First time Polk User - Sub Question
Hey everyone, just purchased my first pair of Polk speakers yesterday. I actually bought the Tsi300s from the polk audio store (great deal at $159 refurbished for the pair shipped). I recently bought a Yamaha 5.1 speaker setup from Amazon that sounds decent but decided to build out a whole system instead on slightly higher budget.
My question for everyone here is thoughts on a particular subwoofer setup. I've been trying to read through recommendations here. The most budget friendly seems to be the PSW10 which doesn't seem to have the best reviews here, not bad either, but great on Amazon. I have seen the PSW505 recommended quite often here, but at 2.5 times the price.
I just bought a Sony STRDH450 5.2 receiver for my home theater in the basement, hooked up to a projector. My dilemma for all of you is, which would you prefer if you were on a strict budget of $250 (not worrying about taxes).
2 - PSW10 subs in a 5.2 setup
$50 left over to maybe move a step up on center/rears
or
1 - PSW505 and run it at 5.1
I will mostly use this for home theater applications. The area is a sort of mancave area where I will probably play music on this system as well when I have guests, and while I enjoy great sound I am no audiophile.
So, what does everyone here think? I appreciate any responses.
My question for everyone here is thoughts on a particular subwoofer setup. I've been trying to read through recommendations here. The most budget friendly seems to be the PSW10 which doesn't seem to have the best reviews here, not bad either, but great on Amazon. I have seen the PSW505 recommended quite often here, but at 2.5 times the price.
I just bought a Sony STRDH450 5.2 receiver for my home theater in the basement, hooked up to a projector. My dilemma for all of you is, which would you prefer if you were on a strict budget of $250 (not worrying about taxes).
2 - PSW10 subs in a 5.2 setup
$50 left over to maybe move a step up on center/rears
or
1 - PSW505 and run it at 5.1
I will mostly use this for home theater applications. The area is a sort of mancave area where I will probably play music on this system as well when I have guests, and while I enjoy great sound I am no audiophile.
So, what does everyone here think? I appreciate any responses.
Post edited by tsc on
Comments
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505 hands down....how big is the room ?HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Well, right now the room is a 1200 sq foot open unfinished basement. That should change by this summer where it will be in about a 25'x15' room. The surround setup will be be in half the room, as in the rears will be in the middle leaving the other half of the room open. I know it's probably not great for an acoustical setup, but that's just how the floorplan is laid out. It's a projector room/bar off to the side room, and behind the bar/projector seating area will be an open area with maybe tables/games/random other things.
I'm also wondering if the 505 would be a waste on my receiver. It is 745 Watts Total System power (145W x 5 @ 6 ohms 1kHz 0.5% THD). -
I'm also wondering if the 505 would be a waste on my receiver. It is 745 Watts Total System power (145W x 5 @ 6 ohms 1kHz 0.5% THD).
The sub has it's own amp. No issue there. -
ken brydson wrote: »The sub has it's own amp. No issue there.
And, immediately embarrassing myself after the second post. Working while I post does not help my cause! -
Welcome to club polk! stick around, ask questions, contribute where you can.
As for the sub, the PSW10 is barely a "sub" woofer. Lots of monitors or bookshelf speakers can extend as low or almost as low as it can. The PSW505, on the other hand, is a real entry level sub. It should hit over 100 db at 30 hz in your room, and depending on acoustics should hit a solid 25 hz, which means you will be hearing that vast majority of information on most modern soundtracks. With the PSW10, you will get very little below 40 hz, and even in the crucial 40-50 hz range it will be muddy and will chuff when you push it. Two PSW10s will only give you about a 3-6 db boost depending on how you set them up. The 505 will still be louder, lower, hit harder and not chuff (at least not nearly as easily).
Good luck!Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Welcome to club polk! stick around, ask questions, contribute where you can.
As for the sub, the PSW10 is barely a "sub" woofer. Lots of monitors or bookshelf speakers can extend as low or almost as low as it can. The PSW505, on the other hand, is a real entry level sub. It should hit over 100 db at 30 hz in your room, and depending on acoustics should hit a solid 25 hz, which means you will be hearing that vast majority of information on most modern soundtracks. With the PSW10, you will get very little below 40 hz, and even in the crucial 40-50 hz range it will be muddy and will chuff when you push it. Two PSW10s will only give you about a 3-6 db boost depending on how you set them up. The 505 will still be louder, lower, hit harder and not chuff (at least not nearly as easily).
Good luck!
Thanks everyone for the answers. rooftop59 this is exactly what type of schooling I needed. I initially thought the two PSW10s would be good for me because I dont have my whole budget now and could buy one PSW10 now and the other later, but this settles it. I think I will keep the yamaha surround setup to go around the TSi300s until I can buy every piece I really want.
I should have had a lesson learned about purchasing the cheap yamaha satellite system and wanting to upgrade right away anyway. It sounds decent enough and will get me by, but I think the TSi300s will be a great improvement. I'm looking to add a center right away to at least get those matched up. I can always trade the Yamaha set to someone or put it in the bedroom too.
Thanks for all the help everyone! If there are any other sub recommendations I am open to those as well (keeping budget/the range I gave in mind). -
Well, it turned out my whole budget was not much more than $250 (aside from the TSi300s I already paid for). I ended up going with the psw10 for now because that at $79 allowed me to also purchase my cs10 center (sub and center both new) and some RM6751 satellites slightly used at what the 505 costs. Since I am new to home theater, I am guessing I can live with the psw10 for awhile. I know it is not ideal for most here but will probably be light years ahead of what I am used to, and I think the overall experience will be better with the cs10 and rears right now.
As I have spent days on forums looking at all the sub options, learning about low hz, etc, I know I will want to upgrade my sub at some point though (knowing myself, probably sooner than later).
I have one more question as it pertains to this. Let's say I decide to buy a 505 or even something a little pricier down the road. Would it be beneficial to still use the psw10 in a 5.2 setup with say a 505 as maybe a rear sub, or does the difference in size/range make any difference? I read a lot about buying speakers that are acoustically/timbre matched which is why I went all TSi for my front setup (and will probably pick up the TSi100s at some point as well). Is having matching subwoofers in a 5.2 setup important as well, or will a 10/505 combination down the road give me more benefit than just a 505 at that point? Thanks everyone again for helping a newbie out. -
You can sometimes use 2 different subs in the same set up, but I'm afraid that in this instance it would actually sound worse. If at some point in the future you decide to purchase the 505, or something more up the food chain, write the 10 off.
Personally I suggest you start reading up on subs, go to various manufacturers web sites, and look. If you want a sub that you will be happy with for some time to come, plan on a budget of at the very minimum of $500. Those SVS PB1000 come to mind in that price range. HSU also has a few very nice budget sub woofers, which is around $500.
The PSW 505 is a very good choice for an entry level sub. Of course that's what is targeted for, entry level. I would suggest you listen to a few manufacturers, even if you never heard of them, or have heard not very good reviews for their products, and find out why a lot of people will spend huge amounts of money on a sub.
Good choices for this type of experiment is BIC, Energy, Def Tech, Klipsch, and Velodyne, just to name a few. Compare them, find what you like or dislike about them, read testing results, and think of a question or 2 about them. Lot of knowledge here, and fortunately for all, the members on this site are willing to share their knowledge. -
Thanks. I just used the 505 as an example of an upgrade because it's one of the few models I know off the top of my head when I was writing this. I will do some extensive research and did plan on a budget of around $500. A center was important to me, so getting the CS10 and still being able to get a sub (ps10) and some surrounds all together instead of just a sub seemed like a good compromise for now.
I'm hoping to save slowly for a new sub over the course of the next year (maybe 40 a month for 12 months) as the lady of the house probably won't be thrilled with me upgrading even more (I just sent back my yamaha HTIB 5.1 setup) anytime soon. I was looking at the DSWpro660wi, but I will have to do plenty of research. Luckily I have plenty of time to do such research.
Thanks again everyone. I've learned so much in just a few days from the threads at this forum.
