Subwoofer Reviews

AT A GLANCE
Plus
True bass from truly tiny sub
Highly flexible setup, including wireless option
Beautifully made and finished
Minus
Finite upper-volume limits
Display too small to discern easily

THE VERDICT
If you demand real bass from a really small subwoofer (and you have $1,000 to pay for it), Artison’s got your micro-sub.

Ever since the first hominid bashed another hominid over the head (with the femur of a third hominid), humankind has pursued one arms race or another. From the atlatl to the AR-15, man’s competitive genius always finds a way to up the ante. One rather more constructive expression of this innate drive can be seen in the long-standing contest to extract more and more bass out of smaller and smaller boxes.

In order to get the transition between your subwoofer and your main speakers close to perfect, you need measurement gear. Measurement makes your sub setup faster and more accurate. Instead of listening to bass lines to gauge the evenness of your bass response, you just run a quick measurement and get a precise result.

Over the course of this past week, our reviewers Brent Butterworth and Michael Trei examined six current subwoofer offerings, ranging from the simple to the feature packed, from Monoprice's $84 MSUB-A122 to Wisdom Audio's genre-defying $4,000 SCS, with entries from sub mainstays Velodyne, Cadence, SVS, and Sunfire along the way.

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Compact size
Deep, clean bass
Easy to set up and adjust
Available in three finishes

Minus
High price
One sub might not be powerful enough for large rooms

THE VERDICT
The Bowers & Wilkins DB3D is an excellent choice for those who want a compact subwoofer with powerful performance. Its high price may be a deterrent for some, but its features and performance make it worth the investment.

In the realm of high-fidelity audio, the Bowers & Wilkins DB3D subwoofer offers a fusion of compact design and powerful performance. Priced at a premium $3,499, this subwoofer is a statement piece that offers performance to match Bowers and Wilkins speakers like the 700 Series S3 models used in this review.

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value

There are, and have been, lots of movements in the world: political (the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street), social (abolition, women’s suffrage, and prohibition), artistic (Impressionism, Dadaism, and WTFism), and of course, bowel (but I digest…er, digress).

When it comes to subwoofers and speakers, air movement is of particular import. If you want loud, low bass, your woofers are going to have to compress a lot of air. For movies, it’s especially enjoyable when your subwoofer has enough spunk to cause the floor under your feet and the seat under your butt—and even your body’s chest cavity—to vibrate during those massive, over-the-top Hollywood explosions or through the low rumble of an earthquake. These are sensations that you feel more than hear.

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Powerful output
Intelligent Phase Control allows for precise alignment with main speakers
Useful remote control
Minus
Large size makes optimal placement difficult
No custom EQ options

THE VERDICT
Definitive Technology flagship subwoofer delivers extended bass and impressive output, but lacks the app-based custom EQ controls found on many other models.

Watching a movie at home is one of the things I always look forward to when coming back off the road from a long business trip. My home theater has evolved over the years from a modest 5.1-channel setup with a rear-projection TV into a system I never dreamed I'd attain: a JVC RS2000 4K projector, 110-inch Stewart FireHawk scope screen, and a full Dolby Atmos speaker system brought to life by a Trinnov Altitude 16 processor and ATI N-Core amps. I truly am living the home theater dream.

The Earthquake SuperNova could be the world's most dangerous end table. No amount of Krazy Glue will repair the heartbreak of the unwary soul who dares place the family-heirloom Tiffany lamp or Waterford vase on this compact subwoofer. This is not a New Age sub disguised as a fine piece of furniture, a veneered life-style block