Musicality, versatile controls, clarity

Not the most dominant subwoofer on the market, but for this size and price what do you expect?

I purchased this subwoofer for my daughter's bedroom system. Her main speakers are Koss Dyna-Mites, consisting of two 4.5" woofers flanking a .75" soft dome tweeter. These have good sound and clarity, but only get down to about 100-120 Hz. She was satisfied with the sound as long as her tastes ran to pop, but now that she enjoys more Sca, rock, and alternative the absence of bass was quite bothersome. I was familiar with the YST SW-45, having steered my nephew to it for his bedroom system (actually sounded better than the more expensive Energy 8 incher), so I gravitated toward this updated model. I'm not really certain what the changes are, but the 105 does seem to extend its bass range a bit farther down with a bit more "oopmph". What impresses me most about this compact and inexpensive unit is its musiclity. Too many inexpensive (and even expensive) subs are "Johnny 1-note" speakers -- boom boom bass and nothing else. This speaker has a good clear sound from it's lower limits (probably around 30 Hz) to its upper limits (adjustable!). With very little tweaking it blended in quite well with the Koss speakers. I had also evaluated a KLH sub for about the same price and found it to be muddy and sloppy. Is this a premier subwoofer? Of course not! What it is is a great value and a wonderful bottom-filler for a small audio system and an adequate sub for a small to mid-size room home theater system. If your expectations are reasonable, this Yamaha will meet and exceed them.

Similar Products Used:

Energy es8, Yamaha YST-SW45