I think it's an interesting marketing move - there are still a lot of people getting into home theater who are doing so with a very restricted budget, and the focus of SVS's line-up in recent years has been getting more expensive. (Aside from getting the entry level passive cylinders and using an existing amp, the only other subs in their product line that are priced under $600 are the 25-31PCi, 20-39PCi, and PB12-ISD - and many of their newer subs are priced closer to or beyond the $1000 mark.) If all you could spend was ~$400, this would probably serve you better than many of the alternatives, but add $150 to your budget and you have a wider range of options (including Outlaw's LFM-1). All that being said, they'll sell tons of them.