Polk PSW505 enough for my 26x26 room?

digitalvideo

I moved this to the sub section thread.

I have a 26x26 room with around 7.5" ceilings. My setup is mostly for movies, tv, video games, home theater experience using all HDMI wiring/connection.

My current 7.1 setup is:

Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-111fd plasma
Pioneer Elite SC-05 reciever
2 front floor/tower speakers - Polk RTi A9
Center speaker - Polk CSi A6
2 side speakers - Polk RTi A3
2 rear speakers - Polk RTi A3
Sub - Polk PSW 505

(Future additions - Oppo BDP-83 player, Sunfire amp)

Is the Polk PSW 505 a quality enough sub with enough power to fully get what I can get from my system to fill the room without bottlenecking it?

jon s

I have a 18x26 foot room, and my Polk PW650's did not cut it... I had a Sunfire True Sub and it performed a lot better than the 650... Unfortunately, the Sunfire died (not uncommon for Sunfires, they are built with poor components). I now have three 650s and they are just okay. They are hard to balance properly and the frequency response peaks too high...

digitalvideo

I'm doing a lot of reading online at different forums, people seem to be raving about SVS subs and many say they really like the SVS PB12 NSD sub. Have any of you heard that sub and have any experiences with it?

cnh

That's a big ROOM. I can't imagine running a single sub in there. Haven't heard SVS yet. But I have heard Velodynes. Two Velodynes (at least 12") would do the trick in there IMO.

cnh

digitalvideo

If I were to use two subs where should I strategically place the subs in the room for best results?

cnh

There is no absolute answer to that. Some people run one in the front corner and one in the back, others run both in front L/R corners, still others 'stack' their subs.

What you'll have to do is experiment and see where 'room' reinforcements are best and where the two subs don't cancel each other out, interfere with each others output.

I'm going to be working with that myself although my room is much smaller about half your size.

cnh

Mike21

Hi dv

If you get 2 subs, try stacking them.

Mike

mailman23

I have the SVS PB12 NSD and it's awesome! Best sub I've ever owned. You cant go wrong with this sub. Also, I run this sub in the front corner.

digitalvideo

Thanks for the tips and advice. I'll first buy just one SVS PB12 NSD sub and put it in the corner and compare it to my Polk sub, if it's a noticeable improvement and shakes and thumps the room then I'll be satisfied with that, I'll watch some movies on DVD and bluray and some sports on tv for a week or two and I'll have friends come over who are into movies and music and get their opinions on the sound. If we feel it's not enough power and oomph so to speak I'll buy a second SVS PB12 NSD. I'll experiment where to put the subs in the room. I just make sure to keep the sub atleast 3 feet from the walls and leave plenty of room around it.

When it comes to stacking subs, I don't get the concept of that. Personally I'd think that if you put a sub on each side of the room you get booming coming from your left and right side of the head and it's more of a surround sensation to your senses. I could be completely wrong though.

ken brydson

digitalvideo wrote: »

Thanks for the tips and advice. I'll first buy just one SVS PB12 NSD sub and put it in the corner and compare it to my Polk sub, if it's a noticeable improvement and shakes and thumps the room then I'll be satisfied with that, I'll watch some movies on DVD and bluray and some sports on tv for a week or two and I'll have friends come over who are into movies and music and get their opinions on the sound. If we feel it's not enough power and oomph so to speak I'll buy a second SVS PB12 NSD. I'll experiment where to put the subs in the room. I just make sure to keep the sub atleast 3 feet from the walls and leave plenty of room around it.

When it comes to stacking subs, I don't get the concept of that. Personally I'd think that if you put a sub on each side of the room you get booming coming from your left and right side of the head and it's more of a surround sensation to your senses. I could be completely wrong though.

I personally don't think a PB12 is enough sub for that large room.
Call or email SVS and give them your room size, listening tastes, equipment list, etc and they will advise as to the best sub for your application. Their CS is outstanding (on par with Polk) and they will not try to oversell you.

Rocco1

GO WITH BOTH SUBS RUNNING AT ONCE! You will get what your looking for. If you have the capability put them in opposite corners front to back. ie one front left and the other rear right. you will get what your looking for trust me.

digitalvideo

I ordered the SVS PB21 NSD 2 days ago and it should be here next week. I'll see how it performs in my room and listen to tv/sports, movies/dvd/bluray and music and have over some family and friends to hear their opinions as well. If it sounds weak and feel I could get more I'll buy a second one. Mind you I have no amp so I'm driving my 7.1 system through my Pioneer SC-05 av.

ken brydson

digitalvideo wrote: »

I ordered the SVS PB21 NSD 2 days ago and it should be here next week. I'll see how it performs in my room and listen to tv/sports, movies/dvd/bluray and music and have over some family and friends to hear their opinions as well. If it sounds weak and feel I could get more I'll buy a second one. Mind you I have no amp so I'm driving my 7.1 system through my Pioneer SC-05 av.

Man I wish they made a PB21. That would be a BEAST

digitalvideo

lol yeah yeah typo, PB12 NSD

Ron Temple

You'll be astonished with the improvement. However, like others have said, you're still a tad undersubbed. The PB12 will get you closer, but will have to work hard to fill your room. A sub(s) working within their limits just sound better than a sub that's straining to output what the media calls for. 2 colocated subs (of the same make/brand) will get you a minimum 6db gain in headroom, split them apart and you'll get 3 or more depending on how much room and boundary gain you get (might not be much in your space). Corners are good, but might not get you the best, most even bass response. However, you're on the right track. You probably don't know what all this means, so I recommend doing some research on subs. There's a large Sub forum on AVS with a dedicated SVS thread going, some How To's, etc. I recommend you start there.

Anyway, I think you'll be very pleased...

Pepi28

Rocco1 wrote: »

GO WITH BOTH SUBS RUNNING AT ONCE! You will get what your looking for. If you have the capability put them in opposite corners front to back. ie one front left and the other rear right. you will get what your looking for trust me.

:eek:Running 2 totally different subs will be an even worse problem then having 1 weak sub. How could he trust you when you have not been in his room. Just experiment with placement until it sounds good to you.

Pepi28

Hope you get what ur looking for with the pb12. I love my SVS. Can't wait to get another one.

digitalvideo

You guys really don't think one SVS PB12 NSD will be enough for my room? If I personally don't feel it from the one sub would two SVS subs of the same model definitely do it? I first got to hear the one SVS sub though.

cheddar

digitalvideo wrote: »

When it comes to stacking subs, I don't get the concept of that. Personally I'd think that if you put a sub on each side of the room you get booming coming from your left and right side of the head and it's more of a surround sensation to your senses. I could be completely wrong though.

Low frequency sound is not as directional as high frequency sound. That's why you can use just one subwoofer for an entire surround sound system. The object isn't to surround your head with subwoofers, since low frequencies sound like they're coming from all around you in the first place.

Instead, there will be places where the sound waves from the two subwoofers reinforce each other and nodes where the sound waves will actually cancel each other. This is purely a function of where the subwoofers are in relation to each other. So as you move them around, you are also moving the nodes around in 3-D. And if you move them just the right amount from each other, you will move a node right on top of your head and decrease instead of increase the amount of bass you hear. You really have to experiment by maybe having a friend move the sub with you in the main listening spot to hear where the placement is best.

bevo

Wouldn't 2 psw 505's sound better then 1 SVS PB12 NSD. You could get 2 PSW 505's for the price of one SVS. If you've got the money for 2 SVS's, why not get 4 505's. I really don't know a whole lot about subs, and I 'm really in the same boat you are. I'm just seeing what people think of the 2 over 1 for the same price idea.

ken brydson

digitalvideo wrote: »

You guys really don't think one SVS PB12 NSD will be enough for my room? If I personally don't feel it from the one sub would two SVS subs of the same model definitely do it? I first got to hear the one SVS sub though.

It just depends on what you want. The PB12 is a great sub but you have a large room and I seroiusly doubt it has the "uumph" to fill it. You will get good bass but it will not pressurize the room and give you the kick in the chest that a lot of people want/expect from a sub. I strongly suggest that you call SVS with your measurements, equipment list, listening preferences, etc. They will not try to oversell you. They will recommend a sub that best suits your application. If you choose a lesser sub (like I did) they will tell you EXACTLY what type of performance you should expect in your room. Just my .02, off my soapbox now.

ken brydson

bevo wrote: »

Wouldn't 2 psw 505's sound better then 1 SVS PB12 NSD. You could get 2 PSW 505's for the price of one SVS. If you've got the money for 2 SVS's, why not get 4 505's. I really don't know a whole lot about subs, and I 'm really in the same boat you are. I'm just seeing what people think of the 2 over 1 for the same price idea.

Might go louder but won't go deeper IMO. I haven't listened to Polk subs in a while though.

cheddar

bevo wrote: »

Wouldn't 2 psw 505's sound better then 1 SVS PB12 NSD. You could get 2 PSW 505's for the price of one SVS. If you've got the money for 2 SVS's, why not get 4 505's. I really don't know a whole lot about subs, and I 'm really in the same boat you are. I'm just seeing what people think of the 2 over 1 for the same price idea.

Getting more subs only amplifies what the original sub is capable of. If the original sub doesn't dig as deep or sound as good, getting two won't necessarily solve the problem. Also, the more subs you get, the more difficult you are making the placement challenge to get all the subs working together. It's much better IMO, to get one superior sub that does the job than a bunch of mediocre ones.

ken brydson

cheddar wrote: »

Getting more subs only amplifies what the original sub is capable of. If the original sub doesn't dig as deep or sound as good, getting two won't necessarily solve the problem. Also, the more subs you get, the more difficult you are making the placement challenge to get all the subs working together. It's much better IMO, to get one superior sub that does the job than a bunch of mediocre ones.

+1. Go for a PB12Plus 2 or a PB 13 Ultra and call it good

Rocco1

Pepi28 wrote: »

:eek:Running 2 totally different subs will be an even worse problem then having 1 weak sub. How could he trust you when you have not been in his room. Just experiment with placement until it sounds good to you.

Pepi two subs calibrated correctly the same brand or not could give him a different levels of bass. Obviously he has to play around with placement. I guess i just assumed that he would do that. I have a setup in my house with an M&K 8" for tight punchy bass and a 12" polk that does a lot of the lower rumbles. It took about a full day of playing around with them but man what a differnece it made in my system.

digitalvideo

I been thinking about it and I don't know what to do really, like I said I got a 26x26 room with 7.5" ceilings and I got an SVS PB12 NSD sub arriving this week and I don't know if it will be enough. I'll listen but I am wondering if I should get two of those subs. Would one SVS PB12-Ultra perform better than two PB12 NSD's for my specific application?

Ron Temple

digitalvideo wrote: »

I been thinking about it and I don't know what to do really, like I said I got a 26x26 room with 7.5" ceilings and I got an SVS PB12 NSD sub arriving this week and I don't know if it will be enough. I'll listen but I am wondering if I should get two of those subs. Would one SVS PB12-Ultra perform better than two PB12 NSD's for my specific application?

The Plus should have between 2-4dbs of headroom over the PB12NSD throughout it's range. It will extend a bit deeper and probably be a bit more articulate, but won't equal 2 NSDs. A pair of NSDs would be about perfect for your room, but listen to the single, then judge if you want/need more. BTW the Ultra will give you about 3-5dbs of output over the Plus and more output than a pair of NSDs, as well as, quite abit more articulation. It's a wonderful sub.

quadzilla

I did 2 PSW 450s in a 22x24x18 room. I get decent bass. One just did not cut it at all, so you can count me solidly in the "I recommend 2 subs for big rooms" column. I'm upgrading to something that goes deeper though, as the PSW 450s -3db is 30-something Hz, but I'm otherwise very happy with the sound.