Review by Ref Stanton
Author’s Rating:
I purchased this subwoofer about 2 months ago and since then have given it an extensive listening test. Following is a list of things I would do to improve sound quality as well as some reservations I have toward it.

Before I start off, I would like to clarify one thing about the PSW-10 that might unjustly turn off potential buyers from it: it runs at 50 watts RMS. In the world of music and sound systems, one of the biggest misconceptions out there is that wattage directly correlates with how loud a speaker is. THIS IS NOT NECCESARILY TRUE! The efficiency of the driver determines how loud it gets at a certain wattage, not only the amount of power you’re pumping into it! This is why you can buy, for example, computer speakers that boast 400watts of power and have them easily massacred in terms of volume by speaker set ups with half the power (for further examples, compare computer speaker systems to shelf systems to a true sound system. You will find the volume, at a given wattage, tends to increase as you go down the spectrum).

I found the PSW-10 easily competed in terms of volume with every other sub in it’s range, including those running at twice to three times the power RMS. If you want to prove it to yourself, run down to your local Circuit City (who sells Polk subs) and sound test it yourself.

Now, onto the guts of the review.

1. As far as entry subwoofers come, this is probably the best bang for your buck that you can find bar none, especially considering the quality of the build. Built around high quality medium density fiberboard and using a highly efficient 10″ driver, the PSW-10 manages to bang as well, if not louder, than other subwoofers in this category, despite running at 50 watts RMS.

2. The sound quality is excellent, with very little distortion at high volumes above 50 hz or so, with full excursion easily being reached because of the ported design. In the 40hz – 50hz range, the polk begins to show the limitations of an entry level sub, the sound becoming slightly more muddied (though not horribly so) with extended length sounds(ie. a hellicopter landing slowly) while still staying crisp for burst noise (ie. a gunshot or bassdrum). Below the 40hz, it’s pretty much non-functional as a subwoofer. I should also stress that no entry subwoofer has any redeeming qualities below 40hz.

3. Music is where this subwoofer really shines! It’s bass is perfect for every genre of music (my tastes tend to be a bit ecclectic and as such I tested it with Classical, Hip Hop, Electronica, Rock, and Jazz) you can throw at it. I was most impressed when playing The Chieftans “Ballad of the Irish Horse” album and could have sworn the drums were playing in the room (a testament to the quality of polk’s design). Deep bass is 99.9% of the time is limited to above 50hz, right in the sweet spot of the polk, and as such, the bass lines in every Rap song I tried (the extreme being Wolfpak – Gangsta Rap and Kanye West – Golddigger) was quite impressive, accurate and crisp. When playing the 1812 Overature, the cannons were well produced, if very slightly muddied (as it is one of the few songs that ventures below 50hz) but overall very good. I was very impressed with the sound quality of the polk in music.

4. That being said, this subwoofer is ideal for music and will be disappointing for those who wish to use it for movie watching. While it is beneficial to add it to any non-subwoofer setup, the 10″ driver struggles to hit the low lows with the sound becoming muddied with deep, deep bass of any length. I found this to be a problem with all entry subwoofers I’ve tried, not just the polk, so take this with a grain of salt.

Overall, this subwoofer is probably the best entry subwoofer you can get bar none.

TIPS FOR MAKING IT SOUND BETTER!!!

1. First thing of note: Like all quality entry level subwoofers, great sound comes with the sacrifice of volume. This sub works best in smaller rooms, say 20×10 maximum. Any larger and the sound will begin to get lost in the room and sound strained.

2. Most subwoofers work the best along the front wall of your sound system, in the corner. This however is not a cardinal rule. To find the best location for the subwoofer (this works for any sub for your information), place the subwoofer where you would normally be sitting, listening to it. Play a song and walk around the room until you find place where the bass sounds the best. Move the sub to that location and it should be ideally placed!

3. One shortcoming about the Polk is the lack of an LFE input: you only get RCA and speaker line inputs meaning that there is no way you can bypass the internal crossover of the sub. Considering the market it’s aiming for, this shouldn’t be too big of a problem for most people, but owners with good receivers might be a bit vexed by this. Also, do not hookup the sub through the speaker line: it’ll lose a fair amount of sound quality from forcing the bass through small gauge wires. Hook it up through the RCA if at all possible and you will be greatly rewarded.

In summation, despite the reservations inherent of the entry level subwoofer class (and LFE port), this is an excellent subwoofer which warrants all the praise it’s been getting.

Review by zinm
Author’s Rating:
While I was looking for sub-woofer I was comparing PSW10 and PSW404. PSW404 sounds better but for the price $110 vs. $250 at J&R I opted for PSW10. The sale representative dropped the price for me even though they still selling PSW10 for $200 here. Those of you who worry about no LFE input, that shouldn’t be a problem. All you have to do is connect the sub-woofer output of the receiver to either the right or left input on the sub-woofer. And then set the variable low pass filter on the sub-woofer to the highest setting. This will set the internal low pass filter above the low pass filter frequency given by your receiver and create an LFE input. Or you may use a RCA cable to provide a connection to both inputs on the sub-woofer from the LR pre-out from the receiver. Then adjust the cross over frequency from the woofer as desired. It sounds a little louder and better for me. I bought Monster sub-woofer cable and it sounds no better than RCA cable. Try not to waste your money on this. It has 7.4 out of 10 in CNet rating and it is #6 in editor’s top list for sub-woofers. I matched PSW10 with R300, RTi4, R150, CSi3 and Denon 1906 receiver. Mainly used for HDTV over the air, DVD movies and some FM. It sounds a lot better than the sub-woofer from RM6750. It carries 5 years warranty but make sure you buy from Authorize dealer. For the price I paid I am more than happy with it. I hope this helps to your decision.

Review by Frank J. Perricone
Author’s Rating:
I’m using this with an Onkyo TR-606 alongside a Toshiba 62″ DLP HDTV and a full set of Polk speakers, and the sound quality is remarkable.

The only caveat is that the subwoofer input has two connectors, but you really only need to connect one of them. The manual is far from clear about this, and plenty of people will probably spend extra on a Y cable, or worse yet, put in an adapter which will add both cost and loss of fidelity. But just connecting to the left input works fine. Subwoofers are mono anyway, and the double inputs are primarily there to make certain wiring configurations easier, not to add more sound fidelity.

Review by Kevin R. Smith
Author’s Rating:
I bought the PSW10 on Amazon for about $100, and I am blown away by the value. I worked as a profesional home theater installer for about 5 years and sold many $400 subs that were no better than this. The 50 watt power rating is very conservative. Truth is, it’s just an honest rating on a quality amp. I paired it with a run-of-the-mill Pioneer receiver and the Klipsch Quintet II speaker system. (also from Amazon $300)The end result for a $400 speaker system is amazing. For music and movies at low to moderately high volume, you could spend $2000 on a Bose system and not have sound this accurate and dynamic. (My mother in law just did).

Review by Techboy Gearhead
Author’s Rating:
First, a bit of credentials, as this is my first review here.

I have many years of experience in good sound. Back in the day, I built and used Dynaco tube power amps from kits, and have owned Marantz, Mac and Crown amps as well. I had Tandberg cassette decks (anyone remember audio cassettes?), and Technics turntables. For speakers I’ve used Klipsch, JBL, Tannoy, Polk, Yamaha, and the insanely expensive – and worth every penny – Magneplanars from Magnepan. So, except for the Magnepan’s, not quite audiophile, but really good home sound.

So, why would I buy a hundred dollar subwoofer from Amazon you ask?

I was looking for something inexpensive to give some bottom to the M-Audio powered speakers in my computer room, and I have seen and heard some new Polk speakers that sounded good, each in their respective price range.

Mostly, I bought this subwoofer based on the positive reviews on Amazon.

Sorry to say, I must disagree with the majority for this one.

I tried tuning it, I tried many different room placements, I tried various expensive subwoofer rca cables.

Sadly, I must report that I was unable to get any musical output from it – ever. I wasn’t expecting audiophile here, just the ability to hear bass notes when they are playing. No-way, no-how.

I give it 2 stars for it’s well made box, and the fact that it gives lots of rumble and (sloppy) boom, – and maybe that’s enough for some.

But I have an almost 10 year old Yamaha sub (pre rca inputs, around the same power and same speaker size) that I brought into the room as an A/B test. The old Yamaha outperformed this new Polk by far.

After all of the positive reviews, I’m wondering if maybe the one I got was defective, but there is no way to get inside it for testing without voiding the return policy.

So…I returned it.

Good luck!

Review by Harold F. Kopietz
Author’s Rating:
Polk Audio is still making great speakers. I bought my first pair almost 30 years ago in 1978, had them for almost 25 years till I replaced them with smaller ones with a Velodyne sub. When my overpriced Velodyne sub went out on me last month, I decided to give Polk Audio a try since my first experience with Polk was so good. All I can say is that I’m glad I went with the 12″ and for the approx $300 price tag, it sounds as good if not better than my high end $800 Velodyne sounded. For the extra $75 or so, get the 12″ as opposed to the 10″, you’ll be glad you did.

Review by Balashark
Author’s Rating:
Was very iffy on this sub since I was going from a $1,000 Velodyne to this, but let me tell you I am not disapointed.Low tight bass with no distortion or rumble, sounds much better playing music than the Velodyne did,even though I use it mainly for movies.In my opinion you are getting a high end sounding subwoofer for $300, there is no way you can beat that!Tried to see how loud I could take it to see at what level it would start to distort, but could not get there because my windows were about to pop And my nose started to itch from the tremendous vibration, teeth rattled a little too! trust me I am not exagerating! BUY THIS SUB!!!!!

Review by Money Leaker
Author’s Rating:
Bass is clear, deep, oh, and LOUD! If you really want your HT to sound like an IMAX theater, then I whole-heartedly recommend this sub. It fills in the low end seamlessly. It also takes the burden of reproducing low lows off of your other speakers (which aren’t nearly as capable as the PSW505). This is not a cheap “rumble box”. The first movie I watched with this sub connected is Peter Jackson’s “King Kong”. The raptor/bronto chase through the gully is off the hook! The 30-ton bronto’s gallop will set up a standing wave in your intestinal tract!!! But loud does not mean muddy or rumbly with the 505. I was pushing the sub to about 50% volume and I thought my house’s windows may break. And like I said, that was only at about 50% volume. Besides, you want to be a good neighbor and not max this thing out cuz it can be heard clearly from a good 50 feet away. I find that it performs exceedingly well at about 15% of its capability in my medium/small sided living room. At normal/reasonable volumes, this sub recreates the super lows that truly make the difference between listening pleasure and listening rapture. No HT is truly complete without a sub and this one fits the bill to a tee.

a) I definitely WOULDN’T recommend this product if you live in a dorm/apt/condo/townhouse. This thing has the sonic capability to really anger your neighbors.

b) This sub is one of the few in its price range that actually has an LFE input (Low Frequency Effects) in addition to LL & speaker-level. I you didn’t know, LFE & Line-Level (LL) inputs both use an RCA connector. The difference is that the LFE channel carries only low freqs from source whereas LL carries the entire sound spectrum. The LFE goes straight to your sub’s amp whereas LL first goes through your sub’s built-in crossover and then from there to your sub’s amp. If you plug LL into the LFE input, you’ll be asking the sub reproduce the full sound spectrum. Not what you want, of course. Probably not a big deal whether you use one or the other. The Polk’s built-in crossover is fine, i’m sure, but I’d rather do the crossing-over at the A/V unit level.

c) Apparently, a good powered sub has an ON/OFF/AUTO switch, a 180-degree phase-change switch, a volume control, a cross-over level control (this control is not functional if you are using the LFE), a LL input (or two), an LFE input, and a Left/Right channel speaker-level input and corresponding outputs (for a total of 8 speaker wire connectors).

d) The unit seems very well built with what feels like sturdy wood (or MDF) and is somewhat heavy. Which is a good thing. It feels reassuringly sturdy/massive.

e) Would I buy this sub again? Well, I’ve discovered that many of the wonderful items that are for sale at Amazon are no longer being produced. IE, they are discontinued by the manufacturer. Do a product search at polk.com and you will no find this sub (you can do a search in the product support section to find its corresponding literature pdf). I just guess that that is the nature of the beast. Great products sooner or later get replaced with even newer & greater products. The older and merely “great” (not “greater”) products still need to get cleared out of the inventory so they wind up at amazon.com or other e-tail sites. So, despite the fact that this sub is no longer in production, no longer supported, and is probably a year or two or three (or more) old… would I still buy it again? HELL YES!

Review by Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo
Author’s Rating:
I have been in the process of slowly replacing my speakers, going from an old set of conventional 3-way Altec Lansings (w/Bose surround satellites and a Boston Acoustic center channel) to an all-Polk Audio 5.1 configuration. Over the last few months, I purchased a set of Polk Audio RTI A7s for my fronts, a Polk Audio CSI A6 Center Channel, and a pair of Polk Audio RTI A3s which serve as rears. The new speakers offer great clarity and response across the mid- and high-range (they are all voice matched so it sounds great) but they are a bit lacking in terms of bass as compared with the old Altecs, which featured a 12″ woofer and a lower -3db limit of ~30Hz, rendering a subwoofer unnecessary. I needed that little super low-end “thump” I used to have (the A7s, the most responsive speakers I own at the low-end of the sound spectrum, have a lower -3db limit of 35Hz), and after reading the reviews here this sub seemed like the best combination of performance and value. I purchased this item from Amazon and it arrived in 3 days’ time. Plugged it in and all I can say is wow. I have a medium-sized room, and this product has no problem providing the low-end bass I need without breaking a sweat. The PSW505 is self-amplified, and I have it set at less than half of max volume. At its current setting it is more than suitable. When I crank it up, it makes the entire room shake, and literally rattles my teeth.

The PSW505 features level control, phase control, adjustable crossover setting (from 60Hz to 125Hz) as well as a standby switch and the ability to manually turn it on or off or set it to auto, which automatically looks for a signal and if it doesn’t find one shuts the sub off within 15 minutes. You can hook it up using dual inputs (banana plug capable), unfiltered LFE, or filtered line-level input, which I am using. The item looks sharp too, with a sleek black wood-grain finish, a silver front faceplate, polymer composite cone, and a stylish dark grey molded grill to direct the bass to the listening area. It’s also magnetically shielded so it won’t affect other nearby A/V components if it’s front-placed, like mine is. The quality and craftsmanship are evident even before plugging it in.

Tooth-rattling notwithstanding, the bass is extremely clear, with very distinct bass reproduction for both music (plucked strings, bass notes) and entertainment (booming bass for those Hollywood blockbusters). I have not been able to push it to the point of distortion, even at max volume it easily handles the load (Running on a Yamaha RX-V1800 with a PS3 handling the Bluray/DVD/SACD duty). I am completely satisfied and would recommend this sub to anyone with a high-performance system and the necessary space. At this price you can’t go wrong with this item, as you can scale it to any size room you need short of a concert hall. I don’t see myself needing to replace this item for a very long time, if ever. Highest recommendation.

Review by Anthony Petan
Author’s Rating:
I tried a couple of other subs before I finally broke down and bought this one. Not the least expensive one, but definately the loudest one I’ve owned! My listening area is 16′ X 18′ with a large opening into the Dining Room. This sub really hits hard and lets you feel the bass the way it is meant to be. I have it stationed behind my wifes chair, and the first time I had it on with her sitting in place she kept leaning forward and looking behind her chair to see what all the rumbling was. I just laughed when she asked me if I did something to the Surround System. Spend the extra dough, you won’t be disappointed.