Lots of bang for the buck

This is actually the second PL-200 I've purchased to round out my home theater system. All of the other speakers in this 9.2 configuration are high end Klipsch. The only place I "skimped" is on the subwoofers. My preamp is a Marantz AV-8801, a beast of a preamp with Sony TA-55ES's bridged in mono driving the speakers. I was really pleasantly surprised with the quality and ability of this subwoofer to not only hit all the low notes but do it with authority. Movies with heavy action scenes is where this sub shines the brightest. Explosions sound and feel real. The earthquake effects in San Andreas were virtually shaking my house. Combining two of these subs in one system gives you limitless low end. I am very happy with the purchase especially since I have a little over $500 invested in 2 SUBS, NOT ONE, BUT TWO subs for that price. Ok, so enough with the praise. Do I have any criticisms? Yes, I do but they are mild. Musically, these may not be the ideal sub. The bass, which some can be attributed to them being a tuned port configuration, can be a bit muddy and/or booming in that 100 HZ area. Yes, you can eliminate a lot of that by turning the crossover down to 80 HZ or less but you also lose a lot of the punch that is desirable to hear, especially if you have ever had a tweaked car audio system that really pounds. More than anything they add a little additional bottom end to my Klipsch RP-280F's but I almost prefer to listen to music, esp. hard rock in stereo using just my two main speakers. I wrestle with considering a couple very pricey acoustic suspension type subs just for this reason but with the main speakers I have, I can live with what I have. Don't get me wrong, for home theater, these subs are fantastic, way more sub than what the price would indicate. The only other thing I noticed is how relatively light they are compared to other subs. I am tempted to disassemble one to peer inside the cabinet and see what's going on in there but they perform so well that they defy their lighter weight. For most, I think this sub will more than satisfy.Read full review

Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New