PSW250

by Joe Shain, March 9, 2007

Strengths:

Quality, Precision, Affordable

Weaknesses:

Polk has NO weaknesses, find out for yourself. You can't go wrong.

Review:

I work in production for a large broadcast company, and was blessed with good ears for critical listening of audio applications. As far as subs go, it took some time, but I demanded to hear them all incase I might miss a brand or model that pumps true premium sound that I want. I have to say.. HATS OFF TO POLK AUDIO! You guys know the true science of audio right down to the wire! To be able to build an 8-inch subwoofer that is capable of litterally shacking the whole house with NO DISTORTION. Just Incredible! The Polk PSW-250 is LIVING PROOF that size does not matter. Listen ONCE, and you won't live without one again!

by John, March 17, 2002

Strengths:

Being able to supply some punchy low-end for bookshelf,or HT at a very resonable price.

Weaknesses:

For the money, I can't list any weakiness.

Review:

I have been wanting a PS for quite sometime but didn't hear any in my current price range until I tried the PSW250. Yes the PSW450 pretty much slaps this one around,but POP for the DOLLAR?........you'll have a very hard time beating this one. Thanks again Polk!

by Doug Horner, May 7, 2002

Strengths:

Has so much power for the money and it's size. It can really shake and rattle a room.

Weaknesses:

Are you kidding? None.

Review:

It is hard for me to believe that this subwoofer was priced at only $299. This woofer is soo powerful, and sounds so great with my system, that I have confidence letting it punch out the low bass, and rattle the lights with it's shaking power. It is the most amazing subwoofer for the money that you will ever buy, and it outperforms its spec's without question.

by chris, July 22, 2002

Strengths:

little, compact, great sound

Weaknesses:

...none

Review:

best speaker in my house.....amazing sound and power.

by Brendan Sullivan, December 9, 2002

Strengths:

Great bass response for such a small speaker. Plenty of bass response for up to about a 20x20 room. Good adjustability to work with rest of system. Capable subwoofer in a small affordable package.

Weaknesses:

Distortion a slight issue at extremely high volumes. Correctable with adjusting Xover and Volume

Review:

AWESOME speaker. Highly recommended for a "budget" sound system. I have it paired up with a stereo-only setup with two polk audio bookshelfs (dont know what model #....they're about 20 years old tho and still running great) powered by a 410W yamaha amp (also older). The only thing i really find slightly annoying about the psw250 is that depending on the music i'm listening to or the movie i'm watching, i have to adjust the sub so it wont distort at high volumes. I have this setup in my dorm room at school 15x15 area and with the door and window closed, it sounds totally awesome. Use a good cable (Monster Cable, etc) to connect it. Noticeable sound difference from any regular RCA cable.

by Austin, January 12, 2003

Strengths:

Low price, smooth, tight bass.

Weaknesses:

Distortion at high volumes, understandable.

Review:

I recently got into the home theater rave and bought a nice little system, but the sales person I had to have a sub for those low end sounds so I saw one of the cheapest sub and tried it. I was totally blown away. The 250 sub can shake and rattle my house now that its all set up. I wonder what the 650 is like.

by Shawn, February 5, 2003

Strengths:

Low price, smooth, tight bass.

Weaknesses:

none

Review:

I recently got into the home theater rave and bought a nice little system, but the sales person I had to have a sub for those low end sounds so I saw one of the cheapest sub and tried it. I was totally blown away. The 250 sub can shake and rattle my house now that its all set up. I wonder what the 650 is like.

by A.K., February 14, 2003

Strengths:

Big sound from a small subwoofer.

Weaknesses:

None to list so far.

Review:

I just got one of these subwoofers to go along with the RTi38's I just bought, and this certainly boosts the bass in my living room! I am impressed with the big sound I get from this small subwoofer. Very nice!!!

by Trae, February 19, 2003

Strengths:

Great Price, Easy to hide in living room, Amazing sound on carpet or hardwood floors, solid bass to make your movie experiance worthwhile, ****tuneable to your system****

Weaknesses:

If I ever have to buy another I would buy the 10" and have it tuned down unless I am having a large BBQ/movie party at my house. Other than that who could find a fault? Not me nor anyone I know!!!!

Review:

I have owned the PSW-250 for about two years. I looked at all the other name brand powered subs and tried to fit the best sound in my living room for what I had to work with room size wise and regard to my other speakers/Amp/Tuner. Upon talking to my buddy Scott Steiner at "Steiner Electonics" in Lewiston, ID I was convinced to try the PSW-250 for my application. The choice was the right one. Yamaha amp+5 speakers+Polk PSW-250 Awesome on DVD/CD/SAT TV. Cant be beat even for a large living room. Another friend I convinced to buy a Polk Sub, he bought the 12" and it shakes his house too much for me even. I would never buy another brand of speaker or sub as long as Polk keeps making them the quality they are (and I hope they will continue to). Shop around people,by all means, but make sure where-ever you buy they have a return policy; when you hear a Polk system in your own house you will think of no other thing till you have one!!! No Kidding!!!

by Sam Kanni, October 18, 2003

Strengths:

It really defines deep bass

Weaknesses:

The option of phase switch doesnt really make any difference to me.

Review:

Its a very good buy and is very compact.

by martin maughan, November 16, 2003

Strengths:

THE VOLUME ADJUSTMENT,SPEAKER IN/OUT,THE PHASE SWITCH(i use for frequnciey tuning and balence between all speakers used)the power on when signal sent switch is seldom used but is an added bonus to an already outstanding speaker!

Weaknesses:

Review:

this is my first powered sub.the only reason i have it is because polk sent it to me as a grand prize,and grand prize indeed!i now have it plugged into my soundcard of my computer and OH MY GOD does it bring games too life!if you haven't heard one I HIGHLY RECCOMEND THIS ONE! THANKYOU POLK!

by Will, December 19, 2003

Strengths:

Everything

Weaknesses:

Review:

it's Awsome! My brother has one and now I'm gonig to get one!

by Bass Lover, February 10, 2004

Strengths:

For price and size, very well done Polk.

Weaknesses:

A little bit of reverb at about 3/4 volume, but by then if feels like my house is about to die.

Review:

Nifty little sub for the price. We purchased one of these things a little while back. Now we already had a bose surround system, but unfortunatly the bose systems have no bass whatsoever. This thing really brought the movies we watch to life.

by george chiu, February 15, 2005

Strengths:

Space saving with a big bang for the buck; tight and precise...excellent product.

Weaknesses:

For the price one can not ask too much.

Review:

I have a pair of these small subs hooked up with my surrouds speakers right behind my chair. I have 2 pairs of PSW404 for the front main speakers and the rear surrounds. These subs are great for effects and musical DVDs; their bass is tight and dynamic, not boomy. Since my whole system is Polk, they matched really well with my other speakers. I run them with a THX 7.1 system and paralled with the effect speakers under a Carver 500x power amp and a Rotel processor.

by Christopher Bridges, May 31, 2005

Strengths:

managable size, smooth bass and not boomy. Excellent value for the price

Weaknesses:

none whatsoever

Review:

We've been using the polk psw250 sub woofer since Dec. 2001 in our home system. It has been astonishing and takes such a small amount of space! We purchased a surround dystem with a Yamaha receiver, Polk RM6200 set of surround speakers and the psw 250. A perfect match and we coudln't be happier after narly 4 years of constant usage. The response is smooth along the full listening spectrum. Great product at a great price.

etown.com, July 2000

"Polk's nifty little PSW250 powered subwoofer demonstrates how far the art of entry-level subwoofer design has come. Free of typical thud-a-dud boom, this sub not only lets you hear every floor-shaking note, but it also communicates a sense of space and scale. Priced at an affordable $299.95 list, it's also an incredible value."