Another blown amp PSW125

GJosephs

I am just beyond frustrated at this point. I called Polk tech support last week to get a replacement board in one of my two subs since the amp won't turn on and there is clearly something fried on the board. They said the whole amp needs to be replaced. Since I was pretty sure I've had it more than 3 years I didn't argue much about it not being covered under warranty. Not sure why she couldn't look it up by the serial number. Tech support said the amp was $75 and the person she transferred me to buy it told me it was $125 and I shouldn't have been told it was $75. To make matters worse, the guy said I should just buy a new sub. I have two and I want them to match, so I was pretty ticked off and asked for a supervisor. I got transferred to a VM and no one called back.

Here we are a week later and my OTHER sub no longer turns on! Are you kidding me! I have two (dead) 12" Polk subs, a Polk sound bar with sub and ceiling Polk speakers and this is NOT settling well!!! I don't want to go buy two new subs, I want mine working!

GJosephs

Figured I better post some pics

F1nut

Sub amps of any brand don't seem to last, it's not just Polk. Anyway, you would be better off buying one or two new subs as what you have are easily improved upon. SVS makes some pretty decent subs.

GJosephs

I understand there's room for improvement, I'm just not enthused about dropping another $800-$1,000 on a pair of powered subs. I never got a center channel, so that's next on my purchase list. Also, I don't think I could go smaller than 12's after upgrading to the subs I have. I just want to have new amps so I can get a few more years out of them then decide what to do.

joecoulson

I think the key is to get a sub that you hardly ever push to limits. Some of the cheaper subs need to be pushed to clipping to get any kind of decent output (at least in my experience)
Having a lot of headroom in the power stage would seem to me like a good way to increase the longevity.
Enter SVS...

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I'm sorry you're having a problem, I'll ask Kim Jasper, the CS manager to contact you via email.

tonyb

GJosephs wrote: »

I understand there's room for improvement, I'm just not enthused about dropping another $800-$1,000 on a pair of powered subs. I never got a center channel, so that's next on my purchase list. Also, I don't think I could go smaller than 12's after upgrading to the subs I have. I just want to have new amps so I can get a few more years out of them then decide what to do.

I hear ya man, but sometimes it's better to cut the loses when repairs outweigh the value of something. Stuff breaks, just like car repairs, sometimes it's just better to move on.

[Deleted User]

I believe Kim is going to contact you.

GJosephs

Kim emailed me, thanks Ken! Even though I was 99% sure I knew what the outcome would be, I wanted to be thorough. I went and got a new fuse and it blew immediately with a spark from the board. Just like the other one. Both amps are clearly shot. I appreciate the fast responses by the way. I was pretty bummed after losing two subs within such a short period of time!

GJosephs

I am soooooo stoked to have both subs working again. Polk really stepped up and took care of me which was quite a relief. Looks like the last few speakers I'm buying will still be Polk LOL. Now I need to look for 4 satellite speakers and a center channel to complete my home theater system!

[Deleted User]

I'm glad Kim was able to help you.

tompotts1979

I have a similar situation, my whole setup is polk with the cherry finish so I don't want to replace the sub with anything else, but I've had a second (brand new) amp assembly blow. Multiple pieces on the board have melted and the fuse has blown, despite it only ever being used lightly. Do I just replace the amp again and accept they blow regularly, or am I missing something? I'm on tompotts1979@gmail.com

tonyb

tompotts1979 wrote: »

I have a similar situation, my whole setup is polk with the cherry finish so I don't want to replace the sub with anything else, but I've had a second (brand new) amp assembly blow. Multiple pieces on the board have melted and the fuse has blown, despite it only ever being used lightly. Do I just replace the amp again and accept they blow regularly, or am I missing something? I'm on tompotts1979@gmail.com

Get a different subwoofer. Subs don't have to voice match and are easily interchangeable with a variety of speakers. SVS or HSU should be a good starting point.

F1nut

tompotts1979 wrote: »

I have a similar situation, my whole setup is polk with the cherry finish so I don't want to replace the sub with anything else, but I've had a second (brand new) amp assembly blow. Multiple pieces on the board have melted and the fuse has blown, despite it only ever being used lightly. Do I just replace the amp again and accept they blow regularly, or am I missing something? I'm on tompotts1979@gmail.com

Missing something.........

BOFO

i am in the same exact situation as gjosephs, i also have two subs i have changed the plate in each sub already and they both have gone again. they are great subs when working. mine are also all matched to my other speakers and i also dont feel the need to spend 1000 bucks for a new set. the speakers and the case of these subs are like brand new. i want to continue to use polk but i fear if i have to go buy new subs because of this i think i would be foolish to purchase polk again i dont know what to do. i hope their customer service can help me with this issue. i really love the sound of them when they were working. if kim could reach out to me and help that would be great and i think i would continue to be a lifelong customer. i hope they will work with me and get my bass kickin again.

pitdogg2

you know what you do not hear about failing... HSU and SVS plate amps

KatS

Hello.
I am hoping you can help. I have a sub that doesn't seem to be working. The led that indicates it's on won't light up. That tells me there is no power. I used a different power cord, still nothing. Does this mean there is something else wrong? I enjoy DIY projects so I'm not afraid to open it up and look around but I need some guidance. Since we all seem to have some extra time on our hands right now I thought it would be a good time. Thanks in advance!

Hermitism

My PSW125 had a fuse on the outer rear plate. When my amp failed a new fuse would blow immediately. Those subs are known to have a short life span, unfortunately. Polk replaced the amp plate with a newer version, but people are still reporting issues, so I can only assume that includes the newer versions. There is a thread around here somewhere with pics of both amp plate versions.

The manual states to place the volume knob at 50% (12 o'clock position). I think Polk should have issued a statement that the volume knob shouldn't exceed 10'oclock and see if that cured the amps from burning out, but they would have sounded under-powered. After purchasing a better sub, I wish I hadn't put more money into the 125. I think my original amp lasted three years, if I remember correctly.

Miller804

I just ordered a new PSW125 after having the one I already owned for 4 years quit working and making strange noises. Like others I have all the satellites and a nice matching system and wanted to keep it that way. I was hoping to get another plate for this one and have two but now beginning to wonder if I made a bad decision. I still have PSW 110 in my garage from years ago that also has a bad amp.

verb

Hey @Miller804 I feel your pain. Went down that road previously. I did buy a new amp for mine cause I just couldn't toss the sub away.

In retrospect I should have tossed it. As you read through the many threads about the lifespan of those subs are short, as the amp will fail over time. And the replacement amp is not really a value considering the price of a replacement sub.

Looking forward, you may want to consider upgrading. I upgraded to SVS subs (pre-owned), not the top of the line, as there is a sub for every budget, and have been very happy.

Miller804

verb wrote: »

Hey @Miller804 I feel your pain. Went down that road previously. I did buy a new amp for mine cause I just couldn't toss the sub away.

In retrospect I should have tossed it. As you read through the many threads about the lifespan of those subs are short, as the amp will fail over time. And the replacement amp is not really a value considering the price of a replacement sub.

Looking forward, you may want to consider upgrading. I upgraded to SVS subs (pre-owned), not the top of the line, as there is a sub for every budget, and have been very happy.

Thanks for the advice I got a pretty good price on on it and pretty funny I was just getting ready to look up the SVS just to see what everybody was referring to when I seen your reply.

I had a feeling pulling the trigger on it I could end up with a collection of these subs that don’t work. Thinking I could have paid more and got a powered sub that would have lasted more than a few years I wasn’t aware of so many failed amps.
I seen someone said they changed the amp hopefully the components are now more compatible.

Nhorrocks

Hi I have 2 x PSW 125 subs, which have the heartbeat / static / buzzing problem. I'm in melbourne Australia. Can someone please help me with a solution? Thank you very much!

mrtech11

I have a Polk audio sub wooferPSW125, the fuse blown, and the mosfet is shorted ,there someone, show the back of, main board, picture, so that I can see the smd parts resistors, thanks all😊

mrtech11

NHorrocks, i think the problem in your psw 125 ,there an leakage capacitor,or transistor,

mrtech11

Gardenstater

I have a Martin Logan Dynamo that is blowing fuses due to some problem on the Power Supply Board. I know that is where the problem is because it blows fuses upon power up even when the Power supply board is disconnected from the Linear Amplifier board. It may be bad MOSFET(s) like in your case, and maybe associated driver components. Show us some pictures of the entire board. Does it use an Indigo BASH pwr supp board like so many others? Mine is 600131 Rev. 0.

mikey3575

Gardenstater wrote: »

I have a Martin Logan Dynamo that is blowing fuses due to some problem on the Power Supply Board. I know that is where the problem is because it blows fuses upon power up even when the Power supply board is disconnected from the Linear Amplifier board. It may be bad MOSFET(s) like in your case, and maybe associated driver components. Show us some pictures of the entire board. Does it use an Indigo BASH pwr supp board like so many others? Mine is 600131 Rev. 0.

George - did you ever resolve this? I have the same sub, the same revision board. It doesn't blow fuses but it just simply won't turn on. I've traced the circuits and I have the schematic for the boards (all 3) but nothing looks amiss. Continuity checks are all good. It just does nothing.

Mike, also Jersey.

skrol

I bought a Polk sub with a bad amp for cheap. I bought a Dyaton plate amp from Parts Express on sale https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-SPA250-250-Watt-Subwoofer-Amplifier-300-803 and I consider it an upgrade.

However, you can buy a complete Dayton sub and it performs exceptionally well for the money. My son has a 10" Dayton sub and it is very impressive for the money,

DarbyR

So I've about had it with Polk products. I own several Polk speakers for two different systems have had problems with speakers and now my PS 125 the amp does not work. This thing is just over 3 years old, and have only used it a handful of times. I'm really getting frustrated. Called corporate talked to three different people couldn't even understand them speaking as they're probably from a different country, and that makes the situation worse. Hey Polk you should be using American people it would be much easier to understand them in our country. Anyway doesn't seem much worth spending $300 to ship it out and have it fixed when I can buy a new one for about that much. I sure hope to hear from somebody from Polk hope to hear that they can make things right. If not I'm done with Polk!

kbarnes89

Good afternoon.

I never push my Polk PSW125 and I even keep the DB on the amp in the negatives but today I turned it up a little bit and it just lost power. I opened it up and the fuse was blown. I put a new fuse in and it blew immediately. I bought this setup awhile ago and never registered these or have any proof of purchase. I’m pretty SOL huh. I have two TsI500 towers that I really love and a CS20 center. Was thinking of getting some Polk surrounds but after reading the failure rate I’m not so sure now. Does anyone know where I can get a new amp?

SeleniumFalcon

I recommend sending an email message to: Kim.Jasper@soundunited.com and explain your situation and give him as much information on the dates of purchase as possible.