PSW303

by Carlton Simpson, May 3, 2006

Strengths:

Excellent bass performance for such a small subwoofer.

Weaknesses:

If you can call it a weakness is the fact that it's a SMALL subwoofer.So that means it's for SMALL rooms!

Review:

I sold one of these to a friend as part of a surround system.I bought one as a gift for another friend for his surround system.This sub kicks bottom!!!! After reading some of the reviews here i have come to the realization that a LOT of people out there bought the wrong subwoofer and are blaming their subsequent problems on the PSW-303.It is WAYYYY to small for what they needed.It is a POTENT little kicker FOR IT'S SIZE.But make NO mistake.This sub is NOT meant for large rooms.I told that to the friend i gave one to.He has two small subs now.I told him that sometimes two small subs work better in large rooms than one big one for the following reasons. 1)They can work in tandem to reinforce the bass with output that can actually SURPASS that of one large sub in SOME cases. 2)They work better at breaking up the standing waves which are present in ALL rooms to one extent or another.Why?Because they are in two different places. NOTE**********STANDING WAVES RESULT FROM INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE VERY LONG WAVELENGTHS OF LOW FREQUENCY SOUND(long enough to be measured in feet)AND THE THREE PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE ROOM!!!!(length x width x height.ALSO measured in feet)SOME ROOMS HAVE MORE OF A PROBLEM WITH STANDING WAVES THAN OTHERS DEPENDING ON THE SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS OF THE ROOM.THEY CAN REINFORCE BASS IN SOME SPOTS AND COMPLETELY DESTROY IT IN OTHERS!!!!The best way to actually hear this phonomenon is to play a series of low frequency test tones.(or just a cd that has a lot of bass)A cd that has each tone on a different track is best.Put the player on repeat for each tone and walk around the room while the tone is playing.listen to how the relative level of bass changes as you move around the room.In some spots it will be fine to your ear.In other spots it will be stronger.In other spots it will be weaker.In still other spots it may be GONE.What you are listening to is the standing waves in the room.This will help you to determine not only where best to place the sub,but ALSO if it is the right one for you and your particular needs and taste.One size,make and model of subwoofer DOES NOT FIT ALL situations,rooms,decors,budgets and tastes. Some people ONLY buy a sub because it is part of a 5.1 channel system.They really have no need for the bass otherwise.Some people buy a sub because they MUST have bass and LOTS of it.Some buy a sub because they want to add bottom octaves to small speakers.Some buy because of a combination of the above reasons. If you have more than one pair of the speakers in your surround system set to"small"using the bass management in your surround receiver or precessor.Or you have a typical system where you are dealing with the worst case scenario for a sub.Which is ALL speakers are set to "small".Then you MUST reduce the output level of the signal going to the subwoofer from the processor/receiver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What most people DO NOT realize is that in a 5.1 channel system when ANY of the speakers is set to"small".Then the low bass below 80 cycles(or WHATEVER crossover frequency you set it to in the bass management IF you have that capability)is rerouted to the subwoofer from that speaker!This means that more bass is being sent to the subwoofer.Placing larger and larger demands on the sub depending on how many speakers are set to"small". If ANY of the speakers are set to"small".Then not only is the sub being asked to reproduce the bass in the point one channel.It is being FORCED to reproduce the low bass in ALL channels that are set to"small".Which will cause it to bottom out a LOT FASTER!Unless the bass level coming out of the processor/receiver is REDUCED.Unless you have a REALLY cheap setup,you should be able to set the level in the bass management as well as the speaker size. When set up properly in a well calibrated system this subwoofer kicks bottom!My friend realized that when he threw his first party after i put this sub in.Now that he had two(the other is an Infinity which he ONLY bought because we could not get this one at the time)He,as well as his friends were QUITE impressed with the bass from the party cd's they were playing.House music has TONS of low bass and they were GETTING IT! Watching "The bridge of Khazad-dum"scene in The lord of the rings-Fellowship of the Ring.Extended edition box set in DTS-ES 6.1 channel DISCREET.(which can ONLY be had from the extended edition box set))ALSO drove this point home. Nuff said

by David Cederwall, January 3, 2003

Strengths:

It looks great, has a rock-solid build, will fit almost anywhere, and sounds good with most material - if you don't push it too hard.

Weaknesses:

The PSW303 provides too much booming rumble - rather than the clean, high definition bass that was expected. It is a "baby" as far as subwoofers go, and it doesn't sound all that good in a large room with a (close to) top of the line AV system.

Review:

My first subwoofer, but certainly not my last! And, not my last Polk sub! I installed it into a high quality AV System that is used mostly for music, and I'll admit, quite often for movies on DVD and Laserdisc. Had high hopes for this PSW303 in its sturdy little black box. My speaker system consists of 4 high quality Polk's, Large front, small rear. The 303 is not a good match with the rest of the system and I am very disappointed.

Polk Response:

Sorry to hear that you are disappointed with your PSW303. There are at least two potential reasons why you may be getting "boomy" bass:
1. the sub is too small for your room. If you overdrive a sub to its limits or corner place it to get more output, the result will often be boomy bass
2. the sub position needs "tweaking." Room acoustics and subwoofer positioning have an enormous effect on sound of any speaker. In the case of subwoofers, a given placement may result in "one note" bass. The most common advice to place the subwoofer in a corner yields louder bass but in most cases poor quality bass.
For a tool to determine the right subwoofer for your room click here. For an article about room acoutsics click here. For articles about subwoofer set up and positioning click here and here.

by Dennis Murray, January 8, 2003

Strengths:

Deep tight bass for an averaged size room

Weaknesses:

A bit pricey.

Review:

I recently purchased a polk center and two bipole surrounds and for $100 got the PSW303 thrown in as a package deal and so far I have been very impressed with the deep tight bass this thing puts out. I generally use my sub for movie watching as part of my 5.1 set up and it brings out the bass that I never knew was there! Volume and tone controls in the back of the unit allowed me to get the settings just right for my room as well. I can't give it a perfect rating because I've only had it for a couple of weeks but for what I want it does the trick.

by James Parrish, January 16, 2003

Strengths:

Lots of sound output with plenty of adjustments to fit your system.

Weaknesses:

Red light glows from the back when turned off and green when on. Can be distracting in dark room.

Review:

Overall a good sounding sub. Puts out lots of sound for such a small enclosure. Very happy with this product. Would recommend purchasing for medium size rooms.

by Ron R, April 11, 2003

Strengths:

excellent tight not booming bass

Weaknesses:

Could of bought the psw404 for $35 more and passed it up

Review:

As soon as I tweaked the system the bass that resulted was every bit as tight and impressive as I expected. Completes my Polk audio system. I have rti38s up front, csi30 center and r15s out back. They sound so great together.

by steve, September 20, 2003

Strengths:

Obviously construction but also overall sound and the depth of the bass when playing pretty much anything.

Weaknesses:

you may want to get a larger sub for bigger rooms. It's only 8" but what sound for its size

Review:

I love the sound of this sub. the size is deceiving considering it is only and 8 inch sub. The psw303 can holds its own when i play r&b, alternative and movies. Plus the size allows it to be unobtrusive when placing it.

by jens ulsrud, December 8, 2003

Strengths:

all around perfect bass!! the most complete element ever made

Weaknesses:

no weaknesses!!!

Review:

le magnifisent..

by Jorge Azofeifa, January 19, 2004

Strengths:

Nice design and finish in solid wood. Back placed volume and phase controls should make it easy to "tune" it

Weaknesses:

Mechanical (rattle) distortion at deep bass, even at low volumes

Review:

Having own Polk speakers (in my home stereo center and in my car) and an until then satifying experience, I decided to buy (eyes well closed, without any concern)a Polk sub to complement my system (Marantz receiver SR-7300, Marantz DVD player DV-4200 and Martin Logan Scenario speakers). Since my room is small, the right option was, according to standards and to the advise of the dealer, the PSW 303. Placement was a matter of a few minutes, however, putting it in phase with the other speakers was almost impossible despite the nice volume and phase controls to be found on the back of the sub. Trying to solve this inconvenience a mechanical distortion was made evident to me. When deep bass is reproduced (for example the one to be heard from "Le temps passe" by Michel Jonasz, CD2 of La Fabuleuse Histoire de Mister Swing, or from "Quand j'ai peur de tout" by Patricia Kaas in "Dans ma Chair"), a rattle noise stays for a while after the note ends. I went with my sub to the dealer's store and there the same songs were now reproduced using a Denon receiver AVR684 and a Denon DVD player DVD900. The distortion was still there, not only from my sub but also from another PSW303, and, suprinsingly, also from a PSW404 and even from a PSW505!!! Is this a design fault of the whole series? It seems as if the air turbulence caused by the movement of the sub's membrane does not find a clean way out. The PSW303 costs $360 (tax included in my home coutry, Costa Rica). We (the dealer and I) tested another sub from another brand (I keep the name for obviuos reasons) sell at the same store and which costs $326 (tax included) and the sound was clean... Now I am disappointed, owning a sub that I do not like and which is not taken back even by the dealer... but I guess this is the price I must pay for buying eyes well closed. My fault.

by Danny Ohmen, February 29, 2004

Strengths:

Size, appearance, and, obviously, sound--once modified a bit.

Weaknesses:

None worth mentioning.

Review:

I love this sub. At first, to be perfectly honest, I thought it was weak and boomy. But then I got wise. What I did was, I stuffed the vent in the back with about 8 inches of air conditioner foam, turned the volume all the way up, and put on a good CD. And that was it--it sounded damn near perfect. Clean, deep, and fast. I heard the pluck of the double bass for the first time, the heavy slam of the bass drum, all the deep sounds I was missing--what an experience. I don't know why the foam made such a difference, but trust me, it did. Aside from that, the unit is striking--it looks great, and it's small and unobtrusive. What can I say, I love it. Trust me on the foam, though--try it and you'll see.

by Chris, March 16, 2004

Strengths:

great sounding sub, if you play it low, and dont turn it up

Weaknesses:

once you turn this thing up past 50 it starts to rattle, then it wont go away, even at low volumes.

Review:

i gave this sub 3 stars because it sounds awesome when it works. but once i turned mine over 50 percent, it started to rattle inside, and once i turned in back down, it still rattled at low volumes. i took the sub back to Circuit City, and i tryed one that was on the floor, i turned it up to 50, and it started to rattle also. so i just got my money back.

by Warren Dukes, July 23, 2004

Strengths:

Versatility. Sonically blends in with a variety of speakers.

Weaknesses:

May not be powerful enough for those that want a earth rumbling home theatre experience.

Review:

I've owned this subwoofer for about 2 years. We watch a few movies so we wanted something to add a little punch to the special effects. But primarily we listen to music, and it was important that we get a subwoofer that didn't sound too boomy. Also, at the time we purchased this subwoofer, we had a fiarly low quality pair of sony floor standing speakers, that produced very little quality bass. So, another constraint was that the subwoofer have decent excursion. This speaker fit the bill perfectly. It sounds great, and to my ears doesn't sound very boomy, it sounds mostly smooth and warm. Also, we didn't listen to my music cranked to 100db, so its plenty loud for our moderately sized room (15'x20'). Recently we purchased another set of front speakers, which have much more accurate and tighter bass than our previous front speakers. However, they still can't reach low deep bass notes (below 60 Hz or so) as effectively as the psw303 sub. This subwoofer rounds out the sound of the fronts quite nicely. This subwoofer is the one piece of audio equipment I have zero regrets about purchasing.

by Avsroy, December 2, 2004

Strengths:

Excellent finish. Small size and easy to hide away. Blends in very well with the RM6700 system.

Weaknesses:

Nothing so far.

Review:

I was experimenting for a while with several subwoofers (other brands & costing much more) for my 7.1 Polk RM6700 based system. Finally bit the bullet and went with the PSW303. Am very pleased with the results! It sounds great and sounds very nice as well! I am now a confirmed Polk Audio fan!

by Bob Pak, December 19, 2004

Strengths:

Nice blend in lower frequencies.

Weaknesses:

Intolerable noise, probably crossover.

Review:

Though the bass itself seems fine with the rest of the system, there is a major problem. Regardless of crossover frequency settings and volume, there is a very very annoying distortion sound coming from the speaker ! Making the sound for krrrrrrrr and you have the noise! I took first speaker back to future shop, and the second is not far behind. I am using an excellent amplifier, Harmon Kardon AVR430 and this sub unfortunately will not be able to power bass for this system. Sounds probably like an internal crossover issue, and i notice from other reviews that others have had same problem.

by Richard Ferguson, January 13, 2005

Strengths:

Tight base. Not a "boom box" that annoys. Small footprint, big sound.

Weaknesses:

Can't say I know of any

Review:

This sub rounds off my Polk Audio speaker system. I was using a different sub until this one. Was there a difference? Do fish swim in the sea? The difference was amazing. No longer do I have boomy base that at times sounded so unatural. This sub is tight and sounds great.

by Anthony, May 22, 2005

Strengths:

It sounds very good and tight bass.

Weaknesses:

The sub has a very loud popping noise when I play DVD movies.

Review:

I love this sub, sound very tight. It's work perfect for the size of my room. Because of the popping noise. I have too return the sub, other than that I have nothing against Polk Sub.

by jon henry, August 9, 2005

Strengths:

smooth, clean, punchy power

Weaknesses:

people who cant get it setup right. please read the manual.

Review:

i must say i am very surprised at some of the negative rewiews found here. my 303 is just a joy to listen to. its not boomy, it doesnt distort, its really quite a clean subwoofer. not to mention i cant turn it up more than 3\4 of the way and i have to keep the setting low on my denon reciever, because its so powerful. lots of punch from this smooth little guy.

by D.G., November 21, 2005

Strengths:

Um ahh..........very few, once I thought Polk ruled the world .

Weaknesses:

To many to list

Review:

Absolutely horrible!Replaced it with a Athena Technology AS-P400 sub on clearance for $149 and it looks and sounds incredibly better.All of my other speakers are Polks with the exception of my surrounds,I gave my R10 surrounds away when I got hold to a pair of Boston Acoustic CR7 for $30 a piece and believe it or not they sound better than my front Polk R30s.

by Cody Hanson, December 22, 2005

Strengths:

Bass is realy good perfect for movies and music.

Weaknesses:

None.

Review:

Great Sub woofer excelent sound realy powerfull runs realy well on a Denon Amp.Great Design very tough box.10 out of 10

by MARK, January 5, 2006

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

none

Review:

it is the BEST subwoofer i ever had! the sound of the bass is great with music and watching movies. i highly recommend this speaker.

by Pierce, March 15, 2006

Strengths:

Works as well for home theater as well as Music weather it cd's or sirrus radio fron my Dishnet satelite .

Weaknesses:

only from Operator errors

Review:

I have had this sub woofer for a couple of years . I got it with a set Of polk RM 6700's surround system. But I used it my main Living room For a while ith my RT 12's and they filled the room with quality sound . Later When I got a PSW 505 I moved the 303 to the bed room with The RM 6700's . I had to eradjust the setting for the smaller roombut what a great surround system for my bedroom. After reading a couple of the bad reviews in this section ,I couldn't help but wonder if some of these people know how to proper adjust a sub woofer. For me the 303 has been worth every penny of the price.

by Gaurav, April 13, 2006

Strengths:

Compact.

Weaknesses:

Rattle, Durability

Review:

My 303 just blew up after a year of use. While it lasted, the performance was decent except for a small rattle here or there. Then one day at a high but not excessive volume, it just blew up and started croaking like a frog. luckily I had bought extended warranty from a third party vendor. I wont buy the product again.

Polk Response:

We are sorry to hear you had a problem with your PSW303. With any electronic component there is always a chance that failure will occur by no fault of the user. That is why we warranty home speaker parts for 5 years and home amplifiers for three years. The reliability track record has been excellent but from time to time units fail. You did not need an extended store warranty in order to get your Polk speaker repaired for free.

by Gerard D. Sattiewhite, September 25, 2006

Strengths:

Great Sound, Plnenty of Power, Small footprint and universal for my home theater design.

Weaknesses:

N/A

Review:

Great subwoofer for the size! Was very pleased with the performance from the get go, and made me a true fan of Polk Audio. Never had big name speakers before until purchasing the W303 and CSi 3 center channel, my next floor speakers will be without a doubt Polk Audio.

by dk, January 11, 2007

Strengths:

Deep, clear, fair sound

Weaknesses:

Light noise from the back

Review:

I'm happy with 303 purchase. Sound is very deep, clear without show off boomming. The base is naturally there... One thing, however, bothers me: light noise from the back. I can hear it from distance up to 10ft. especially when i listed classic musik, where some moments of complete silence. It could be the transformer?..or else. Does anybody have this issue? know how to fix it?. What if i loose some screws at the back? I would appreciate your feed back.

by Scott J.C., December 12, 2007

Strengths:

Big Sound, Small Enclosure, Big Quality, and half the cost of a comparable competitors unit. Try and find something better for this price.

Weaknesses:

Clearly the owner's manual is not clear enough for some. Polkaudio.com and Polk customer service are there to help.

Review:

Excellent performance with a small foot print. Outclasses subs twice it's size. Any criticisms I have seen listed here are easily corrected through proper set up, adjustment and proper home wiring. Polk would not offer a product that "Hums" as a standard feature, and these types of issues are not the fault of the manufacturer. The unit has performed flawlessly since day one, and performs perfectly in all aspects of music and home theatre. It handles rock, house rap,jazz.....the "gun run" scene from Blackhawk Down and the "depth charged" scene of U571 all with equal ease, and is right at home for the kids movies too. Rear controls are simple to operate and the long throw 8 inch is infinately adjustable. It can sound like a big twelve, a nice mid or both. Fills in where your other speakers leave off, providing a much richer sound base throughout the hz's. It provides big sound in my 15x19 foot rec room, any louder and I would be replacing the drywall. Let your Amp work with this sub....you'll be amazed.

by Dennis Dunn, January 27, 2008

Strengths:

Good bass.Blends well with my rt8s and rt3s.

Weaknesses:

None

Review:

Well satisfied as I knew I would be.

by B. Lee, June 20, 2008

Strengths:

Powerful, meaty bass Tight and accurate Every hook-up option one could want Nice looks

Weaknesses:

Foam surround could deteriorate in a few years No cherry option

Review:

This is a beautiful, powerful, compact subwoofer. It's well built and has shockingly low extension for an 8" woofer in a small enclosure. Its bass is taut and powerful in my 13' X 16' X 8' room and fills in the lowest octave with ease and grace. It blends perfectly with my RTi A1s and RTi6 speakers. If you're looking for a sub-$200 subwoofer, you can't do any better than this.

by fred, April 2, 2009

Strengths:

nice size deep base

Weaknesses:

not

Review:

have one sub psw303 great found another cant wait to hear two hooked up should have a nice 7.2 system