Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony SA-W2500 Performance Line 100 Watt Subwoofer

If you're thinking about buying a subwoofer, it is unlikely that you are a garden variety movie fan or lover of music. People looking for subwoofers usually already have a decent system, but know that there is something lacking.

When it came for me to buy one, three factors weighed in my decision: power, brand, and (of course) price. I've grown up with what I have always believed to be a 'healthy skepticism' when it comes to Sony products. My father had an early generation (1990ish) 5.0 Sony 250 Watt surround amp that performed extremely poorly in just about every function. The only advantage it had over his earlier (1978) Rotel non-tube amp is that it had multiple component inputs. The sound quality of the 50 Watt rated Rotel amp blew the Sony out of the water.

In my search for a subwoofer, I was surprised to find so many good reviews of the Sony line. I was looking for a better name than Sony, but when I compared prices, I was compelled to give the Sony at least a listen. Comparable subs by Velodyne and others were far more expensive (double the cost of the Sony or more). Listening to the Sony at the stereo shop, I must say that I was extremely impressed.

Is the Sony sound as good as the Velodyne or other high end subwoofers that cost 2-3 times as much as the Sony? Of course not, but I quickly discovered that difference in sound quality was not at all closely related to the difference in price.

Keep in mind that this is one of Sony's smallest and lightest subs (only 25 lbs), but once I brought it home and hooked it up to my 6.1 surround system and configured the frequency and volume on the back of the sub, it seamlessly expanded the low end range of my system for music and movie playback. Before I learned (by experimenting with them) how to adjust the levels on the back of the sub, it was quite boomy and there was a bit of a gap between the low end on the six surround speakers and where the sub picked up. When I made the appropriate adjustments, by trial and error, I found that this sub is an extremely versatile fit for my home. My family room is 17'x14', and the back opens into a 10'x15' living room, and the sub easily fills the room. When I crank the system for rock and roll music and movies, the sub has no problem keeping up and is easily capable of playing more loudly than is safe or enjoyable.

Would I have liked a bigger sub made by a better brand? Sure, but this one does the job (and then some) admirably, and for less than half the cost. This sub gets 4 stars as a product, but I gave it 5 because of the extremely good value. If you have a big budget and can afford to spend what it would take to buy a speaker that actually sounds better than one of these Sony subs, go for it, you will not be disappointed. On the other hand, if you would rather spend less on a sub and still get excellent power and sound quality, this is as good as it gets without spending several hundred dollars.

This piece completes my 5.1 system, all Sony. This thing can overpower the rest of the system, but sounds GREAT once it's dialed in. Power saver feature and active adjustable amp and crossover are key. I'm using the sub input with the amp set to about 2/3 and the crossover blocking some of the higher frequencies from coming through it. Music is great, movies are even better.

I'm no pretentious audiophile, but I love my movies and my music. I gave this sub a shot based on the reviews and the fact that I was on a REAL tight budget; I'm going to have to split with the crowd on this one: If all you want is RUMBLE, then this is the ticket. It is literally a Boom box. HOWEVER, a subwoofer is not just supposed to make the walls shake - it's supposed to accurately reproduce low frequency sound. this is important for listening to music. The Sony did not do this for me. I played with the crossover settings, volume, and placement. I ended up leaving it on extremely low settings because all it was good for was rumbling. It was not tight, and did not really fill in low frequencies until cranked - which of course just meant lots of boom boom boom.

If all you want is cheap rumble for your HT then this may work, but if you also want accurate, tight bass for your music (and really, a decent sub should be able to do both), then look elsewhere.

Just so you know. . . my home theater system includes: a Sony 51-inch WEGA high-definition TV, a Sony STR-DG910 7.1-channel home theater receiver, a Sony DVP-NS77H upscaling DVD player, a pair of Sony SSF-5000 floor speakers, one Sony SSC-N5000 center channel speaker, one Sony SA-W2500 150-watt subwoofer, and a pair of Sony SSB-1000 bookshelf speakers for the surrounds. Everything is Sony. Everything works with one remote control, which came with the receiver. (My review is based on these components being used together, which is why I'm including all this info.)
The Sony SA-W2500 subwoofer has excellent low-frequency performance and was extremely easy to set up - one RCA jack cable from my receiver to the sub, then plug it in to a wall socket. Presto!!! It's fairly small in size for a sub. The box seems well-constructed and robust, and it's not inordinately heavy. My only complaint is that there is a rattle somewhere in the subwoofer box at certain frequencies, and I can't find it - very annoying - but I will track it down eventually, I hope. Focusing in the right amount of bass took some time as I listened to several movies while adjusting the crossover and volume settings, tweaking the bass EQ on my receiver, and also moving the sub around the room to different locations. But the final results were definitely worth the time. No distortion (just that rattle). Fat low-end sound that you can feel. My neighbors are probably ticked off. Plenty of power for a small or medium-size living room. Great for the price! Four stars because of that pesky rattle, otherwise this would be the perfect subwoofer for a small or moderate home theater system. Matches all my other Sony speakers. I hope this review helps you.

Why use a $100 mass market subwoofer in an audiophile-quality system? Because the Sony SA-W2500...when positioned and adjusted correctly...sounds far, far better than its modest price would suggest. The 100 watt amplifier is adequate for reasonable listening levels and the 10" woofer is light enough to respond instantly and accurately to transients. The trick to realizing audiophile sound from this cheap black box is simple: discretion. For precise bass reinforcement with exemplary recordings (e.g. Vanska/Minnesota Orchestra's Beethoven 9th on BIS SACD), the subwoofer needs to stand away from the wall and be positioned at a slight angle...the frequency response needs to be limited to about 50 Hz...and the output level of the sub needs to be matched to the output of the mains. I recommend Chesky's Gold Stereo & Surround Sound Setup CD for this purpose (either with one's "golden ears" or a SPL meter). What one gets...assuming that the mains are doing their share of the work...is "you are there" string bass and kettle drum dynamics that are quite breathtaking. It's possible to spend very much more on a subwoofer...but the difference in cost between a big ticket box and the Sony SA-W2500 might be better applied toward the cost of a state-of-the-art preamplifier.