Klipsch R-12SW Reference Powered Subwoofer Expired

This is a "good" sub for the $169 sale price.

There isn't anything vastly superior in the $100-$200 range.

This and most of those similarly priced subs dip down to around 30-25hz and then quickly drop off after that.

Some people don't like Klipsch because they've had plate amp failures. ALL makers of subs have had plate amp failures. It's how the manufacturer addresses the issue that's important.

If your on a super tight budget or if all you care about is good bass in one seat, one of these will work. If you can afford two subs, you can place them across the room from one another and get a very slight increase in bass, but more importantly, you will get more even bass across more seats. Less peaks and dips in the bass.

For those wondering if they should get this or a 3x more expensive SVS, you should always buy the "best sub" you can afford, but the main difference between this and and SVS will be 30hz and below. The Klipsch would satisfy the VAST majority of people. If you must have reference level bass that dips down to 20hz, get the svs.

Some people will say Klipsch (or any other brand of sub) sounds "boomy". That is simply user error. You can't just plop a subwoofer down anywhere in a room and expect to get "good" bass. Bass waves are very long and without proper sub placement it's easy to find yourself sitting in a spot where certain bass frequencies will "boom" and other bass frequencies will sound very weak. Google "sub crawl" to find out how to get the best sub placement, but don't use "bass heavy music" as some suggest. Use a bass sweep, like from 20hz to 150hz from audiocheck dot net.

Before the HT elitists run in here to regurgitate the "Klipsch bad" mantra, yes you'd be better off buying a $500 SVS PB-1000. Your center channel and your sub are the two most important speakers, so you should splurge on those if possible.

That being said, if your max budget is truly $200, this is a good deal. Maybe for an apartment or a bedroom.