Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Good Sub but November 13, 2008
As for the Sony SA-W3800 Powered Subwoofer's sound, it works very well with a home theatre setup. Has fairly clean response, plenty of thump where there's thump in the soundtrack. Absolutely is more than enough for our viewing area which is approx 450 sq ft. While not audiophile quality (they cost at least $1000++), a great value at less than $200 plus free shipping.
The downside of the Sony SA-W3800 Powered Subwoofer: The cabinet is about as junky as anything I've ever owned. Upon unboxing the sub I noticed a brightly colored Sony "feature" sticker on the top right, front corner of the cabinet. I tried to carefully remove this sticker and to my great disappointment along with the sticker came a 1" by 1/2" piece of the "paper"(I kid you not) black cabinet covering exposing the under lying particle board. I salvaged this cosmetic blemish with a black permanent marker but I was amazed at the cheesy and obviously delicate covering. They should at least have used a light weight vinyl. The other thing I found substandard was the amplifier housing. Cheap plastic with all but unreadable control/input labels. The labeling, even though you won't need to use them all that much, were black raised letters in a small font on a black background. Lastly I would have preferred two RCA inputs and two RCA outputs as contrasted with the single inputs actually provided.
All in all, for the price I paid ($194 incl shipping), It's a decent value that performs well sonically but from a purely aesthetics standpoint it comes up short.
 BASS ! ! ! ! ! ! September 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wicked bass. The house shakes! The bass is crisp, the bass is deep, the bass is on point!
Very Good for the Money May 23, 2008
At $160.00 and free shipping, it was a lot cheaper than the 12" version. I was concerned that it could be overkill in my smallish living room, but since it opens into my kitchen and the ceiling is vaulted, total volume is 4000 cu ft. Velodyne recommends an 18" woofer for that room size!
So, it does look big sitting in the corner, like a big black coffee table, but sonically it blends in nicely with my old Realistic Minimus 7 mini speakers. It isn't boomy at all in my setup, even though I have it backed tightly into the corner. In fact, it's quite subtle. It only barks when it's supposed to, unless you turn the volume up louder than necessary to balance with the other speakers. It goes pretty low, but it won't knock picture frames off the wall, at least it won't in my house.
Verdict: Big, decent fit and finish, and very good sound for the money. Just don't expect audiophile tightness and power at that price. It ain't gonna crack the plaster off the wall, you'll have to spend more if you want that.
Finally the full low end I was seeking April 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My Audio/Video system consisted of Martin Logan electrostat speakers in the front array with B&W's in the rears. I had been using a thousand dollar plus Velodyne for a sub but I was never quite happy with it as it seemed to leave a significant gap in the upper base regions. The Velodyne is truly high end and excellent gear but it just wasn't a good match for my system. I took a gamble and got this 15" Sony and I couldn't be happier. the crossover goes all the way up to 200hz but I backed mine off just a tad. Finally, the system was fully balanced. The bottom end spectrum is full and tight without being boomy. This is an incredible buy for the money and it sounds great with video as well as with music.
Great sub! Highly recommended!! April 21, 2008
This sub is amazing! I only have the gain turned up approx half way and when I crank my receiver while watching movies, my house rumbles from the bass! I upgraded to the Sony SA-W3800 because my old sub (an 8-inch Polk Audio sub that came with my 5.1 package) wasn't putting out enough bass to keep up with the satellite speakers. I did a decent amount of research and for the price, this Sony sub won hands down! Along with it, I purchased the Sony SSF-7000 floor speakers to use as my main fronts. As a whole, it sounds amazing and there is enough bass to make my wife and I feel like we're in the movies! The only complaint I have is the size of the unit. Obviously, it is a very large speaker so it had to be housed in a large cabinet. I post two pictures above of the speaker in our living room so you could get an idea of the size. I highly recommend this sub, but make sure you have room for it!! The strong, low bass will make you feel like you're in a theater and/or part of the movie!
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