Input on Subwoofer for Second System

glemay

Hi guys,

Looking for your input on a second system I am putting together. I picked up the following used:

Receiver: Denon AVR-1705
Fronts: Polk Audio R40
Center: Polk Audio CS245i
Rears: Polk Audio R15

I'm looking to add a sub. I have come across the three following options.

1. A used Polk Audi PSW10 that I can buy for $60
2. A used Athena AS-P6000 that I can buy for $190
3. A new Polk Audio PSW125 that I can buy for $250 plus taxes

Everything above is in Canadian prices. Looking to keep things cheap, hence the PSW10. But I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time with the PSW10. Not sure on whether the Athena is any good... I think same company that makes Paradigm (not sure). And the Polk PSW125 looks to be a pretty good deal right now with Cyber Monday sale still going on...

What do you guys think? Pull the trigger on one of the above or just wait til something else comes along?

Thanks,

glemay

glemay

Anyone?

WagnerRC

There is an ultracube10 on audiogon for 300.00. I have a 12 and 10 and I love them both. That is a great value IMHO.

https://app.audiogon.com/listings/subwoofers-paradigm-ultracube-10-subwoofer-2015-11-25-home-theater-76210-denton-tx

might not be a popular choice here.

skrol

Skip the PSW10. It is very entry level and I have seen it new for $100.

WagnerRC

I see someone grabbed the 10.

dhart86

If you staying with Polks

Psw 505 for home theatre used $200
Psw 111 for music used $100+

glemay

Well I guess the search continues. I missed the sale on the PSW125. The PSW10 is gone lol. Still undecided on the Athena. Oh well, see what the next week couple weeks brings. Part of the fun!

rpf65

http://www.audiophileliquidator.net/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=78&products_id=14200

Not a bad budget sub.

If you want to stay Polk.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000092TT0/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1449265800&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=polk+audio+psw505&dpPl=1&dpID=51GOiuLbhLL&ref=plSrch

seabeerob213

Watch frys, amazon, and newrgg for the 505, seen them as low as 129.99 new

mikeyb128

I second the 505. I really liked that sub in my early audio days. One of polks best budget subs.

teekay0007

I highly recommend the Polk Audio DSW550wi (10", wireless-ready, down or front-firing, with remote control). I have two of them and use them in SDA-1C and Monitor 10B-fronted 5.1 setups. They sound fantastic in both HT (SDA and Monitor rigs) and stereo (Monitor) use. I don't use it for music with the SDAs since they need no low-end help.

I haven't tried them in wireless mode, so I can't comment on how they perform that way.

I got mine on sale at Newegg for terrific prices. Not sure if they ship to Canada.

teekay0007

Just checked Newegg. They don't have the DSW 550wi right now, but they have the PSW505 on sale for $180 (+$2 shipping), which is very hard to beat!

Again, I don't know if they ship to Canada...

glemay

Doesn't look like newegg.com ships to Canada.

newegg.ca will ship to Canada, but its $500 CDN...

All the good deals are in the USA... If anyone stumbles across something good, please do share!

glemay

Well, my new adventure into used equipment has taken a bad turn. I picked up a used sub which looked to be a good deal. It was a Paradigm PS-1200. Listened to the sub at the sellers house for about 15 minutes and everything checked out. Got it home, played one song and all of a sudden its making weird noises... Open it up, it's a bandpass style sub, and the surround is all rotten and has unglued from the cone... Makes me wish I didn't try to save a few bucks and had just bought new... But now I'm out some cash. What should I do? I don't expect the seller to do anything. Do I try to have it fixed? Buy a replacement driver? Replace with something else? Sell for parts? Throw it out?

Feeling bummed... Making me rethink this purchase and the pending deal I have on RT55's. Might back out now...

tonyb

I wouldn't back out of the 55's, worth getting. Buying used gear it's bound to happen that you get a turkey every so often.

When buying used gear, you have to get a grasp on the seller. Buying from a stranger you'll never deal with again or communicate with puts you behind the 8 ball right off the bat.

Better to buy from a dealer, forum member here, or others you have some interaction with. More than likely those people will stand behind what they sell and greatly increase your chances of a good purchase.

Your up in the bad lands, try some audio shops/dealers up there who sell used gear. Keep in touch with some forum members too who reside up in Looney-ville, they may also be selling stuff off time to time.

Check around for parts to the sub and see what the costs entail and make your decision to keep and fix it, or make a planter out of it.

glemay

Has anyone bought from SimplySpeakers.com? Looks like I can rebuild the speaker and put a new surround on for about $30. Might be my best option at this time...

glemay

Well I'm happy to report that the seller offered to refund some of my money.. I've ordered a repair kit from online and will hopefully have for this weekend. If all goes well hopefully I will have an operational subwoffer by next week. Not sure how this rebuild will go, but I watched some instructional videos online. Doesn't look to be too difficult if I am patient. Anyone have any tips for refoaming a speaker?

teekay0007

glemay wrote: »

Anyone have any tips for refoaming a speaker?

Yeah, have someone who knows what the he## they are doing do it for you.

dalylaleahthor

Agreed with Skrol stay away from the psw10.

glemay

Don't know anyone that has done this before. I'm going to try it and hope all goes well. I've got the sub out of the box and I'm prepping it for when the new foam surround arrives. The only question I have so far is that the foam surround looks to be glued to a gasket. The gasket is then glued to the basket. In the instructional video I watched on SimplySpeakers.com, their video had a Cerwin Vega sub with foam surround glued directly to the basket. The gasket was then glued on top of the foam surround. What do you guys think? Should I peel the existing gasket off? I have a new gasket coming, but the order of installation is not quite clear...

westmassguy

Post some photos of the woofer. I re-foam/re-edge quite a bit.

glemay

westmassguy,

Here are some pictures of the sub:





You can see the gasket still on the basket. The foam surround was glued to the gasket. Not sure if I should be pulling the old gasket off. Here is what I ordered:

http://www.simplyspeakers.com/paradigm-speaker-foam-edge-repair-kit-fsk-12jl-1.html

http://www.simplyspeakers.com/speaker-gasket-replacement-repair-gas-12.html

westmassguy

That looks pretty straight forward. You shouldn't need a new gasket, the old one looks fine. You'll need to remove the remaining foam from the flat lip of the cone. I use a utility knife blade, with half taped off. You want to scrape all the loose foam off till you get down to the original glue line. Don't cut it off with the blade, scrap it off. Vacuum up all the bits. Dry fit the surround, so you know its the correct inner and outer diameter. I don't use solvent glue like the type they're sending you. Aleen's Tacky Glue is my go to glue. I always remove the dust cap, and shim the voice coil, but I don't see that they're sending those with the kit. You'll have to align the cone by hand. Glue the new surround to the cone first. Apply a bead of glue to the inner lip of the surround, and another bead to edge of the cone. Smooth out the glue beads with a small artist's brush. Let them sit for a few minutes. You'll see the Tacky Glue skin over, and start to dry. Now place the surround on the cone, and press gently all the way around. It should stick immediately. Make sure the edge of the new surround is flush with the cone where the downward curve starts. Tacky Glue has a much longer working time than the solvent glue, so you can make any adjustments. Let it dry for at least an hour. I hair dryer will speed up the process.

Now apply a bead of glue between the gasket and the outer lip of the new surround. Smooth it out with the brush. Keep a damp rag handy to wipe off any glue that seeps out. Smooth out the foam edge, so you've got an even coat of glue all around. Now press in gently on the cone. If it's centered, there will be no rubbing sound. If you do hear rubbing, it will usually be on one side. Identify exactly where its rubbing, by pressing down on the cone on that side. You'll need to adjust the cone either towards or away from the point where it's rubbing. You can move the cone by placing your fingers on top and on the underside of the cone through the basket frame. Recheck alignment after each adjustment by pressing down on the center of the cone. Once the cone is centered, insert your fingers through the basket frame on either side, and lift the cone upwards. If there's no rubbing while lifting or pressing down on the cone, you're good to go. Let it dry for a few hours, then re-install it.

glemay

westmassguy,

Thanks for the instructions! I checked my tracking number and delivery has been delayed to Monday. So I will have to wait until then to try this out. Will report back when I have everything.

glemay

westmassguy

You're welcome. Just take your time, don't rush it.

glemay

The repair kit was delivered to my wife's parents house. Going to pick up tomorrow night. Will post back with results when complete!

glemay

Got the repair done and sub is working great! Refoam was simple, just required a little patience. Pretty happy with the outcome. Thanks again to westmassguy for additional instructions. See pics below of refoamed driver.

westmassguy

Looks great, good job.

msg

Nice job!!!
I was bummed reading your post when you got it home and it crapped out on you. Glad you got it fixed.

I was just reading the instructions WMG wrote for you. wow! that was detailed. and I especially liked the bit about scraping the foam/glue, NOT cutting it. lol, I'd possibly have become impatient and learned the hard way why cutting it is a bad idea.

glemay

I'm happy with the way it turned out. Sounds good now that it's all back together. Need to spend a little time playing with the settings and placement. If anyone else ends up in a similar position, go for it and give refoaming a try. Not too difficult and once the speaker is back up and running, quite rewarding!