Polk psw 505 not loud anymore

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barmstr6
barmstr6 Posts: 5
edited August 2017 in Troubleshooting
I have had my polk psw 505 for almost 5 months and it was great. While watching Game of Thrones, a bass heavy show, I wasnt getting the type of bass I was used to. I have an Onkyo TX SR 353 receiver and two Polk T50 speakers. The bass volume was already turned up about 2/3 of the way, but now I cant even hear any bass unless it is almost maxed out. Im new to audio so can someone help me diagnose my situation and let me know if it is a hardware issue or setting issue.

Thank you.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
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    Hello,
    Welcome to Polk's forum. The best way to test a subwoofer is to substitute another source directly into the unit. First turn the volume all the way down on the sub (as a side note don't turn your sub's volume control past the 12:00 o'clock position) and remove your connecting cable from the receiver. Then connect the cable to either the right or left audio out of your DVD player. Then start playing a CD and slowly turn up the sub's volume, you should hear plenty of bass at moderate volume settings.
    Regards, Ken
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  • barmstr6
    barmstr6 Posts: 5
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    I dont have a DVD player. I use my Xbox One to watch movies. Do you have any other suggestions?
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  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,650
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    barmstr6 wrote: »
    I dont have a DVD player. I use my Xbox One to watch movies. Do you have any other suggestions?

    Anything with an RCA output will work. Sure your x box has them.
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  • barmstr6
    barmstr6 Posts: 5
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    I use an LFE cord. When I unplug from my receiver and touch the end of the LFE cord, I hear the bass I expect to hear. Watching tv and stuff movies Im not getting the bass I want. I recallibrated my receiver but still not getting much bass.
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  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,826
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    An LFE cord is usually an RCA plug. When you say "touch the end of the LFE cord", are you hearing a very loud hum? If so, that is not a good thing.

    Hook it up the way KenS suggested and report back.
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


    http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
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  • t13r
    t13r Posts: 1
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    I don't mean to threadjack but I'm noticing the same situation with my PSW505, at maximum gain barely getting any bass anymore whereas it used to rattle the house at regular gains. Nothing changed with my setup and I keep the sub on Auto.

    I did the test mentioned with a different source and plugged one of the rca's in the LFE and slowly brought the volume to the 12 o'clock position and there wasn't much bass at all. But as I kept it there, it seemed to get slightly louder on its own (still not really any bass, just a little louder), I then cranked the volume slowly to maximum but it didn't get louder, but when I brought it back to the 12 o'clock position the sound was much lower again. Then the same thing happened where over the span of 30 seconds or so it would get louder all on its own but then would plateau once more.

    I also tried to plug into the filtered rca inputs, but same result.

    I tried measuring resistance on the sub, but 0 ohms doesn't make sense to me. I've got a crappy 20$ multimeter, don't know how much I trust it.

    Any other suggestions? Barmstr6, any luck with yours?
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