Polk DSWPro550WI not very sensitive

Serendipity

Hi,

I have a question about the amp on the DSWPro550WI - what input voltage is necessary to drive it to full output and at what volume setting?

Reason being, this is the first sub where I've had to set the volume to 40/40 in order for the sub level to come near my mains in 2 channel listening. Other subs usually produce the same output at approximately 1/4 to 1/2 of their volume setting. (That's somewhere between 9 o'clock and the middle of the volume knob, but the DSWPro550WI doesn't have a physical volume knob.)

When calibrating with an SPL meter, I am surprised that the sub needs to be set to MAX volume in order to read 75dB to match the mains. And even then the receiver needs to be set to +5 for the sub channel.

I am thinking that the issue may be the sub is in too large a room. It is 24' by 20' by 8'. The other sub I used for comparison was a DIY 15" Dayton Titanic MKIII w/1024W plate amp, and it had no problems filling the room. Some Polkies heard my DIY sub, but also mentioned that it was "weak" and "underwhelming"...

For reference, some of the 2 channel rigs at PolkFest had more bass than this sub at MAX volume :eek:

Conradicles

Something must be wrong. I run mine for music in a 23 x 24 room with a very high ceiling and I have to turn it down to 3 to 4 clicks from the preset value (which is half way).

So I am running it below half and filling a larger room with tight clean accurate bass.

When I had it in my H/T rig, I remeber turning it down as well.

Something seems odd.

Serendipity

That's why I'm asking in this thread. No sub I have ever owned needs to be turned up to MAX in order to blend properly with the speakers. Every other sub would be way, way louder than the mains and sound literally like boom boom boom. But on this sub, it seems like +5 to +8 on the AVR is necessary (read on this forum, general consensus) and a volume setting of around 25 is necessary. Even then, that seems high to me. What's up with that?