Customer Reviews

Yamaha YSTSW012 8" Front-Firing Active Subwoofer, Black

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great deal for $59 delivered. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe some hollow sounding computer type sub-woofer that pops when I turn it on and off. This sub has a 50-watt RMS amp at 5ohm. It has a decent .5 inch MFD box with an internal space of almost 10.5 X 10.5 (small!) External is about 11.4 x 11.4 x 11.5 height. It's much better built than the Sony's on this site. They even made a small attempt to support the box with 1-inch corner braces on all 6 sides. The sub sounds great at lower volume. It maxis out fast though. In a small room or apartment, you wouldn't need it any louder. It's the quality of sound that's important, and that's where this delivers. Up to it's distortion point, it sounds like a true big sub-woofer. This is the perfect sub for anybody who is not allowed to shake the foundation. This sub plays deep! It just hits its max excursion fast. Either the amp is more than 50 watts or the speaker can't handle much wattage. Speaking of the speaker, it's about 5lbs. They seemed to have glued a smaller magnet onto the larger one at the base. I've heard of some seedy speaker manufactures doing this, but this speaker seems to deliver pretty good quality. I swapped out the stock speaker with a Dayton and secured the walls with cross braces and then covered the inside walls with carpet. Foam would take up to much space and there isn't much inside already. This setup was a pleasure to work with. The grill pops right off. The speaker is held on by 4 screws in the standard speaker hole location. (making it easy to replace) The amp is held on by 8 screws. The port is held in place mostly by a tight fit and some glue that easily breaks loose. The amp is connected to the speaker with standard removable connectors. That's it. It takes about 3-5 min to take apart. As for the Dayton, it performs about the same as the stock one. It was made for a little bit bigger box, but I wanted to know if the stock speaker was unable to handle much or was it the amp that produced the power. It seems to be the amp. It can push a stronger speaker. If I had a 100 watt 8" speaker with a high SPL, built for a small-ported box, and good excursion level (that's the amount of movement on a speaker), then I would really need the extra bracing. Problem is, that would cost much more than this whole system. That, and I wouldn't use a .5-inch thick box. Where am I going with this... anyway, this sub is worth every penny of $59. If you have a set of decent bookshelf speakers and a sub-woofer out jack on your amp that you're not using, you would be a fool not to get this. To cut costs, it has no auto on/off, and no pass through signal. If you must have auto on/off, buy a remote control on/off power supply from someplace cheap. I had one left over from my X-mass lights. (or use the power connection on the back of your receiver if you have one). This sub doesn't pop at all when turned on or off and its amp is inside the box. This sub is much better looking than a Sony I have. If the person before me didn't didn't give this 4 stars, I wouldn't have tested this out. So thanks! I'm very happy I purchased this. I think its so cheap people are afraid of it! I don't know how they make money on this. (update 1-11-08) to clarify the wattage on these: output power on the spec sheet is rated at 5ohms. 50 watts to 5 ohms RMS and 100 dynamic. It has a 6ohm speaker in it. That means it's probably pushing about 45 watts RMS to the speaker. The frequency response is -4db at 40hz, -10db at 30hz, -15db at 25hz. It has a decent flat response from 45hz to 120hz at 90db. It then tapers off to -5db at 200hz. Not bad for $59 !!! Update 1-15-07 Here's a FYI given to me: The second magnet glued on the back of the driver magnet is for shielding. It is not there to deceive. The second magnet is attached in polar opposite to the functional magnet, canceling the magnetic pollution it would normally give off. (Thanks Kevin!)

I am so impressed with this Yamaha sub. Really good sound. Compact, attractive and delivers good thump. Adjustable volume so you can match the sub to your amp, comes with a long power cord and longer subwoofer audio cable (single RCA's on both ends). This was great - literally everything you need in the box. Shipped super quick from Amazon. Ran a demo with NIN's "Year Zero", and I was smiling from ear to ear. If you're on the fence, and are looking for a solid box for a small/medium sized room (mine is 18x12'), this may fit the bill.

If you're looking for a small sub-woofer, one that will fill a medium sized room with deep bass and you're not looking to impress your friends or drive out your neighbors, the Yamaha YSTSW012 will certainly do the job. Rated at 100 watts peak and 50rms, this speaker provides plenty of bass being driven by my Onkyo 65 watt amp. Fact of the matter is that I can not run the speaker at full power as the bass is too over powering. Attractive amp, convenient size and plenty of power for a reasonable price.

I have an Athena 8" subwoofer that cost roughly twice what this sub did. When I bought the Athena sub three years ago, it was the best subwoofer value going. To be honest, I don't notice a difference between the Athena and this Yamaha in music or in movies. Therefore, this Yamaha sub is a tremendous value. Not for large rooms to be sure, but as an addition to bookshelf speakers or a home theater system, this is a great buy.

Great value.
A small sub of this type gently fills in and supports the bass.
It compliments my Bose 901s perfectly.
Loud obnoxious bass irritates me.
Not for you hip hop trip hop fans.

Amazingly good for a relatively inexpensive speaker. I hooked it up through my audio receiver to the HDTV and had to turn the volume way down, because my wife complained of too much base and vibration. For our ancient ears nothing more expensive would be worthwhile.

Bought this to compliment the Bose 301 Speakers and Yamaha center channel speaker that I have hooked up to my home theater system, and was not disappointed. The speaker is very clear, with no noise or hiss that I can detect and it puts out enough base to rattle the room and to make the cats jump. Excellent sound for regular HDTV, HD movies, and games on the 360 and PS3.

I needed something to spice up my apartment home theatre system. The living room is relatively small and this sub is doing a great job and it's presence is definitely noticeable. For the price, it can't be beat for a smaller system.

Setup:
- Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR304
- Fronts: 2 x Polk R150
- Rears: 2 x Polk R150
- Center: 1 x Polk CSR

While my primary home entertainment system has a 15" powered subwoofer, I needed something more compact for the flat screen I put on my sunporch. This Yamaha 8" sub turned out to be perfect! Using it with a YSP-800 speaker array, this baby puts out plenty of good, strong bass without taking up hardly any floor space at all (my other sub is as big as a lamp table).
Highly recommended for smaller spaces with smaller bass requirements. You'll be surprised at how well it does and given its price, an extremely high value unit.

Pleased with this compact sub, purchased a new townhouse and wished to downsize from the bulky 12" sub I had that took up too much space for my liking. Sub is well controlled and has no distortion of which to speak. I am willing to deal with a less "booming" unit considering the size I preferred and price I was willing to pay.