Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)
by Polk Audio
|
List Price: Our Price: $99.00 You Save: $140.95 (59%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $79.95 (click here) Category: Speakers See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)
Customer Review: Good entry-level sub
Summary: 5 Stars
Couple of points up front: The PSW10 is NOT an audiophile-grade subwoofer, and shouldn't be graded as such. A true audiophile, if they have a subwoofer at all, will drop 2- to 3 grand on a Velodyne, Rega, Rel, etc. and then complain if they can't hear fingernails plucking the strings of a double bass. Next, the low frequencies produced in a movie are inherently different than those produced in music. Getting a subwoofer to reproduce both equally well can be tricky. My review of the PSW10 is from a 2-speaker, mid-level audio system perspective and not a 7/5.1 surround-sound home theater. I'm NOT saying the -10 won't work well in a HT set-up, but suggest you may need to use 2 different settings (see below).
This subwoofer will give you tight, punchy bass for most music genres. I used jazz, alt country, indie rock, and a little hip-hop to get my settings. The key here is to spend time during burn-in to get your crossover, phase and volume controls all married together. Once I found the right crossover setting, I learned that a little volume goes a long way with the PSW10. As many other reviewers have noted, too much volume will shake your walls with deep, boomy, unintelligible bass. You may want some of that for an action movie, but not so much for music. Next, I used the line-in with RCA's first, then swapped-out those for some heavy-duty Monster 10 gauge at the speaker-level connection. Jury's still out on which sounds better. Finally, if you're placing your sub on anything other than carpet (hardwood floor, ceramic tile, or even a shelf) seriously consider swapping-out the cheapo nailed-in feet. I have hardwood flooring, so I screwed in some nice 2" legs with dampers between the box and risers, and hard rubber pads making contact with the floor. Probably has a small positive sonic effect, and actually looks a lot nicer sitting up like that, too.
Lastly, got mine at [...], with free shipping. For that price, the PSW10 is a no-brainer. And remember, you don't notice a good subwoofer until you turn it off.
Customer Review: Meets Expectations...
Summary: 5 Stars
A couple of years ago, my Klipsch Promedia 4.1 speaker system I used for my PC failed due to the internal amp crapping out. It sounded awesome with anything I played on it up to that point. Money was tight so I replaced it with an inexpensive Logitech X-540. This was adequate for video watchng and game playing and even did okay for most music, but it really showed it's limits there. However, I recently upgraded my home theater AVR to a better one (Onkyo TX-SR707) and decided to use my old AVR for my PC with the old Klipsch speakers (I cobbled together a 20 year old Pioneer receiver to drive the Klipsch sub unit). This performed better than the Logitech unit until the Klipsch Sub unit blew the speakers. Enter my need for a new powered Sub.
I got the Polk PSW10 unit because it was inexpensive even in comparison to some of the smaller sub units I would have gone with. My expectations were for it to perform at least as well as the Promedia sub unit, but probably not as well as the Velodyne powered sub in my home theater. I have to say, I'm quite pleased. The Polk unit sounds better then the Promedia unit. I can't say how it compares to the Velodyne because I'm too lazy to swap the units to compare them.
System:
Sound Source -- Asus P6X58D Premium onboard Realtek multichannel audio output
AVR -- Kenwood VR-407 (set up in 6 channel analogue mode to PC)
Speakers -- Klipsch Promedia front and rear speakers, Polk PSW10 Sub (4.1 config)
Benchmark Music:
King of the Dancehall -- Beanie Man
Tremble (I love Trace edit) -- Marc et Claude
(Take Me Away) Into the Night -- 4 Stings
Damaged (Cage mix) -- Plumb
The Chain -- Fleetwood Mac
Far Away -- Nickelback (I've found this song to be the most demanding on the subwoofer for some reason. It sounded like crap on the Logitech unit and only a little better with the Klipsch sub. It sounds good with the Polk unit.)
Customer Review: Fine for 90% of Users Out There
Summary: 5 Stars
I was totally shocked when this speaker arrived. I had NO IDEA it was this big, heavy, and solid. Polk Audio's product quality is obvious; I'll definitely buy from them again. It's a solid, great-sounding speaker. If you're adding a sub to a small to medium-sized room, this will do just fine.
Super easy to setup. I plugged one end of the cable (RCA male-to-male) into the LEFT RCA input of the sub and the other end into the RCA subwoofer output of my Yamaha RX-V467 receiver. As others have said, I did not worry about splitting the signal with a Y-cable. I set the crossover to it's highest setting and used the crossover in my receiver instead. I set the gain of the sub at about 75%. Others have mistakenly wrote that you can't bypass the crossover, which tells me that they didn't read the instructions, didn't use Polk's online support, and don't know what they're talking about.
I paired this with the Polk Audio SurroundBar...another great speaker system. Also solidly built, great sounding, and highly recommended.
I read some of the reviews here where "audiophiles" were trying to dissect the functionality of this sub at specific bass frequencies (50 Hz versus 40 Hz and lower) and I had to laugh. Subs are supposed to be "boomy." The very definition of sound below 40 Hz is "mud" or "boom." 40 Hz and lower should be felt more than heard. Let me put it this way, thunder and rumble in movies I've used it with sound just like the thunder and rumble I've experienced in a real movie theater. This subwoofer sounds GREAT for 80-90% of the users out there, especially if you're using a good receiver and your other speakers are good.
For $99, I'm blown away. You're definitely getting your money's worth when you buy this. Don't be fooled by the power rating. It's 50 watts RMS and 100 watts Peak. More than enough and plenty of boom for most uses.
Customer Review: For the price you certainly can't go wrong
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this subwoofer to replace an aging Optimus I had since 1997 and at $110 (free shipping) it was well worth the purchase. Let me state 1st and foremost that I don't consider this sub to be used in a setup where you are playing consistently bass-heavy music (hip hop for instance) because it really isn't designed for that. Though it is capable of 'doing the job' if you crank it up, it should be noted fairly that really low end bass doesn't necessarily sound 'muddy', just that it appears to be moreso an issue of too much port noise and resonance the harder you push it (watch this video if you need a better example: [...]/user/FIcaraudioBTL#p/u/25/1DXk6nkQous).
This is a subwoofer for the average music lover who doesn't require a subwoofer to "bring down the house" and it will do fine with most music, but if you are looking for a really heavy low end, you might want to consider a 12" model which has a little bit more powerful of an amp, though for most I still think this will do very well and above expectation.
I listen to many styles of music (mainly rock), and I have this paired with Bose 301 series V bookshelf speakers and an Onkyo TX-SR500 receiver. I have mine connected to my receiver's "Subwoofer Out" with a Y cable. I can say after now owning it for a little over a year that once it gets past it's breaking-in period, it will do wonders with movies and most music. It plays loud enough even at 1/2 volume. I have read some turn it up all the way, which I find insane because you don't need bass that heavy to be drowning out your music. Half volume can earn you complaints.
Don't be fooled by the amplifier rating at 50 Watts...it sounds much better than my previous 10" subwoofer that was downfiring and had 120 Watts.
Bottom line, give it a buy and if you don't like the sound, there is always the return option.
Customer Review: very good value
Summary: 5 Stars
i would first off like to address some previous reviewers that have stated that they had a low humming or buzzing noise. i believe this was caused by these people not having a adequate subwoofer cable to shield against EMI and RFI. i have a very nice ATLONA subwoofer cable that is; double shielded, has oxygen free copper conductor and 24k gold connectors. i have had no humm or buzz.
here is my review of the polk audio psw10
Pros:
low cost, easy to install, aesthetically pleasing(looks very nice), porting, made from composite material that will last a long time, auto shut off feature when not in use, very good sound quality, nice and crisp not "boomy" bass, very good owners manual and customer support/service from polk audio.
Cons:
Low wattage, no cables included, not down firing port and no low-frequency effect (LFE)support.
conclusion:
I am very pleased with this subwoofer. It has a dynamic power rating of 100W but it sounds like more. the quality of the sound coming out is very good. I actually had to turn it down because it was so loud when i was first was setting it up and testing it( I have worked with Jet engines that require double hearing protection for years). I don't know how loud some people watch their TVs or movies but, this is way more than loud enough.It shakes my house.
I really like the way this thing looks. this subwoofer also complements my sound bar very well.
I have; watched movies, TV and listened to music. all sound superb to me.I highly recommend if you buy any subwoofer you buy a quality subwoofer cable.
I highly recommend buying this subwoofer if you are looking for a good value or "best bang for the buck".