Price: $599.95
Website: www.martinlogan.com
Vince said: easy to set up, easy to live with, sounds great, has multiple connections, and comes with two apps -- ARC Mobile and MartinLogan Subwoofer Control -- that make it easy to dial in and change parameters, all from the comfort of your listening seat.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: Ease of setup is the key with this one.
Price: $549
Website: www.paradigm.com
Hans said: At $549 with its 10” woofer and decent overall power output, it can work in a wide variety of applications, and provide legitimate extension down to 30Hz -- which means you don’t give up much to bigger, pricier alternatives.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: Better bass has never been so affordable.
Price: $649
Website: www.paradigm.com
Diego said: It filled my room with tight, ample, powerful bass, with headroom to spare.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: Doesn’t even cost a grand to get great bass these days.
Price: $1299
Website: www.paradigm.com
Roger said: It faces stiff competition from many manufacturers, including some that provide outstanding value through online sales, such as SVS and Hsu Research -- but few of those subs, if any, offer a room-correction system as advanced as ARC, which makes the X12 stand out in a crowded field.
Read the SoundStage! Hi-Fi review.
The gist: More Paradigm subwoofer for your money is always a good thing.
Price: $1399.99
Website: www.svsound.com
Diego said: It’s a snap to install, delivers the goods with rumbling authority, and can be modified to suit your needs and tastes in real time, from the comfort and convenience of your listening and/or viewing chair.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: The app is the difference maker.
Price: $999.99
Website: www.svsound.com
Diego said: The bass I heard from this small box, unassuming yet nice to look at, bordered on the difficult to believe -- very fast, very tight, very deep, with more than enough output to fill my 15’L x 12’W x 8’H room with sound-pressure levels that would satisfy all but the most demanding bass heads.
Read the SoundStage! Access review.
The gist: Hard to believe you could do better in the sub department for the money.