Dead PSW1000

DarkMagna

I picked up a dead PSW1000 (dual 10's) for next to nothing. No power, no lights.
The first troubleshooting step is to check/change the fuse.....I'm shocked....but I can't find the fuse or fuse holder.
Can someone upload a pic of the fuse please?

In the event it's not a fuse, is there a typical fail point in these boards?
Does Polk still supply complete amps for this sub?

TIA.
Cheers

sgmsmg

The fuse is housed in a plastic retainer where the power cord plugs in. You just have remove it by the tab. I can try and take a picture when I get home. Does the amp say "BASH" on it? I have a PSW1000 with the BASH amp and it is still working after 11 years. I believe there were PSW1000's with two different amps and the ones with the BASH amps seem to last longer.

rooftop59

Those amps are known to fail, and most folks replace them with an after market amp from parts express or someplace similar. The 1000 watt plate amp from parts express is the fav I think.

I am guessing from its history that the amps aren't worth fixing, but I could be wrong

DarkMagna

Thanks, sgmsmg. Yes, it's a BASH amp.
Found the fuse, thank you. Was tearing my hair out trying to find the silly thing.
Put a new fuse (250v, slow blow)....it popped the moment I turned the power on.
Sigh.....now to decide if it's worth taking in for repair.

Rooftop 59:
From the little bit of information out there for this sub, it doesn't get great reviews. Well, it does and it doesn't.....people seem to love the musicality of it but it seems to lack deep extension.
I find that a little surprising, considering it was Polk's flagship sub in its day.

My concern for a replacement plate amp is that Polk's BASH amp may have been 'tweaked' to suit the drivers (in fact, a good amp should be designed with the actual drivers in mind). So my concern is that, if I put a replacement plate amp from Parts Express (or similar), that the sub will never sound as it was designed to sound....and I would never know any differently.
That's why I wonder if repair might be a better option....especially if a repair quote is only a couple hundred bucks. Remember, I'm in Canada and with our dollar, a replacement plate amp starts at double that.

What would y'all do if you're in my shoes?
Thanks

sgmsmg

Another option is make a panel to fill the hole where the plate amp is that has binding posts. Then you could run a normal separate amp to it. Then you could maybe source one locally. If not there are some available from Parts Express. One that I had in mind was the Dayton Audio SA1000. It has plenty of power and adjustability to work with the PSW1000. There are some threads in this forum about what plate amps people have used and the benefits of which ones work better. Has to do with the frequency the PSW1000 is designed for and how certain plate amps subsonic filter won't work. Depending on how handy you are there is a way to add to the internal porting of the PSW1000 to tune it for lower frequencies. I have most of that info bookmarked on my work computer so I can post the links right now.

DarkMagna

I appreciate the feedback, sgmsmg
The problem with replacing the amp, such as the Dayton Audio SA1000 is price. By the time that's converted to Canadian dollars, plus, shipping, duty, broker, etc.....the price tag would be over $600.
I threw the dice on this sub for $40 and I'd be willing to spend two or three hundred to fix it, but any more than that, and I think the dollars would be better spent on SVS, Rythmik, or something along those lines.

Now all that said, I don't need this one anytime soon. I've already got an ancient 12" Mirage that will still shake the walls if I want. Combine that with my tactile transducers in my couch, and I'm not missing for want of bottom-end. And I'm in an apartment!

So this beauty (this Polk really is pretty) can become a small hobby. I'm handy. I can modify the port, blank the back of the box if I come across a cheap used outboard amp, re-do the back to accommodate a different plate amp (again, if a good used, appropriate one comes around).

So, I'd appreciate the links when you get a chance. If I could tune it lower, I'd probably care a little less about the 'stock' amp.
Cheers

codycatalist

I love Polk but I would go with an SVS or a replacement plate amp (which will run you over your cost allocated). SVS has a black friday sale today $399 for a SB12 NSD.

https://www.svsound.com/products/sb12-nsd

limited stock!

sgmsmg

Here are some I the links I mentioned:

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/1860581#Comment_1860581

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/1810086#Comment_1810086

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/1771660#Comment_1771660

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/subwoofer-amps-high-pass-filters/7636-subwoofer-plate-amp-3.html

see post#30 in the above link

DarkMagna

Thank you all. I really appreciate your help. I've decided to make this a project. I'll look through sgmsmg's links and work on the box, when time allows and I'll keep my eyes open for a good cheap plate or external amp.
Very helpful - thanks guys.

chris23120

Go with a Dayton 1000 external amp and make your own panel or I may have a few that I made left still. I bought a ton of these that Polk dumped when they discontinued it since they did not have amps. After a ton of testing I came up with internal port mod (extension) that really helped out the low end, but still blended well if you had decent front speakers that could extend down to 80HZ. I sold 150 of these units with BASH500's, Dayton500/1000 and Dayton rack 1000. The rack amp was the best because the Dayton amp is sealed and takes up a lot (30%) of your airspace. So with the port mod, polyfill, and the external amp its dramatically better than your standard PSW1000 which I used for comparison when selecting amps and working on the port. Out of 150 customers I only had 3 come back, and 2 of those were BS. One buy couldn't believe how heavy it was and I set him a label and dropped shipped it to another customer (which is stupid since my ebay ad had the deminsions and weights) and another didn't want the port mod or to pay for a Dayton amp (the daytons have controls so you can roll off the low end as the factory did or dial it in for my port mod) and without it with the BASH500 it makes port noise (rattling sound, speaker out of control) on LOW BASS... The whole reason why I spent a ton of time on the port...LOL Anyways, I am headed out of town for the holiday but I think I have a few metal plates that I had machined to fill the amp hole and had cutouts for speaker terminals. If you paint it black it looks factory and sits in the recess for the amp and used the existing holes. I will look around. I still have 5 of these units and a ton of speakers but they were the really damaged ones that I was planning to make new wood sides for that could be stained. But I am a habitual entrepreneur and the PSW Project was like 4 years ago so they kinda fell off the radar... I'll let you know if I find a plate. Do with the Dayton though no matter what.