In this review, we will be comparing DS123 and SW-15, two Powered Subwoofer speakers from ELAC and Wharfedale. Being Powered subwoofers, they both have built-in amplifiers so you don't need an external power amp or an integrated amp to power them. Let's have a brief look at the main features of ELAC DS123 and Wharfedale SW-15 first before getting into our more detailed comparison.
In the following sections, we will get into details in order to better understand how the ELAC DS123 and Wharfedale SW-15 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these subwoofers is the better choice for you.
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Drivers
The efficiency of a subwoofer is directly proportional to the total radiating are squared hence the woofer quantity and diameter.ELAC DS123 and Wharfedale SW-15 have a totally different setup: the ELAC DS123 features x 12-inch drivers whereas the SW-15 features 1 x 15-inch drivers.
Frequency Response
DS123 has a frequency range of 28-150 Hz whereas SW-15 has a frequency range of 30-120 Hz. With a minimum frequency of 28Hz, the DS123 can go slightly deeper then the SW-15's min frequency of 30Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Subwoofer class in our database.
Low Frequency
Subwoofer Speakers
High Frequency
Subwoofer Speakers
Physical Specs
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare ELAC DS123's and Wharfedale SW-15's external dimensions. ELAC DS123 has external dimensions of ( ) whereas Wharfedale SW-15 has external dimensions of 570.0 x 493.0 x 615.0mm ( 22-7/16inch x 19-3/8inch x 24-3/16inch ) .
Wharfedale SW-15 is clearly the larger of the two speakers. Its body is 493mm wider, 570mm taller and 615mm deeper than ELAC DS123.