Klipsch Subwoofer 12

Review by Jerry : CANNOT be beat for the price!

It's a perfect product to complement my Definitive Tech. speakers. I only use it for movies. There is no reason to spend any more money for a subwoofer if it is only going to be used for the LFE channel.

Review by Samuel Aldrich "Samuel Aldrich" : Quality HT Subwoofer

The subwoofer definitely has lots of boom-boom base but if you are looking for a more tighter and resonate sound, you might want to spend a little more. For the price, you get a very deep and loud subwoofer.

Review by Malmu : Too strong compared to its price

Guys, If anyone find stronger sub-woofer than this one with same price or less, I will buy it for you!!

Review by Daniel Parmelee : Punchy and tight, a real bargain!

You don't need a big nameplate on the sub to get great quality. BIC is somewhat of an underground/unknown brand in the mainstream, but that's because they spend money on developing good products and not on marketing. The VK12 is going to need some adjustment, but if you're serious about sound then I don't think you're going to just plug it in and crank it immediately. Take the time to adjust it, tweak it, and "test it". Unless you live in a cathedral, anything above 1/3 power is going to just overpower the rest of the system. So anyone who complains about the sub being boomy is just not setting things correctly. The bass is very controlled and tight. Yes, it can be boomy if you just turn the knob all the way up. But when adjusted properly, the bass is very accurate and doesn't really overpower. It should integrate nicely with almost any existing setup, but if you're running some micro-sized tweeters or tiny satellites you might find some midrange gaps. Again, adjust the crossover and levels and you can minimize it. This thing is still going to rumble and shake when you want it to, don't get me wrong. I think for the $400 or so you pay, you're getting performance of something costing much more. A $400 Velodyne or Klipsch sounds awful compared to this -- the $1000 models in those brands are about on-par here.

Review by Justme01 : Good value

I put this subwoofer in my system to supplement a two channel stereo. My listening is about 80/20 music/movies. My main speakers are rated down to 38 Hz so I am using this sub only to fill in the last octave. I've had it in service for about two months now and have experimented with placement, volume, and crossover settings. These three are critical for satisfactory performance in any subwoofer regardless of price. This sub needs some break in time as it started to sound better after I put several hours on it. I can say now that with the right settings, it blends in very well with my main speakers. I can also say that compared to the Velodyne I owned several years ago and paid considerably more for, this sub is superior at putting out clean and loud bass in the lowest octave and possibly lower. However, I can hear that there is a potential for some "tubby" sound if it used in a system that requires a higher crossover point. I think the cabinet could be heavier and more rigid, but for the money I doubt this subwoofer can be beat.

Review by E. Altman : An amazing sub for the price!

Just to add a little balance to the other review, I don't think it's fair to give this sub a 3-star review when you consider the price it is available for. At the $699 fake "msrp" price of course it can't compete, but there isn't a better sub out there for under $300. While it is similar to the BIC H-100, it is an upgrade as the amp is twice as powerful and the kevlar cone is more durable and provides better, tighter response. It is also a great-looking sub, the gloss black top/bottom caps provide a touch of class that puts it a step above the standard black-vinyl-wood-veneer look of other budget subs. As the comments about "boominess" -- subwoofer placement is crucial and a lot of the "boom" of a given sub will come from its physical position in the room and how it relates to the room's acoustics. I found this sub to provide smooth, rich, and deep bass. Coming from budget subs and HTIB subs, you will be shocked at how much bass you were missing. This thing vibrates my entire house! While I agree it is a little "soft" for music if you are the type who likes tight, punchy bass, I found the rich smooth sound filled in wonderfully for music and added a real sense of weight and presence. If you want "tight and punchy" don't get a sub with a massive 12" woofer. This thing is designed to put out huge output on a budget. But don't think that it can't work great with music. Coming from some budget 8-inch subs, the difference on music was astounding, it really fills the room and is so smooth that it will blend easily with your speakers (unlike the little flabby booming you get from an entry-level 8-incher). So while this may be a "three star" sub in an absolute sense (obviously if you are willing to pay for it there are better subs out there!), there is no way it's not "five stars" for the price. It is an absolutely massive step up from the bargain-basement $100-200 subs out there, and there is nothing better for under $300. And it will dominate any garbage Polk or even an entry-level Velodyne you find at overinflated prices in Best Buy. Even the other reviewer acknowledges that you you have to step up to the $500+ class to see any real, substantial improvement. When you are the top in your price class, that's five stars!

Review by Gimpy : Impressed

This speaker is very powerful. It easily overpowers my 840Wx7 Samsung receiver. This may have been a problem but the built in volume and crossover make it simply a matter of fine tuning for optimal performance. I couldn't be happier about how this speaker performs and the price is well worth it. Definitely recommended..

Review by atrox13 : Bic America VK-12 12-Inch 1000-Watt Powered Subwoofer

This is my 1st large sub woofer. I use it with a Yamaha RX-v671 receiver and Polk msi400 tower speakers and a polk CS20 center speaker. The system can do 7.1 sound but I do not wish to string wires all over the 20X24 room I am using. Besides the sound is nice with 3 speakers. I decided to get this sub woofer because it could be near the system like the other speakers without the wire clutter. The woofer was larger and much heaver than I had thought it would be. The fit and finish of the speaker enclosure was nice and seems well done. I read the manual before connecting the speaker. The manual is 80% OK, but it did fall down in two areas. The first problem was the description page. They kept talking about a digital switch that was not pictured in the manual or on the speaker itself. The other problem for me was all the time spent explaining hooking up the speaker jacks and cross over circuit switches. After much pondering and thought I was able to figure out I could ignore all the jacks (there are a lot of jacks and controls on the back.) and Just hook up the woofer with one coaxial cable to the LFE rca jack to the receiver and let it do the matrix stuff instead of the woofer doing it. I set the sound lever and did the Yamaha YPAO calibration. Everything calibrated well and it was time to watch some movies and play some music for testing. I tested the sub woofer with music and came to the conclusion (for my ears) that the sub woofer was really not needed for music except for certain thumpy styles like hip hop or rap. The tower speakers sounded fine. Most music sounded fine with just two speakers in stereo. I had to turn the woofer volume down to 40% as it put out very large sounds and shook the floor at full power. My testing for regular TV viewing showed that a sub woofer is really not needed for most regular shows. The center speaker for clear dialog seems to be the most important speaker. If you are watching blu ray, netflix or dvd movies the sub woofer is needed for the best sound. Especially for something like "Band of Brothers" which has a lot of airplanes and gun fire in the action. Thunder and lighting are also impressive with a sub woofer. One of the features of this sub woofer I like is that the manual says it goes into low power standby when no signal is present. If you play music the woofer turns on immediately with no delay. One thing I find confusing is that if you turn the woofer switch to off the power LED stays on. I guess off is not really off in this unit. Meaning you have to remember to unplug it if you really want it off and using no power. My conclusion is the unit is a good value for the money but I don't really need it except for movies.

Review by R. Cichocki "Bargain Hunter" : A genuine bargain

The VK-12 subwoofer is a fantastic deal. It creates a true theater experience comparable to a IMAX in audio presentation. This was a replacement for a JBL 12" sub I purchased over a year ago. The JBL died in a puff of smoke... The Bic America is so much higher quality. The driver creates a strong bass presence without creating a distorted boomy-ness characteristic of so many cheap subs. The gloss black cabinet is just icing on the cake.

Review by allstar900 : This thing owns!

After 2 months I have to say that this sub is quality, puts out deep low bass, and looks awesome. I've become a giant BIC fan over the last year and for me this is an upgrade from a BIC V1020. I'll add more to this review later but for now if you're thinking about picking this up don't hesitate because it's totally awesome!