Sony SACS9 Subwoofer Test

Sony SACS9 Subwoofer Test

While not sure to deliver the most performance, the Sony SACS9 has a number of great features, from fantastic sound quality to a simple tuning process. Although the exterior design doesn’t show much novelty, its simplicity and compact size allow it to be easily integrated into our home theatre system.

Available at an extremely affordable price, the Sony SACS9 delivers strong performance while watching movies or listening to any kind of music. It also has a fairly wide frequency range and offers high quality low ends.

Performance

The amplifier has a power of 115 W, paired with a frequency response of 28-200 Hz and a conical diaphragm of the speaker to produce powerful bass that is both clear and sharp with minimal resonance. The bass reflex design, which suppresses unwanted noise, results in much better sound reproduction, so you can hear deep sounds that seem strong and deep enough even though the subwoofer is not the most powerful.

Thanks to the Mica Reinforced Cellular (MRC) subwoofers, you can expect much better sound quality with deeper bass. All forms of unwanted noise are further prevented as noise waves are acoustically absorbed while attenuating the vibrations in the cabinet, providing much clearer and noise-free sound quality when using an active subwoofer.

The Sony SACS9 also offers additional features that make it a much easier to use home theatre subwoofer. First, an adjustable crossover can be used to control the low endpoint by varying the frequency transmission from 50 Hz to 200 Hz. There is also a phase switch and an automatic power saving function — the latter puts the subwoofer in standby mode until it detects an audio signal. Of course, there is also a volume control on the device.

In terms of size and weight, the Sony SACS9 is much lighter (11.5 kg) than the SVS SB-4000 and also much more compact. This makes it easier to place in the room without taking up much space. The Sony SACS9 also features traditional rear ports that range from standard RCA input to speaker outputs, making it easy to install and very easy to install with the included cable.

At first glance, the subwoofer looks just like a black box with a detachable front grille having a sloping edge. When the grille is removed, a dark blue speaker cone is visible, with inputs and outputs on the back: RCA input, phase and power saving switches, rear port, volume and low pass frequency.

The drive is made of a woven fibrous material, unlike the usual paper or fabric material of other subwoofers. This way, you don’t have to worry about any form of wear or injury over time. If damage does occur, simply remove the plain vinyl foam grid. By removing the grille, the subwoofer will look much nicer: a magnificent navy blue speaker comes to light.

The standard black surface, together with the solid wood veneer, provides a quality sound that does not deteriorate due to changes in temperature or humidity. While it may not produce the strongest bass among the subwoofers, nor is it as aesthetically pleasing as other subwoofers, thanks to the affordable price range, the Sony SACS9 is absolutely worth the price. It works very well when harnessed to a home theatre system, but it’s not the best in terms of pulling strong basses off, it wont be able to fill the whole space.

Other features of Sony SACS9

The SACS9 sounds fantastic, producing thundery lower ends, a tight, dynamic and sensitive sound. Listening to music and watching movies was also enjoyable. We recommend it for small and medium-sized rooms in particular. It has an outstanding sound compared to subwoofers in similar price categories. Overall, the Sony SA-CS9 redefines the term “value for money” and is certainly the best subwoofer we can get at this price.

The 250mm active subwoofer delivers powerful bass. The funnel membrane is able to move a larger mass of air, producing high-performance deep resonance. The mica-amplified, honeycomb-patterned, funnel-shaped subwoofers are rigid, so they retain their shape even at high sound pressure and speed, thus promissing clear sound even at high volume.

Only premium quality components have been used in the production of the Sony subwoofer, the high-performance transformer provides a stable power supply, and thanks to the rugged circuit and large heat sink, temperature changes in the event of power fluctuations do not affect the operation of the device.

Sound

When building speakers and sound systems, the most important thing is sound perfection. Therefore, the first step is to provide acoustic treatment of the rooms. Even if we buy the best speakers and amplifiers, if the room has bad acoustics, the sound will be echoed and disturbed. Standing waves are created along smooth, empty walls, ceilings, windows and floor surfaces, resulting in degraded acoustics. Due to too much bass, echoes, highlights and extinctions, we cannot fully enjoy our favourite music and movies. Acoustic panels are the best solution to acoustic problems.

We tested the Sony subwoofer in a smaller room. The smaller the room, the more acoustic problems we encounter. The test site was a 15-square-foot room in the basement of a family home, where the owner provided printed sound absorbers with acoustic elements placed on the walls and 3D diffusers for proper sound. The SACS9 subwoofer was paired with a Pioneer AVR-VSX-934 home theater amplifier and Focal Aria 906 speakers. We were also happy with the Sony subwoofer during the movies and listening to music. We heard sufficient dynamics, sensitivity and purity. The space couldn’t be completely filled with sounds, but there are still so many things to compromise on.

Our verdict

This compact active subwoofer is available at an extremely affordable price. Despite its small size, it is capable of surprisingly muscular performance with clean and powerful basses. It does not take up much space, it can be easily moved due to its light weight. There’s nothing extra in its appearance, in fact, it’s a bit perhaps overly simple. At the same time, made of high-quality components, the resonances of the housing have been reduced to a minimum. However, if you want more serious and powerful bass, you may want to choose from subwoofers in the more expensive price range.

G.H.

Written by Róbert Polgár