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The only con is the physical appearance is not that attractive, but overall I think I got a good subwoofer for the price. I have had the Sony SA-W3000 subwoofer about two months and I think it is an outstanding speaker. The lows are impressively deep and clear.
it has the option to pony or chain more then once sub together which would be nice if you can afford it. This sub puts out great sound for the cost and will be much better then anyone that is included in a set. This is an alright sub, i was going to get a system which already had every thing included however, i found that if i pieced one together i could get a higher quality system for the same price or even cheaper. the sound is good if you have the power nob on the back cranked up, and you also have the option to set the frequency range. highly recommended. This sub is not the one i would have liked but it had free shipping which saved me at least $50. for a sub which only handles about 180 watts it has good sound.
And as Thomas Paine might have quoted, "that which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly", but this my friends, in my own humble opinion, is an exception. And wow was I impressed. Guess now things have changed, a lot. Three years ago I paired the same Sony HTIB with a 37" LG LCD TV and it was good. Aesthically nice with a very imposing 12" subwoofer with thick, hefty rubber surround on the edges giving it a solid look. Not as tight, not as solid, but enough oomph and rumble.
Let me reiterate the Joe Shmoe wannabe part once again. Good thing I have saved some screw in type legs that belongs to the TV stand. It wasn't even very accurate the fact that I tested it's lower model sibling, the SA-W2500 which is rated 100 with 60 watts RMS. Most of us are familiar with their setup with all the buttons you push pairing different speakers and subs trying to win your heart on what they can do. Maybe its the rumble, maybe it's my untrained ears but for the value price point of this sub, it feels like I would not go wrong a step up difference of $50.00 to it's bigger brother, the Sony SA-W3000 which is rated 180 watts. A nice black wood grain/veneer finish on the cabinet, which also is constructed pretty good. I would play back certain movies over and over on certain parts just to appreciate the bass, like the movie's Heat, Matrix, Jurassic Park and the all classic Top Gun to few of my own personal favorites. Form, fit and function.This Sony SA-W3000 floats my boat and fills the bill for an awesome budget sub for your system.
Couple of gripes I have is the plastic part where the built in amplifier is hidden. I like what I hear though and for the most part, I really believe a lot of people might agree. I find the "normal" position having a tighter bass response with my SS-F7000's and the SS-CN5000. It does give sound more depth and an impression that will change how you listen and feel about your movies and music.
For the past 10 years I have owned a Sony Home Theater in a Box kind of setup sufficing to say I'm not much hard to please for home entertainment (had a quick review bout here too @ Epinions). The rubber pads that came with it is a joke. It's almost like it was some sort of an after thought to include them. As a regular Joe Shmoe audiophile wannabe dude, I did my only way of randomly testing this sub, of course, at your local electronics depot (blue shirt, khaki pants guys). Got a couple of adjustments for volume and cutoff for the personal choice of your low end and even a phase reverse switch to configure with how your sub reacts with your front speakers.
Musicality is not it's greatest strength as it would have variations of bass output on different genres of music but totally acceptable for the most part. Can see the movie, "hear" the movie and go watch the next movie. Little drilling in under corner of the sub, a bit of super glue and voila. For Home Theater applications, I finally get to "feel" the movie, not just hear it. Looks flimsy but tougher than it looks. There is also a switchable power save mode which wasn't really too "click" happy as others have noted for it to be bothersome. You would look at the size of this 12" sub with the rubber pad being about the size of a Micro SD card. You'll actually get a chance to enjoy the difference of having a dedicated subwoofer even just on an entry level system with a not so entry level bass box thanks to Sony.
Like this Sony SA-W3000 for example. To appreciate the bass, I had to torture test it from Bad English to Bob Marley with even some Beyonce' (hehe). This is where Sony went cheap. Electronics are much more affordable with a considerable amount of difference. For me anyway. I sometimes have to turn the gain switch a bit lower from music to movies. So push I did and I got me a show from all them big ballers like Polk, Mirage, Definitive Techs, Klipsch to a Martin Logan, and the little dude on the corner, with the lowest price tag, being scorned upon, even lucky to be on such a line up actually held its own. Took me a good day or two to fine tune to my liking for music and movie alike.
Fun ,easy and awesome to listen to. WOW.What a difference a subwoofer makes in a home sound system and this one is wonderful. I received it in a short amount of time and it was so easy to hook-up (I had to get my brilliant nephew to help me adjust the settings) but other than that I did everything myself.
Auto-power feature is nice too.selectable if you don't like it. It has a low-frequency cutoff adjustment so you can limit the lows to whatever you want. It does a great job in avoiding distortion and really fills the room with perfect lows to complete your home theater. This is a great sub woofer. It will definitely surprise you with what it puts out.
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