[TusharK]

Sony has introduced an ultra-slim subwoofer called the XS-AW8 in India. It costs Rs. 19,990 and will be available from February 1, 2021.



The USP of the Sony XS-AW8 subwoofer is its compact form factor. This allows for easy installation in restricted spaces.

It uses a rigid subwoofer diaphragm and has a built-in amplifier and a heat-sink to protect the driver unit and amplifier without introducing unwanted vibrations and harmonic distortions. It has an output of 160 W (75 W RMS).



Even when using a factory radio with no preamp outputs, users can simply connect the speaker outputs of their receiver to the high-level inputs. It has high voltage pre-out compatibility and therefore users can utilize higher voltages up to 5V. The subwoofer comes with a wired remote control and has single-sided controls and terminals which allow for easy tuning.

Link to Team-BHP News

[viXit]

That's a really beautiful bass knob. Possibly the best I've ever seen.

Under seat subwoofers are actually great deals, especially when they have the amp and all integrated into the same box. Some people just aren't the kind to fill their boot with bass. But they can never match what a pair of 12''s can do. They run out of breath pretty fast.

A good point to remember is that underseat kind are good as a makeshift with mostly stock stuff. It just won't gel with a system that's completely aftermarket ( amps, comps etc.) They run out of bottle pretty fast and can sound distorted if pushed further

[kpkeerthi]

Unbelievable considering this retails close to $300 in the US. The XM-GS series amps and the XS-GS series components deliver a punch at a cost 10 times lesser than the competitors and the so-called niche products. Kudos to Sony for pricing these products geo-targeted.

[Mr. Nobody]

Seems a bit pricey considering Pioneer ones are way cheaper with a higher output. These are good for those who want some nice bass to complete the audio setup without sacrificing boot space.

[Mustang Sammy]

Thanks for the information, Tushar.
Any guidance to this noob on a good place to install this in a car for optimal sound quality? Is it the boot or under the seat?

[Rajiv0909]

it would be good to get some feedback on sound quality and possibly comparison with cheaper alternatives from pioneer and jbl

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by viXit

They run out of bottle pretty fast and can sound distorted if pushed further

I've never used compact sub woofers such as this Sony. I suppose you can address this problem (to an extent) by using two of them. What I like about this design is the speaker is in the car, not away from you.

In my quest for car audio nirvana (years ago and I finally gave up), I could never get the bass right with a sub woofer in the boot. It was so far away that I had to dial it up just to hear it. This was not some cheap sub too.

Likewise in a friends Elantra, he put two giant subs in a enclosure, in the boot and even then, in order to hear it, the gain had to be dialed so high that it was annoying for anyone sitting at the back. They got more of the vibrations and bass even without turning up the gain. After months of experimentation, he did finally get it right but to me, it was more an annoyance and half the boot was lost to the sub woofer enclosure.

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by Mustang Sammy

Thanks for the information, Tushar.
Any guidance to this noob on a good place to install this in a car for optimal sound quality? Is it the boot or under the seat?

These are best installed under the front seats. I'm also using a Pioneer underseat sub in front passenger seat in my car.

[greenhorn]

Another unremarkable sony product

The JBL Basspro available for the same price has almost twice the power (125 vs 75W RMS)
Also, for a "Shallow" mount sub - the sony is taller than the JBL, while having smaller width and length.

The only advantage to this is the "cast aluminum enclosure" - the JBL makes do with ABS - and the remote - Not sure if that's something compromising on performance for?

Plus JBL has a stellar reputation for both quality and reliability, while for sony - not so much. I am as much removed from a JBL fan as you may get (there isnt a single piece of JBL equipment in my car) or a sony hater ( i have about 10 sony headphones/earphones and countless pieces of hifi kit) but for car audio - give it a miss.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Another unremarkable sony product

The JBL Basspro available for the same price has almost twice the power (125 vs 75W RMS)
Also, for a "Shallow" mount sub - the sony is taller than the JBL, while having smaller width and length.

The only advantage to this is the "cast aluminum enclosure" - the JBL makes do with ABS - and the remote - Not sure if that's something compromising on performance for?

Plus JBL has a stellar reputation for both quality and reliability, while for Sony - not so much. I am as much removed from a JBL fan as you may get (there isn't a single piece of JBL equipment in my car) or a Sony hater ( i have about 10 sony headphones/earphones and countless pieces of hifi kit) but for car audio - give it a miss.

Let me be the first to eat my words before someone makes me.
I was shopping for an underseat sub, and the world of ICE is bleak and barren compared to 12 years ago when I got my car ICED - JBL is missing, Rockford Fosgate, Kicker, Hertz.. All seem to be missing in action. This product was available locally, and was reasonably priced compared to amazon (16K including installation)

Fitting it into the indica was a tight fit. Having greater height and smaller width x depth worked out for me. I don't think the JBL would have fit. The installer did say that the underseat space for the Indica was surprisingly low.
Surprisingly it does not have separate power terminals, rather power and turn on are part of a wiring harness which also includes speaker level inputs (not something that's otherwise found along with an amp) - guess this is due to the new integration landscape where most cars have HU's without pre outs.

I was given a price bundled with a Wiring kit, but based on the length of the wiring harness, It seems entirely unnecessary. But the Power and ground wires seem pretty puny ( i had an 8ga wire, but the wire that was provided in the wiring harness was less than half as thick)

Sound wise - I am pretty happy. I do not miss much compared to the 12" alpine E sub and 350W Kenwood amp I had earlier. I think the underseat location is better as now the bass gets delivered straight to my behind, rather than giving my rear seat passengers a headache, and boom across the cabin.

Update: Just noticed one con. Looks like the warranty is not effective from date of sale, but rather some fixed date. Mine says April 2022. Losing three months of warranty on a 12 month warranty sucks. Warranty starting in date of import is common for a lot of products, but usually they have larger warranties so you don't feel the pinch.

And the card doesn't offer any option to register the product with proof of purchase to update warranty effective date so strike one against Sony.

[urbanzameendar]

I wonder if anyone at tbhp used the zoook Monster X1 underseat subwoofer? At the price it is retailing on amazon, it appears to be mouthwatering. At about 40% of the price of sony's, doesn't look like a bad deal.

Would love to hear the opinions.

[redCherry]

Originally Posted by urbanzameendar

I wonder if anyone at tbhp used the zoook Monster X1 underseat subwoofer?

Amazon review points me back to Team-BHP - this could be the one you are looking for -

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...upgrade-2.html (XUV500 ICE'ed - My white cheetah gets the much needed upgrade)

[Ragul]

This looks good - I never knew such products existed - underseat car subwoofers! Because I cannot put a subwoofer at the rear in an open gypsy I could not go for a sub earlier! My ICE which has been unused for over 7 years now even on 12hr driving days and 10 day road trips because the two speaker only setup had no punch, might see some usage if I like the sound. How do I dial and cut-off anything lower than 80hz to the main speakers from my head-unit? Or does the Subwoofer have the controls to dial the frequency feed to both speakers? If it needs to be dialed from the HU only - does it require a higher end model or can any HU do this? Or is it easy to get a unified sound even though the sub-woofer cannot be moved around and positioned for optimal sound like at home?

The sony is priced at ~15k now - I see others somewhat cheaper with slightly higher 4.5star rating. Shopping time!

Edit: Just found out -

The amplifier features a variable low-pass filter for simple connection to full-range sources, including the speaker-level inputs. A switch additionally allows you to customise the subwoofer phase output, to prevent any reduced bass response due to phase cancellation from other speakers in your system.

But wait - thats speaker input only - so how or from where do we control speaker output frequencies?

[greenhorn]

But wait - thats speaker input only - so how or from where do we control speaker output frequencies?

Limiting low frequencies to your main speakers requires a head unit with a high pass filter which will work in tandem with the low pass filter that's used to control what goes to the sub. A good head unit should have it, what's the one you have?

[Raghav96]

Hello guys, will this underseat subwoofer be a direct fit to honda city 2016 without any modification? Also, any good installer in gurgaon near badshahpur as motor concept is too far away for my comfort.

Thanks in advance.