Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black) by Polk Audio
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Digital camera reviews of Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)
Digital camera Review: Good For Money But Not Great
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought Polk bookshelf speakers and was looking for a sub to go along with them and came upon the PSW10. I did a lot of research reading reviews on this sub and other subs in and around the price range. Most people said that it was good so I felt comfortable buying it for about $100.
I like to think that I have a good ear. I've grown up loving music and my dad has always been in bands so I got my taste from him. I guess I should have known what I was going to get spending just $100 but I was pumped to see what this thing could do. I thought it'd sound great. It's pretty good and if you aren't too concerned with perfect quality it's a great choice. The only thing is that it just can't handle the low lows. It flutters and sounds terrible but most music doesn't have these frequencies anyway. Rap and hip-hop might be an area of concern but anything else should be in the clear. Another thing is if you want it to be VERY loud it isn't going to sound good. It gets very muddy and you can hear the sub fluttering when you crank it but again this isn't a huge concern. It handles reasonable volumes just fine.
There was one thing I was confused about when I was reading the reviews so let me clarify for anyone with the same problem. YOU DO NEED A RECEIVER. I thought because it was powered and the pictures showed speaker outputs I could power the speakers with the sub. I was wrong... The power only goes to the sub. It is not put out through the speaker outputs. They are just there if you want to wire the system in another way. Luckily I had an old Onkyo receiver laying around.
So as long as you aren't looking for anything amazing this sub is a pretty good choice because of the fact that it is so cheap. I wanted to have something better but I'm in college so I couldn't afford it. If you have a higher budget go for something that handles a lower frequency range. The audible frequency range is from about 20-20,000Hz. This sub is said to be able to handle down to 35Hz but I don't think it sounds good even there. I'd go for something that is rated down to at least 30Hz or 25Hz.
Hope this helps
Digital camera Review: Good Quality at Decent Price
Summary: 4 Stars
Nice 10" woofer at a reasonable price. Plenty of volume - enough to rattle the pictures on the wall.Digital camera Review: Good but not great...
Summary: 3 Stars
Ok. First of all I have to let you know that I purchased 2 of these for my Man-Cave. Together they sound really good. Alone, I don't think it would be strong enough for my taste.
Pro's: Built solid. Looks good. Sounds good for less than $100.
Con's: Can only have the "gain" up to 50%, any higher and it sounds distorted. The grill on one of my subs rattles when the base hits real hard... but the other sounds fine. If you take off the grill it goes away. But the biggest thing is that you can't turn the "gain" up past 50% or so because you will hear a lot of distortion.
Watched Terminator Salvation last night. Sounded really good, nice bass... but I also have 2 of these.
Would have gone with a Polk 12" like the 505... i think that's what my brother has. Thats hits real good and sounds real nice.
All in all.... I am happy with them, but I wish they were able to do what is expected of them.
Digital camera Review: Good choice for home theater
Summary: 5 Stars
I tried some powered subwoofer before,but disappointed,then had to remove them because the unwanted sound,noise came out from there.Now I think I found the one I need,with the little money I spent (less than $100).
I got a real movie theater at home.....Thank you Polk Audio for fulfil my dream.
Digital camera Review: Good entry-level sub
Summary: 5 Stars
Couple of points up front: The PSW10 is NOT an audiophile-grade subwoofer, and shouldn't be graded as such. A true audiophile, if they have a subwoofer at all, will drop 2- to 3 grand on a Velodyne, Rega, Rel, etc. and then complain if they can't hear fingernails plucking the strings of a double bass. Next, the low frequencies produced in a movie are inherently different than those produced in music. Getting a subwoofer to reproduce both equally well can be tricky. My review of the PSW10 is from a 2-speaker, mid-level audio system perspective and not a 7/5.1 surround-sound home theater. I'm NOT saying the -10 won't work well in a HT set-up, but suggest you may need to use 2 different settings (see below).
This subwoofer will give you tight, punchy bass for most music genres. I used jazz, alt country, indie rock, and a little hip-hop to get my settings. The key here is to spend time during burn-in to get your crossover, phase and volume controls all married together. Once I found the right crossover setting, I learned that a little volume goes a long way with the PSW10. As many other reviewers have noted, too much volume will shake your walls with deep, boomy, unintelligible bass. You may want some of that for an action movie, but not so much for music. Next, I used the line-in with RCA's first, then swapped-out those for some heavy-duty Monster 10 gauge at the speaker-level connection. Jury's still out on which sounds better. Finally, if you're placing your sub on anything other than carpet (hardwood floor, ceramic tile, or even a shelf) seriously consider swapping-out the cheapo nailed-in feet. I have hardwood flooring, so I screwed in some nice 2" legs with dampers between the box and risers, and hard rubber pads making contact with the floor. Probably has a small positive sonic effect, and actually looks a lot nicer sitting up like that, too.
Lastly, got mine at [...], with free shipping. For that price, the PSW10 is a no-brainer. And remember, you don't notice a good subwoofer until you turn it off.