wind noise.

It wasn't until after I upgraded my receiver to a true 5.1 venue that I discovered the rumble was a result of the sub being connected to the high power connection not the room. Suddenly the rumble went away and I was able to calibrate the sub properly for the first time since its installation. The change in the soundfield was dramatic and I had traded one problem for others. Yamaha subs are equipped with an auto on feature. The timer for this feature is much too short and during quiet points in movies such as _Protocol_ and _Titanic_ the sub would shut off, then when it was needed it would take a second or two to come back on. This proved very distracting and detracted from the enjoyment of the film. I was able to adjust this some by lowering the volume with the subs volume control and to increase the gain from the LFE line out, but this didnt' prove to be a perfect solution so I now leave the sub powered on at all times. Another problem I uncovered was that the LFE effects channel left a hole in the sound feild with my KLH speakers. The bass sounds didn't reach a high enough level to fill in the gaps left by the KLHs. Truly this problem isn't with the sub though and was corrected by replacing the KLHs with speakers of greater range.

Plusses of the sub include switchable auto-on feature, 3 range hi-pass filter, variable range low pass limiter, 12 inch cone, tone control to change sound for music or movie, 2 inputs, High power and line-in and a 185 watt amplifier. Minuses include the short auto-power timer mentioned above.

All in all I've been very satisfied with this sub. More than once I've had it rattling my walls, at one point bringing pictures crashing down. I have had to dampen anything in the room that can rattle including wall clocks and light fixtures, even in my 23x16 room I can feel a pleasant tactile response as the sub pounds out.

If you don't feel the need to spend large sums of money on a sub I'd suggest auditioning this one. With my new NHT speakers it blends so nicely you can't really tell where the NHTs quit and the sub begins.