3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
KICK START YOUR HEART!
Date of Review: Apr 26, 2003
The Bottom Line: For a low priced 12" sub, you cant go wrong. Its constructed well, delivers hard hitting undistorted bass and is priced right. A very good purchase.
I was in the market for a subwoofer for both music and home theater. Like anything else I usually shop the product to death before making a purchase. I had read just about every review on this unit on other sites and most were very positive. I have used audiosource products in the past and have been happy with them. I'll tell you this, dont hesitate too long. Availability of the SW Twelve is very limited. From what I understand this unit has been out for a while and Audiosouce no longer makes it. Catch one if you can!
When finally making to the decision of purchasing the SW-12 I found the best price on ebay. The whole price with shipping was $160. Not bad for a 12" sub like this. It came boxed very well. As soon as you opened the box you got a whiff of that exciting new electronics smell. I know I'm a bit crazy. The manual was simple but clear. Did I mention heavy. Shipping weight was about 50lbs and big. The only assembly was putting the spiked feet on. The cabinet is a textured black finish with a standard cloth grill. The rear amp panel has "positive click" volume level and crossover knobs. Line in left/rt, line out left/rt. The line out is good if you want to add another sub. Phase switch. Power-on/off/auto. Speaker level inputs. And a fuse.
I did have to make a minor improvement to the interior of the cabinet. Audiosource thought the sub was a pillow and crammed tons of polyester fiberfill inside. I removed all of it and installed some sound dampening material I bought at a local speaker shop. I lined the entire interior with it. What a difference it makes. It's a small but much needed improvement.
Hooking it up is a no brainer. Just remember if you are going to be hooking into your sub pre out on your receiver be sure to get a female/female - male "Y" rca cable for the line in on the sub amp. Dont skimp in the cables either. Acoustic Research puts out a nice line of very inexpensive great quality interconnects. Spend the little extra, you wont be sorry. You'll have to tweak your level and crossover adjustment to match your speakers and receiver and to your taste.
I listen to mostly metal and classic rock. Its proved itself worthy of these styles of music and most others I've tested. When adjusted right, the bass is tight and powerful. Some notes feel like someone is hitting you in the chest with a sledge hammer. When cranked, your eyeballs vibrate to the point you cant see straight. I like that! It will open up a whole new dimension in home theater. Movies recorded in Dolby Digital or DTS will simply rock you. The sub hits frequencies to 20Hz. These freq. are most often felt, not heard. Don't be fooled by the 150 Watt rating on the amp. This rating is RMS not MAX. Some manufactures like to flaunt the wattage rating by listing the MAX wattage output.
Take a look at www.audiosource.net for all the detailed specs.
Note: It would have received a solid 5 star rating if it wasnt for the much needed sound dampening modification. Don't let this influence your purchase though.
