Boston Acoustics Soundware XS SE / XE.SE / XE-SE Speaker 5.1 channel

The satellites measure roughly 4 5/16 x 4 ½ x 3 ¾ in inches, and as the special-edition version of the system, feature a high gloss piano-black finish (the standard system has matte black satellites). On the back of the speaker are two small binding posts and two small channels for neatly routing speaker wire. These small speaker connections later proved to limit our speaker wire size to tightly wound 16 gauge wire, or wire terminated with pin connectors. Underneath the speaker grill are not one, but two separate drivers. For this system, Boston Acoustics outfits the satellites with a 2.5-inch woofer seated beneath a ½-inch tweeter, officially making it a two-way speaker. The ported 8-inch, 150 watt, down-firing subwoofer measures 12 ¼ x 11 3/16 x 15 9/16 inches and comes with a matte black finish and smooth, rounded edges. This sub offers a single RCA input, a volume dial, a crossover dial and a phase switch. The slightly resonant sound we get when rapping on the sub’s enclosure indicated it’s made with some quality materials, but probably not very well braced. While we’re talking about size and specs, we wanted to mention that Boston Acoustics recently announced the availability of the SoundWare S speaker system. As the bigger brother to the SoundWare XS, the “S” system features slightly larger satellites with 3.5-inch woofers, ¾-inch tweeters and a larger, more powerful, 10-inch, 200-watt sub.