Wharfedale Topaz SW-8 150-Watt Subwoofer

by Wharfedale

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 14.8 x 15 inches ; 32.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 38 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004SY53
• Item model number: Topaz 8
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,486 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 10, 2000

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Wharfedale Topaz SW-8 8-inch subwoofer powers itself with a 150-watt internal amplifier and offers full electronic equalization to ensure an acoustically flat frequency response. Its ability to deliver tight, clean bass down to 32 Hz helps your home theater or stereo system produce sound that you can hear and feel. Inputs are provided for both line- and speaker-level signals, and it offers controls for volume, bandwidth, power, and phase.

Included is an optional auto switch-on function so that the unit is powered only when an audio signal is present, a feature capable of offering significant energy savings over time. This model is built with braced medium-density fiberboard cabinets and finished in black, with a front-firing driver and removable black, cloth-covered grilles.

Optional hardened-steel floor spikes are provided. The subwoofer measures 14.88 by 14.88 by 14.40 inches. It includes a five-year warranty on parts and a 90-day warranty on labor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars . . . finally, my search has ended!, March 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wharfedale Topaz SW-8 150-Watt Subwoofer (Electronics)

I have been looking for a low priced sub w/out low performance. What really got me to buy this sub was the editoral review, because there was only one costumer review, and i have to admit, i had my doubts. Fianlly arrived, hooked up in 5 minutes, and was blown away (literally) by the deep, powerful dynamics this 8" sub could produce. This sub is all and more the editoral review said, and i recommend this subwoofer to anyone who wants deep, tight, powerful bass w/ a punch!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars new review: Wattever, January 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wharfedale Topaz SW-8 150-Watt Subwoofer (Electronics)

Somehow what had been intended as a query of sorts with respect to the amplifier in the Topaz SW-8 (75 vs. 150 watts) became a product review ("Watt's what?") -- I hadn't even seen or heard the actual product. Forgive me. I now own one -- purchased ... at a great price and with benefit of a gift certificate and free shipping at the time. I'm very happy with the performance. It does everything I'd hoped -- it can make the floor go thump and it can make nice warm low sounds that are actual notes and not just some sudden blurp as of a gaseous discharge (the apparent knock on certain ported subs). I recall some review referring to the musicality of the Wharfedale. I think this true, accurate, correct. Power, at 150 watts, drives the 8" speaker with strength and there is precision and balance in the way it sounds. It has added a lot to CDs and made various movies get BIG.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's the BEEF?, August 3, 2001

By 

unimpressed (Apex, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wharfedale Topaz SW-8 150-Watt Subwoofer (Electronics)

Not what I expected at all, but it had the necessary bells and whistles and set up was easy, so I give it 2 stars. The problem was it sound like someone's stomach was growling in the corner...Where's the BEEF!!! I tried switching the phases, tweaking the crossover frequency, and increasing the output from the receiver and nothing made it cough up the goods. Based on the specs, I thought I'd be getting a 150-watt amp in an 8" woofer, but the documentation still says 75-watt. It seems that the manufacturer can cover up the specs on the box with a sticker that says 150-watts and make it sound louder. I don't doubt that they put in the new amp, but I was not hearing what I expected from a 150-watt subwoofer. I was so disappointed. My wife even mocked me for getting such a wussy woofer, for my new home theater system. But I have since ordered a 250-watt sub from another manufacturer and I am keeping my fingers crossed. I'll be rumbling the theater room in no time and she'll be cowering in the corner! (EVIL LAUGH) My suggestion is if you are having a hard time rationalizing spending a little more of the budget for a bigger sub - DO IT.