PSW10 + Lightning strike

konevik

Hi all, new member here.

We had a lightning strike to our house a couple of weeks ago. Among the wide variety of electronics affected, I lost my Onkyo TX-SR700 series reciever. It has since been found to be unrepairable. However, the other componets of that system (Sony 60" SXRD, DVD, XBox360, etc) all seem to be functional.

Today I was installing my reciever's replacement (Onkyo TX-SR806). Everything went fine until I was setting up all speakers. All the channels work fine except my powered sub. It is a PSW10 110V. I opened her up and found a 250V 2A fuze to be blown. I have replaced that and retried it. However, I got about 30 seconds of loud rumbling as soon as I plugged it in followed by a pop, then nothing. I reopened it to find the new fuse blown as well.

Any opinions on if this would be a simple fix/repair or should this just be an oportunity for another upgrade? I realize specific repair quotes are not possible not knowing the exact problem, just looking for general advice. I'd rather not spend $50 bench fee + $100 labor on a sub I can replace for $115 from Amazon.

Thanks!
kevin

comfortablycurt

I'd say you'd be better off upgrading. The PSW10 is a fair sub at it's price point, but you can do a lot better for just a bit more than it would cost to repair it.

What kind of price range would you be looking at if you did decide to upgrade?

By the way, welcome to Club Polk!:)

wutadumsn23

+1 Curt, kone you would probably be better off upgrading that PSW10. You could always contact Polk CS and see what they can do for you, if it is still under warranty they may be able to hook you up. If not then you would be better off getting something else, either a Polk sub or depending on your budget one of the big boys like an Epik, SVS, Velodyne but they can be pretty pricey. Good choice on the 806, I have one and have enjoyed it very much. You will not be dissapointed in it's performance. Depending on your budget is where you go from here. Welcome to Club Polk.

-Jeff

konevik

That's what I was thinking. I probably will upgrade a little, perhaps the PSW110, though I really haven't done any reasearch/reading yet. I'll probably look to keep it <$250.

This will be for my basement HT, carpeted floors, finished with sheetrock walls. It would be to go with Polk RTi-70 fronts and a smallish polk center (I was planning on upgrading the center next before the lightning moved other electronics up the list). The side and rear channels are Boston's (micros for the rears).

Anyway, any suggestions, or just go with the PSW 110?
kevin

ps- wuta, not only do we now have the same reciever, I have mine hooked up to the exact same Sony SXRD...interesting.

comfortablycurt

I'd go with a PSW505. They can be had for around $300-325, and are some very nice subs. I've heard the PSW110 and the PSW125, I wasn't very impressed with either of them. The 505 is great for it's price point though.



Here's a link to Amazon...they've got them for $250.

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-12-Inch-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000092TT0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=aht&qid=1251867034&sr=1-2

leroyjr1

Were you using any power protection? Like a power center or strip.

comfortablycurt

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Were you using any power protection? Like a power center or strip.

If not...you need to get one of those too, to protect your gear in the event of another power surge or lightning strike.

wutadumsn23

+1 on Lee's suggestion for the power protection, that is the only piece of Monster equipment I own, and it is insured up to some ridiculous amount of money and it actually puts me at ease for this exact scenario. It even has input/output for my Comcast cable. I have everything in my HT hooked up to this thing and like I said, puts my mind at ease. That is pretty cool that we have the exact same AVR and TV, I love my Sony TV and don't see myself replacing it anytime soon. I got a great deal at Best Buy about 3 and 1/2 years ago and I have changed the bulb once and the picture is like a new TV again. As for the sub, that is the one thing I wish I had spent a little more coin on when I bought my HT. I have the PSW125 and don't get me wrong it is a great little sub for the price range, but wish I had ponied up a little more cash for a 505 or something along those lines. Have heard a lot of good press on the 505 and would recommend getting one if you can stretch your budget a little. If not, IMHO the 125 is a pretty good sub and will kick the PSW10, and the PSW110's butt. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

-Jeff

konevik

Done!

I went ahead and ordered the PSW505. Thanks for helping me spend my money. I went ahead and ordered through the Amazon link you posted above; it looks like a referring link so I think you get your reference fee.

Yes, everything on this system I am replacing/upgrading was on a surge protector. It was a brand x protector from a local home improvement store, was ~$50 at the time. I've already ordered a Monster PowerCenter to replace it. I've always felt Monster's products (read: cables) were way overpriced for what you got, but the surge protectors actually seem reasonable and I like the feature of filtering the cable line as well as you said above. I also like the built in replacement insurance. As a side note, the cost of replacing what we've lost exceeds the $1000 deductable on our homeowner's insurance by a bit, but when you figure in loosing the $300 per year no claim discount it just wasn't worth making a claim, so everything has been out of pocket.

konevik

wutadumsn23

Good to hear kone, glad you got the sub you wanted. I agree whilst most "M" tend to be overpriced and overrated their powercenters IMHO are excellent products. I have had mine for 3 and 1/2 years and no problems whatsoever.

-Jeff

comfortablycurt

Awesome!! Congrats man. That 505 is going to run circles around the PSW10!

Good call on the power center too.