A7S-450 Conclusion and Recommendations
The A7S-450 is a lot of subwoofer for the money. Pound for pound, few manufactures give a
customer more for $800 or so, and best of all, it is not a quantity verses
quality tradeoff. It performs well,
blatting out a lot of deep bass, but not at the expense of musical nuance and
subtlety. Coupled with the optional $85
parametric equalizer that eD offers, a forthcoming supplement to this review,
the A7S-450 provides a lot of potential to build an excellent mid-priced home
theater system.
The A7S-450 coupled with the LT/1300 amplifier option is fully capable of shaking a room in a meaningful way. And contrary to its considerable size, it is also fully capable of disappearing, sonically, blending well in a properly calibrated and tuned system, handling quiet bottom end detail, and belting it out when called upon without giving it position away. That is unless you look at it; then the A7S-450 is hard to miss.
While I do not personally know how well the LT/550 option performs, it seems to me to be a very obvious decision to spend the extra $85 for the LT/1300 amplifier upgrade that will more than double the headroom. At least that is how I roll.
So the recommendation: if the room to board this beast is
available and the wife won’t kill you for bringing it home, it is definitely a
worthy subwoofer to consider at anywhere near its price point. As for those who know the wife will very
likely kill them for buying it but like to live dangerously, well, more power
to ‘em.
Elemental Designs A7S-450 Powered Subwoofer
$775-860
MSRP
Elemental Designs
1618 N. 15th
Ave. E
Newton,
IA 50208
(641)
792-2501
http://www.elementaldesigns.com
The Score Card
The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:
Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating
Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.
Audioholics Rating Scale
— Excellent
- — Very Good
- — Good
- — Fair
- — Poor
| Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension | |
| Bass Accuracy | |
| Build Quality | |
| Fit and Finish | |
| Ergonomics & Usability | |
| Features | |
| Performance | |
| Value | |
See also:
gorillacooch;641815
And buy a subwoofer that is one year into the warranty? If it was 1200 with shipping I'd say yes, but 1350? id rather spend the extra 350 and make sure i get my full 3 years.
Also 3 years doesn't really seem that long. If you look at eD they have a 5 year warranty. Now thats a warranty, that shows they really stand by their product.
That's true, but then I wasn't sure where you are. It could've been a short road trip. Then at $1200 it would've been a steal.
DJ
Also 3 years doesn't really seem that long. If you look at eD they have a 5 year warranty. Now thats a warranty, that shows they really stand by their product.
gorillacooch;641632
Hey I read the part about the large inrush of the 1300 watts, is this just a theoretical thing or did you actually discover this when you were turning it on? Because I cannot decide between the AV123 Dual MFW-15s(I keep reading that their amps are failing even though they claim they fixed the problem, price isnt too great too when you factor in shipping), Epik Dynasty(Seems like the best choice, most efficient power usage, depth, output, but price isn't that good seeing as how i can get an A7-450 for $100 more including shipping), Elemental designs A7-450(Probably the best choice its just the power usage has me worried because I'm on a 15 amp breaker in my bedroom), and the SVS PB-13 Ultra(Seems like one of the best choices but the A7-450, conquest equivalent, is better for less including shipping.).
Please help
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59702 [forums.audioholics.com]
You may want to PM him and see if it's still available.
TheFactor;641635
Being a SVS PB13 Ultra owner I couldnt be happier, with that being said its a very well rounded sub for music and HT with plenty of power . If I had a chance to pic another one I would of picked the same sub again.
Yep, same here. Wait a minute, I did...
