Polk PSW 505

Kingkwas
Kingkwas Posts: 92
in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
Newbie to audiophile world. Still learning. Have had a PSW 505 for years. Recently moved from condo where I can start to stretch its legs some. Been reading reviews. Not all great. I've always been happy.

What are its limitations? Why upgrade? What will a better sub do/ sound like?

Thanks in advance!
AVR: Marantz SR 5011
L/ R: Polk Audio 703 LSiM (Bi Amp'd)
C: Polk Audio 255c - LS
R: Def Tech
Sub: PSW 505 (12 inch)
DVD: Oppo UDP 203
TV: 2016 Sony XBR 75X850D
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Comments

  • jeremymarcinko
    jeremymarcinko Posts: 3,785
    A better sub won't sound like a sub. Just clean non localized bass. The 505 and other budget subs make a lot of noise from the ports and boxes which add unwanted sounds that ultimately muddy up the note and allows you to hear where the sound is coming from. A good sub disappears, the bass is clean, isn't localized and sounds natural.

    That said I use a 505 and with careful placement it can be acceptable for movies. I wouldn't recommend it for music however.
    Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
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  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,465
    edited February 2017
    The 505 is not a bad sub for the price, Set the volume on the sub to around 9 O clock and run your AVR setup. It will do till you have or want to move up to an HSU or SVS.

    Letting us know the rest of your system (AVR speakers ect) is helpful
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 8,121
    Lots of info out there. But a better sub will have higher output (louder), greater extension (dig deeper or lower), have lower distortion (making the sound cleaner) and be more linear (there will not be any frequency bumps where say, the open low E on a bass guitar is much louder than the D).

    All this adds up to the sound being more natural and musical (mainly due to linearity and low distortion) and much more impactful for movies (louder and deeper).

    A good sub disappears on music, and you feel it in your chest on movies...
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1     Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • BtrSound
    BtrSound Posts: 123
    It is not a bad sub for the money. You will find rare instances where there is loud tight base where it will not handle it well, but overall it is decent for the price.
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  • Luicas
    Luicas Posts: 5
    I have that sub. It works fine and wouldn't change it for something higher end. When critically listening to music, I simply override it, and use only my front RTi8's. There is nothing the sub can add to chamber music, or acoustic jazz. Now for Pop music or EDM, or movies, it's tricky to make any sub "disappear", but first you have to accept that a naturally sounding setup does NOT have to thump your soul away, gratuitously. At least, that's how I like it. My feeling is that definitely there are better subs in the market that can over do the bass thing. Albeit, unnaturally. It all depends on how you like your music/movies.
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