Great, low-cost sub...

Author's Rating:

Pros: Price, frequency response, good features

Cons: Size, auto-off, manual

The Bottom Line: 
This is an awesome sub with a lot of great features and a good price. I highly recommend it!

Author's Review
First off, my home theater that I have built was definitely built on a budget, so obviously, price was of importance. I own some large front 12 inch KLH speakers that actually go down to about 30hz, which is the same frequency that most subs actually go down to also, which made my search a little harder, as there wasn't any point in buying a sub that didn't go lower than my front speakers in my 5.1 system.

The Sony SAWM500 though has everything I wanted, ease of use, lower frequency range, and a lower price than other similar subs to boot.

The SAWM500 (after referred to as "500") has some unique features that one might not expect in a sub of this price range. The 500 also has some more common features that are also quite good. The 500 features:

- A 12inch cone type woofer
- Ability to produce sounds down to around 24 Hz at .7% distortion at 6 ohms.
- Is an active (powered) sub at 150 watts RMS continuous
- Has a cut off frequency selector from 50hz to 200hz
- Phase selector
- Volume control
- An "auto-off" power switch
- Speaker inputs/outputs
- Line in/out (RCA) jack for pre out hookup and for additional sub

Some of the features on the above list I especially like is the line out for another sub (in case I ever want to add another), the frequency response, and the most important... price.

The whole unit cost me $200 new at my local Best Buy store. For a little more, I bought a better RCA cable for the line input as the one supplied is rather cheap (same with the speaker cables). The unit also comes with the above mentioned cables, a manual, a registration card, and a limited warranty of 1 year parts and labor from Sony.

All and all it is definitely a good sub. I'm sure for more money one could buy a better one, but I didn't see one in my local retail stores for less than $700, which is a big price jump from the $200 I paid.

Some problems I do have with the sub are occasionally on certain pieces of music it can get a tad boomy and less accurate (observed with techno music). Another bad thing I think is the auto-off. It turns itself off after about 5-7 minutes of inactivity. Unfortunately, when a low effect comes along again, it takes a second to turn back on, which is not only annoying because it makes a small click, but takes too long and you end up missing the effect. The manual can also be a bit hard to understand for a newcomer to audio but most intermediate and advanced users will pick it up fine. It can also be quite bulky or big in size for some so placement could be an issue. Its about 14inches in the front and is about 16 inches deep... plus it weighs about 40lbs so it can be a little hard to move.

I've also had the experience of testing it in both line in and speaker in terminals. I can tell you, both are just fine, but I actually like the speaker in more, because you end up hearing more sounds from the center channel and the sounds seem to be fuller.

I've used it for everything from music to movies to video games to hooking it up to my computer and everything sounds great, no matter what type of genre or media. The sound is mostly accurate, a deep. This sub WILL shake your room though if you give it the chance (if you like that). I usually keep my volume at a minimum to prevent it though.

In short, it’s a great all around sub with lots of features, at a low price, and will definitely add to your bottom end, despite a few and simple cons