?'s about subwoofer compatability

[IndiansFan]

I am in the process of replacing a Yamaha speaker system with Polk.

I have RTi8's fronts with the CSi3 center. The suggestion from Polk is to have either the PSW 303 or 404. My question is whether the current PSW 10, PSW 110, or PSW 111 will be compatable with Polks I have now, or continue to look for the 303 or 404? My receiver is a Denon AVR-884.

Thanks,
IndiansFan

[kawizx9r]

When you say compatible, do you mean..."recommended"? You dont want your subwoofer drowning out your speakers or vice versa? How big is your living room, and what will you be using this subwoofer for mainly, HT or music? Also what's your budget for your sub? There are many other recommendations if you search throughout the forum, may give you a good idea if you read through some of them

[mystik610]

Subwoofers don't need to be timbre matched to your main speakers, and a subwoofer is never 'compatible' or 'incompatible' with a set of speakers. Having the RTi8's and CSi3's myself, I can see how they might be so detailed that they overpower a really crappy sub (like my old HTiB sub), but most subs should work fine. I've heard the PSW10 and PSW110 should do well enough of giving you some low-frequency presence, unless you have a really large room. You don't necessarily have to go with a polk sub either (I didn't).

[kawizx9r]

+1 mystik610

Pretty much on the money of what I explained above. Your subwoofer choice will be determined by a number of things such as budget, room size, purpose. Others will chime in if they have something similar to what youre looking for or tell you how theirs worked for them. I have a Polk PSW10 I use for my upper-bass frequencies, and before that I used to use it alone. Works out great in a small room, but keep in mind you won't get earth shattering bass as it's Polk's entry level subwoofer. A PSW110 is a good upgrade from that, but if you're going to drop some coin on a good subwoofer, there are alot of SVS owners out here that are very satisfied with their subs. Soon as my Velodyne needs replacement, in comes the SVS :D

[mystik610]

+1 mystik610

Pretty much on the money of what I explained above. Your subwoofer choice will be determined by a number of things such as budget, room size, purpose. Others will chime in if they have something similar to what youre looking for or tell you how theirs worked for them. I have a Polk PSW10 I use for my upper-bass frequencies, and before that I used to use it alone. Works out great in a small room, but keep in mind you won't get earth shattering bass as it's Polk's entry level subwoofer. A PSW110 is a good upgrade from that, but if you're going to drop some coin on a good subwoofer, there are alot of SVS owners out here that are very satisfied with their subs. Soon as my Velodyne needs replacement, in comes the SVS :D

The PSW10 is a punchy little sub and it holds its own for upper-bass frequencies. It lacks severely in the lower frequencies though. Uncompressed blu-ray tracks, which regularly dip below 30hz, will push the PSW10 to extremes.

I had an SVS PB10-NSD for about a week before returning it and getting my hsu STF-2. It wasn't that I didn't like the SVS...I just expected it to be more accurate than it was. I found the HSU to be fasterr and more accurate, while handling the extremely low frequencies just as well as the SVS. A PB10-NSD + a PSW10 would be the best of both worlds though!

[cnh]

+1 mystik610

Pretty much on the money of what I explained above. Your subwoofer choice will be determined by a number of things such as budget, room size, purpose. Others will chime in if they have something similar to what youre looking for or tell you how theirs worked for them. I have a Polk PSW10 I use for my upper-bass frequencies, and before that I used to use it alone. Works out great in a small room, but keep in mind you won't get earth shattering bass as it's Polk's entry level subwoofer. A PSW110 is a good upgrade from that, but if you're going to drop some coin on a good subwoofer, there are alot of SVS owners out here that are very satisfied with their subs. Soon as my Velodyne needs replacement, in comes the SVS :D

Higher end Velos can run with SVS with no problems. And they're flagship is unearthly!

cnh

[IndiansFan]

Thanks for the comments. To clarify, I read in the Polk data that the PSW 303 and 404 were the recommended units for the RTi8. My question was how the PSW 110 (32Hz-250Hz) compairs with the 404 (25Hz - 200Hz). Since I have not been able to find a 404 for sale, and I have not heard either of these, I'm relying on the advice of you folks. Would I be better to keep looking for the 404 with the 25Hz low end vs the 32Hz of the 110? I do understand now that I do not have to have a Polk sub for effective sound. My family room is 15' x 25'. The use would be 25% HT and 75% audio. I do not need earth shaking low end that would overpower the other speakers. At this point I can't afford to purchase a new speaker, and I've set a limit of $200.00.

Thanks.

[Erik Tracy]

Thanks for the comments. To clarify, I read in the Polk data that the PSW 303 and 404 were the recommended units for the RTi8. My question was how the PSW 110 (32Hz-250Hz) compairs with the 404 (25Hz - 200Hz). Since I have not been able to find a 404 for sale, and I have not heard either of these, I'm relying on the advice of you folks. Would I be better to keep looking for the 404 with the 25Hz low end vs the 32Hz of the 110? I do understand now that I do not have to have a Polk sub for effective sound. My family room is 15' x 25'. The use would be 25% HT and 75% audio. I do not need earth shaking low end that would overpower the other speakers. At this point I can't afford to purchase a new speaker, and I've set a limit of $200.00.

Thanks.

Just my opinion here, but I started with RTi4s as fronts with a PSW303.

My mix is about the same as yours: 25% movies, 75% music/audio.

I've since upgraded to RTiA3s for fronts and an Epik Valor sealed sub.

Believe me...you do not want to skimp on a sub.

Bide your time...save up....get a decent sub to go with your RTi8s.

In my opinion the PSW404 is an under match for the RTi8s.

[kawizx9r]

Well if it wasn't picked up yet, you can check out the PSW 505 http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85266 posted by a Polk Club Member if you happen to be around Chicago

[mystik610]

Thanks for the comments. To clarify, I read in the Polk data that the PSW 303 and 404 were the recommended units for the RTi8. My question was how the PSW 110 (32Hz-250Hz) compairs with the 404 (25Hz - 200Hz). Since I have not been able to find a 404 for sale, and I have not heard either of these, I'm relying on the advice of you folks. Would I be better to keep looking for the 404 with the 25Hz low end vs the 32Hz of the 110? I do understand now that I do not have to have a Polk sub for effective sound. My family room is 15' x 25'. The use would be 25% HT and 75% audio. I do not need earth shaking low end that would overpower the other speakers. At this point I can't afford to purchase a new speaker, and I've set a limit of $200.00.

Thanks.

Instrumental music won't ever dip any lower than 30hz. Music that uses synthesized tracks such as hip hop and electronica might hit those low frequencies, but very rarely. To be honest, when listening to music I find myself turning my sub down pretty significantly.....heavy bass sounds unnatural for most genres....unless you're a fan of the cheesy, overly loud and muddy bass that teenage kids get out of their car audio subs. For music you want a tight, accurate, fast action sub....something that can highlight the subtlety of a bass string being plucked, or a kick drum being hit, without being overly boomy. If you're spending any less than 500, you'll find that a sub is either good at providing accurate bass (better for music), or a sub that can really extend into lower frequencies without struggling (better for Home theater). Rarely will you find a sub thats good at both.

That being said, the PSW series is better tuned for music, and are pretty accurate, and sufficiently 'punchy'....this also means that they will tend to suffer anywhere below 30hz. Where the psw will lack is with movies, particulary if you watch blu-rays with uncompressed tracks, as these will pretty regularily dip below 25hz.

[cnh]

Why don't you just step up to the PSW505, some are still available for about 249 and it's a decent sub...a bit better for HT than the 404 and still musical enough if fine tuned!

404s are pretty much gone unless you can find one used!

cnh