B&W ASW608

I was looking for a compact and pretty sub to assist my book-shelf speakers in filling my through-lounge with sound. After the aesthetices (it would need to look good to even get it through the front door) the sub would need to be of sufficient quality to seague seamlessly in to the high quality book-shelfs that I was employing. I need not have worried as there is adjustment aplently - simple enough for the 'sub-virgin' that I am. The bass quality is great and not over heavy. Just what I needed.

Another concern was whether the sub would keep pace with the music coming out of my stereo speakers, but again, no worries; the '608 is very agile. With the full 20Hz option "A" selected the bass goes real deep - ideal for cinema - but I have stuck with a lower settings (25hz, "B") to avoid waking the wife with late night listening.

An unexpected benefit to using this sub has been the improvement in musicallity of playback. Numbers that were very lean in the bass now sound fuller and flow better, whilst not bloating the playback beyond the original production value of the source.

I use the line level input straight from my Linn pre-amp.

I opted for the white version which has a grey/silver grill which, when located alongside my speaker stands, sits well with them. Bonus.

Price is £349 now.

Hey this is a great subwoofer and I think it's not worth the upgrade to the 610 (let alone the XP). spend your money on a good amp and front speakers before worrying too much about the subwoofer. I have found it to perform very well. It is very refined and does the job well. Sure, others will be better but you pay for that.