PSW10 worth getting??

felipe

Hey all. I was offered a psw10 still in its box for 100 bucks from a co- worker. Would it be worth it?? I would probably use it for my 2ch setup. They got it b/c it was gunna be used as a second sub in their h/t setup. After much deliberation, they decided to go with a more powerful sub, but missed the return window...hence the offer to me lol. I saw a lot of good reviews on it, and it would be for music only. Suggestions??

WilliamM2

Not worth it. More port noise than bass output, and not musical at all. I paid $80 for mine just to use in the garage, and resold it the next day.

felipe

That's one flaw I've seen on researching this sub...port noise. I see the pio sub (sw mk2) is on sale for about the same price. I'm not looking for anything over the top, just a good musical sub to complement my bs22s. The less I can spend, the better.

I guess I can try and audition it..I'll have to ask.

seabeerob213

the less you spend the more you spend. sure an 80 buck sub might cut it for now, but as you get a better ear for things you will upgrade, so 80 here, 200 there, 500 down the road, gets real expensive. look for something used in the 2-400 price range and im sure your ears will stay happy a lot longer and your wallet too. never heard myself but everyone raves on the, hsu, svs and velodyne. seen used ones well within that range, do your research and bring home a winner. polk dsw series are great subs all around, and the psw 110 is a great performer, if you can find a deal on it (after owning one for a while, im glad i found it for 159. and not 250.) dont think i would pay the full retail on it. but, like i said do your research, listen for yourself, and find a sub that suits your needs.

11tsteve

I have one..... mostly boom. Because it is all I have to work with, and I put money elsewhere for now.... I dynamatted the entire inside (basket, tube, cab, etc) and I put it on spikes. All the materials I used were leftovers from other projects. All of that tightened up the sound considerably.
That being said, I am thinking this is my next upgrade.

felipe

I agree, the psw110 is a great performer..having owning one myself. It integrates perfectly with my pio floor standers (fs 52)and pio center ( c22). I'll continue the research and find one that will fit my needs and easy on my wallet ;-)

felipe

That's a good price on those. But, I'm now using the 110 as my sub in the 2ch setup now. My other half likes r& b, and she wasn't satisfied with just the bookshelf pios. So, thru some negotiation,I reintegrated the BIC f12 into the H/T setup and put the 110 in the 2ch setup. After tweaking both setups, both I and my other half are happy now:-) Actually, I'm surprised at the SQ of the f12 now. Maybe b/c its being used with floor standers now, but it sounds smoother and more articulate than before...I got the xover set at 40 for the mains and 60 for the center...I think that might the reason. This sub seems/to shine in the 60 and below region...that's just an observational guess at this point.

As for the 110 now, it integrated seamlessly with the bookshelf pios. I got the gain at roughly 1/4 volume, and the xover midpoint between 60 and 90..probably at 70-75 I would say. Hey, you know the saying...happy wife,happy life lol.

ROHfan

I owned one years ago and quickly got rid of it. I wouldn't even use one for a desktop 2.1 setup if it was free. Now, the PSW505, OTTO, is a good entry level sub that performs well.

felipe

Just stumbled upon a lightly used psw404 for 75. How would this compare to my psw110??

PolkieMan

Get a PSW-505, I only use it for movies as my speakers have good bass for music

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polk-Audio-PSW505-BLACK-12-Powered-Subwoofer-/360917348544?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item540859b0c0

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000092TT0/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1401659013&sr=8-1&keywords=PSW-505&condition=used

deronb1

+ 1 or maybe try a BIC F12

felipe

I currently have the BIC f12 for/my HT setup. This will be for my music setup..which is where my psw110 currently is at. I could sell the psw110 for 100 easily where I'm at. For music, would the 404 be better??

ken brydson

Save up a few bucks and get a real sub. ED offers the best bang for buck IMO. SVS and HSU are excellent choices...

felipe

Those are excellent sub's...but not looking to spend much. Just thought that the 404 for 75 bucks sounded like a pretty good deal. I'm a budget buyer :-) For music, would the 404 outperform my 110??

ken brydson

Nothing wrong with being on a budget, I'm that way myself. If you want a one note wonder "woof in a box", by all means pick up a budget sub. Once you've heard what a quality sub will add to your system you'll wish you'd done it sooner....

felipe

That might be true. Can a budget sub have quality sound?? I think it can. I'm not looking for big boom bang...just a budget musical sub that fills/blends in with my bs22s. I've read good reviews on the AJ pio sub..so I think I'm gunna get one and try it out. I can always return it. My budget is bout 150..200 max.

seabeerob213

run the f12 for music and the 505 for HT, try the upgrades that steve did to his ten, i would imagine it would tighten up the response of both the f12 and the 505

felipe

Well today I took a plung and got the AJ pio sub...I'll be returning it. Why? Not b/c of how it sounded.. It sounded damn near perfect... Tight,punchy,yet full and deep. What ruined it?? When its plugged in, it makes a humming sound that comes from the driver itself and the amp makes a slight high pitch him. I went online and did a search on this, and turns out this is a somewhat common issue with these. Darn it!! So, it'll be going back.

As far as upgrading my 110, I don't have any dynamat, but would lining the cab and tube with sheet polyfil work as well? After hearing the pio sub, now I wanna get as close to that kind of bass as I can. What about doing the same with my f12??

felipe

I used extra loft polyfil sheeting on the port tubes and any area where there wasn't polyfil (except by the amp area) on both my psw110 and my f12. The 110 a noticeable difference..tighter and punchier than before...a bit cleaner too. It also blends with my bs22s as well as the pio sub did..which is what I was aiming for. Haven't tried the f12 yet tho ;-)

felipe

Tried the f12..same noticeable difference..and it seems to hit lower as well:-). And, for some reason it seems harder to locate where the lows are now as well. I guess by adding additional polyfil it eliminated the boxyness of the sound, thus allowing the sound to better blend with the rest of the speakers...that's just a guess based on what has happened with my mods and setup.

Anywho, if your handy with stuff like this, and your sub sounds boomy/boxy, polyfil WILL help with that;-)

PapaBearDC

Try to work out an audition before you buy.

A lot depends on the acoustics of your room, and the rig you're adding it to. For my space, equipment, and budget, the PSW10 is great. You do have to find the sweet spot for crossover and volume, which does take a little bit of effort.

AudioPro

Just learning about this product.. reading along further to learn more. Great post felipe!!!

felipe

Thanks AudioPro. Welcome to club Polk:-)...if no has welcomed you yet lol. If your interested in sub's, Polks psw110 is a good one to start with. Or, if your budget permits it, go SVS, trust me you won't go back. Polk makes excellent speakers:-) can't go wrong with them.

PapaBearDC

An additional $0.02 after having my PSW10 for a couple of months now.

It seems to be perfect for vintage 1970s and early 1980s 2-channel receivers/amps. On my Pioneer SX-737 (35wpc) with Boston Acoustics A40 Mk.II speakers, it is absolutely awesome. A friend who got one for his mid-1990s AVR (a 50wpc Sony something-or-other), it sounds hollow and quite boomy. Similar result on a 2010 Philips rig. I attribute it to the significant differences in the output circuitry of the amps vs. vintage equipment.

The instructions recommend starting the volume halfway. I recommend starting just barely above the zero mark and working your way up until you find your sweet spot.

Start with the crossover at the lowest setting (80Hz).

Flat your bass and treble. Make sure a "Loudness" switch is set to Off. If you have an equalizer, bypass it.

The type of main speakers you're driving also have a lot to do with how the bass come out. I think 2-way speakers are the best match for the PSW10. In a 3-way speaker, the resonance from the woofer pumping between your crossover setting and its internal crossover for the midrange can adversely affect the image depending on your room's acoustics and the type of music. (I noticed this particularly with classical and jazz.) For a 3-way, you'll most likely want to set the crossover to the highest setting (160Hz). Depending on your particular setup, you may also need to trim the bass more on your equipment. (An equalizer *may* help, but only if you already use one to compensate for other room acoustic issues beyond bass.)

If you listen to a variety of musical styles, you will need to adjust the volume setting for each one. I mainly listen to 70s rock, and I've marked off one setting for that. 80s, classical, and jazz need it a smidge loewr. Contemporary music (which I listen to very little of) I usually turn it off and let my BAs handle it alone. If you run movies through your stereo, you'll mostly want to lower the bass on your amp (often too much of it in the program source).

Placement makes a huge difference. For my space, I have it on the floor at a 45-degree angle to the main speakers, about 3' to the side of the main imaging area. That provides the desired enhancement of the bass in the program material, and also disperses the ambient effects across a wider range, and at an oblique angle. Placing it in the center of the image (same plane, head-on to the listener) completely loses the ambient, and results in the muddy or boomy bass some complain about on this model.

As I said in my previous post, you have to do a little experimenting to find the ideal placement and settings. If you're looking for a no-brainer, plug-and-play, just cram it into your media center solution, this is probably not the model for you.

felipe

Thanks for the advice on this model sub Papa Bear :-) as I will be getting one for free...actually its the psw108...which to me is bbasically the same thing...or are they??

cnh

I have a PSW 12 in the basement (PART OF my 3.1 Pioneer bookie/center system). More slam than the 10 but similar port problems.

The SOLUTION? A little similar to PapaBear but not quite.

Take the sub and place it relatively near one wall and close to the other wall--preferably the LEFT corner. Turn the woofer side so that it faces, in direct line, not you, not the listening position, but the OPPOSITE wall--RIGHT WALL. The Sub will fire in a parallel line to the sitting position across the front stage speakers. Set the crossover to 80 or less. And bring up the sub loudness very very very slowly till you can hear the sub, then back it OFF just a smidge. This reduces the port noise and diffuses whatever port noise is left because it spreads out and decays as it reaches the other wall. I almost guarantee this method will work to make the sub its most musical.

I have my volume at about 9 o-clock, which is very LOW and make the FINE adjustments in volume from the AVR! You'd be surprised how much bass it can still produce like this! You need to have a decent "ear" to tune it like this because you're listening for low level bass that best meshes with your other speakers. It's very subtle!

cnh

felipe

Cool thanks for the tip cnh. Another question, how would the BIC f12 do for music? The same person that is offering me the psw108 is also offering me the f12 for 100. WWhich would be better??

cnh

I've never heard the BIC but any number of members here have compared it "favorably" to the Polk PSW 505. So it might be worth thinking about. At the very least, I suspect it might "chuff" less?

cnh

felipe

I've had the f12 for my HT setup before, did well there. I'm thinking it might not do too well with my music setup b/c its a low powered setup (25 watts/channel), and I don't have 100 to spend lol. Figured I ccan't go wrong with free. Plus, Ilike the fa t that the psw108 has a front firing port...easier to place.

felipe

I was able to audition the BIC F12, and for my particular setup (as I thought ) it has good clean output up to about 60-70hz, then its output drops above that. I can see that this sub is designed for use in HT. I'm guessing that the psw108 will have better output above the 70hz range...better blending with the t15. Guess I'll be going free ;-). Just curious, but does anyone know the difference between this Polk and the psw10? Why is one more costly than_the other??