Boston Acoustics HPS12HOMDNT (1 Viewer)

[JW3571]

I'm considering upgrading from an old Infinity BU10 sub to this BA 12 inch sub. It has 300w rms. Does anyone have any experience with the sub. I found this for $200, that seems like a really good deal. Opinions

 

[curveball]

My reply knocks out the BIG ZERO listed for the number of replies to the query about the Boston Acoustics subwoofer.
I suspect the silence is really a shout saying it's no good. I Googled around and couldn't find any reviews on it. That's another hint, I suppose, that it's unworthy.
But it does attract interest when a product originally lists for $600 and not that much later is going for just a tad over $200. Could be a bargain. Could be a bust.

 

[JW3571]

Thanks for the reply. I figured that for $200 it would be a fine replacement for my 15 year old Infiniti sub.

 

[LanceJ]

Right up front I'll admit I own Boston speakers so I am probably biased, but I think most Boston subs sound great. So I have a strong feeling the actual reason this sub is now going for such a low price is simply because - in my opinion - it is quite unattractive. To me it looks like a commercial plastic office trash can tipped on its side with a grill attached to the can's top.

I think someone at Boston agrees, because just a few months ago they came out with their Classic Series, which pretty much occupies the same price slot as the Horizon series but instead uses traditional styling.

 

[JW3571]

LanceJ, do you have this particular boston sub? I don't really care about looks as it is going behind a couch. The price is great and the amp pumps out 300 watts rms. Sounds like a no brainer.

 

[LanceJ]

Nope, don't own one. But if you aren't going to see it, you're right, a four hundred dollar price reduction is not something to ignore! I would say go for it then.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I purchased the "HO" sub and then ended up selling it locally. I was one who paid just a bit over $200 for it, but the shipping to RMA it as a return would have killed me (3,000 miles)!.

I didn't like the sub at all. It was very hard to integrate so I could use it for music listening. It just had an odd "boom" that I couldn't cure. I've owned many subs, but was happy when this one sold quickly.

 

[LanceJ]

Wayne: I wonder if that boom quality was caused by that plastic enclosure reacting to the woofer's output?

As much as I've liked Boston's stuff over the years, when they were bought out by that banker's holding group back around 2004, IMO some of their gear started taking a turn for the worse & in this case, I think the decision to use a plastic enclosure was purely motivated by cost savings,* :frowning: IMO a design decision the "old" Boston Acoustics would not have agreed upon if doing so audibly affected the sound (injecting molten plastic into a mold is a lot cheaper than having a person cut individual wood pieces, place them into a jig, apply glue etc etc).

* to me Boston was always a company that only included a feature or technology if it truly added something positive to their products, and usually left out things which did not help i.e. one of those no-nonsense companies more concerned about sound - and their customer's wallet - than slick marketing or trendy products. I wish we had more of them these days (Genesis and pre-1996 Advent were other companies who had a similar philosophy)

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Lance,

The cabinet in the 12 "HO" seems like a mix of plastic and MDF - with an outer rubber coating. I removed the plate amp from the back of the subwoofer just to check out the construction. The cabinet does have a single brace horizontally mounted inside the cabinet and made from MDF.

I'm not sure what it is with Boston Acoustics subs as i also had the VP900 at the same time. It, too, had issues with getting dialed into my room properly. Most of the other subs I've had, experienced no issues at all. Weird.