PSW125 Problems: Periodic Humming, Static and Heartbeat Noises

Clipdat

Stop spamming our forum.

Clipdat

^^ Again, this was directed toward a spammer that was posting links for people to click on, not at anyone having a discussion in this thread.

rvs007

Hi everyone, I started noticing the dreaded heartbeat noise a week or so ago with my PSW125. Found this thread when I was googling for a solution. I thought I was covered by the 5 year warranty (it was purchased in March 2014 from Best Buy Canada) but to my dismay, the amplifier is only covered for 3 years. Shameful that Polk Audio wouldn't cover all aspect of their product with the 5 year warranty. It's like they know the amplifier would fail first beyond 3 years.

I see some older posts recommending to contact someone at soundunited.com? Is that still the course of action for Canadian customers? Moderator can you post the latest contact information for getting the heartbeat issue fixed?

Thank you.

rooftop59

@KennethSwauger

arulrajj

Hi,
I got Polk Subwoofer Model PSW125 and its not turning on.
Initially Fuse got blown and replaced it .
Now fuse is ok ,but the SubWoofer won't power on.
Not sure on the issue.
Any suggestions.
Highly appreciated for your help.

Thank you
Arul

affnaff

Hi, I have a similar issue. started about 6 years since purchased:

If you want to listen to the sound. First 10 seconds is a low volume, last 10 seconds at higher volume.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/j20xwkcoz4jtgrf/PWS125 Noise Inssue.mp3?dl=0

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Nic

curgle

I have a PSW111 sub which has also begun making the heartbeat noise. Started infrequently but is now consistent and the sub is unusable. Seems this is a known issue???? What is the best course of action?

I'm in Canada (Toronto).

Appreciate any information or recommendations!

F1nut

Try contacting the Canadian distributor for Polk to see if a replacement amp is available.

stjen666

Hi, PSW125 makes all sorts of weird noises if powered up. No audio connections just power. Bought at future shop not sure when definitely more than 3 years serial number AM122511042. How do I get this fixed?

mfd4843

Hi,
I have a Polk PSW110. It started with the heartbeat sound about a week ago. Now I am also getting what I've heard referred to as a 60hz hum. The hum comes and goes, but the heartbeat sound is constant. It doesn't change in loudness if you turn the volume up or down. Is Polk doing anything for this, or is it just too late. Any information would be appreciated.
Best regards,
Michael
5/21/2019

2019polk

Hi there,

I have a 3 year old psw125 with the exact same heart beat problem. The sub only seems to work when on max volumn and then even cuts in and out. I’m based in Australia. Are you able to please confirm who the best person is to contact and also if Polk has ended up doing any replacements free of charge due to the huge issue they have ? Thank you

chros

chros wrote: »

Hey Guys! I started to have the very exact problem yesterday (mine is 1.5 years old), google lead me here. Reading the comments tells me that it's the amp, only 1 RCA cable is used for LFE from my Yamaha AVR. Noise isn't there only (!) if I unplug the power cable, otherwise it's always present:
- when RCA cable is plugged off (means no input at all)
- doesn't matter if the switch on the back is on/auto/standby mode
- doesn't matter where the potmeters are set (lfe/volume)
- doesn't matter where the phase switch is set

So, after around 2 years later, the replacement amp board started to do the same thing around 2 months ago
I tried to contact Gil again, but didn't get back any reply this time.

blackice36 wrote: »

Same issue with my psw125. Heartbeat for a few months, and now no output. Found a site describing 2 bad caps. Might try to follow his suggesting and repair myself. Polk wants $120 for a board. Caps are 50 cents each. Wish this was covered under the 5 year warranty. Shameful failure rate polk....

http://mrfxr.com/polk-subwoofer/

Thank you so much for the info!
I ended up in a local repair shop, giving them the link you've posted plus the original amp board and asking them to replace only the 2 problematic capacitors with a better ones from the article (a lower ripple rate and longer lifetime). They just did and it works fine again for 2 days now. I can only hope that this time it will last around 5 years

2019polk wrote: »

I have a 3 year old psw125 with the exact same heart beat problem. The sub only seems to work when on max volumn and then even cuts in and out. I’m based in Australia. Are you able to please confirm who the best person is to contact and also if Polk has ended up doing any replacements free of charge due to the huge issue they have ? Thank you

Can't you connect your retailer instead?
I was surprised that you can't even buy a pws 125 anymore See above for the rest.

Hakan

Same problem [humming and heartbeat] on the 125, also purchased some 6 yrs ago, in Canada. I actually bought TWO of them, at the same time, and BOTH have started more or less at the same age. Is Ken still moderating or involved with this forum?

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I'm no longer a moderator, however I try and help out where I can. I'm not sure who to send you to in Canada, it used to be Walter.Moser@soundunited.com was the way to contact the Canadian manager. If that doesn't work send an email to Kim.Jasper@soundunited.com and he'll help.

Nhorrocks

Hello. I have two psw125 subs that have the heartbeat static noise issue. I'm in melbourne Australia. Is there someone from polk customer service that could help me please. Thank you

Asali

Hi all,

I've had this same issue. Polk customer service gave me a few numbers to try for repair shops and all the shops said this is a very common issue with the 110 and 125 and, unfortunately, they don't make the amplifier anymore so there isn't anything they can do. I really don't understand why Polk would allow this product to continue to be sold when they know it's a lemon. It should have been recalled. At the very least, continue the production of the amplifier so that we can get it repaired. Thought I was a Polk customer for life (still enjoying my LSiM 703s) but this was unacceptable.

rvs007

About two years ago, I ran into the dreaded heartbeat problem and I posted in this thread for help. I ended up reaching out to Kim @ Polk Audio and he graciously provided a replacement board free of charge even though my subwoofer was out of warranty. It was a nice goodwill gesture that kept me as a Polk customer, and I ended up buying more Polk speakers knowing that even if their products might run into issues, at least they are willing to stand behind them with great customer support.

However, less than two years later, the subwoofer with the replacement board is now outputting a constant, hissing/static sound that sounds even worst than the heartbeat problem two years prior. I contacted Kim again but it seems this time, there's no more goodwill gestures and the only option is to pay $100 for another replacement board. But I'm now worried that their replacement boards are only lasting 2 years, at which time it's another $100 down the drain.

If the cost of the replacement board was more reasonable, it wouldn't bug me a lot to just pay for another replacement board. But given I paid $230CAD originally for the PSW125, having to pay $100 every couple of years seems very steep (that's nearly half the cost of the subwoofer)!

Home theatre equipments are meant to last for years if not decades. With the PSW-125 broken again, I ended up pulling an old Quest subwoofer that I purchased almost 20 years ago out of storage and fired it up in my current HT setup and it sounded great.

pvimalk1

Hi . I’m also facing the same humming noise . I’m residing at southern part of India called Chennai. Any support available near to our place would be highly useful

SeleniumFalcon

I recommend sending an email to: Kim.Jasper@soundunited.com and explain your situation.

GustavoMarin

I'm having the same problem. Check the post from chros and also this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdQQ6teY1YE

It helped me to start to figure out what I need to fix.

rvs007

GustavoMarin wrote: »

I'm having the same problem. Check the post from chros and also this link:

It helped me to start to figure out what I need to fix.

Thanks for posting that but unfortunately it's not an easy fix for the average person.

group131

It seems I have a similar problem. Some time ago I noticed the heartbeat issue. It occurred from time to time. About a month ago distortion issues occurred too. So whenever woofer tried to play it sounded like having a cough and on few occassions this distortion remained and I had to unplug it to make it stop.
You may notice the heartbeat issue here: https://fouska.eu/videos/woofer.mp4
I took the woofer to a local technician who said that there was nothing wrong with it! When I took it back home, it worked OK for a couple of days and then this issue reappeared! Any ideas? I'm investigating if it has anything to do with interference from other appliances, wireless networks etc but still haven't found the culprit...

mike31001

I m in US n my replacement amp makes statics,dissortion,back light stays red. Of course warranty expired a month ago..smh