Yamaha YST-SW215 8" Powered Subwoofer

Rating:
Summary: Small but powerful
Review: Don't let the small size fool you. This is a very nice sub. It sounds good with music as well as movies and brings a whole new dimension to my listening experience. Only discrepency I have is that the Yamaha website rates it at 150 watts, but I have seen it other places on the internet at 120 also!!??

Rating:
Summary: Good Things Come In Small Packages
Review: Great sounding sub for a modest home theater/listening area. The sound is smooth but powerful given the relatively small enclosure. Will it's volume break windows? Probably not. But then if you value your hearing you wouldn't want this one! Yamaha incorporated some pretty spiffy technology into it. If you're looking for a sub that smoothly blends into your "sonic environment" this might be the one. The front mounted controls are a great convenience feature-only wish the cutoff and volume knobs were a little larger and more substantial. Easy and straight forward hookup for either speaker or line level. Might hook up another-one for each stereo channel! This sub's a winner!

Rating:
Summary: surprisingly great for the price
Review: I didn't expect much from this fairly cheap subwoofer: I wanted a subwoofer for my home theater, and that's it. I was impressed with all of the options built-into the subwoofer. There is a "super-bass" option in addition to the usual volume option. There's a power button to turn it off without having to unplug it. The bass is directed downward which is exactly as one would want a subwoofer. There are RCA type plugs on the back so be sure your stereo receiver uses this type of connection. Pleasantly happy with the sound.

Rating:
Summary: Great value & sound in a small package
Review: I got a pricy Carver amp and Tanvoy speakers a few years but held off on a subwoofer because of the expense. I didn't think a cheap speaker would be worth buying and I didn't want to spend the money for a audiophile-quality subwoofer. In the mad rush of after Thanksgiving sales, I saw this speaker and decided to take a chance. I am not sorry in the least. The speaker puts out a lot of sound for the size & price. It doesn't rattle the windows or vibrate things off the shelf but it adds that much needed depth in the low frequencies to my system. The controls made it easy to set the frequency cut off and volume to blend in well with my other speakers. It has a power-down feature which fortunately has a sensitivity switch because I found that in the default position, it wouldn't kick back on at low volumes even when it would clearly have made a difference. That was easily adjusted. It still powers down when not needed but not as readily. It has a movie/music switch which, for the life of me, I couldn't discern a difference. I wish they had explained how it worked so I could better determine if I could just leave it in one position or the other. Switching it back and forth for one or the other is an irritant especially when I can't detect a difference.


Rating:
Summary: Good for price, but the best deal is.....
Review: I originally purchased the Yamaha YST-SW215 8" Powered Subwoofer. I was underwhelmed by the performance and the cheap construction. However, at $99, I got what I paid for.

I returned it and began looking for other options. I looked at the JBL and at first dismissed purchasing it because it was out of my price range ($200 and under).

I went to BestBuy to see/hear it ($299). Hearing any audio equipment at a store will not compare to your home environment, so saying that it sounded good at the store may not yield the same results at home. I mainly wanted to see the build and quality of the materials. I was very impressed-especially knowing I was going to purchase elsewhere for a better price. It is well worth the $299.

When visiting the Amazon site, I clicked the new and used offers, I found several under $180. Usually, this raises a red flag- gray market products etc. Also, many underprice and regain profit when adding shipping.

I purchased this from Bestpriceaudiovideo.com for $169 with free shipping and no tax. I was not disappointed. The order was processed when they said it would be and came well-packed. This was no after market sub.

I would be surprised if you can find a better sub for the price. It can rattle the walls if you want or can simply add fuller sound to music if that's what you like. and for only $60 or so more than the Yamaha, it was well worth it.




Rating:
Summary: Small Sub, BIG Sound!
Review: Just got this subwofer from Amazon today, and boy am I impressed! When I ordered it I was looking for something affordable, but with a decent amount of power and good sound. Since the price was right and I already have 2 Yamaha front speakers, I decided to give this one a shot. Well, the Yamaha SW215 fits the bill perfectly. At $99 from Amazon, it one of the lowest priced subs anywhere, yet it has more features and more power than the comparable priced Sony product. It is very ruggedly built, and sounds great. It is also super easy to hook up and use, and the automatic shutoff feature works flawlessly with my Sony STR-DE595 receiver. As some previous reviewers stated, the B.A.S.S. switch doesn't seem to do much, as I cant discern any difference in the two settings, but I like the location of the controls on the front of the sub. Overall, I would say this sub is a great deal. If you are looking for the best budget sub, this is it!!!

Rating:
Summary: Massive Speakers!
Review: This subwoofer is an amazing finish to my homestereo system. Its a great by for the amount of money you spend. I got them several years ago and they work as if i just hooked them up. You got 150 watts of power. For people who dont know thats the same amount of power used to run your television. All that energy used to blast out monster sound. Its an easy way to control with all the buttons and ect on the from. To set it up is a breeze took me 5 mins and i m not a very techincal person.