PSW650 - 2 amps - Both having issues.

Soze

Hi All,

I have a PSW 650 but I have two amps. One has been used one in the receiver for many years. The other has been sitting in the garage with a blown fuse since around 2004 (thought I'd used for a project, but didnt.)

Amp One:
For a minute or two this will sound normal, but then speakers will start to rumble... this is really distorting the LFE sounds.

The receiver is running through a good home theater surge bar, and using a good quality cable. That being said, I have tried another plug and swapped out cable.

Also I have tried different sources as well.

All come to same result.

Thoughts?

Amp Two:
This one had a blown fuse so I swapped and it instantly it blew the new fuse. I tried a trick I saw on one of the PSW650.

Followed this from another psw650 thread. " Jerry rigged a 60W light bulb in place of the fuse and it lit up real bright and stayed on - not good"
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?69935-Fixed-a-PSW650-today&highlight=psw650

This amp did the same thing as that post.

Unfortunately I dont think I'm technical enough to follow the rest of that thread.

Thus I am wondering if Polk still supports these amps?

Thanks in advance for the help everyone!

[Deleted User]

Hi Soze,
The best thing to do is get in touch with Polk's CS department. Their telephone number is 1-800-377-7655 and their email is polkcs@polkaudio.com. In all likelihood they can look at your bass amps and see what can be done.
Regards, Ken

jon s

Hi Ken, I also had issues with a Polk PW650 sub amp... When I contacted customer service, they said they no longer had replacement amps nor could they repair them (after all, the subs were released nine years ago with the LSi speakers). They offered a discounted price on new subs which I passed on...

As a side note, it appears sub amps are of poor quality. I have had Velodyne, Carver, Polk subs and all of them had amp failures after a couple of years. I do not overdrive the subs so that is not the problem. I often see sub amp failures on this forum as well.

snake1

It may require some modification to the enclosure itself, but have you thought about a new amp? Bash amps, for example, can be picked up pretty reasonable. I have no idea if it has been done before or if possible, but just a thought.

chris23120

I'd slap a bash 300 (if you don't mind changing the resistors on the amp to get the subsonic filter setting to where it will work on that sub) or a 500 on there and call it a day. Or build a plate and use a rack subwoofer amp.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
It might still be a god idea to contact Polk, sometimes the service department begins offering service if they see a need arise.
Cheers, Ken

jon s

None of the decent Parts Express amps would fit in the cutout... the dual ports are in the way and cannot be enlarged. Good luck.

chris23120

jon s wrote: »

None of the decent Parts Express amps would fit in the cutout... the dual ports are in the way and cannot be enlarged. Good luck.

What is the size of the flat surface on the back of the box above the ports? I used to have a psw650 (for 9 years) and have PSW1000 with BASH500 now that i modified to fit since nothing fits the stock PSW1000 hole either. If nothing can be made to fit you should just get a rack amp and build a plate with 2 speaker terminals to fit the stock amp hole. Another idea would be to take the amp to a local shop to get fixed. I had my RT3000 amp fixed once locally and it worked out fine and was cheaper since no shipping expense. The Dayton 1000 rack amp is a monster and is highly adjustible to cater the sound to work with the odd stock porting of the PSW650/1000. Another cheaper idea would be a PYLE 3000 .

Soze

Thank you everyone! I will contact support - but being here in Canada, I think shipping will kill any value of sending it back for a diagnostic. I may try a local shop.

My next questions was going to be, "What do you do with the sub if amp is dead" - Thank you for answering that too! I have never done that so might be asking questions about this as if seems like its going to be the way to go.

@chris23120 - I will get you the measurements in tonight for the back plate.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
For Canadian residents contact Polk's manager for Canada, Walter Moser. Send him an email at: wmoser@polkaudio.com, he's a very helpful guy.
Regards, Ken

jon s

If I remember correctly, the sub amp plate was 8" high and 10" wide...