PSW350 Low Frequency Buzzing

jgadus1072
jgadus1072 Posts: 1
edited March 2002 in Technical/Setup
My PSW350 makes a strange buzzing sound coming from the cone at very low frequencies. I don't think it's distortion because I can hear it at low volumes. When I get down next to the woofer and put my ear up to it (I know... I like to live dangerously!), it sounds like something is physically touching the cone and vibrating (maybe from inside the coil or behind the speaker?). The buzzing is not that loud and most times I don't even hear because the satellites drown out the sound. It becomes most noticeable only when I hear very low frequencies as in any movie where a spaceship cruises across the screen and the only sound heard are the engines rumbling through the sub. I was also able to hear the buzzing sound on my Pink Floyd The Wall DVD using the audio setup feature when the DVD sent a low frequency sound to the sub as a test.

Is this a defect in my sub or is there something I can do to prevent this?

Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of the sub. I am a bass fanatic and sometimes I just can't believe the pounding low frequency effects the PSW350 pumps out (especially for 5.1 DVDs).

My home theater system:
Sony KV-36FS12 36" WEGA TV
Sony STR-DE845 Receiver
Sony DVP-S560D DVD Player
Polk RM6600 Satellites
Polk PSW350 Sub (using speaker level inputs)

Thank you on any information provided.
Post edited by jgadus1072 on

Comments

  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited March 2002
    I have the same sub and it is amazing how much bass this small sub puts out.

    I have not heard any buzzing coming from mine.. i'm sure that is annoying you. it would me too.

    Check to see if you have any electrical wires crossing the cable to your subwoofer. or is the subwoofer grounded at the wall plug in?

    I used to be able to hear my neighbors 2-way radio sometimes when I had my home theater turned off.. for some reason. my sub would pick up his side of the conversation.. (he never talked about anything good) ha ha ha. that was the only speakers in my system that would pick up that signal.

    good luck man
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
  • wjbertrand
    wjbertrand Posts: 11
    edited March 2002
    Sounds like a defect all right. I have PSW350 and have never noticed the buzzing you describe. There is that standby hum that they all seem to do, but that's the only "feature" that I'm unhappy with.

    -Jeff
    -Jeff
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited March 2002
    Hello,
    Thanks for posting on the Forum, I'm glad you're enjoying your PSW350. In order to determine where the buzzing is coming from try the following experiment:
    1). remove any connecting cables/wires coming into the PSW350 and reduce the bass level all of the way down.
    2). find the right and left audio cables that go from your CD/DVD player to your receiver and remove them from the receiver, then bring your CD/DVD player to where your PSW350 is and plug its AC power cord in to an available AC outlet.
    3). connect the audio right and left RCA cables from the CD/DVD player to the right and left inputs on the sub-woofer.
    4). begin playing any CD and turn the PSW450's volume to the 8:00 o'clock position.
    There should be plenty of clean sounding bass, place the player in "pause" and note if there is any un-wanted noise. This will determine if the sub-woofer is working properly or not.
    Best regards, Ken Swauger