Normally I don't agree with down firing drivers but Yamaha seem to have their act together on this one (and the YST-SW320) in that the double spider construction is so rigid as to negate any gravity / mass effect usually associated with down firing subwoofers.

Underneath the driver is a heavy duty dispersion plate which serves to eliminate the effect of variable floor coverings, unlike some Velodynes and Jamo's I have had the misfortune to place on my medium pile carpet. The voice coil is a massive 100mm and the cone made of pure Spruce.

    So how does it sound? Bloody good! I regularly try different subwoofers at home (my reference subwoofer being a M&K) and the Yamaha gives the M&K a good run for it's money. For some musical reproduction I actually prefer the Yamaha as it seems "punchier" on the bass guitar lines. The -3dB point is not quoted but I reckon it to be around 22Hz which is not as low as the M&K but is almost academic when you get down below 27.5Hz (the lowest note in written music unless you have a pipe organ with a 64' pipe).

    The one thing the Yamaha does better than any other subwoofer I've tested  and that is to move air. Playing my favourite demo movie for bass (U.571) the depth charge scene nearly blew the walls out. This is one area that the Yamaha beats the M&K hands down. In an ideal setup with 2 subwoofers to reduce the problems with low frequency standing waves (nodes and antinodes) 1600 Watts of floor thumping, wall shaking, gut wrenching and neighbour annoying bass should be enough to satisfy even the harshest proponent of bottom end. I would recommend the YST-SW800 (along with the M&K V125II) as one of the best subwoofers available for both music and Home Theatre in the under $2000 price range. Recommended Retail Price is $1699 (Call for our current discount).