Yamaha YST-SW012 8-Inch Front-Firing Active Subwoofer

This is one of the best purchases I have made on Amazon. I bought this to bring some substantial bass to my music setup in the "man-cave". First off, I won't commit on how this would do with movies (I'm sure, great), because this is a music only setup I have. For some background, my setup includes: an Outlaw Audio RR2150 stereo driving Yamaha NS-A638 "bookshelf" speakers, a Mac Mini running Leopard and iTunes 10.6, songs ripped to Apple Lossless (using Front Row - I will never upgrade =-)), and an Audio Technica AT-LP60 record player. The room is about 20' x 12' with 9' ceilings.My speakers I have had since my college days since '99 or '00. They are a 3 way "bookshelf" (bigger than, but not quite full size) speaker that can handle up to 140 watts sporting an 8" woofer / 4" midrange / 1" tweeter. These speakers are old, broken in and sound absolutely amazing. The clarity and warmth are second to none. Not many speaker companies make bookshelves with mid-ranges anymore, or use acoustic suspension design instead of ported and I highly recommend you find some. Yamaha NS-A6490's are today's version and have great reviews. Anyway, I contemplated investing in getting some Klipsch RP-280F speakers for my 2.0 setup. It's a lot of money to invest, and I really loved my Yamaha speakers, I only wish they had some more power on the lower end. My Outlaw stereo has a sub-woofer output, even though it is truly designed for 2 channel music. So I decided I would spend $100 on a sub, before dropping $1200 on some Klipsch's that I can't demo (though I hear great reviews on them).What a wonderful decision! (for my situation, at least)I found the sweet spot for my set-up. A 2.1 channel system is exactly what I needed, though I was hesitant and looking for a true 2.0 audiophile set-up. I was also skeptical to add another 8" woofer to the mix, thinking it might not be enough. I WAS WRONG. Listening to my set-up has completely brought new life and pleasure to listening to music. The sub has more than enough power to bring in tight, solid bass, and my bookshelves master the mids and the highs beautifully. There is a volume knob on the back that I don't raise above 30% - 40% of maximum. It has a built in amplifier (less burden on my Outlaw) with a single sub-woofer out connection. It is not fancy, no bells and whistles, just serious business. There is no auto-on/off switch, so you will have to turn it off and on (or just leave it on). So if your looking for something straight-forward, this is it. Bass is taught, powerful, not sloppy at all. Really takes care of the low end for music. I will always have a 2.1 setup from now on and won't go back!I listen to a lot of 90's rock, some British invasion music, electronic, and classical. It sounds great across all these genres. I tested with and without sub and the difference is night and day. On the Smashing Pumpkins "Stand Inside Your Love", when Jimmy hits those opening beats, you can feel it in your gut, absolutely outstanding! "Unplugged" music sounds great, be it Alice in Chains or Nirvana, these albums really shine. From Pretty Lights (bass heavy) to The Birthday Massacre (rock/electronic) this sub does justice to all of it. Even listening to vinyl, it adds the bass that always seem to be lacking, you'll be very happy!Definitely don't be afraid to pull the trigger on this sub, your music will thank you! I will try to add some photos later on.

I have owned Yamaha equipment (all types) for over 40 years. I can say this unequivocally: You cannot find the quality and natural sound of Yamaha speakers for the price you pay in any other brand name (including Bose). This subwoofer is NO different. I know what I expected prior to hooking it up and wasn't disappointed. It has become a part of a home entertainment corner in my computer room. Since subwoofers are omnidirectional, it matters not where you put it. You want THUMP? This has that easily covered. You want classical symphony? This also has THAT covered. Regardless of the genre(s) of music you like or listen to for whatever reason, you WON'T be disappointed in Yamaha subwoofers. If you need more power handling capabilities, Yamaha makes it. You can go larger, but definitely not better for the money you invest. I highly recommend considering ALL Yamaha equipment, regardless if it is speakers / amps or whatever, you will NEVER FIND the quality, craftsmanship and versatility for the price you pay which becomes very nominal regardless of what you paid, when you HEAR the difference. Think about this one simple FACT: This subwoofer has been on the market for 10 years. Yamaha is still making them and people keep buying them. That says quite a bit by itself. The only con I can find in this is the single rca phono plug hook up. Yamaha needs to put several types of hook ups for all the systems that are available on the market today.Although the single rca phono plug is a very simple hookup, (And this unit comes with that cord for ease of installation) I have a simple small Sony amp that it is hooked to. No subwoofer hookup capability for that amp. No problem. There are tons of ways to hook it up. I used a Y adapter (single male rca phono plug into stereo (red/right ~ white/left) female ends). Then, here on Amazon, I bought two male rca phono plugs to bare wire leads which I plugged into the rear of my amp at speakers "B" My main speakers ("A") are Polk Audio bookshelf type (very nice) and the amp is set to use both speakers A and B. Thus, all treble / mid-range and some bass go to the Polk speakers and the bass is brought through on the B speaker (subwoofer - both left and right channels). Simple set up for extraordinary sound. LOTS of volume. Lots of bass that can be tailored to your taste by the volume button on the rear of the Yamaha subwoofer. Get the SOUND you want and THUMP you want at an extraordinary price and unmatchable quality. My experience with audio equipment: Nakamichi / JBL / Bose / Yamaha / Klipch / Polk Audio / Sony / Kenwood / Panasonic / JVC / Sharp / Teac / Sansui / Altec-Lansing among others. Why the disparity? Not all manufacturers make all the difference types of equipment that you want in your playground :)

For an 8 inch driver, this sub has some pretty dang good reproduction of low frequencies. Coupled with a small enclosure to keep its footprint small, it should be easy to integrate this as a part of anyone's setup. Very straightforward to set it up. Plug in the single RCA connector from your audio source, plug it into an outlet, turn the volume knob up about halfway and push the power button.The 100W built-in amplifier pumps out some very decent bass. It can reproduce frequencies as low as 20hz (it should be noted that at 20hz you can only just begin to hear the note - it will *not* be powerful enough to actually fully reproduce such an insanely low frequency). At 25hz and with the volume loud enough, you can actually feel it - barely. 30hz and up is where things start to get a lot more interesting, and the audible tone starts to not only be heard, but start to shake the walls too. There's a bump at around 50hz, then it droops a bit at 55hz, then it really starts to shine again around 60hz as the sub and enclosure start approaching its resonant frequency which seems to be around 65hz. Things start to drop off again at 90hz, and by 100hz the output is cut by a good 9dB or so, and continues to drop steadily from there.From a purely listening perspective - it's a fantastic sub for hitting those low notes. It's a bit boomy for an 8" driver, more than likely due to having a tuned port. So with that in mind - if you're looking for accurate and flat reproduction, or if you're wanting that tight kick drum from rock or metal, you might want to consider a different sub.Controls are minimal. There's a power switch and a volume knob, and that's it. The nice thing about the power knob is you don't have to worry about those subs which only come with an "auto-on" feature. My experience with those types of subs is spotty at best. They have a bad habit of not turning on if you're listening to music at a low volume. Not so with this guy - turn it on and it stays on.If serious wall moving bass is what you're into, without breaking the bank and without taking up a ton of room, then this is definitely the subwoofer for you. At $100 as of the time of this review, it's an absolute steal.

I got a new flat screen HD TV & a new Yamaha a/v receiver in the past couple of years, but still had my old sub-woofer of 13 years. But in the last 6 months my old sub-woofer began to fade in & out, so I knew I had to bite the bullet, & get a new Sub- woofer. When I got my old sub-woofer it was cutting edge for it's price & wattage 120 wt.& was my pride & joy, along with my analog TV, & old a/v receiver ! But when it finally died, I was heart broken. So I began my search for a new one , but knew I was on a strict budget . So when i saw the Yamaha YST-SWO12 *-inc Front -Firing Active Sub-woofer I was not sure esp. for the price Amazon was asking for( to reasonable) But I love my new Yamaha A/V receiver much better than my old Sony A/V; so I go on line to You- Tube to see what others were saying about this sub-woofer.All of the video's said for the price it could not be beat ! I read, & re-read reviews on Amazon; the same thing maybe one or two who had negative things to say about this sub-woofer. In my book that's a winner.So I went on line to Amazon & ordered my Yamaha YST sub-woofer. Like most things I order from Amazon, it came when it said it would. Easy to open & very easy to set up with a long RCA cord to plug into my Yamaha receiver.Now for the real test, sound ! What struck me first was the compact size of this Yamaha YST Sub-woofer, my old sub-woofer( of another brand) was huge( a dinosaur) compared to this this compact size Yamaha . The sound is amazing, deep clear base; I'm no expert on these matters but the sound sounded much deeper clearer & less muddied than my old sub-woofer. I can see the Yamaha new technology( Front Firing Active) was leaps & bounds ahead of the technology of my old( another brand) sub-woofer !I believe my other speakers even sound much better with this new Yamaha YST sub-woofer. Maybe because it's a perfect match with my new A/V receiver which is Yamaha technology also. I'm so pleased with this Yamaha sub-woofer & it's price, that I'm one happy camper !

Lets clear things right away. This should not be your first choice for ground rumbling bass. For that, you would probably want something a little bigger. This is, however a perfect choice for those of us who live in apartments and don't wont to get on the bad side of our neighbors. Remember though, bass travels through walls easier than other higher frequencies. Placing the sub on something instead of straight on the floor can alleviate some of the noise complaints, but the best idea is just turning the volume down and stepping into another room and seeing how loud you can still hear it.I live in an apartment and chose this for my PC sound system. My room is pretty small, no wider than 20x20ft. I plugged this into my Denon receiver and set the crossover around 80hz, as this is commonly recommended. Supposedly, the higher your crossover frequency, the more likely you are to run into localization issues, where the sub stands out in the audio. Check some forums for more on the localization effects. Although my Arx-A1b's can go as low as 52hz, I like to relieve them of the lower frequencies and send them to the sub. The crossover frequency determines what point sound is sent to the sub. This sub can go up to 200hz, so any higher than that and you'd start to lose certain sounds, as the sub cannot play above 200hz.Now for actualy sound quality, I've never owned a nice expensive sub to compare it to, but compared to your generic 2.1 logitech systems, this thing is a champing. Bass is mostly clear and not boomy sounding. I'd avoid placing it in a corner as that can lead to boominess. Placement is not a critical as your front speakers (which should form an equilateral triangle with the listening position), but its generally recommended that you place the sub the same distance from you as the speakers are.All in all, this is a great subwoofer for the price, and I don't think many people would need to spend more on more expensive ones unless if they have their own house and want earth-shattering bass.

This is only the second subwoofer I've owned. The first was a non-powered unit with a 12" downward-firing driver. It was disappointing to say the least, maybe because I was trying to push it with a 40 watt per channel amp. My current amp has double that power, but I knew I wanted a powered unit that allowed me to adjust the relative volume of the subwoofer vs. the main speaker output. I have a small listening area and don't need a lot of power. I prefer to keep the bass set at comfortable levels, not at the room-thumping level some prefer.The Yamaha YST-SW0 12 setup was quick and easy. I have a separate subwoofer output with one jack marked "mono", which is the one to use with the single RCA cable. The cable provided appeared to be pretty thin, so I replaced it with a Monster high performance cable. It took me about 30 minutes of listening to various sources to set the bass level to my liking, and I have left it there since. I use it with a 2-channel stereo system and my main speakers are Definitive Tech bookshelf units, which are very good by themselves. The subwoofer really brings them alive, and the difference is startling. The bass is tight and solid at the levels I listen to. I have the unit plugged into the switched outlet on my amp, so the subwoofer comes on only when I turn the amp on. I only wonder why Yamaha put the green power light on the back of the unit where you can't see it instead of the front. The volume control is back there to, but it's not a problem unless you want to change the setting frequently.All in all, a great unit for the money. Until I searched through the Amazon listings, I didn't know you could get a powered subwoofer like this for a few dollars over a hundred. An excellent buy.

The price on this reflects the quality pretty well.Build: SolidSound: Clear but you cant tailor it to you room.Power: I wish more but I doubt the speaker could handle much more.Appearance: CleanComplaints: With such a low price tag, I'm not supprised but I could really use a variable low-pass filter. This allows you so select the frequency range of the unit (somewhat). With this item, your stuck with what you get. Which seems set at a pretty universal frequency but, in my case, I need it a bit lower, and I cant.In my situation, I needed to send it a "high level output" signal. Meaning the actuall power from the speakers, to then be converted to the normal preamp level. Thus, I had to purchase the converter separately. Not a high cost part but nontheless, Tends to make me wonder if I should have just opted for one with the option built in. Other issue with this is the fact that even the converter sends out a "left/right" signal. Which then has to be summed to get true mono to the subs input.Commonly folk simply put a "Y" in there and put the two together. An easy fix but very BAD on everything. Doing this effectively shorts the outputs and what ever you coming out of. You will still get a signal and everything will seem fine. However, the sompontents inside are likely to fail over time, which on a expensive piece of gear, can be a very bad thing.If your curious about the "Y" situation, Rane put out a great article explaining the specifics call "Why not Wye?" Google it:)

I was looking for an affordable to subwoofer to supplement my  Audioengine A2+ Premium Powered Desktop Speakers - Pair (Black) , which are excellent desktop speakers. They let you hear a surprising amount of bass for their small size, and have amazing sound quality all around. But they were missing that full rich bass that only a sub can provide. This review is for this subwoofer in the context of playing music only, I can't specifically comment on its performance in a home theater setup for movie watching purposes.Long story short: great sound, especially for the price. If you're looking for a lot of features, I guess this sub wouldn't be for you. But if you just want some rich, smooth bass to fill out your speakers and don't need much else, this sub would be well worth the price. In terms of setup, it's literally plug and play: connect the provided input cable to your speakers/amp, plug the power in, and turn it on. There's only one knob, which adjusts the sub volume. The sound is rich and full, I never noticed any areas where the sound was weak or over-resonant. Performance is good across all genres, from jazz to rap. Can be very loud and boomy when the volume is turned up if that's your thing, but when you keep it in the 40-60% volume range it blends perfectly with the speakers and really adds depth and richness to any music you throw at it.

WOW! We recently upgraded to a new receiver which made our now 20 yr old Bose Acoustimass array sound better than they have in ages though something was missing.Our old receiver did not have a sub woofer port and with the Bose system, it has a sub which the cube speakers tie into to. The 'punch' was not the same.After looking and keeping an eye on reviews and Amazon returns, this Yamaha turned up as a return so I jumped. So glad I did!The difference from just the Bose sub is remarkable! Clear and clean, the extra punch I heard from the beginning was more than enough, having to dial it down some.Operating instructions and some reviews talk about the heat this projects. Have not - thankfully - had an issue with this. Have it sitting in the bottom right of an entertainment center cubbie with approximately two inches clearance on the sides and top, and open back so it is able to breathe.When I know I will not have our system on for a day I will reach around and turn it off for safe keeping. Eventually I plan to have most of the equipment without memory plugged into the same fused power strip so I can turn them all off at the same time.Bottom line is this is not a small box to be taken lightly; it provides plenty of clear bass for the money.

I am not an audio guy and understand very little in nuances of the sound. To me its at the level of: "wow, THAT sounds much better than this..." - so I can tell the difference between good and not so good, but when it comes to fine points of sound - no clue. I have a 47" Vizio TV which sounded slightly better than my cell phone. Then I bought it a Vizio sound bar (as a gift to my TV last Christmas). The improvement was dramatic. After a year listening to it, I gotten used to the "good" and started to want "better". Especially since watching movies with big sound effects, helicopters and explosions still left much to be desired in the sound department. So I got this 8-in box hoping it will make things better without taking too much room next to the TV stand.BIG difference. This sub has only one RCA input on the back and comes with a long RCA cable to connect to an RCA sub out - which is exactly what my Vizio Soundbar had. It has a power button and the volume button. That it. Super easy for guys like me. In under 5 minutes after opening the box I was enjoying a tremendous improvement on sound. It felt like all of a sudden sound acquired depth and dimension and I felt surrounded by it. Adding this sub to a soundbar has as dramatic effect on sound, as adding soundbar to the TV. It took few more minutes playing with the Volume button to get the right balance between the sound level of the bar and the sub.Totally worth the money. Exceptionally well priced and solid product.

Our Bose subwoofer failed quite a while ago. Basically all it became was a junction box to hook up the other cubes. After living with no bass for longer than I want to admit, I decided to purchase the "Yamaha 8-inch Front-Firing Active Subwoofer" when we recently upgraded our home theater receiver to 7.1. I'm no audiophile, but I do enjoy distortion free music and rich movie sound at the levels we set. My wife's ears are extremely sensitive to bass vibrations so I wanted a system that wouldn't rattle the windows but would fill in the lower range we were missing.The five minute set up consists of unpacking, making two connections, positioning the subwoofer, plugging it in, and depressing the power button. Oh, there was a little furniture moving involved too, but we won't count that. I quickly performed a receiver auto-calc for the speakers which took another minute. I immediately noticed better test volume out of all my speakers and easily heard the test thumping of the subwoofer.Next I loaded my subwoofer, bass range test movie, Independence Day, in the Blu-ray player. The beginning of the movie is filled with bass sound as the alien craft passes the moon. Not only did this little subwoofer deliver the range I wanted, the subwoofer allowed the auto-calc to reset the speakers accurately so the receiver wasn't trying to force low end ranges through the cubes. BANG! What a difference in sound! Granted I was starving for bass range but this little Yamaha delivered exactly what we needed. My wife said "wow, that really makes a difference!" For $90, hard to believe what I'm hearing but I'm all smiles.

The Yamaha 8" does a nice job in hitting really good lows & puts out good bass (great for movies), but it has none of the bells & whistles of others in the price range - just an on/off, volume and one RCA jack (for a pre-amp subwoofer line). Even though this Yamaha lacks standby circuitry, it puts out no discernible heat when not getting a signal. I think Yamaha kept this sub dirt simple, so they could concentrate on the sound reproduction for a low price.In fact I am a little hard pressed to state why I'm not giving it 5 stars, but am doing so mainly because it lacks the standby off. (however, it could be argued that this might be one more thing to eventually go wrong . . .)[I currently have both the Pioneer (SW-8) & the Yamaha 8" subs, which are about the same price. The Pioneer has the bells & whistles, such as phase control, frequency control, standby power and extra terminals. However, the Pioneer's output is not that good, compared to this Yamaha, and I am returning it. The Pioneer is getting returned (also because it is a little bigger than the dimensions given on Amazon).]I am keeping this Yamaha. NOTE: Amazon states this sub has a 1 year warranty, but my paperwork clearly states 2 year warranty for "powered loud speakers."

I originally got this to add to my movie room and it works great for movies. It is hooked up to my Pioneer 7.1 that is running other Yamaha speakers, most of which are set in the walls or ceiling. I set the volume control on the back to be about half way and it seems to work great for any movie I am running. It is really deep and loud enough to be heard around my 20'x22' theater room and travels up to the second floor well enough to irritate my wife. It doesn't have a power button but doesn't make a hum or anything when not in use and though the green light on the back stays on it only shines on the wall that no one sees. It is about a foot square and takes up very little space next to the lamp in that same corner, though putting a plant on it wasn't a good choice as it did walk off the box eventually.This was my intro speaker till I got more money to get another, but at this price for this sound I won't be upgrading. Shipped well and fast and if I need another one (for another room or something) I'd be happy to pick this one up again.

I added this to a small 12ftx12ft office system with a digital amp and pair of bookshelf speakers and its way more than i needed. Its turned way down and provides plenty of base fill. This would work fine in a larger room home theater setting and doesn't take up much space. Use the coax input in conjunction with the sub-woofer output on your amp for best results. Seems pretty powerful like it could be over driven if turned up too high but i wont find out. Placement of sub-woofers is important, corners are ok but not too close to walls. Best to have some space to move and turn it, sometimes an inch to the left or right makes a difference in how well it fills the room. Best to have two people. Speakers running at normal volume and sub down all the way placed in about the area you want it. Slowly turn the sub up while the other person moves between the listening areas of the room and the bass fills in while not overpowering the sound. then pivot and move the sub slightly to equalize the base in listening areas. Most people over drive their subs or place them wrong and they sound like crap.

Yamaha YST-SW012 8-Inch Front-Firing Active Subwoofer I needed better sound for my 55 ' TV in the living room. This is our main entertainment TV along with the Playstation 4 room. Looking for ease of connectivity and a decent entry price point this was my first choice.Purchased the subwoofer with this Soundbar : VIZIO S3820W-C0B 38-inch 2.0 Home Theater Sound Bar with Integrated Deep Bass (Refurbished) (2015 Model) *Easy to connect. Comes with all you need. optical input cables, RCA input cables, and power cord. It took longer to remove the unit fro the box (not hard at all) than it did to connect it to the TV and power. *Sounds great for TV/Movies/PS4/Bluetooth Streaming. *Soundbar produces sound from whatever imput your TV is using. AKA Playstation 4 connection to the TV is simply HDMI. Nothing extra and it uses the sound bar automatically.Pros:Easy of use and setup.Cost effective and noticeable sound improvement.Cons:None for me.I highly recommend this for a entry to mid level point for extra sound system for a medium to larger size room.