A 650 watt sub for under $390?
June 19th, 2008 by Chris M
Bass has always been a passion for me growing up. There’s something about the smooth rumble in a movie or the punch of bass on an up-beat music track that rounds out the experience. I’ve been looking for a sub to complement my system when I stumbled across the Infinity CSW10BK 650 watt sealed subwoofer 2 weeks ago.
The price drew me in initially, but after reviewing the specs the deal seemed too good to be true. Infinity uses the ceramic metal matrix diaphragm (CMMD) driver that was a perfect match to my Infinity IL36C center channel speaker. This sealed sub has a 10″ woofer, a frequency response of 22-150 hz and sports a 650 watt amplifier! Combined with the R.A.B.O.S. equalization kit, there seemed to be no downside to this deal.
I picked up the sub the next day and unpacked it after work. I had prior experience with the R.A.B.O.S. technology but was pleased to learn that Infinity had simplified the process. The kit consists of a decibel meter, 9 volt battery, set-up CD, and graph paper. Once the sub is positioned in the room, all you have to do is pop the CD into the disc player and turn on the receiver and sub. For the best results, it’s recommended you place the decibel meter at ear level wherever in the room you normally sit. The first step is to make sure R.A.B.O.S. switch on the back of the sub is turned on and all the knobs are turned fully clockwise. Next you use the decibel meter to adjust the sub’s volume level, and lastly you begin testing.
The first graph to be filled out is the “Frequency” graph. Although it sounds intimidating, all you really do is sit while the CD plays a certain frequency then look at the decibel meter to see what the display shows. You simply plot the measurements on the graph and play connect the dots. At this point, you can complete the 2nd & 3rd graph or simply go to Infinity’s web site, plug in the data, and their web sit will show exactly where the frequency, level, and width dials should be set to. The whole process took about 20 minutes and I was done.
I broke in the sub playing the 2008 release of Rambo on Blu-ray and was satisfied with the performance. The sub offered a smooth bass fill-in and really cranked up the bottom end of those larger explosions in the movie. I had the crossover set around 80 hz and the transition between the front tower speakers to the sub was seamless. After the movie was over, I realized the sub was never overly boomy or punchy and blended well with the overall sound. I consider this a must-have sub for any avid home theater fan looking for a great sub at a great price!
