Acoustic Audio RWSUB-8 300 Watt 8-Inch Down Firing Powered Subwoofer (Black)

I ordered this because I wanted an inexpensive and unobtrusive subwoofer to supplement the stereo system in our living room, which consists of a Logitech Squeezebox Touch streaming audio player, Denon RCD-N7 receiver/CD player and a pair of Polk Monitor 70 three-way floor-standing speakers. The Polks sound very nice by themselves but I wanted to feel a little more bottom end than their 6" drivers can generate with a modestly powered amp. This sub was the most compact well-reviewed unit I could find with at least an 8" speaker, and at only 9.5" wide it fits almost invisibly between our sofa and an end table (see photo). Despite its small size, it lays down a surprising amount of bass! Certainly not the same whump level at the low end as our 12" Cambridge Soundworks sub in the family/media room, but enough to fill our 12' x 15' living room with clean low-end sound from most music sources (I haven't tested it with movies in a surround setup). I have the unit placed about 6" from a wall, and once I got the connection working properly it took me about 20 minutes of fiddling with the crossover and gain controls while playing a few reference selections (Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley, U2, Schubert's Unfinished Symphony) to get the sound to my liking. There is negligible audible distortion from the subwoofer all the way up to the point where I start hearing distortion from the mains due to over-driving the receiver's amp which is rated by Denon at 65 watts continuous output per channel.Regarding the connections, the unit can be connected "in line" (speaker wires in & back out to the main or satellite speakers) or via stereo RCA line-in jacks (the latter is recommended by the manufacturer). An RCA stereo cable is provided as well as an RCA "Y" splitter to accommodate the mono subwoofer output jacks on most amps and receivers. Note that the "crossover" control on the unit is just a low-pass filter controlling the max frequencies handled by the sub, it does not roll off the bottom end going out to the mains if connected "in line". Our Polk speakers are very efficient and I found that I couldn't get an adequate signal into the sub's amp using the high-level connections to blend well with the mains even with the sub's amp set at full gain. I had the same problem splitting the line signal from our receiver's subwoofer jack into the sub's two RCA jacks. Fortunately I had a pair of stereo out jacks available on the receiver which I connected to the sub's line-in jacks, and now I'm getting plenty of output from the sub with the gain control set at 2 o'clock. A crossover around 80Hz sounds best with our setup, optimal gain and crossover settings will depend on your other system components, sub placement and room acoustics.The sub's cabinet looks very nice and appears to be constructed pretty well. For the price I consider this product an excellent value assuming it lasts for a few years. I recommend it highly if you're looking for a very compact sub for a small to medium sized room!

The specs for this unit are not accurate.There's no way this thing is 300w peak/150w RMS. It cannot come close to the loudness of my Kustom KPC4C monitors I bought this to go with and they are only 50w. I know bass requires a lot more power, but the driver is only a single 8"and it is band-limited by the HPF. I would guess this is probably only about 80w RMS, if that.Also, the unit's frequency response DOES NOT GO DOWN TO 25 Hz.What I measured using pink noise and a Behringer ECM-8000 measurement microphone indicates that the frequency response only goes down to 50 Hz at best. The response is about -5 dB at 50 Hz from 90 Hz. See attached graph.Still, the product is about exactly what I expected from a home theater subwoofer with 8" driver. The build quality is solid and the fit/finish is excellent. The built-in amp has nice features that are hard to find at this price-point. You cannot build this thing yourself for even close to the purchase price. Try pricing a subwoofer plate amp... the cost is nearly as much as this whole unit.From what I can tell, Acoustic Audio is an OEM designer/manufacturer for other companies making products that are distributed under their monikers. This specific product is not listed on their website, so it could be a knock-off. But, the logo is similar to their listed product.Yes, I recommend this product even though I think their item listing is deceptive. Looks good, sounds good, great features, and low price. Get one! Just don't expect any sub-50 Hz response to rattle your rib cage from this unit. It is more than loud enough for small-medium (up to 15'x15' or so) living rooms.FYI: I fitted mine with an 8" speaker grill for mobile use. Which fit just fine without modification to the grill mount. I did however need to use longer screws for the grill mount. I checked the internals. There's nothing to worry about if your screws poke inside a bit. There are no wires or electronics within at least an inch of the inside wall where the screws are. I used 1 5/8" drywall screws. Their black, countersink head fit flush to the grill mount and the threads closely matched the factory speaker mount screws which have 3mm Allen heads.

Let me just say a few things about this sub, but first i got to mention the f12 12" subs that i had before this rwsub8-300. I own two f12 and thay are loud and move way more air than this little guy. The f12 and rw8 have the same rms of 150 watt and about the same frecuency responce. I got to admit that the f12 are louder and sound deeper but its do to the bigger circunference of the woofer. Thats all I have to say of the f12.On the other hand this little rw8s are almost as powerful other subs 10 or 12 subs. I bought one to have a bit more space on my living room. Its pair with two aony ssf7000 this guys hit low too at 35hz but this sub still hit lower at 25hz and its loud, it goes well with this speakers. Have try it with movies and music and I don't hear much difference from the 12" woofers. It fills my living room with loud clean deep bass and its not boomy, I set it up the cross over at its lowst point so that gives a deeper sound. I plan to buy another one becouse of the price, quality, performance, small print and because I like to have pairs.I do recomend this sub, it hits low, its loud, looks nice and its hard to find subs at that price and quality. There may be better subs of better brands at higher prices but this little sub does what I need.

Awe man,the woofer is garbage! It's poorly cafted, NOTsturdy enough to handle power of its amp! Searching for a replacement before my trial return expires! Don't buy it! !!