Castle Compact Cube subwoofer test

The English subwoofer has a speaking name. The name of the series makes it extremely compact and the Cube gets its name for the perfect cubic shape. The engineers did not even bother to round the corners, following fashion.

CONSTRUCTION FEATURES: Subwoofer cabinet is made of MDF, 18 mm thick and has a reflex port in the bottom of the unit. The clearance to the floor is fixed with conical feet, which can be unscrewed and replaced if necessary. The inside of the cabinet is reinforced with additional cable ties. A woofer with a 250mm paper cone and Kapton coil is featured on the front.

Built-in amplifier provides 150 watts of continuous output. Amplifier equipped with Time Power Sense Limiter overload protection. The subwoofer is also equipped with automatic signal detection auto-off function . The unit has all necessary settings: level and cutoff frequency controls within the range of 40-140 Hz, phase switch. The subwoofer is connected via the two RCA line inputs or the high-level input.

We can talk a lot about the speaker’s finishing, but let us just say that the veneering of the cabinets has always been considered a “hobbyhorse” of CASTLE. Absolutely nothing to complain about here either: the subwoofer is meticulously crafted in real wood veneer and is available in 11 different colors. It is interesting, that the “sub” is veneered not only on the outside, but also on the inside. So for lovers of natural interiors, CASTLE is always the number one brand.

AUDIO QUALITY: frequency response roll-off starts at about 42 Hz at minimum crossover cut-off frequency or slightly higher with an extended LPF bandwidth. In the first case, the -10dB boundary frequency is 27Hz – a good result for such a small woofer.

Frequency response is very stable with a maximum LPF bandwidth of 48-150 Hz -3dB . Measurements show that Cube goes very well with the shelf or satellite speakers. However, this result could have been predicted in advance, since the “native” Compact subwoofer line consists of small shelf speakers.

In home theater, the Cube’s strong point is good bass midbass clarity and confident fast upper bass. The subwoofer is very easy to integrate with the shelf speakers – the sound is “stitched” almost perfectly. The special effects sound unexpectedly accentuated: the shots sound full with subwoofer and the explosions are accompanied by textured low-frequency echo. But, naturally, Cube bass cannot compare in quantity and articulation with the bass of big and powerful bass machines. There’s a real sense of intelligence in the low-frequency material.

Note that you have to be careful when turning up the volume on the subwoofer. Near the maximum, the bass of the Englishman loses control, there are extraneous sounds on the midbass. The subwoofer sounds best at moderate volume. Here the listener has a neat, smooth bass with natural timbres. Cube is quite musical, in triphonics it genuinely picks up piano and strings voices, dynamically displays presence of electronic instruments and drums in the recording.

PRICE: $650.

SUMMARY

GOODS: smooth, natural bass. High-quality finish with many color options.

Disadvantages: softened lower bass in movies, loss of control at maximum volume.

CONCLUSIONS: Cube is suitable for the low-frequency support of the shelf-type speakers in small rooms up to 30 sq.m. m. Due to high quality finishing Cube is not a shame to put it next to expensive antique furniture, and the great variety of colors allows you to pick up the subwoofer exactly for the interior of a particular room.