Subwoofer Review - Bazooka BW1224
July 22, 2005
By: Paul Sonoda
When designing a woofer at an entry level price point, the result is always a balance of compromises. Build quality, cosmetic appeal and performance are all tied to cost. The people at SAS Bazooka think they have it figured out. Using their 20 years of experience of the woofer world, the team at Bazooka had developed the new BW1224 series of woofers. Balancing cool features with good performance and a modest price, the Bazooka BW1224 deserves a closer look.
First Look
The Bazooka BW1224 is a dual 4-ohm, 12 inch woofer. The woofer is also available in a single 4-ohm version. The poly cone of the BW1224 is connected use a foam surround of average size. The dust cap is plastic made to resemble brushed aluminum. In the center of the dust cap is a blue Bazooka logo encased in clear epoxy. The silver cast aluminum basket is quite open making it easy to see the Bazooka BW1224’s flat spider suspension system. Speaker connections are made via spring loaded speaker terminals usually common on more expensive woofers. The Bazooka BW1224 finished the look with molded black magnet boot.
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topCloser Look
With a woofer at this price point, you really do not expect a lot of features. The Bazooka BW1224 is different. One of the most obvious and probable easy to sell features is the illuminated dust cap. Provide 12 volts to an additional set of leads on the BW1224 and you are treated to a glowing dust cap. With the woofer playing in the dark, the Bazooka BW1224’s logo looks three dimensional. Although this does not in any way make the woofer sound better, it looks damn cool.
The over feature is innovative and has been a unique feature to Bazooka amplifiers and suBW1224oofers. On look and the vented pole of the Bazooka and you notice something different from other woofers: it’s threaded. That is because the woofer is designed to accept the proprietary CHIL Plug. Using this plug plus the CHIL Kit available from your local Bazooka dealer, you can turn your woofer from an air cooled device to a liquid one. This gives you two benefits. First, the liquid cooling is said to increase the thermal power handing capability of the woofer. In the case of the Bazooka BW1224, that power handling is said to be increased by 50% or 150 watts. (Quite a bit) This will give you additional thermal protection which will allow the woofer to stay cooler as you play it loud. The over benefit is cosmetics. Seeing fluid circulating through the woofer looks cool. (Pun intended) This gives you a difficult choice; show the illuminated dust cap or the liquid cooling. Either way, it definitely say cool.
Manuals/Web Support
The owner’s manual for the Bazooka BW1224 contains all the basic information needed to install the woofer. The manual contains recommended sealed and vented enclosures for both models of 10 inch and 12 inch woofers. In additional to the enclosure recommendations, the manual includes an instruction section on calculating internal enclosure volume. This skill is required to determine the dimensions for the recommended enclosure. Only general information was provided on the Chil Plug and its operation. The Bazooka website, www.bazooka.com, is well constructed and relatively easy to navigate. I was able to quickly locate the section on the BW1224 woofers and get general information for the woofer. The owner’s manual is available for download in a PDF format.
Installation
Installation of the Bazooka BW1224 is common for a dual voice coil except for the illumination. The provided sealed enclosure measuring 14.75 x 15 x 14.25 inches that occupies a modest 1.32 cubic feet. The net enclosure volume is relatively close to the 1 cubic foot recommended enclosure listed in the owner’s manual. Not including the woofer, the enclosure weighs in around 28 pounds. According to the manual, the enclosure is designed to deliver a F3 of 53 Hz. On the cosmetic side, the BW1224 had additional terminals for the for the illuminated dust cap.
Sound Q & Performance
The performance of the woofer is a little better than what you would expect from a woofer in this price range. With one watt applied, the Bazooka BW1224 delivered maximum output at 50 Hz with was quite near the 53 Hz resonant frequency of the woofer in the recommended one cubic foot sealed enclosure. At 200 watts, the 50 Hz SPL output increased to a respectable 122.2 dB. Increasing the power to 450 watts generated 124.6 dB of output at 50Hz. This was an increase of 2.4 dB for gained by more than doubling the amplifier power. The woofer had power performance down to 40Hz. Below that, the Bazooka BW1224 began to drop off. Usable output extends down to 30 Hz which is near the resonant frequency of the woofer. From a sound quality standpoint, the BW1224 delivered more than adequate performance. The bass was good and the woofer blended well with the rest of my system. Only at low frequencies with the woofer loose its oomph.
Summary
When evaluating a woofer at a modest price point, you need to balance the performance the woofer delivers with the cost. Here the Bazooka BW1224 does quite well. The woofer handled power well and delivered respectable output and good sound quality. When you factor the build quality and cool features of the unit, the value of the Bazooka BW1224 woofer increases greatly.
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