tSc T300 Build Quality

I don't know how I became the budget gear reviewer here at Audioholics but I'm glad I am. Trying to tell the differences between a $7000 sub and a $9000 sub is a lot harder than between a $300 and $500 one. Honestly, though, even that's getting harder as more companies are offering great deals at unbelievable prices. The Speaker Company (tSc) has already shown us that they can do just that. At under $400, a sub that does most anything is a great deal. From what I've learned of The Speaker Company, the T300 will probably do much more. Gene Della Sala (Audioholics President) has already sung the praises of the budget ASW-8 tSc sub so I really was excited with the T300 showed up for review.

Build Quality

The tSc T300 sub arrived double boxed and well packed. In full retro fashion, they even had packing peanuts. The interior box was branded and marked but the exterior was plain. I prefer this as it doesn't give away to the shipping company (who may decide to leave the box on your doorstep) any indication of what is in the box. It was marked with "Fragile," "This End Up," and "Caution, Heavy" stickers (not that I think they pay those the least bit attention). Regardless, the sub arrived undamaged by shipping and ready for battle.

The T300 isn't especially large (a plus for placement and moving around). It is only 14 1/2” wide and 18 1/2" deep. The depth is really the only dimension that should give consumers pause. As always, when buying a subwoofer online, construct a box out of cardboard of the same dimensions and make sure it will fit your space. The T300 features a flat black, slightly textured finish and rounded corners. The stock picture on the website shows a seam on the front but the review unit did not - the front face was smooth. There are two side firing (one from each side) woofers and a front firing slotted port. The bottom has pre-attached rubber feet which are fairly short. There are no provisions for carpet spikes.

The T300 weighs in at a paltry 36lbs. While this isn't the lightest sub you're going to come across, it does make it very easy to move around. There are two side-firing 10" aluminum drivers, a front slot-style port, and a rear mounted amp. The grills are actually mounted through four of the holes that would be used for mounting the drivers. This leaves four (instead of eight) connection points for the driver to the enclosure. My first concern was that those holes might be predrilled and allow extra avenues of escape for air other than the front port. I did multiple tests during playback and found no evidence that any air was escaping any of the holes.

The grills fit snuggly but not tightly. This means that they won't be falling off on their own but they also won't resist the prying of curious little fingers. The front slotted port is wide but unobtrusive. In fact, if I had to describe the T300 in a word, I'd say it was unobtrusive. The flat black blends well with the shadows and the overall look doesn't exactly draw the eye. It does pick up fingerprints fairly easily but they aren't easy to see in a darkened room. The driverless front of the T300 should get most the credit. However for those that like to see their subwoofer work during those intense action scenes, you'll have to turn the sub or just make due with what you can see of the rubber surrounds moving.

The amp sports 300 watt Bash Class D amplifier and all the usual connections and controls. Variable volume and crossover control (50-150Hz) are present. Phase switch (0-180 degrees), stereo RCA and LFE inputs and high level inputs also there. One thing I wasn't expecting was not only a Standby/Off switch but also an On setting for those (like me) that don't trust auto-sensing functions.

The only fit and finish issue I found was a bit of a crack along the bottom of the box. It was right along the edge along the side at the bottom. While this particular imperfection was invisible to the owner, it might indicate a systemic problem. New owners should be aware and check out their new purchase thoroughly. With free return shipping and a 30 day trial, this shouldn't deter any potential buyers.

Opening up The T300, we see two drivers in a 3/4" MDF enclosure. The drivers sport stamped rather than cast baskets which is probably not unreasonable considering the price. The drivers also aren't magnetically shielded so you'll need to keep the sub away from any legacy CRTs or other magnetically sensitive equipment. The cabinet has modest stuffing and only a minimal reinforcement at the corners. One thing I was really impressed to see was total dampening of the internal wiring. Each wire was covered with foam tape so that any possible internal noise would be eliminated. A really nice touch at this price point.

Setup

Setting up the T300 was just as easy as you'd think. All I did was connect my Impact Acoustics SonicWave Subwoofer Interconnect from my Denon AVR-2307CI to the sub. I did listening tests with both the Velodyne SMS-1 engaged and not. The T300 was set atop an Auralex SubDude isolation platform. My room is fairly small but open to the rest of the house. On top of that, I have a number of DIY acoustic absorption panels and six GiK Tri-Traps. The room has been acoustically analyzed and tuned by Auralex through the Room Analysis Plus service. Together, this makes for a room that looks a lot bigger to a sub than it really is. For all intents and purposes, I have a large room.