INEXPENSIVE SMALL POWERED SUBWOOFER
Written: Jan 20 '09 (Updated Jan 21 '09)
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Pros: Cheap. Powered. Small.
Cons: Lower powered. Small driver.
The Bottom Line: Cheap upgrade of bass tones. Especially useful with flat screen TVs, soundbars and the like.
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| lovehifi's Full Review: Fisher SW-525 Subwoofer |
The Fisher SW-525 is a cheap small subwoofer I happened to find on the internet.
The Fisher sub originally sold for approximately $79-$99.
I found it on-line for $9.90 plus s/h. The total amount was less than $20. How many subs can you find for that little money? This is a brand new unit, not refurbished or used.
First of all, I'd like to talk about Fisher products. The younger generation is exposed to a lot of negative reviews regarding Fisher.
Fisher was a huge name in high fidelity sound years ago. Fisher was the upper-end of Sanyo products, much like Sony was the upper-end of Awai and Technics the upper-end of Panasonic, etc.
Fisher and Fisher Studio Series hi-fi products were definitely high end back in the 80's. They were not only low end products sold at department stores. That is gross misinformation.
Sanyo, at one time, made approximately 90% of all tape deck mechanisms employed in tape decks of the 80's and perhaps 90's. Sanyo was very well respected. So, please do not discount Fisher for any particular reason. Judge them by their individual product performance, not heresay.
Obviously, this subwoofer is a lower-end product, made to appeal to those, like me, looking for a cheap upgrade of sorts.
The subwoofer is rather small, measuring less than 2 feet wide and hardly over 6-inches tall. It is designed in a sort-of triangular shape, made to fit on an audio equipment shelf. But it is also able to stand alone, and it does come with 4 foam rubber feet to prevent marring of a surface and/or reduce vibrations.
The actual subwoofer driver itself is only 5 1/4 inches. That is small as far as subs go. But, it still produces some bass. Bass output is equal to that of many computer subwoofer components.
The sub driver is supposed to be a high excursion type. I'd have to say it is ok, but not as high excursion as other small bass drivers I've owned. The surround is a heavier foam rubber type.
The cabinet is bass reflex with a rather large ducted port on one side of the rear. I think the port is a little too big, causing the sound to be a bit boomy. I reduced this effect somewhat by adding acoustic insulation to the inside of the cabinet and by partially filling the inside of the ducted port with same. The acoustic insulation absorbs some of the sound reproduced by the rear of the driver, smoothing out the bass output slightly.
By the way, you don't have to spring for expensive acoustic insulation from an electronics specialty store. Go to JoAnn Fabrics and buy 1-inch polyesterfiber pad (white). It is almost identical to the acoustic insulation you'll find in commercial speaker systems, and it is much cheaper, especially if you have a coupon. You can buy it by the running yard, or somtimes in a bag.
This Fisher sub is powered (active). It is rated at 20watts RMS or 40 watts max. It is definitely a lowered powered sub, but is still quite effective.
A volume control in the rear allows the user to adjust the output to match the rest of their audio system.
There is no crossover control. However, I believe there is a crossover built-in which allows only the lower bass tones to be reproduced by the sub. I believe this is so because when I connect a line level output to the sub, only the deepest bass is produced. All other audio frequencies are severely muffled.
This sub has both a line input (RCA) or a set of speaker level inputs, so it should be compatible with most audio systems.
The cabinet is MDF (black vinyl finish) with a removable cloth grille.
I've used this sub with several sound bars and I now use it connected directly to my plasma TV. It delivers substantially more bass than the TV, thereby providing a much fuller sound. The effect is great when watching movies or tuning into a music station.
At only $10 plus s/h, that is a small price to improve your TV's sound.
This is a brand new product, not a refurbished or demo item. It arrived in a Fisher retail box.
Anyone looking for a very cheap upgrade to their flat screen TV should consider this little sub. The sub's output is not spectacular. It will not blow your socks off. But it is a definite inexpensive improvement to a flat screen TV's sound.
The powered sub can also be used with any computer speaker set-up as well.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 10
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Epinions.com ID:
lovehifi
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Member: Stan
Location: USA
Reviews written: 159
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
I have always had a fascination in the field of audio.
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