Sony SA-W3000 Performance Line 12" 180-Watt Subwoofer
By: Sony Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 11
More Information
 On: 2008-04-15
This was a good compliment to my sound system. Although I already had rather large speakers that could handle a lot of bass, this took the strain off those and gives music a nice punch. I have not cranked it to high because I live in the dorms, but it is pretty loud. It rattles everything in the room on bass tests when it is turned up only part of the way. I would recommend this product.
On: 2008-03-19
Before buying this sub, I read the reviews of Amazon customers. As far as Im concerned, they have the most accurate reviews on the net.
I was going to buy the 200watt Sony sub, but saw a review by someone who bought the 12". This sub is all you will need. I have always loved bass, but clear good bass, not just thumping bass. This sub rawks my world, and the neighbors, lol. The auto shutoff is fantastic. If your room is huge, you may need more wattage.
I have it hooked up to my Yamaha N600 with Sony fronts, 270watts, Center is Sony 150watt, Surround left, and right
120watts, and one surround back.
Buy this Sony subwoofer, youll be glad you did.
On: 2008-03-08
Sonys Performance line is their higher end equipment. This subwoofer packs a definate punch. 180 watts of bone shaking goodness. 12" speaker. Built-in amplifier.
For the money, you cannot go wrong with this sub, especially with free shipping. Polk Audio has a similiar sub for $110, but its lower in watts (100) and a smaller speaker (10").
With Sony including a built-in amplifier, bass reverse, and frequency cut-out, you cannot go wrong.
What you say? Its way too big? Doesnt match your decor? Just find a wicker basket at Wally World or somewhere. Cover it up. Impress your friends.
On: 2008-03-02
I have this in a 25 by 12 foot room, and it`s perfect. Has very tasteful sound. Actually have to idle it down or it`s too much bass. Made a night and day difference adding to 2-301 Bose, and 2-Infinity, along with a Polk center speaker. Did some fine tuning on the cut in, and volume adjustments, and I couldn`t be happier, outside of the want of an auto shutoff.
 On: 2008-02-28
Im using this subwoofer in a dance studio. It sounds good and really improves our overall sound. A great value for the money.
On: 2008-01-13
this is exactly what all the previous reviews said it was......a truly deep value for money. the bass is as deep as could be without noticeable distortion and it is clean looking enough to pass the wifes scrutiny. i am a music buff and i find the bass production to be just as good as the very, very good sony sf 6000 front speakers i use. however the big advantage with this unit is when watching movies.....5.1, 3.1 or 2.1, the bass is way deeper than you can get with the big front speakers. the difference is really dramatic, even to a new comers ears.
it should be also noted that the unit DOES have an auto off function (not described on Amazon) which can be disabled at the back. this is great, except when actually watching a movie because it shuts of within 5 mins if it does not receive a low bass signal from the amps, so during dialogue it sleeps in low power and then has a delayed restart when the bass returns.
i use my sub in a large room and you really have to crank the power up, close to max, to be truly impressed. so i think maybe the bigger rooms need the bigger 15" sub, but i have not compared it to be sure but it is worrisome to operate so close to max, even if it is sweet to the ears. if you have a medium or smaller room you should be overwhelmed.
anyway, i am certain that you cannot find a sub with similar specs and great reviews anywhere near this price so i urge you........ENJOY!!!
On: 2007-11-03
Added this subwoofer to my home theater system after my 10" subwoofer called it quits,,I like a deep rich bass sound with some thump and this subwoofer was perfect replacement,,easy hookup and setup,,,the auto setting works great and the sound of my system makes you feel like you are in the movie,,you can feel the sound coming from this subwoofer,,,if you are looking for great sound from a subwoofer this is it and at a great price...
On: 2007-10-27
This sub is GREAT for the price and sound. I could not believe how well it sounded.
On: 2007-10-15
I bought this sub woofer to replace my old sub woofer from my Sony HTD-DW790 Component Home Theater System. It is much better then the sub woofer that came with that system. Outstanding frequency response. Also note that on the back of the sub woofer there is volume control and frequency adjustments along with speaker connecters.
On: 2007-09-29
Just got this 12" sub.
I have been buying new Hi-Fi components for 25 years. I have even spent $20,000+ over two years at one point buying audio equipment while stationed as a serviceman in Japan during the golden age of Hi-Fi in the mid 80s, the worlds capital of audio electronics. I also have a great deal of experience in domestic audio ever since my first love, and first stereo system as a young teenager, where I saved up all my grass mowing money over the summers to buy.
I paid a petty $107.00 total for this Sony SA-W3000 (12") sub from Amazon with FREE Super Saver Shipping. I also got this sub, along with its bigger brother the Sony SA-W3800 (15") model, which I also paid an even pettier $152.00 for under the same Amazon program. They took only a few days to arrive! I pulled them both out of their cartons earlier this evening.
Let me tell you for the money I paid, and the looks of these things, Sony must be giving these things away at cost or at some Japanese government subsidized prices. I have never seen such a value for the money in all my years of buying, and I bet Ive ran through at least $30,000 in equipment since I was 15, 27 years ago.
The quality is definately there! They are beefy, and not air boxes!
I figured, they would have some kind of plastic derived, el-cheapo cones in them with a regular weight, foam surround. Nope! They have the big rubber surrounds, and a very nice, and unique cone material. I can tell that these subs should last for a very long time just looking at the materials they have chosen.
Typical foam surrounds still found in some of the other overpriced, 4-letter word brands (hm..hm..starts with a B and ends with an e), which Ive owned many along the way as well, will actually decompose and fall into pieces within 15-20 years, and begin cracking before that not to mention the cabinet construction. These will not have that problem.
Look around on eBay at the older speakers and you will see photos of what Im talking about.
There is alot of mechanical dampening to this 12" cone, and a little less on the 15" one, but they both have the same thick, rubber surrounds.
This means that they are pretty tight, and need some decent amplification, which they have to utilize their hefty surrounds.
The specs state in the actual manuals, 100W rms, minimum at 1% THD, and 180W rms continuous at 10% THD for the SA-W3000 (12"). Weight = 35 lbs.
120W rms, minimum at 1% THD, and 200W rms continuous at 10% THD for the SA-W3800 (15"). Weight = 51 lbs.
They are both very attractive, simplistic, solidly built, stright forward design with no tacky plastic trim, or junk plastic trim rings around the woofers, and they have the auto-power feature.
The grills are removeable on this series. Four of the eight woofer mounting screws have extended, chromed, allen type heads that the covers press onto.
The subs come with one RCA type cable included, and four rubber, sticky feet for the bottoms.
I will tell you that having both the 12" and the 15" models sitting side by side, the 15" dwarfs the 12", and makes it look small!
I bought the 12 incher for my 2-channel bedroom system: Polk RTi6s on pedestals, Onkyo 100W 2-channel receiver, Audio Source 12-band EQ, Teac CD Recorder, Denon turntable, Denon DL-160 moving coil cartridge, Goldring pre-amp for the cartridge, and a Sony 24" WEGA TV.
I bought the 15 incher to use in my living room 5.1 surround mode system with Klipsch reference series RF-5s in the front, Klipsch reference series RC-35 center channel, and two 8" Cerwin Vega floorstanders as low cost ("big bang for the buck") rears with their tweeter auto-protection feature disabled, an Onkyo 80W 7.1 surround receiver, Audiovox DVD recorder, Sony 5-disc DVD player, and a Sony 36" WEGA TV.
Both of my systems do have equalization to the dismay of all those stuffy, self-proclaimed "audiophiles" out there that think you need to spend $50,000 on a system for good sound, and cringe at the suggestion of equalizers. You just have to know how to use them, and most dont. One has to first develop a good ear for what a system should sound like through experience.
I have had bigger and more expensive systems than what I have now. I consider my two current systems described above to be somewhat "minimalist" in cost and brandnames, compared to some of the setups Ive put together in the past, but this is whats fun to me now to put together as a challenge. How to spend less, take up less floor space than the big 70s and 80s of a bygone era, while maintaining a substantial, quality sounding system.
I expect great results already just looking at these subs based on decades of experience mixing, matching, and owning many combinations of systems.
Both my bedroom, and my living room should definately "rock the casbar" with some really juicy sound for the money!
My advice to you is "Steal" these now from Amazon and Sony before they catch on, change their minds, and raise the prices!
You cant be disappointed!
KILLER VALUE!
On: 2007-09-28
Just got this 12" sub.
I have been buying new Hi-Fi components for 25 years. I have even spent $20,000+ over two years at one point buying audio equipment while stationed as a serviceman in Japan during the golden age of Hi-Fi in the mid 80s, the worlds capital of audio electronics. I also have a great deal of experience in domestic audio ever since my first love, and first stereo system as a young teenager, where I saved up all my grass mowing money over the summers to buy.
I paid a petty $107.00 total for this Sony SA-W3000 (12") sub from Amazon with FREE Super Saver Shipping. I also got this sub, along with its bigger brother the Sony SA-W3800 (15") model, which I also paid an even pettier $152.00 for under the same Amazon program. They took only a few days to arrive! I pulled them both out of their cartons earlier this evening.
Let me tell you for the money I paid, and the looks of these things, Sony must be giving these things away at cost or at some Japanese government subsidized prices. I have never seen such a value for the money in all my years of buying, and I bet Ive ran through at least $30,000 in equipment since I was 15, 27 years ago.
The quality is definately there! They are beefy, and not air boxes!
I figured, they would have some kind of plastic derived, el-cheapo cones in them with a regular weight, foam surround. Nope! They have the big rubber surrounds, and a very nice, and unique cone material. I can tell that these subs should last for a very long time just looking at the materials they have chosen.
Typical foam surrounds still found in some of the other overpriced, 4-letter word brands (hm..hm..starts with a B and ends with an e), which Ive owned many along the way as well, will actually decompose and fall into pieces within 15-20 years, and begin cracking before that not to mention the cabinet construction. These will not have that problem.
Look around on eBay at the older speakers and you will see photos of what Im talking about.
There is alot of mechanical dampening to this 12" cone, and a little less on the 15" one, but they both have the same thick, rubber surrounds.
This means that they are pretty tight, and need some decent amplification, which they have to utilize their hefty surrounds.
The specs state in the actual manuals, 100W rms, minimum at 1% THD, and 180W rms continuous at 10% THD for the SA-W3000 (12"). Weight = 35 lbs.
120W rms, minimum at 1% THD, and 200W rms continuous at 10% THD for the SA-W3800 (15"). Weight = 51 lbs.
They are both very attractive, simplistic, solidly built, stright forward design with no tacky plastic trim, or junk plastic trim rings around the woofers, and they have the auto-power feature.
The grills are removeable on this series. Four of the eight woofer mounting screws have extended, chromed, allen type heads that the covers press onto.
The subs come with one RCA type cable included, and four rubber, sticky feet for the bottoms.
I will tell you that having both the 12" and the 15" models sitting side by side, the 15" dwarfs the 12", and makes it look small!
I bought the 12 incher for my 2-channel bedroom system: Polk RTi6s on pedestals, Onkyo 100W 2-channel receiver, Audio Source 12-band EQ, Teac CD Recorder, Denon turntable, Denon DL-160 moving coil cartridge, Goldring pre-amp for the cartridge, and a Sony 24" WEGA TV.
I bought the 15 incher to use in my living room 5.1 surround mode system with Klipsch reference series RF-5s in the front, Klipsch reference series RC-35 center channel, and two 8" Cerwin Vega floorstanders as low cost ("big bang for the buck") rears with their tweeter auto-protection feature disabled, an Onkyo 80W 7.1 surround receiver, Audiovox DVD recorder, Sony 5-disc DVD player, and a Sony 36" WEGA TV.
Both of my systems do have equalization to the dismay of all those stuffy, self-proclaimed "audiophiles" out there that think you need to spend $50,000 on a system for good sound, and cringe at the suggestion of equalizers. You just have to know how to use them, and most dont. One has to first develop a good ear for what a system should sound like through experience.
I have had bigger and more expensive systems than what I have now. I consider my two current systems described above to be somewhat "minimalist" in cost and brandnames, compared to some of the setups Ive put together in the past, but this is whats fun to me now to put together as a challenge. How to spend less, take up less floor space than the big 70s and 80s of a bygone era, while maintaining a substantial, quality sounding system.
I expect great results already just looking at these subs based on decades of experience mixing, matching, and owning many combinations of systems.
Both my bedroom, and my living room should definately "rock the casbar" with some really juicy sound for the money!
My advice to you is "Steal" these now from Amazon and Sony before they catch on, change their minds, and raise the prices!
You cant be disappointed!
KILLER VALUE!
On: 2007-07-05
Great sub-woofer for the money. I Got mine for 90 bucks and it works like a champ. Best 12" 200 Watt sub you can get especially for the price sensitive buyer.
On: 2007-06-13
This sub suprisingly performs better than I expected. The easy of installing and variable frequency adjustment work with easy. Sounds great for the money invested. I have purchased high end subs, in the $2000.00 range and though there are noticeable differences, this sub is great bang for little bucks.
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