"You get what you pay for" is a commonly and often incorrectly used adage, but in the case of Boston Acoustics' BT1100 subwoofer, it's entirely accurate. This big subwoofer is expensive, but it delivers an exceptional low-end sound and features some innovative design elements that make it ideal for a medium or large professional home theater installation.

The BT1100's bass-reflex cabinet houses a massive 12-inch DCD driver coupled with a 2-inch voice coil, all powered by a 300-watt amplifier. This results in some impressively powerful bass, but the BT1100 is also surprisingly musical. The frequency response is 27Hz to 150Hz, and there is a low-pass filter that is continuously variable from 50Hz to 150Hz, so you can dial in the frequency limit to match precisely with your speakers. A phase control switch is also included.

On the connectibility side, the BT1100 has speaker-level, line-level and LFE inputs. You can keep your subwoofer continuously on, or you can choose the Auto-On option that keeps the unit in standby mode until audio is detected at the input.

While you can certainly place it in a corner or behind a couch, the BT1100's slot-firing design allows it to fit and perform perfectly in a larger home entertainment cabinet. Boston Acoustics also includes clever die-cast cutouts that let you place the BT1100 in (and remove from) a narrow enclosure. The volume control is located on the front panel, so even if this subwoofer is installed in a cabinet or other enclosure, you can still adjust the sound levels.

This subwoofer is large and rather pricey, but if musical bass, plenty of power and innovative design are high on your list, the Boston Acoustics BT1100 subwoofer makes a rewarding purchase.


Pros: Great subwoofer performance, innovative design
Cons: Large cabinet, expensive

Warranty
1 year amplifier, 5 years parts