AudioSource SW Fifteen 200-Watt Powered Subwoofer
by Audio Source

List Price: $249.99
Category: Speakers
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Digital product summary information

• 200 watts total power output for loud playback and powerful dynamic slam
• 15-inch front-firing driver easily handles deep bass and powerful low-end audio signals
• 20 to 250 Hz frequency response reaches deep and also accommodates the smallest satellite speakers
• Variable crossover frequency, 40 to 180 Hz lets you adjust the sub for use with a range of smaller to larger speakers
• Auto-on signal-sensing circuitry powers the sub off when not in use

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Summary of AudioSource SW Fifteen 200-Watt Powered Subwoofer

A variable low-pass filter (LPF) lets you tailor the sub's output to your existing speakers. By setting the LPF high (toward 180 Hz), you can fill in the bass for bookshelf speakers that may have little bass output. If you use a lower setting (toward 40 Hz), the sub supplements and perceptually deepens the output from larger, floorstanding speakers.

You get more than just the basics here: the SW Fifteen comes with a phase-invert switch for placement flexibility (to help align the crests and dips of the different sound waves when the SW Fifteen and your main speakers are in different places) and auto-on signal sensing for power conservation.

You can hook up the SW Fifteen in one of two ways. In the first case, you can feed the sub one or two RCA-tipped line-level signals from your preamplifier or surround receiver. (The sub has two inputs, but many receivers offer only one subwoofer output, which is fine.) Using this method, your receiver can most effectively route the LFE (low-frequency effects) channel from Dolby Digital or DTS surround programs directly to your subwoofer. The SW Fifteen offers two RCA outputs (really just throughputs) in case you want to send the signal along to a second subwoofer or power amplifier.

Alternately, you can run speaker cable from your receiver to the SW Fifteen and then from the sub's outputs to your front-left and -right speakers. This results in a more seamless transition from the subwoofer to your speakers, as the signal arriving at your speakers has already been filtered through the SW Fifteen's internal crossover (the variable LPF discussed above). If you plan to listen to stereo music with your subwoofer, this might be the way to go.

Our biggest gripe with the SW Fifteen is that it offers clip-type speaker terminals rather than banana-type (five-way binding posts). It still sounds good, but just be sure you have pin-tipped cables or bare-wire tips if you intend to use the speaker-cable hook-up method.

The SW Fifteen has one feature that few subwoofers at any price offer: a variable-crossover knob that clicks when turned, allowing greater precision in selecting points between 40 and 180 Hz (the 80 and 120 Hz points are marked).

The SW Fifteen does an excellent job with power handling. There's plenty of reserve here, and the bass itself plows quite deep. What the sub gains in depth and power, however, it loses in definition--fans of taut, punchy bass might want to look elsewhere (but be prepared to sacrifice some of the ultradeep tones if you stay at this price.

With careful placement and painstaking adjustment of both the level and the crossover frequency, the SW Fifteen can be quite pleasing, though, especially when it's supplementing nearly full-range speakers with extra body and low-end solidity. --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

• Great value
• Lots of power
• Produces deep bass
• Fine-tunable crossover knob
• Rugged construction
• Flexible set-up options

Cons:

• Clip-type speaker-cable terminals
• Slightly tubby sound
• Lacks the bass definition of better-made subs

Subwoofers

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