Get Active With Your Bass

With a built-in 200 watt amplifier, this subwoofer is what is known as an active subwoofer rather than passive; active means that a subwoofer picks up and amplifies the signals being sent to it, whereas passive means the unit only picks up and resonates the signals without any extra amplification. An active subwoofer adds the extra power you're looking for in a low frequency effects channel. If you want realistic explosions, roars and rockets with your movies as well as more thump in your tunes, you don't want to be passive about your subwoofer.

Advanced Design

For a subwoofer to blend seamlessly with the rest of your system, you need some control over how it sounds. That's why the SAW3000 has an adjustable level control so you can adjust the volume level to your system and room environment. The long throw driver utilized in this subwoofer is capable of extended cone excursion to produce lifelike bass levels in any type of system configuration. This means that the driver that moves the woofer can move farther, faster to more accurately reproduce the audio signals it receives. The bass you hear will be closer to what the artist or director/producer intended. The Advanced SAW Bass Reflex design maximizes air flow to produce big, full bass. The speaker cabinet design vastly increases bass output. From cones to cabinets, it all adds up to a better sounding system for you. Line-level and Speaker-level inputs provide you with hook up options designed to integrate easily with different system configurations. The SAW3800 features a line in and line out terminals.

Dialing It In

Also important to a great sounding system is making sure that your speakers are receiving the right portion of the audio signal. That's where the variable high-cut frequency adjustment comes in. It allows you to adjust the "cutoff" point for your subwoofer so that each speaker receives the frequencies it's designed for. If that sounds confusing, don't worry. You don't have to understand the physics of sound to adjust this speaker, you only need to know what sounds best to you.

Comparison Specifications

• 200 Watt Built-In Amplifier
• 6 Ohms, 80 Hz, 10 Percent THD
• 15-Inch Mica Reinforced Cellular Woofer

Additional Specifications

• High Cut Frequency: 50-200Hz (Variable)
• Motion Feed Back Technology
• Line In And Line Out
• Speaker and Line Level Inputs
• Level Control
• Phase Switch
• Frequency Response: 20-200Hz

Dimensional Specifications

• Dimensions: 17.31 W x 19.49" H x 20.19" D
• Weight: 50.63 lbs.

Sony SA-W3800 Warranty Details

One-Year Parts and Labor

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• The Sony SA-W3800 Ships in a Factory Sealed Box

Fantastic subwoofer

Reviewed By: Thomas M Giachetti - Orlando, Fl.

I used one of these 3800s in the front and a 2500 in the back of the room. I could have just used the 3800 but the added bass really made this surround enveloping.Its size is pretty large but Im a firm believer that when it comes to speakers bigger is better.

Bigger is better VX-10 or 3800

Reviewed By: Jet Johnson - Oregon City, OR

Ive had the W3800 hooked up for just a couple of days now and Ive just gotta say......WOW! The very first sub that I owned was a small Sony that came with a theater in a box system, surprisingly enough, that little sub performed very well for its small size. So anyway, when I went shopping for a new sub I did a lot of research on the net looking at the 200-300 dollar range subs. After much deliberation I ordered a Velodyne VX-10, what with the Velodyne reputation and a price under $200, how could I go wrong. Well I did. This big Velo sub was just marginally better than the $25 dollar Sony that came with my box system and was just a total disappointment. So I sent the Velo packing back to Montana and after a little more research I ordered the 3800.

If you like deep penetrating bass that lets you actually feel the power of explosions, earthquakes etc. and you enjoy smooth delivery of the lowest lows that your music media has to offer, then the Sony SA-W3800 with its way, way down to 20hz frequency range is the Sub youve been looking for. The audible difference in power between the 3800 and the VX-10 is as the sound difference between the firing of a cannon and the shooting of a rifle. I really love this subwoofer.

If there is one thing that some may find to be a negative about the SA-W3800, it would be its size. This baby is big, at 24 x 22 x 26 inches and 51 pounds it is not the best fit for smaller rooms. But hey, if you want better, at least in this case youll have to put up with bigger as well.