Need some expert opinions.

[premixedgandhi]

I am interested in a Polk PSW505 sub and I am wondering if this sub is good for loud music. I listen to a lot of techno at loud volumes. I have read reviews and most of them came back positive except some I read said that the drivers will fry after 5 minutes after playing it loudly. I am sorta new to this tech stuff so please keep it simple.What are some safe settings to put it at and will it shake my room at the recommended setting? One last thing, how do i break in a sub?

[McLoki]

For music it is a decent value - for home theater - I would look elsewhere.

Historically subs are Polks weakest offering. Some of their new subs are supposed to be very good, but I have not heard them and the PSW line is not one of the newer ones.

The Polk subs can be decently musical for the price, but do not hit deep enough for a rockin' home theater in my opinion. (Hence my first comment)

That being said - any sub driven into clipping enough will fry. How loud do you want it to play? (might I suggest 2 (or 4) of them stacked)

Michael

[premixedgandhi]

Well my budget will not allow more than one so having two or four it outta the question. And as far as how loud i will be playing it at, I want it to be shaking my door loud.I am not a picky person as far as subwoofers go because i have yet to develop a ear to notice the good or bad in a speaker. Now when you say clipping, is that something that occurs when the sub is being pushed to the limits? I used to have a 250 watt peak 15 inch Sony Subwoofer which retails at 350 dollars, so anything with a higher quality and bigger punch will be fine with me.

[McLoki]

I really can't say if the 505 will have more output than a 15" sub (even one from Sony). I am guessing it will sound a little better, but I don't know if it will play as loud (or at least will play louder). I would purchase from somewhere you can return it if you don't like it if I were you.

Michael

[premixedgandhi]

The place i am purchasing it from is onecall.com and they don't take returns for any reason besides defects.

[McLoki]

If you still have the sony 15" sub and are mainly worried about volume - I would save your money if I were you. (just my opinion)

Michael

[premixedgandhi]

well i got rid of the sony because it kept making a rattling sound. I thought it was maybe a loose screw in the front, but that wasn't the case. I think it was put through to much abuse and something broke or loosened in the sub. So i sent it back to Amazon and they gave me a full refund. do you think buying the psw505 is a bad idea?

[McLoki]

Not at all - just not really sure what your expectations are based on going to a sub of similar power and 12" instead of 15" like your old one was.

Not sure what you will end up paying for it, but I would have to recommend going with a good used sub (or DIY) vs purchasing one new. (strictly from a bang for the buck perspective)

What speakers are you trying to match it with?

Just throwing around ideas - maybe a pair of these would work better for you?

[premixedgandhi]

Well the psw505 is a 12inch frontfiring sub that has 300 watt rms and 460 watt peak. It is priced at 300.00 after shipping . The dayton looks nice and has a good wattage amount, but it seems to similar to my older sub.

The 15 i was talking about had 150 rms, just guessing because the 12 inch model that was in that series line had 100 rms. As far as matching goes I have no clue on how to do that,but I have a sony ss-cn5000 for my center, sony ss-b3000s for my fronts, and i think my surrounds are sony ss-b1000s. And I am powering it all with a sony str-dg710.

[McLoki]

just suggesting based on the fact you can get a pair of them for the same $300. (granted, not including shipping) If volume, not neccesarily quality is your main requirement - I just don't know how happy you will be going with the 505 when you are used to the output of a 15" sub. Especially if you have not heard the 505 and cannot return it once purchased......

Michael

[curved]

Klipsch KSW-12 - http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=26618
Boston - http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=88724

[reeltrouble1]

what a load of crap you are giving this fellow. You really cant be talking about Polk subs, I have owned many of them and they are great especially for HT.

Polk subs are excellent. I used two of the PSW 450's for several years with great results. If the only criteria you use in the size of the driver you are going to be chasing your tail for a long time, hell, get a 20" driver that must be better than a 15".

RT1

[curved]

I wouldn't just look at the size of the subwoofer and assume that it's going to be louder because it has a bigger woofer. I would take my Snell over a lot 12's and 15's.

IMHO, I'm not too fond of Polk subs for the price. But everyone has there own opinion on speakers - that's what makes it soooooo fun!!:D