Polk Audio DSW MicroPro 1000

kawizx9r

While on the lookout to find the "perfect little sub", I stumbled upon a chance to try out Polk's DSW MicroPro 1000.

Thanks to Chris (cstmar01) for letting me borrow the little brute!

After unpackaging the subwoofer, the one thing that stuck out immediately was it's weight. For a speaker this small, it weighs in at a hefty 34-lbs, geez what's inside the damn thing? Some might consider the MicroPro subs 'ugly', but imo the front fascia with it's large dust-cap and inverted rubber surround look clean and sexy. I was a little skeptical about the subwoofer's performance given it's small stature and sized-driver, but that was all about to change.

I've never heard such heavy-bass come from such a small enclosure! Bass notes are extremely quick and very musical, unlike your occasional 'boom boom' subs. My listening habits include everything from alternative/rock to jazz/contemporary and sometimes even ska. This sub performed flawlessly with all categories of music, and I'm sure it's just waiting for me to give it more. I have this paired up with a pair of Magnepan MG-1B's powered by a fully-modded Moscode 300 crossed over at around 100hz and can not be happier with the integration. At louder volumes, this subwoofer has no trouble keeping up with the Maggies as long as everything has been setup correctly. I also like the 'placement' feature provided on the included remote, among a few other things such as Phase controls, Volume, Mute, and Power. I'm very displeased with this units remote though, given you have to be within 3-4 feet from the unit in order for it to work. Sometimes if you're lucky, you can get it to work at over 5 feet but only if you have the remote pointed straight torwards the subwoofer. Once I got everything dialed in though, I had no use for the remote.

In conclusion, I want to say that Polk really got it right with the MicroPro's. Alot of bang from such a small space, and for not a whole lot of money (if you look around for a deal). I'm sure one can find a good musical sub at it's price range, but if space is one of your main concerns I'd say look no further. I'm glad to say I've still got this thing for another week or two, and will definitely be taking advantage of it.

Thanks Polk for this awesome sub, and Chris for letting me borrow his!

kawizx9r

Here's the MicroPro next to my DIY-HSU subwoofer. The driver of my HSU subwoofer is as big as the micropro's entire cabinet!

RuSsMaN

Thanks for the write up, be a doll and post it on the product page too!

Cheers,
Russ

kawizx9r

RuSsMaN wrote: »

Thanks for the write up, be a doll and post it on the product page too!

Cheers,
Russ

LOL

Sure thing, just enjoying to this thing now.

concealer404

You're such a doll, Freddy!

But i'm telling you... you NEED to try the one that i linked you in PM. I think i've decided that i'm going to run a pair of those in stereo and see where that gets me.

Glad you're liking the MicroPro, though!

kawizx9r

concealer404 wrote: »

You're such a doll, Freddy!

But i'm telling you... you NEED to try the one that i linked you in PM. I think i've decided that i'm going to run a pair of those in stereo and see where that gets me.

Glad you're liking the MicroPro, though!

Jerk hehe

My friend here has an Energy he wants me to try out that he LOVES for music. Can't wait until I do, but in the meantime I've got this thing to enjoy. How much would 2 of those run? I was trying to imagine how 2 of the micropro's would sound.........1 flanking each maggie or better yet behind them.

concealer404

I've seen the S10 Prestige show up for about $300 on Ebay from time to time. I think even a pair of regular S10s might fit the bill, but Prestige is cooler. They look cooler.

Or hell, even two of what i sold Rodney would be interesting. I've heard the MicroPro, and i liked it, but i felt that the S10 and the RW-10D were more sub. That said, i haven't had the MicroPro in my system, so it may have just been a setup issue.

By the way... Energy S10 =! Mirage S10. They're very close, but there are slight differences. The Energy has variable phase control, rather than a 0/180 switch on the Mirage. The cone composition is slightly different, and the Mirage has a wider crossover range.

leroyjr1

Two would sound great and blends nicely. I had two MP4k's and adding the second make a big difference. One feature I do like is the room correction. The 1000 doesn't offer it but the other three model do. My room has a bad null spot right in the the center of it and running the room correction made a huge difference. Definately Polk's best series.

Does it walk across the floor?

concealer404

Freddy, here's a link to the last Ebay auction for the last Prestige S10 that i looked at. That 23hz is not them talking out of their ****, i'll say that much, and it will do so with a quickness.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mirage-Prestige-S10-Subwoofer-Free-Shipping_W0QQitemZ150363084857QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSpeakers_Subwoofers?hash=item2302569839&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

kawizx9r

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Two would sound great and blends nicely. I had two MP4k's and adding the second make a big difference. One feature I do like is the room correction. The 1000 doesn't offer it but the other three model do. My room has a bad null spot right in the the center of it and running the room correction made a huge difference. Definately Polk's best series.

Does it walk across the floor?

Considering it was on hardwood floor, yea it did dance around a bit. Got it on a slab of carpet I used for the DIY sub.

My wife's first reaction was that "it was cute"

I still can't over how small it is......since my other sub is 21.5"hx17"wx25"d and the Maggie's are 5' tall. The MicroPro looks like a toy next to everything else :eek:

leroyjr1

concealer404 wrote: »

I've heard the MicroPro, and i liked it, but i felt that the S10 and the RW-10D were more sub. That said, i haven't had the MicroPro in my system, so it may have just been a setup issue.

The micro subs will not win any spl contests but they do blend very well for music and sounds great for HT.

Liked the rw-10d for HT but felt the micropro does a better job blending



Freddy if you looking for a sub for music definately go sealed.

kawizx9r

Don't doubt the Klipsch RW-10d isn't good for music along with the Mirage and Energy subs you've listed, but I haven't had a chance to hear them at all. Like I said, I'll wait and see how that Energy sounds.

I'm using this thing strictly for 2-channel listening, so no thoughts here about how I think it sounded for HT.

kawizx9r

leroyjr1 wrote: »

The micro subs will not win any spl contests...


Freddy if you looking for a sub for music definately go sealed.

That's exactly what I say about my Maggies, they're not SPL champs but they're as quick and clean as they come given the $.

I'm told more often than not to go with sealed, and sealed is what I plan to buy. Just can't do that anytime soon though! Lol

rdb2001

Great Review. I have feel in love with sealed subs for music. I use a martin logan dynamo, which weighs in at about 28 lbs. I absolutely love it. People come over and cant believe the sound coming from that sub. I would not be selling it if I wasnt going with lsi 15's for the 2 channel rig, I am building. Its great with home theater but it struggles with deep bass tracks on blue rays. For music it is beautiful.

kawizx9r

rdb2001 wrote: »

Great Review. I have feel in love with sealed subs for music. I use a martin logan dynamo, which weighs in at about 28 lbs. I absolutely love it. People come over and cant believe the sound coming from that sub. I would not be selling it if I wasnt going with lsi 15's for the 2 channel rig, I am building. Its great with home theater but it struggles with deep bass tracks on blue rays. For music it is beautiful.

Thanks!

I've never had sealed subs, they were all ported or slot-loaded enclosure. Having the chance to hear this thing in my own setup, I ask myself why didn't I try a sealed sub much sooner? My DIY sub rocked my place and then some with deep wall shaking bass. It sounds pretty decent as a music sub, that is if I mess around with placement IE pulling it out of the corner/wall, but I felt that I can find something better and much smaller. Now that I'm strictly into 2-chan, I think I'll be giving up my sub so I can go with something dedicated just for that....even if it doesn't go as loud as my current sub does.

concealer404

^Keep me posted on your sub...

kawizx9r

concealer404 wrote: »

^Keep me posted on your sub...

LOL
Thought you were doing a dual titanic sub setup?

Stereo subs for 2-channel listening, now that's something I'd want to hear!

concealer404

kawizx9r wrote: »

LOL
Thought you were doing a dual titanic sub setup?

Stereo subs for 2-channel listening, now that's something I'd want to hear!

Cancelled my order for the moment. Kindof thinking i want bigger for HT, and probably smaller for 2-channel. They just seemed like too much of a compromise for what i wanted. I may try a 15" Titanic for HT, and track down a pair of Prestige S8s or S10s for stereo sub 2-channel setup. I've had stereo S8s in the past in a 2-channel setup, and i loved it, but unfortunately it was cramped in a room and broke up real quick once i started to crank it at all.

That said... my current HT setup even without subs has plenty of slam for my apartment. I know i'm missing out on some LFE, but there's still TONS of impact going on, and it sounds pretty damn good to my ears. I'm not real anal about HT, though.

kawizx9r

concealer404 wrote: »

Cancelled my order for the moment. Kindof thinking i want bigger for HT, and probably smaller for 2-channel. They just seemed like too much of a compromise for what i wanted. I may try a 15" Titanic for HT, and track down a pair of Prestige S8s or S10s for stereo sub 2-channel setup. I've had stereo S8s in the past in a 2-channel setup, and i loved it, but unfortunately it was cramped in a room and broke up real quick once i started to crank it at all.

That said... my current HT setup even without subs has plenty of slam for my apartment. I know i'm missing out on some LFE, but there's still TONS of impact going on, and it sounds pretty damn good to my ears. I'm not real anal about HT, though.

You said I was crazy for having a 12", and you're going with a 15?! You're nuts

My place is pretty small though, so it was easy to give up HT altogether when I sold off my components and just get into 2-chan. Priorities are music though, so when we do move outta here whatever HT I may get will be one of those all-in-one solutions. I'm on the demo list for Polks IHT, can't wait to hear how it sounds.

concealer404

Well... my apartments are separated by a foot of concrete slab, so as long as i don't go TOO nuts, all is well. Nobody has complained about me yet, and some of the stuff i've had through here has been capable of fairly high output.

Last time Nik was here, i put the Klipsch through it's paces a bit, and i got no complaints then.

kawizx9r

BACK to the review on this thread, I did forget to mention one critical detail.

I have a set of Maggie Mates paired up with my Magnepans which I would believe helped the MicroPro integrate as well as it did. The 'Maggie Mates' are a high-pass module, but instead of completely cutting off frequencies at a given range...it seems to turn things down a bit. The lower the frequencies get when listening to music, the lower (volume-wise) they tend to be until reaching around 80-100hz. Here's a pic of the module connected between my speakers and amp -

cstmar01

kawizx9r wrote: »

Here's the MicroPro next to my DIY-HSU subwoofer. The driver of my HSU subwoofer is as big as the micropro's entire cabinet!

Haha, awesome.
The thing does put out a good amount of bump for its small size, and thats what I like. I'm almost tempted to see if I could ever try out one of their larger brothers like a 3000 or 4000 to see how they preform. And sorry about the remote I forgot to warn you about that, its annoying as hell trying to get it to work, but once its dialed your good to go.
Enjoy!

kawizx9r

cstmar01 wrote: »

Haha, awesome.
The thing does put out a good amount of bump for its small size, and thats what I like. I'm almost tempted to see if I could ever try out one of their larger brothers like a 3000 or 4000 to see how they preform. And sorry about the remote I forgot to warn you about that, its annoying as hell trying to get it to work, but once its dialed your good to go.
Enjoy!

I can't imagine how the 4k would sound, but then again I don't see myself justifying such a purchase for a small living room. It's cool about the remote thing, I never heard anyone complain about it....the focus was mainly on the 'morse-code' type volume control. I turned it down a bit from where you had it but only because I wanted a perfect blend, nothing over-powering although this tiny sub does have its limits. The remote just sits on the bookshelf, and I'm enjoying it the way I've got it setup now.

So.....about my DIY sub, you grabbing it? I'll keep my eye out on Polk refurbs and newegg if the micropro comes up for cheap or something.

SolidSqual

I just got a MicroPro 3000 for a home theater I'm putting together for $480 from PolkDirect! I hope it's good. I couldn't pass up a new Polk sub for that price.

kawizx9r

SolidSqual wrote: »

I just got a MicroPro 3000 for a home theater I'm putting together for $480 from PolkDirect! I hope it's good. I couldn't pass up a new Polk sub for that price.

Geez that's a hell of a deal.

This little 8" kicks butt, can't wait to hear your thoughts on the 10"!

SolidSqual

kawizx9r wrote: »

Geez that's a hell of a deal.

This little 8" kicks butt, can't wait to hear your thoughts on the 10"!

I wanted the 4000 but some guy outbid me and got it for about $600 or so.

kawizx9r

SolidSqual wrote: »

I wanted the 4000 but some guy outbid me and got it for about $600 or so.

Lame.

When I can and do decide to pull the trigger on one, it'll be from their ebay store as well. Would like to audition the 3k/4k models though.....hmm

cnh

I've heard one or two of the Micro Pros....Probably the best subs Polk has ever made...

But remember that there was A LOT of R&D that went into this...Polk was addressing weaknesses in the previous subs and trying to produce subs that would REALLY compete with the BIG BOYS...the subs that ALWAYS get mentioned once we get above the 4 figure price point.

The advantage of the Polk sub is its musicality...I think they're pretty damned 'musical' while still retaining some of the oooomph you need for HT....I would definitely consider one of the models...myself...probably the 10 or 12". But the 8" for its size is awesome!

Nice review!!

cnh

leroyjr1

kawizx9r wrote: »

Lame.

When I can and do decide to pull the trigger on one, it'll be from their ebay store as well. Would like to audition the 3k/4k models though.....hmm

On vacation next week and will be down in Chicago. Let me know if you're available I could throw the 4000 in the trunk so you can give it a listen.

kawizx9r

leroyjr1 wrote: »

On vacation next week and will be down in Chicago. Let me know if you're available I could throw the 4000 in the trunk so you can give it a listen.

I'd probably wreck the living room's windows with that thing but thanks anyway Lee!

I have to ask, has anyone been able to compare a DSW Pro and a DSW MicroPro sub (of same sized driver) in their own system or at least side by side? I've read a few mixed reviews online about users comparing them but they were either different sizes (MicroPro 1k VS Pro 500) or just setup in two different rooms completely (20' ceiling where the MicroPro 1k is VS 9' ceiling where a Pro 400 was placed).

I can figure out given the circumstances what would probably sound better in terms of weight, and accuracy but I want to know how they compare firsthand.

Would like some feedback, and what you thought was either the better deal or simply the better sub.

jimsvm

I get more Holy F#$#s (excuse the Holy) on my 3k. But I can't hold it down,Velcro??