Paradigm PW-2200 Subwoofer

Up for sale is a Paradigm Reference PW-2200 powered subwoofer. The subwoofer is in excellent condition, both physically and operationally. It features a 12" driver and retailed for $800. This subwoofer comes in it's original manufacturer's box.

Review from Secrets of Home Theater:

While not technically of the Reference family, the PW-2200 powered subwoofer is a suitable match for this ensemble, both in performance and price. It features an amplifier quoted as delivering 250 watts rms to a 12" polypropylene cone with rubber surround. As we expect from Paradigm, the driver's frame is cast metal with heat sink fins. The design is a classic vented enclosure with an enormous port on the rear. Beside the port is an I/O panel as complete as any subwoofer could want. Input and output is provided for both line and speaker level connections, and all outputs receive a fixed, passive 60 Hz high-pass (12 dB/octave for the line-level, 6 dB/octave for the speaker-level). The requisite volume knob is augmented by continuously variable low-pass (40 Hz -120 Hz) and phase (00 -1800) adjustments.

The goal of any subwoofer is academically a simple one: Play Low, Play Loud, Play Clean. Actually doing this is in practice decidedly difficult when things like cost and size are factors. It seems that again Paradigm has managed to bend the financial rules, delivering a subwoofer that sounds more expensive than it is.

Right from day one I could feel this gem reaching down several Hz lower than my benchmark affordable sub, and it does so with a driver 3" smaller in diameter. As with any sub, placement is critical to performance. Done right, I was able to get useful output to the low 20s and still audible bass at 20 Hz. And loud? Boy can it! But no one, not even Paradigm, can bend the rules of physics. At the highest output, the 12" cone loses some control, and the sound begins to feel latent or loose. This is only at the highest output, and is thus minor, but as a conscientious journalist, I must note it. At this price, you might even go for two units and halve each one's workload. Hard pressed will you be to find better subwoofer performance at this price.