Customer Reviews

Sony SA-W3000 Subwoofer (Each, Black)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

this is exactly what all the previous reviews said it was......a truly deep value for money. the bass is as deep as could be without noticeable distortion and it is clean looking enough to pass the wife's scrutiny. i am a music buff and i find the bass production to be just as good as the very, very good sony sf 6000 front speakers i use. however the big advantage with this unit is when watching movies.....5.1, 3.1 or 2.1, the bass is way deeper than you can get with the big front speakers. the difference is really dramatic, even to a new comer's ears.

it should be also noted that the unit DOES have an auto off function (not described on Amazon) which can be disabled at the back. this is great, except when actually watching a movie because it shuts of within 5 mins if it does not receive a low bass signal from the amps, so during dialogue it sleeps in low power and then has a delayed restart when the bass returns.

i use my sub in a large room and you really have to crank the power up, close to max, to be truly impressed. so i think maybe the bigger rooms need the bigger 15" sub, but i have not compared it to be sure but it is worrisome to operate so close to max, even if it is sweet to the ears. if you have a medium or smaller room you should be overwhelmed.

anyway, i am certain that you cannot find a sub with similar specs and great reviews anywhere near this price so i urge you........ENJOY!!!

For the past 10 years I have owned a Sony Home Theater in a Box kind of setup sufficing to say I'm not much hard to please for home entertainment (had a quick review bout here too @ Epinions). Three years ago I paired the same Sony HTIB with a 37" LG LCD TV and it was good. Can see the movie, "hear" the movie and go watch the next movie.

Guess now things have changed, a lot. Electronics are much more affordable with a considerable amount of difference. Like this Sony SA-W3000 for example. As a regular Joe Shmoe audiophile wannabe dude, I did my only way of randomly testing this sub, of course, at your local electronics depot (blue shirt, khaki pants guys). It wasn't even very accurate the fact that I tested it's lower model sibling, the SA-W2500 which is rated 100 with 60 watts RMS.

Most of us are familiar with their setup with all the buttons you push pairing different speakers and subs trying to win your heart on what they can do. So push I did and I got me a show from all them big ballers like Polk, Mirage, Definitive Techs, Klipsch to a Martin Logan, and the little dude on the corner, with the lowest price tag, being scorned upon, even lucky to be on such a line up actually held its own. Not as tight, not as solid, but enough oomph and rumble. Maybe its the rumble, maybe it's my untrained ears but for the value price point of this sub, it feels like I would not go wrong a step up difference of $50.00 to it's bigger brother, the Sony SA-W3000 which is rated 180 watts.

And wow was I impressed! Let me reiterate the Joe Shmoe wannabe part once again! I like what I hear though and for the most part, I really believe a lot of people might agree. Took me a good day or two to fine tune to my liking for music and movie alike. To appreciate the bass, I had to torture test it from Bad English to Bob Marley with even some Beyonce' (hehe). Musicality is not it's greatest strength as it would have variations of bass output on different genres of music but totally acceptable for the most part. I sometimes have to turn the gain switch a bit lower from music to movies. For Home Theater applications, I finally get to "feel" the movie, not just hear it. I would play back certain movies over and over on certain parts just to appreciate the bass, like the movie's Heat, Matrix, Jurassic Park and the all classic Top Gun to few of my own personal favorites.

Aesthically nice with a very imposing 12" subwoofer with thick, hefty rubber surround on the edges giving it a solid look. A nice black wood grain/veneer finish on the cabinet, which also is constructed pretty good. Got a couple of adjustments for volume and cutoff for the personal choice of your low end and even a phase reverse switch to configure with how your sub reacts with your front speakers. I find the "normal" position having a tighter bass response with my SS-F7000's and the SS-CN5000. There is also a switchable power save mode which wasn't really too "click" happy as others have noted for it to be bothersome. For me anyway.

Couple of gripes I have is the plastic part where the built in amplifier is hidden. Looks flimsy but tougher than it looks. The rubber pads that came with it is a joke. You would look at the size of this 12" sub with the rubber pad being about the size of a Micro SD card. It's almost like it was some sort of an after thought to include them. This is where Sony went cheap. Good thing I have saved some screw in type legs that belongs to the TV stand. Little drilling in under corner of the sub, a bit of super glue and voila! Form, fit and function.

This Sony SA-W3000 floats my boat and fills the bill for an awesome budget sub for your system. You'll actually get a chance to enjoy the difference of having a dedicated subwoofer even just on an entry level system with a not so entry level bass box thanks to Sony. It does give sound more depth and an impression that will change how you listen and feel about your movies and music. And as Thomas Paine might have quoted, "that which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly", but this my friends, in my own humble opinion, is an exception.

This sub suprisingly performs better than I expected. The easy of installing and variable frequency adjustment work with easy. Sounds great for the money invested. I have purchased high end subs, in the $2000.00 range and though there are noticeable differences, this sub is great bang for little bucks.

I spent 3 weeks trying to get an acceptable sound out of this thing. Could not do it. Yes, it makes it's share of noise and distortion, but I was hoping something musical would come out of it. Not even close. I have used subwoofers since the early 90's. While this is not the worse sub I have ever owned, it sure comes close. The volume control has to be almost maxed out before you get any sound at all. Then you are left with only about half an inch of room to try and adjust it with and no LFE input or switch. It is cheaply made, with the last inch or two of the top, and the whole back made out of plastic. The port is just an untuned hole. Why most of the 5 star reviews chose to ignore some of these problems is beyond me. It sounds as bad as it looks. With all the positive reviews written on this thing, the thought may cross your mind that the sub I got was defective...no way. How do I know this? Because I ordered 2 and both had the exact same problems. I know the price makes it a tempting purchase. That is what lured me in. Turns out to be just another case of "you get what you pay for". I had no problem returning them to Amazon. I had my refund within a week. I decided to spend a bit more and bought the "CER-WIN VEGA! VE-28S". The difference in price was around $50.00. The difference in sound is remarkable. It only took about half an hour to get it tuned in with the rest of my system. Now I have a sub with excellent sound that I can enjoy for years. Thanks for reading my review. I hope you find a sub you're happy with.
Tom

I spent a lot of time reading and listening to numerous subs before deciding on this model, and I am very pleased. It completely fills our living room which is 20'X 20', however, please take the time to adjust the sub once you get it setup. Once you take the time to get everything right, this sub will hit hard, tight, and even rumble the walls.

I've done my best to "torture test" this unit. I have watched 300, The Dark Knight, and Iron Man all on Blu-Ray with the uncompressed audio tracks and this sub performs beautifully. I've also watched a few concert dvds and listened to a lot of music ranging from classical to rap and again, this sub handles it all with ease...never getting muddy or boomy.

I am very, very impressed with this subwoofer and I highly recommend it. Don't let the sony name scare you away and take a little time to get this beast customized for your room and I promise you will not be dissappointed!

Just installed a living room 5.1 system. Sony bb-1000 for the front and surrounds, the CN 5000 center speaker and this subwoofer. This combination is well balanced. While using test tones I measured the output with a db meter. With the amp EQ set flat, the system was balanced within 3db all around the room.

This 200 watt sub is plenty powerful when used prudently. A subwoofer is just there to provide the bottom octaves of sound, you're really not supposed to rattle your neighbors windows.

Sounds good, looks good, and the whole shebang cost a whole $360 here on Amazon.com This Sony combo is a big sound improvement over the small satellite speakers like the bose acoustimass, KLH, or Cambridge Soundwoks. I just installed a Bose Aoustimass 10 system in a friends house, I prefer the sound of my new Sony system here better than her $1,000 "lifestyle choice".

Great sub-woofer for the money. I Got mine for 90 bucks and it works like a champ. Best 12" 200 Watt sub you can get especially for the price sensitive buyer.

this a great sub for the price. was shipped to me quickly. the only issue the auto on feature. sometimes you have to turn up the reciever to get the sub to turn on. all in all great for the money.

I bought this sub woofer to replace my old sub woofer from my Sony HTD-DW790 Component Home Theater System. It is much better then the sub woofer that came with that system. Outstanding frequency response. Also note that on the back of the sub woofer there is volume control and frequency adjustments along with speaker connecters.

Before buying this sub, I read the reviews of Amazon customers. As far as I'm concerned, they have the most accurate reviews on the net.

I was going to buy the 200watt Sony sub, but saw a review by someone who bought the 12". This sub is all you will need. I have always loved bass, but clear good bass, not just thumping bass. This sub rawks my world, and the neighbors, lol. The auto shutoff is fantastic. If your room is huge, you may need more wattage.

I have it hooked up to my Yamaha N600 with Sony fronts, 270watts, Center is Sony 150watt, Surround left, and right
120watts, and one surround back.

Buy this Sony subwoofer, you'll be glad you did.