Polk Audio PSW10 10" Powered Subwoofer Home Audio – Power Port Tech, Up to 100 Watts, Big Bass in Compact Design, Easy Setup with Home Theater, Timbre-Matched with Monitor & T-Series Polk Speakers

We needed a replacement subwoofer after our receiver bit the dust after a lightning strike since the previous sub had no internal amp. After some research, we decided on the Polk. Best decision ever. This thing is super! Hook up was beyond easy. Some people seem to be complaining about it not being great, some claim it sounds "muddy", etc. However, we haven't experienced these things and as long as you have your settings correct, it's fantastic for movies, music & games. Those complaining about the boominess or "muddy" sound likely do not have their equipment adjusted for the sub right or the knobs set properly on the sub for the room they have it set up in. We have a receiver with a single "sub out" jack and the Low-Pass knob on the back of the subwoofer all the way clockwise which creates an LFE input (since this sub doesn't have one). After a couple days of testing, we found that the best place for the sub's volume knob was just below half. With that, we've got GREAT bass all around for practically every situation whether we're watching movies, playing games or even listening to music (which seems to be the primary gripe out there for this sub...don't listen to 'em) and it doesn't make the rest of the range sound murky. Dialog is crystal clear & higher frequencies are distinct. Just set it up according to the manual & then make minor adjustments until you find what works best for the room and you. One point of note that likely won't affect many people...We have a PS3 hooked up to the tv via HDMI and the tv is outputting sound to our receiver with an optical cable. Games sound AWESOME on it with two exceptions...Rock Band & especially Guitar Hero. The output on those isn't tailor made for output in this fashion evidently & we find we have much fuller sound on those with a standard PlayStation output cable with the left & right audio RCA plugs going directly to the receiver. It sounds counter to everything one might have heard or understands about sound with this equipment, but it works great for those two game series. We just have the PS3 set up to output audio to multiple sources & whenever we want to play Rock Band or Guitar Hero games, switch the receiver over to that input and voila...fantastic, full, rich sound with plenty of bass while not drowning out the higher frequencies. All in all, this is a wonderful subwoofer, easily the best one I've had experience with in this price range. It won't break the bank and you'll LOVE it once you have it set up properly for your living room/den/entertainment room. HIGHLY recommended!!

I am a self-proclaimed audiophile with a serious inclination towards VALUE. This, my friends, is a product that has immense value. To give you an idea of what I mean by value, my previous set-up had KLH Subwoofers that were so under-rated and unknown that it wasn't until I spoke of them that people even considered them as KLH (being that KLH, for some unknown reason, has a bad name. Now, by no means would I consider myself cheap...I like value--inexpensive items that do as they say while preserving quality. Being that Matt Polk put the name of the Polk legacy on these, the quality should not be in question at any point. I think the only reason that these are at such a reduced rate is because of their meager ratings (50-Watt amp and 10" woofer...something else that is unattractive is the front facing port--don't they know that most new speakers come with the port to the rear to avoid port noise??!!) and, even moreso, reviewing its bigger brothers and sisters with downward firing ports means that although this sub isn't in the same class, there are offerings for more discerning listeners. If I had a good $1000 to blow on subwoofers, I would have probably bought two of the PSW110s without question... Ah, yes...TWO. The biggest reason that I look for subwoofers of value is so that I can purchase more than one (if you were wondering why I keep using these nouns in the plural). Although I am still relatively young <30y/o, I've been into home theater since the days when there was no such thing as Home-Theater-In-a-Box and Definitive Technology illuminated the minds of young, aspiring audiophiles with diagrams of their BP3000s tower speakers with built in 300-Watt Amplifiers and 15" Sub-/Woofers. Ah yes...those good ol' days... Now, Home Theater is the standard and it may be difficult to discern one product from another (trust me, most of it is trash--INCLUDING BOSE). The best way to go about building a theater system is not by adhering to the one-click feature-like HTiB. Piece by piece...step by step... It helps to buy speakers in a particular company's model family since they are normally making use of the same drivers and are normally tonally matched. Many companies claim their speakers as tonally matched without considering the effects of the difference in enclosure size and construction of a center channel and a satellite... Ah...that's info for you--but not why I'm writing this review... This review is about the two Polk Audio 10PSWs sitting here in front of me. They sound awesome for what they are. I'm glad that an earlier reviewer made it known that the 50w amplifier is continuously rated--not instantly...or even rated considering a massive amount of Total Harmonic Distortion--as many companies do and then say "@ 1KHz"...who sits home listening to 1KHz Sine signals?? At loud volumes even? Don't be fooled. Normally they follow that spec up with "30-20KHz +/-3db" As many of you probably know...that's HALF the power that they're quoting it at...3db = 1/2 Wattage (or twice the wattage considering the context...normally, it's LESS, not MORE). Many of you, I'm sure, have bought one of these and are either loving it or hating it (most loving from what I can tell). Indeed, with the varying types of music and source program I use, these fit the bill nicely. The sound is present...strong...detailed. I haven't experienced the muddy sound as other people have noted. I'm sure that it's not just luck...I have two...surely, one would be muddy if this was prevalent. Now, time for pointers (I love the reviewers who leave pointers...it's normally the nudge for most people to consider a truly awesome product--as this one is) Pointer#1: Buy Two (2) These are probably some of the least expensive, best sounding subs you can get right now. When in the market for a sub, you should at least have a budget of $200--$400 even...otherwise, you'll find yourself wondering what you paid for... Remember, there are materials (wood, cables), components (subwoofer driver, subwoofer amplifier), and labor that goes into that bass machine. If any of these things aren't optimally constructed, the overall device will suffer. You can understand this, I'm sure. The flip side of this, is that surely, there was a corner cut somewhere. Thus, why continue to hammer out your amplifier? The amp is often overlooked in all of this. Most people see the pretty cone of their subwoofer and totally disregard the reality that the real work horse of the build is the amplifier. Having two subs is not for more bass...but to conserve the life of the subwoofers you have. In addition, when the time comes to party or watch a movie, you don't have to worry about your subs (the drivers themselves) bottoming out or sounding as if they're straining. Thus, with two, you get the benefit of both worlds (longevity, present sound quality). Electronics have limitations...use them wisely and they will perform AND last a very long time... Pointer #2: Gain >1/2 You should never have to turn your amplifier gain past half. Past half is where distortion and clipping are introduced. Sure, depending on your source, this may not be prevalent, but if you have a good, strong signal, there will come a time when you hear artifacts that weren't intended for reproduction (e.g. distortion, clipping). As a rule, if you have to turn your sub past half, you might want to adjust your settings in your receiver or see Pointer #1 again... A benefit of two, is that the both of them can be readjusted lower to account for the assistance or each other. My Polks are each at about 1/3 (and that's only because I really enjoy the sound right now...so I'm excited...otherwise they would each be at 1/4). The reason you only want "enough" volume is because headroom is what you want... this is the power that is used during explosions, kick drums--sudden bursts...this is what you bought it for, right? Yes, that's right. I know that there are many other reviewers--bless their heart--who are praising having it just past half or 3/4 of the way up. Mine are at 1/3 and it was like that when I only had one connected. Now that I have both connected, I'll have to half the volume of both of them to equal the volume of the one (and no, the gain knob potentiometers are not linear, so it'll have to be by ear). Pointer #3: Subs Fill, Not Dominate Subwoofer modules are only meant to fill in where the other speakers in your system fail. My set-up has Mirage towers as my mains. However, the built in crossover of my Harmon/Kardon handles all bass traffic well--cut off at 60Hz (the point where bass can not be located by the human ear). Having the setting higher than this will not only put more stress on your sub but also the amplifier (lets not forget the amp). When adjusting the gain, you just want to ensure that the frequencies from the sub are at around the same volume as your main speakers. This will keep you from being bass hungry. That's not the point of a sub...this isn't a mobile system...this is home. The environment doesn't warrant that level of "hyper-bass"... If done this way, you will be able to reach higher sound pressure levels while retaining your dynamism... These pointers should help with any sub...this sub is truly a great, great buy... Hope this helps...

There are lots of positive reviews of this sub. Mine is black not cherry. It looks great. (can't speak for cherry) It has a nice grill that is held on by 6 points. The 10" powered sub puts out a lot of bass if you want it to. Mine is set to 1/2 volume and the crossover is in the middle and I like a lot of bass. (have 600 watt RMS Kicker sub and amp in my car) Even though I had a "subwoofer out" port on my stereo, I hooked mine up to the speaker outs and hooked my speakers up to the sub. It can be hooked up with RCA cables however if you choose to do it that way. My speakers actually had an issue at very low volume where one of them wouldn't work right. (not efficient enough is my guess) This sub seems to have solved that issue. There is a nice 3 position toggle type switch on the back for power modes. There is On, Auto and Off. I have it set to Auto. It powers up right away when I turn up the volume. It says on for 15 minutes after the last time it sensed a signal. (and powers off each time reliably) I monitored this for a couple of days before writing this review. Auto is perfect for my application. I leave my receiver on all day long every day but turn the volume to zero. It turns the sub off when in auto. That was one thing I worried about when buying this. It has a nice built in crossover so you can choose the frequencies you want coming out of the sub. Right in the middle is good for me. I may change my opinion later though. The built in 100 watt (50watt RMS) amp seems sufficient to me. It literally rattles a mirror inside my house and I have this in my garage. (don't ask, I spend quite a bit of time in my workshop in the garage) I paired it with 2 full range 3-way Yamaha bookshelf speakers and overall, it sounds amazing. I recommend testing this or any sub with the song "Can you hear me" by Bass Dominator. (even from youtube if you wish) In fact there are tons of "bass test" songs on youtube but this one is not as annoying as some and doesn't have profanity or really annoying lyrics. This is subjective though. The nice thing about a 10" sub is that it can hit some deep lows but has really good bass response. (a 12 may hit low tones a bit harder but may be muddier and less responsive) This pushes quite a bit of air though. I can feel it in my body a few feet away. That being said, you can easily calm this thing down by lowering the bass setting on your receiver or simply turning down the volume knob on the back of the unit. I would almost consider this the equivalent of a gain control on a car amp. Now I didn't really read the specs or think much about the size of the ported box but when it arrived I was surprised since it is so large. This isn't a bad thing though. Ported boxes must have more cubic feet than a non-ported box so I'm not sure what I was thinking. To be honest what I was thinking was that this thing is only $100.00 so it can't be real big. I was wrong. I don't have much recent experience with Polk Audio but after this purchase I wouldn't hesitate to consider them for my future speaker needs. I'm not some super high end audiophile but I'm not a person who can listen to cheap bluetooth speakers or use the built in speakers on my phone. I like quality sound and lots of bass. I'm happy. For example, I require headphones from Audio Technica or studio headphones and I am a big fan of Bose. My plan originally was to use the cubes from a Bose accoustimass system with this sub but the full range speakers sound much better. I was missing the mids with the Bose cubes. The original Bose sub must be putting out quite a bit of midrange and I have this set to the middle on the crossover. Those Bose may end up being across my garage on the speaker B channel where their harshness won't be so close to my head. The Yamaha speakers I am using are MS-6490 and I've always liked how they sounded. I used to have Infinity bookshelves however that had an amazing amount of bass. The tweeter blew on one of those and they are hard to find for a reasonable price. I missed the bass from the Infinity speakers but this setup has way more bass than those speakers did. I feel like I have a 4-way setup with this sub and those Yamaha 3-way speakers. Normally I'm a big fan of 2-way speakers but I don't mind 3 way from Yamaha. (it isn't necessary always better to have 3-way speakers) I've been looking at these for quite a while and the reviews kept them on the top of my list. I finally pulled the trigger and I do not regret it.

We purchased two Polk Audio PSW10 subwoofers for our new home, to fill out the sound for two large rooms with in-wall or in-ceiling 7.1 speakers. Size and shape were both top considerations, as we wanted to integrate the subwoofer into a window seat in our great room, so the unit had to be approximately 14" tall (precluding several other, bigger, more powerful choices). Price was a secondary consideration -- but we do appreciate good sound, and would have happily paid more for better sound, if we could get the packaging right. As always with Amazon, shipping was very efficient and the speakers arrived in good shape long before we were actually ready to install them in the new house. Set up was no-brainer easy (as others have noted, the lack of an LFE input is easily worked around by turning the crossover level of the speakers all the way up). We routed a 20-foot RCA cable along the base of our hearth prior to installing hardwood flooring, so the terminal end could be routed behind the drywall to the final installation spot, tucked into the window seat in the very corner of the room. Remember, though, that as a powered subwoofer, you'll also need a close-by AC outlet. Now, for the sound: it's really good -- crisp, not excessively boomy unless you turn the internal volume way up, and surprisingly capable of churning out satisfying bass in a very large space. Our primary listening environment is a large great room, approximately 32 feet by 24 feet, with a two-story cathedral ceiling. The primary speakers are Audioplex 8" in-wall speakers, driven by a Yamaha RX-663 receiver. Most of our usage in this room is for "ambient" music during the day, running in the receiver's 7-channel stereo mode -- and the Polk PSW10 admirably "fills out" the bottom end of the sound, enriching it without being distracting or boomy. We also use this system for family movie nights, in concert with a Samsung 52" A650 LCD monitor. Once again, the PSW10 does a fine job "filling out" the bottom end with solid bass, even keeping up with the action-adventure movies my kids prefer. As a minor beef, I actually have had to get up and turn down the sub's volume during a couple movies because the level that works well with music is a little too much boom during loud action sequences... which I suppose says something about the sound levels this little speaker is capable of. Overall, for the way we live (lots of music played at moderate volumes, regular "home theater" sessions with the whole family on the couch), the Polk PSW10s have proven to be a great buy and a great value, with satisfying performance in a right-sized package. A true audiophile might be disappointed, but for real-world, moderate-volume usage, these are great little speakers for a great price.

Bottom Line: I wanted to add some good, loud, rumbly bass to my system, and I'm definitely very pleased - amazed even - by the PSW10. If you are on a tight budget or just don't want to spend more than the price of this sub, I think you'll probably be very happy with it. I did a bit of research prior to getting this. It was a bit of an impulse buy; when the price dropped to around $80 shipped via Prime, I just couldn't pass it up. I had been eyeing it for a while and just pulled the trigger on a whim. I gotta say.....for the price - anywhere near, under, or just over $100, I would have to hear another sub for myself to believe it could be beat at this price point, or anywhere near it. This is just a fantastic value and in my non-audiophile opinion, you'd just *have* to spend significantly more to get something measurably better. After I ordered it, I did even more reading and over-analyzing and it looks like the only other sub that's highly recommended by audiophiles anywhere near this price range is the Bic F12, as of this writing it's right about $200 on Amazon. We're not talking about a lot of money, even at $200, but that is still double the price most people paid for the PSW10. Does the Bic really sound twice as good - 100% better? I'd love to hear it, that's for sure! Also the Bic is 475 watts and 12 inches; this 10 inch, 50 watt Polk has me turning it down more often than not, and I'm the type who asks for overkill and then double that. For the small room I have the Polk in, the Bic likely would have shaken my house down already. Now, when you start reading about subs, particularly units like the Bic, you'll stumble onto real audiophile forums and reviews. I can understand how someone who's used to a $500 sub as a bottom-barrel unit could turn their nose up at the PSW10, but it's also not even close to a fair comparison. I did get pretty nervous & got some bad buyers remorse when I read the negative reviews on some of the audiophile forums, but again; they're not comparing apples to apples. These guys are used to subs costing thousands of dollars. This Polk PSW10 gets very loud, and contrary to a lot of the reviews I've read, handles movies really well in the limited tests I've put it through; War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park, Terminator Salvation; all these movies just aren't the same without a good, loud sub, as with one, and in my opinion it sounds fantastic playing them. Look, maybe I'm not even qualified to comment on this, other than to say that if the Polk can sound as good and loud as it does for the price I paid, I would absolutely melt if I heard a higher-priced sub. This Polk gets loud, adds punch when needed, rumble and boom when called upon.....what more is there? Maybe someday I'll upgrade to a more expensive unit, but for now, I think this Polk is an absolute steal for the price and I'm thrilled with it. Also I'm using it in a pretty small (maybe 15x20) room with hardwood floors, obviously if you have carpet or a larger room that greatly affects acoustics. I will also say this: if you have anything resembling a decent stereo system but either don't have a dedicated sub, or yours is not that great, you are truly missing out on an entire dimension of your movies & music. This is paired with an old Toshiba SD-6109C receiver & 5-channel Energy speaker system. UPDATE 4/22/2014: It's been almost 2 months that I've owned this Polk sub and I'm still very happy with it. In a fit of panic that I wasn't shaking the walls of my home or annoying my fiancee enough, I went to return it and purchase the Bic 12" instead. However, I had missed the return window by a couple days. It's all well...more often than not, I'm turning this thing down, and the sound does seem to have improved over time and with use, which is normal for speakers & subs to break in. I really think anything larger, louder & more powerful would be way, way, way overkill for my purposes; and I'm the type who goes for overkill and then asks for more. Overall I'm very pleased with this Polk at any price, but especially the price I snagged it for.

When it comes to subwoofers, there is no "one size fits all". This being said, I enthusiastically recommend the POLK PSW10 for its overall excellence in providing small to medium size rooms with the clean undistorted bottom-end that most full-range loudspeakers cannot possibly reproduce. I have home theater installations in three rooms of my home that vary in size, power and performance expectations. For my high-end McIntosh Labs electronics, I still swear by the small VELODYNE cube I purchased years ago. That installation features two rather large POLK MONITOR 70's. All the Velodyne has to do is reproduce the non-musical thuds of sundry spacecraft, monsters and an occasional Death Star exploding. I should add that said Velodyne costs four time the price of the sub Polk being reviewed here. My finished basement system features 2 much smaller POLK MONITOR 30's and ENERGY Micro's for surround. I decided to give the POLK PSW10 a shot for this application. I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the performance of this relatively lightweight ported cube from Polk. With both music and home theater expectations in mind, this compact and incredibly LIGHT cube fits the bill amazingly well. Godzilla rightfully churns ones guts, various Motherships rattle the doors and 2001's (forgive me Mr. Strauss) Also Sprach Zarathustra shows off its much needed organ subtonics. IMAX special effects aside, this is a surprisingly musical little sub. Since my son entered The Juilliard School at Lincoln Center I've been privy to more orchestral masterpieces (as performed at Avery Fisher Hall) than I've heard prior in a lifetime of musical participation. I KNOW what an orchestra is supposed to sound like. The POLK PSW10 does not disappoint. I'm especially impressed with the tightness of the low bass. It handles special-effect sub-sonics remarkably well. Musically, the bottom of a kettle drum is accurately reproduced along with the gut sounds that often are lacking in high-end "High Fidelity" systems costing a small fortune. I believe that a small room will not be overwhelmed if said room's electronics are carefully calibrated. I believe that the POLK PSW10 can service a "medium sized" (figure 12-18') room as well. The integrated amplifier in this cube should be able to handle a wide range of challenges, but of course, that is quite objective. (PS- experimentation is essential regarding placement and tweaking). For the price, I stand by my "5-star" recommendation. To be blunt and rather pragmatic, this lightweight cube would be a cinch to return to Amazon if it all disappoints. If you are being honest with yourself regarding your needs and expectations, I don't think that you can go wrong here if price constants demand an "under $125" installation. If nothing else, this POLK provides a perfect introduction to the world of ultra-high fidelity reproduction. Buy with confidence. Return if disappointed. It's that simple a decision!

This Polk subwoofer is an excellent choice (or was an excellent choice now that it has been discontinued) for any audio system, including home theatres, or digital audio workstations. The subwoofer takes some time to tune to the system it is used with. The crossovers are not switched, but are adjusted by a pot. So tuning consistes of making small adjustments on the subwoofer to pick up where your audio system rolls off on the low end. When you get it dialed in, you know you hit the sweet spot. The bass response for the inexpensive, unshielded, and self-powered speaker is pretty good. My DAW employs Neumann KH120A monitors and a matched KH750 DSP subwoofer. So when I judge the Polk to be pretty good, that means something. I was worried that the speaker woud not have the kind of kick I am used to. I was worried that it would sound cheesy and "fake". It took me a moment to figure out the speaker lines in and out of the box, but once I had sound, I cranked it up. It is neither cheesy or kickless. It is not what I would call a studio monitor, but anytime you extend the range of your audio system, it turns into a whole different experience. The new DAW I built that uses the Polk, employs a Sch**t Audio Modius DAC and a Saga preamp. Note that the spelling of the manufacturer is seen as an explitive and will not be published - A quick plug: Sch**t Audio has the most remarkable DACs, preamps, headamps, both tube and solid state. These products have the lowest THD and IMD I have ever seen on equipment priced as low. The sound is uncoloured through good speakers and pulls you into a simply amazing musical experience. OK back to Earth. Along with the Sh**t gear, I have a pair of relatively inexpensive Yamaha HS5 monitors, plus the Polk, and for a $2k investment, the sound is far better than I expected. The Polk brings in the low-end quite elegantly. Something interesting with this little 100 Watt Subby. I love physics, particularly when is comes to sound traveling through air. But even better is resonance. I happen to know the approximate frequency of resonance for the main structure of my home. Yes, my house. I decided to see if the Polk could do what my KH750 could do. Using a pure sine wave generator, I feed the subwoofer between 65 and 70 Hz and slowely increase the output. Moving the sub to enhance the "sound" of resonance generally puts it in the right location to transfer the sound into the structure. So up goes the output, then stuff starts to happen. Windows rattle, pictures on the wall move, and other weirdities start ocurring. I cranked up the Polk enough to find that I was able to mystify my neighbor to come over and ask if I was OK. It is a great speaker, and it totally transportable and is a fun physics tool to learn about LFE and how LF sonics work. Getting my house to resonate with a speaker is one of the coolest things I have ever done.

This is one of the most Detailed subs I have heard . I use it as a Home Studio Sub with a monitor controller and 2 M-Audio BX5a studio monitors . It is crossed over at 80hz and below and my monitors are crossed over at 80hz and above . I just heard my friends Klipsch 12" sub and it sounds boomy compared to this Polk sub . I knew the 10" would be the perfect size to go with my 5.25" monitors and a 10" sub is usually very tight sounding compared to larger subs but big enough to get down to 40hz and below . I bought this sub expecting to have a little bit of boominess but overall good sound because of all the awesome reviews and I had a Polk DX Sub in my car once and it sounded excellent . But back to my point , I have watched movies on this Sub and it gets on down there , I have sound treatment in my room and I have bass traps because it is a studio . But my room is about 15x30x15x30 , it is a bit of an L shaped room and the side I use the sub in to mix is about 15x15 and this sub is raised up on a platform built out of wood and topped with a sound deadening pad at about 4ft high . I used it on the floor also just to test it out . Down on the floor with the sub facing you I would say it drops down well into the 30hz and below range . I lifted it up for a tighter sound at ear level with my monitors . But I will say this as a last point . This sub sounds as good or better than some studio subs that cost well in the $300.00 range and it has plenty of punch for a 30x15 room so don't let the 50 watts fool you , it sounds so tight and defined that I almost don't believe that it is sold for this price . I worked for a Home and Car electronics store for about 3 years and I will tell you . No BS ! This is one of the best sound quality subwoofer units I have heard , comparative to subs we sold at 4 and $500.00 bucks back 8 years ago . I believe any audiophile that can hear and has the experience I do with sound will tell you . If you are in this price range this is the best sub in this and higher price ranges . When they built it they done an exceptional job . This is a long review but this Sub and Polk deserve to be a bestseller on Amazon . All I can say is Wow ! With my mouth hanging open when I am playing the 808 drum , or hear a detailed explosion on a movie . This sub does not lose it's precise sound when playing kick drums , toms and bass guitar riffs all together . You can hear the separation of the notes . No mud at all , unless you gap the volume too loud or fire the sub into a corner which I do not suggest . Turn it up a bit past half way and adjust your sub pre out on your reciever and hear it sing . It's unbelievable at this price point and I can't get enough of this sub .