PSW505 issues
ShaunKanak
Posts: 3
I bought an RM7200 system directly from Polk way back when I worked at Circuit City (yeah, that long ago). The sub originally paired with the 7200 was sold out so instead I bought two PSW505s for just a little more. The place I was living in at the time was small so I only hooked up one of the PSW505s and even that was overkill. About 10 years later we moved and I was able to hook up both PSW505s in our bigger home. (Still overkill but it was fun.)
My job moved me to Italy a few years ago. Power here is 220 and 50hz. I use a step-down transformer to get the power to 110 but I'm pretty sure the output is still 50hz.
I have one of the PSW505s hooked up with my front satellite speakers and the other to a subwoofer output. Receiver is a Yamaha 7.1 home theater receiver.
In the past year, the PSW505s hooked up to the subwoofer connection started distorting badly. I just unplugged it and made due with the one PSW505 hooked up to the front speakers.
Recently I noticed the bass was weak in an action movie. The remaining PSW505 had no power. After some troubleshooting, I opened it up to find signs of a mouse that had been living there. I cleaned it up and replace the badly burned fuse. It immediately blew the new fuse. There are no obvious signs of damage to the amplifier card or the other audio card (that one had some mouse gunk on it but I thoroughly cleaned that.)
I have 2 questions.
1. Assuming I get them fixed, would there be a problem running these subwoofers at 50hz for a prolonged period? I will be here at least one more year and with luck another 3 to 5 years.
2. I originally bought these speakers 15 years ago so they are way out of warranty. Is it possible for me to buy the amplifier and sound circuit cards to swap them out myself?
My job moved me to Italy a few years ago. Power here is 220 and 50hz. I use a step-down transformer to get the power to 110 but I'm pretty sure the output is still 50hz.
I have one of the PSW505s hooked up with my front satellite speakers and the other to a subwoofer output. Receiver is a Yamaha 7.1 home theater receiver.
In the past year, the PSW505s hooked up to the subwoofer connection started distorting badly. I just unplugged it and made due with the one PSW505 hooked up to the front speakers.
Recently I noticed the bass was weak in an action movie. The remaining PSW505 had no power. After some troubleshooting, I opened it up to find signs of a mouse that had been living there. I cleaned it up and replace the badly burned fuse. It immediately blew the new fuse. There are no obvious signs of damage to the amplifier card or the other audio card (that one had some mouse gunk on it but I thoroughly cleaned that.)
I have 2 questions.
1. Assuming I get them fixed, would there be a problem running these subwoofers at 50hz for a prolonged period? I will be here at least one more year and with luck another 3 to 5 years.
2. I originally bought these speakers 15 years ago so they are way out of warranty. Is it possible for me to buy the amplifier and sound circuit cards to swap them out myself?
Best Answer
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Hello,
You're welcome, glad to be of help. You can contact Polk's CS department for replacement amps, if telephoning is an option they are at: 1-800-377-7655 select option 2 for parts and mention that you have joined Club Polk. If the phone is not an option send an email to: Ken.Carter@soundunited.com for ordering help.
Cheers, Ken
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Answers
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Hello,
Welcome to Polk's forum. There shouldn't be a problem using the subwoofer with 50Hz mains, the amplifier circuitry operates using DC voltages that have been rectified by the power supply. In some circuit designs the power supply uses a "pi" type filter that is tuned to 60Hz and when used with a 50Hz supply could mean a slight increase in noise, but I don't believe that's an issue with the PSW505.
I'll find out who the importer for Polk is for Italy and post it here for you. It might take a few extra days since this is a "long" weekend.
Cheers, Ken -
Ken, thank you for the reply. I forgot to mention that I work for the US Navy so I can easily send and receive packages through US mail. That tends to be more reliable than the Italian postal service.
Even if Polk won't ship by USPS then I can ship things to my in-laws in Virginia and they will forward to me by USPS.
I know that Amazon still sells the PSW505 for about $200 but I hate to straight up replace these because they still look new and the cones and all look pristine. So, if I can buy replacement amps for a reasonable price I'd prefer to do that.
Thanks again. -
Thanks again Ken, I'll give them a call this week.