Home > Consumer Reviews > Yamaha YST-SW45 8" Subwoofer

Yes this is a low powered sub. No need to be a b---h about it, huh? Well, I have personally come to expect a lot from my Yamaha products. I bought this sub from Best Buy and was truly disppointed by its performance. I was all pumped up about the Active Servo Technology that is displayed so proudly on the front...I expected more control of the woofer during higher levels.
But this is just not the case.

In all reality, this sub is a waste of the technology...

It is known throughout the industry that low end drivers--woofers, if you will--from the size of ten inches down are the most accurate...atleast decently built ones...

So in reality the eight inch driver--unless Yamaha is admitting that it is a cheap driver--in this component is lacking power handling.

I feel as thoug this sub should only be used in rooms that are comparable to closets. My wife feels as though it is ok...well atleast she FELT that way until I went and bought the KLH 10" 120 Watt sub.

Now I know that these two products are incomparable, but, for the same price it is truly worth mentioning (you think???)

...

I gave it three stars because it is small. VERY small. And because I am a nice guy--I guess...:) ,,,and then there is always that chance that I bought a defective unit... :-)

So...

In closing, if you are looking for a good sub and have the money--don't buy this...hell...I can't see why anyone would buy this unless it is all that the WORLD has to offer...

Bad BAD Yamaha...

I'm gonna purchase the dual sub 200-Watt version some time this year...only because my KLHs (I have two now) are in storage (long story...they still work fine though)...and because I have heard this unit, and it is very impressive...

Happy searching!!!

Gen

The most appealing aspects of this so-called subwoofer are price and size. It has a switchable auto on feature, a nice set of input options including 5-way binding posts, or RCA connectors. The subwoofer crossover and volume controls are conveniently mounted on the front of the subwoofer, and it's 8-inch front firing driver does a commendable job (given its size) at supplying some bass to a system consisting mostly of satellite-sized speakers. When placed in a corner and callibrated properly, this little subwoofer is capable of occassionally producing excellent bass sounds, especially with movies. However, this subwoofer distorts easily at moderate volumes, especially with movies containing extremely deep bass. The Yamaha's response time with music is also on the slow side. You won't be shaking your house too much with your favorite hip-hop albums on this subwoofer.

The Yamaha YST-SW45 is a decently priced subwoofer designed to be mated with incredibly small satellite speakers. If you really craving DEEP bass, you should look elsewhere. If you simply want a subwoofer for a small sized room for a small-sized home theater, then this is a very affordable solution. So affordable in fact, that you should take Yamaha's advice and get two of these subwoofers for the best possible imaging and sound-field dispersion.