Customer Reviews

BIC AMERICA V-80 8" 100 Watt Powered Subwoofer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this V-80 to complement a pair of Athena B1.2 (great little speakers) in a small home theatre setup. I was not expecting much more than a subtle improvement. Wow, was I shocked...tight and clean bass, very musical, louder and lower than I had hoped, set at well less than its max output. With crossover control set to about 80hz it blends perfectly with the Athenas.
I have very high standards when it comes to subwoofers, using an HSU VTF-2 for my main music system. I cannot stand boomy, non-musical subs.
The Bic V-80 is not boomy, plays tight and fast and musical and is excellent for a small room. Highly recommended.

Very well built and great sounding bass, fills my 12x16 room with adjustable level and crossover frequency. The on-auto-off is very convenient. I would highly recommend this Made in America speaker for camparatively rated HT systems.

For the $100 I paid for it, this SW really delivers. I have it hooked up to a compact stereo system: the Sony CMT-HP7 Micro Hi-Fi Component System. FYI, this system is configured with stereo speakers and an amplifier delivering 35 Watts per channel of power. It is meant for small rooms (like a bedroom). The Sony system is generally power short for a living room and won't deliver good sound at high enough volume in a room greater than ~12' on a side.

The Bic 8" Watt Powered Subwoofer really helped this micro component system's strained speakers produce a more even, natural harmonic response. I consider it well worth the money, as the SW price was much less than that of the system and really helps, especially at high volume.

I would not recommend this product, however, for owners of a high-powered stereo system (100 Watts per channel or greater) or a surround-sound system. For my home theatre system, I have a higher-powered (250 Watt) Sony subwoofer that spans the full range of low frequencies (down to 20 Hz). The Bic *will* help, even in a 100 Watt per channel setup. Be aware, however, that it only goes down to 38 Hz and is not high powered enough to handle the bass from such a system at high volume.

I got this sub-woofer for my home theater which is also in my bedroom. It took me a while to find just the right place in the room where the sound blended well and I could no longer localize the sub. compared to my older much smaller sub, this thing is a vast improvement. I can see how it might not fill a really large room, but my room is about 16x9, and it does a fine job. In combination with the small JVC satellite speakers I have around the room (6.1 setup), I've really gotten that 'movie theater' sound. My only complaint, (and it's a small one) is that the sub's auto on/off feature will occasionally turn the sub off during long segments of time with no bass, such as a part of a movie or video game that's just dialogue with no music or SFX. If you find this to be a problem, just set the sub to ON rather than auto. over all, I'm very pleased. it's helped make Monday night our family movie night without having to leave the house.

I received this subwoofer and it worked perfectly right out of the box. It is probably the best speaker/subwoofer I've used for the price. The instructions could be better, but worked it out pretty quickly.

This little sub is fantastic! I use it in conjunction with a pair of large bookshelf speakers in my small glass studio. Nice tight, clean bass without that washed out boominess you can hear on most budget subs. I am really impressed with the build quality as well.

I am by no means an audiophile, but I do appreciate nice, quality sound. Nothing else I have listened to in this price range even comes close to this sub's performance.

I finally decided on the BIC V-80 after MONTHS of deliberation. I am not an audiophile, but consider myself to be fairly picky when it comes to home and car audio. I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, so I needed something reasonable but still large enough to create good bass in a 12x16' room with a vaulted ceiling.

I am incredibly impressed with the V-80 for its size and price. I tested a couple of the lower-end Yamahas at the same price point, and was left unimpressed due to their muddy and unrefined tones. The V-80 is outstanding across its range, though I have the frequency cutoff set somewhere in the middle.

I have this sub paired with a set of BIC dv62si bookshelf speakers and a KLH center channel, and movies sound absolutely wonderful with this 3.1 combination. The V-80 offers just enough bass to fill in the blanks left by the dv62si's, and can really pound when cranked up without distorting.

Like all BIC products, it seems to be very well-made and will likely last a great while.

I use the BIC V-80 in my home office and am very satisfied with it for music and movies. The bass is tight and well defined. I use this sub with a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 30 bookshelf speakers sitting on my desktop. A great combination.

I have owned this sub for close to a year now with no problems. It is well made. My only complaint was when I was using the sub with an integrated amp that had no subwoofer output. The BIC only has speaker level inputs, not outputs. You have to connect the sub and your speakers to the same speaker connections on your amp. This can create a 4 ohm load on the amp. I now have a Harman Kardon HK3390 with a sub output.

I bought this subwoofer mostly on based on its price. I read reviews of some of the other BIC products out there and came away fairly impressed. The company is known for putting out good performing products (the VK-12 and F12 are seemingly legendary among some audiophile groups), so I thought I would give it a shot. For the room and purpose this sub is being used in, it seems to be perfect.

I have set it in a home office to mostly play music and an occasional movie. I have paired it with a pair of Aperion Audio Intimus 6C in-ceiling speakers, run through an older Sony amplifier, all of which is fed by my PC through a add-on USB sound card. I can say that it all works well together in this 10'x'12' office. The Aperions are doing their part to produce good, clear highs, and the BIC is taking care of the low end without issue. I was somewhat worried originally about using a downfiring sub in a room with wood floors but I have not noticed any problems.

I can rock out very well.

Now to some of the specifics of the subwoofer. In my opinion (and it is just that, I am by no means an audiophile), it sounds clean. I don't hear boominess in my music, it pairs well, and I get good clean sound out of the system. I have a fairly eclcectic mix of music and it goes through it without being noticed--music sounds good whether it is pop rock of the 80s or something more recent with strong beats. I don't have a reference CD/track, but I have enjoyed it. I have watched little in the way of TV/movies on the system, but I did put Season 8 of 24 in it and was blown away. The clock ticks were well-executed. Explosions came alive and gun fights were reproduced well with plenty of punch from the subwoofer. Most importantly, it was able to do this without muddying the sound of the normal dialog.

When I received the subwoofer, I noted that it was different in appearance from the one pictured on Amazon. It has a grey-black laminate...I would say veneer but I am unsure if it is real wood and have no desire to scratch it find out. I think it is more interesting than the plain black, vinyl unit shown on the product page and will say this is a positive.

Given the size and rated power of this subwoofer, I do not think it will be able to satisfy if placed in much larger rooms--it is a small sub and is not the right thing if you are expecting it to work in your 40'x40' great room. If you are looking for something to fit into a small room though, this is the ticket.

Bottom line: For a small space and on a budget, this subwoofer rocks.

I bought this sub for a smaller carpeted living room and paired with Energy bookshelf speakers and a stereo amp. The sound is excellent and I could not be happier with my purchase. Super easy set up.