PSW505

[itsanss]

So I think my Polk Audio PSW505 powered 12” subwoofer is toast. From some brief research it appears to be common after a couple years and I bought this sub on 7/6/2015. It has a date of manufacture on the back, but can’t be deciphered by me and apparently not even Polk Audio. According to PA’s website, subwoofers have a three year warranty...making mine just out of warranty, of course. Little bit disappointing in the longevity as I don’t use this sub all that often and it’s never been turned up over 50%. But it’s a cheap sub and I have been happy with the sound it has provided [until recently]...so I guess I can’t complain too much.

So, should I:

1. Attempt to put new parts in this one?

2. Replace it with another PSW505?

3. Upgrade while I’m out a sub?


For your listening pleasure, here is a link to a video that demonstrates the awful popping noises this thing is producing.

Thanks!

 

[ryanosaur]

Option 3.
You are #4 or 5 recently asking about this sub.
Take it to the electronics recycling and buy a real sub.

Hsu is your best bet for a high quality value priced sub. Followed by Rythmik, SVS, Outlaw, Monolith...

If you search the forum for your sub, you'll find several recent threads.

How big is your room in volume? lxwxh and is it open to other areas, or closed off?

 

[shadyJ]

It sounds to me like the coil has been knocked out of alignment- if that is the sub producing that noise. Make sure it is the sub and not something else, like maybe the sub's feet tapping the floor or some vibration near the sub. If the coil is not aligned, you will need to replace the driver. The driver for a PW505 is probably not too expensive. I would guess maybe $100 at the most. Or you could just scrap the sub and get a higher end sub...

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

It’s an ss? Like a chevelle? Jk

Sounds broke to me. I agree with shady and ryan. I have experience with the 505 and my recommendation would also be to replace it. Good bass is an investment and while the 505 is a decent enough gateway sub for the price, your money will be returned much better in the form of a better sub. Doesn’t need to be a 2k$ sub either. But 5-600 at SVS would be an upgrade for sure. Or 799 for a pair of rsl speedwoofers would be as well. Just sayin...
Come down the rabbit hole JUST a little bit. You’ll be glad ya did!

 

[itsanss]

Option 3.
You are #4 or 5 recently asking about this sub.
Take it to the electronics recycling and buy a real sub.

Hsu is your best bet for a high quality value priced sub. Followed by Rythmik, SVS, Outlaw, Monolith...

If you search the forum for your sub, you'll find several recent threads.

How big is your room in volume? lxwxh and is it open to other areas, or closed off?

I had a feeling I’d get a reply like that. Lol

I’ll have to do some research and see what’s in the budget. I’ll post back on the ones that strike my fancy.

The room is 31’ x 15’ x 8’. There are two entryways - one is 7’ tall x 3’ wide and the other is 7’ tall x 4’ wide. The picture is from the smaller entryway. Also, the house has wood floors and a crawl space. The bass seriously sounds deep and full and really good...when it wasn’t popping, of course. Lol

Shadyj,

I had that thought, too, that it could be something other than the sub even though it sure sounds like it’s coming from the sub. With signal going to the sub, I turned the sub off and the popping went away. The other 7 speakers sound great. The sub is also firmly and flatly planted on the floor, so I believe it’s the “sub itself” and not any peripherals.




Thanks

 

[itsanss]

Had to screenshot my post and upload as a picture. Wouldn't upload my text due to "spam like material and inappropriate language". I tend to offend people everywhere I go. *rolls eyes*

 

[ryanosaur]

The room is 31’ x 15’ x 8’.

That's a pretty good sized room, my friend... I'd start looking at Hsu VTF2 or VTF3s. SVS could be a good way to go, their pb2000. Of course, now I want to get you to go with multiple subs for better, more even bass response. But at least consider stepping up in weight class to a good quality sub that can dig a little deeper, and give a little more output.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Had to screenshot my post and upload as a picture. Wouldn't upload my text due to "spam like material and inappropriate language". I tend to offend people everywhere I go. *rolls eyes*


View attachment 28322

Nice! I have a first gen camaro so for some dumb reason I pick up stuff like that. lol

My BIL has an ‘84 monte. It was NOT an SS, and now sports a 468”er. Best friend in HS also had a regal with a 350 olds in it. G bodies are great. Too bad most of em are serving as dirt track cars. St least around here.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I had a feeling that was a suspended floor. That can make many subs sound more powerful than they are because the whole floor is like a big drum head and resonates. Any idea of a budget?

 

[itsanss]

That's a pretty good sized room, my friend... I'd start looking at Hsu VTF2 or VTF3s. SVS could be a good way to go, their pb2000. Of course, now I want to get you to go with multiple subs for better, more even bass response. But at least consider stepping up in weight class to a good quality sub that can dig a little deeper, and give a little more output.

It's indeed a large room. But so perfect for acoustics, being longer than it is wide. Made setting up the 7.1 super simple as far as speaker placement. lol

Nice! I have a first gen camaro so for some dumb reason I pick up stuff like that. lol

My BIL has an ‘84 monte. It was NOT an SS, and now sports a 468”er. Best friend in HS also had a regal with a 350 olds in it. G bodies are great. Too bad most of em are serving as dirt track cars. St least around here.

Very, very few people pick up on the username being car related. You're truly a car guy! A good friend of mine has a 1969 Camaro SS. Has a 383 in it. 13.5:1 compression ratio that runs on 114 octane racing fuel. Four speed transmission, 4.11:1 differential. That thing is freaking dangerous. LOL

A G-body was not my first pick in a car when I was looking to buy my first one, but this one was the right price and I went for it. I fell in love, man!! Here in a few weeks will be my 15 year anniversary with the car. Can't believe it. I bought a 468 for my MCSS....never put it in. Bought it brand new and it sat on a stand for about a year. Deep down I kinda knew that if I put it in the car that I would eventually kill myself and/or some other people. So I wound up selling it to a guy that was gonna put it in a Nova. lol

By the way, most G-bodies have been turned into dirt track cars around here, too. The ones that haven't are sitting on 30" rims. * rolls eyes * The other extremely rare few that don't fall into either of those categories still somewhat resemble factory styling and/or sport the "traditional" hot rod look. Mine definitely sports the hot rod look with 12" wide Mickey Thompson's in the rear with bead lock and "skinnys" up front. :-D I also installed some a Lightning Rod shifter a couple years ago. If you aren't familiar with them, do yourself a favor and look them up. They are so bada$$.

I had a feeling that was a suspended floor. That can make many subs sound more powerful than they are because the whole floor is like a big drum head and resonates. Any idea of a budget?

That's the hurdle I'm trying to clear.....like I said, I truly enjoyed the sound I got from the PSW505. I think a lot of that has to do with the room that it's in. The PSW505 has 250W rms. The SVS PB2000 has 500W rms. I'm really, really thinking that I can get by with the PB1000 because it's still sitting at 300W rms.

That's what I'm kinda leaning towards right now.....probably between the PB1000 and 2000. I know that subs are one of those things where "too much is just enough", but I did get a good, enjoyable five years out of a cheap, entry level subwoofer and these SVS's are definitely a step up from entry level. I can afford either one, but neither are in the budget. In other words, I hadn't planned on replacing the sub, but I can. It's just picking the one that gives me zero buyers remorse....or any grief from the girlfriend. LOL!! But at the same time, gives me the great lows that I've become accustomed to. Hehehe

 

[ryanosaur]

The amp power isn't what you need to look at. That's a pretty meaningless spec for subwoofers. What you need to consider though is how to get good even bass response in that room.
PB2000. Or the PC2000 if you want a smaller footprint. Consider the Hsu VTF2, also... several happy campers here have those.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

It's indeed a large room. But so perfect for acoustics, being longer than it is wide. Made setting up the 7.1 super simple as far as speaker placement. lol





Very, very few people pick up on the username being car related. You're truly a car guy! A good friend of mine has a 1969 Camaro SS. Has a 383 in it. 13.5:1 compression ratio that runs on 114 octane racing fuel. Four speed transmission, 4.11:1 differential. That thing is freaking dangerous. LOL

A G-body was not my first pick in a car when I was looking to buy my first one, but this one was the right price and I went for it. I fell in love, man!! Here in a few weeks will be my 15 year anniversary with the car. Can't believe it. I bought a 468 for my MCSS....never put it in. Bought it brand new and it sat on a stand for about a year. Deep down I kinda knew that if I put it in the car that I would eventually kill myself and/or some other people. So I wound up selling it to a guy that was gonna put it in a Nova. lol

By the way, most G-bodies have been turned into dirt track cars around here, too. The ones that haven't are sitting on 30" rims. * rolls eyes * The other extremely rare few that don't fall into either of those categories still somewhat resemble factory styling and/or sport the "traditional" hot rod look. Mine definitely sports the hot rod look with 12" wide Mickey Thompson's in the rear with bead lock and "skinnys" up front. :-D I also installed some a Lightning Rod shifter a couple years ago. If you aren't familiar with them, do yourself a favor and look them up. They are so bada$$.






That's the hurdle I'm trying to clear.....like I said, I truly enjoyed the sound I got from the PSW505. I think a lot of that has to do with the room that it's in. The PSW505 has 250W rms. The SVS PB2000 has 500W rms. I'm really, really thinking that I can get by with the PB1000 because it's still sitting at 300W rms.

That's what I'm kinda leaning towards right now.....probably between the PB1000 and 2000. I know that subs are one of those things where "too much is just enough", but I did get a good, enjoyable five years out of a cheap, entry level subwoofer and these SVS's are definitely a step up from entry level. I can afford either one, but neither are in the budget. In other words, I hadn't planned on replacing the sub, but I can. It's just picking the one that gives me zero buyers remorse....or any grief from the girlfriend. LOL!! But at the same time, gives me the great lows that I've become accustomed to. Hehehe

Yeah, I guess I am a car guy. I grew up right across the road from a popular racetrack and used to go watch fuel cars from about 1978 on. In those days things were different. I’d stand at the back of haulers for HOURS while my dad would flap away with crew chiefs and drivers. He was big so many times he would help switch engines out of the frames. Good times. Really good. The ‘69 that I own, was my first car and has evolved into a pro touring style car. I’ve owned her for 25 years. Actually, she’s owned me. Lol. Most of my buddy’s do the bigs and littles, and my brother has an s-10 with a 383 that runs low 9’s at around 150. That helps me get my “wheels up”fix.
Can’t get my head around that 30” thing though...Dumb...Fukkin donks... I’d rather see a complete Reston on an early 80’s smogger than those stupid donks. To each his own I guess...

Lightening rods. That’s full manual valve body right? Sounds like fun! ‘Cept for takin the fam to DQ! Lmao.

I think for you, I’d try the pb/pc2000. You can try in home risk free. IMO it would alleviate buyers remorse and upgraditis would be less likely. For awhile...lol

Also, like @ryanosaur said, don’t worry too much about power ratings. Overall system sensitivity and tuning will determine performance more than simply power. Where you at? I’m in Mn.

 

[itsanss]

The amp power isn't what you need to look at. That's a pretty meaningless spec for subwoofers. What you need to consider though is how to get good even bass response in that room.
PB2000. Or the PC2000 if you want a smaller footprint. Consider the Hsu VTF2, also... several happy campers here have those.

I'm really leaning towards the SVS PB-2000. That is just speaking to me for some reason. Hehe

Yeah, I guess I am a car guy. I grew up right across the road from a popular racetrack and used to go watch fuel cars from about 1978 on. In those days things were different. I’d stand at the back of haulers for HOURS while my dad would flap away with crew chiefs and drivers. He was big so many times he would help switch engines out of the frames. Good times. Really good. The ‘69 that I own, was my first car and has evolved into a pro touring style car. I’ve owned her for 25 years. Actually, she’s owned me. Lol. Most of my buddy’s do the bigs and littles, and my brother has an s-10 with a 383 that runs low 9’s at around 150. That helps me get my “wheels up”fix.
Can’t get my head around that 30” thing though...Dumb...Fukkin donks... I’d rather see a complete Reston on an early 80’s smogger than those stupid donks. To each his own I guess...

Lightening rods. That’s full manual valve body right? Sounds like fun! ‘Cept for takin the fam to DQ! Lmao.

I think for you, I’d try the pb/pc2000. You can try in home risk free. IMO it would alleviate buyers remorse and upgraditis would be less likely. For awhile...lol

Also, like @ryanosaur said, don’t worry too much about power ratings. Overall system sensitivity and tuning will determine performance more than simply power. Where you at? I’m in Mn.

Sounds like a fun childhood! There used to be a drag strip about ten minutes away that I would go to nearly every Friday night. But the owner got called to active duty and decided to sell the place. Get this....no joke.....a doctor bought the drag strip, built an enormous house, and uses the drag strip as a landing strip for his private plane. It's insane!! So...I haven't been to a drag strip in years. Kinda sad, but life has kept me plenty busy to not miss it too much. Haha

Pro touring cars are cool. My ultimate dream would be a pro street setup for mine. I've just always, always loved back-halved cars and the g-bodies look super good (to me) set up that way. The car wouldn't even have to be fast...just to have that look would suit me. But the look AND the power would be ideal.

Some (very few) of the 1983 and 1984 Cutlass Supremes (or Hurst/Olds or 442) came with Hurst Lightning Rod shifters. Good used ones can be found on Ebay and I just never could bring myself to spend the money on them ($500+). One day, by chance, I came across this machine shop out of California that makes a version of the Lightning Rod shifter. It's a slightly different design, but same overall concept. It's new, better, and slightly cheaper. I jumped on it!!! Super happy with it. While I had the car half torn apart, I went ahead and replaced the 30 year old carpet as well. That really made the polished aluminum shifter stand out even more! Although it doesn't really need any help in that department. lol

Before and after:

Guess I'm just used to car speakers where one has to be careful about rms rating. A lot of manufacturers like to dazzle people with PEAK POWER OUTPUT!!!! All the while the continuous power is 1/4 of the peak power and the speaker is actually junk and will be blown within a week of use. LOL

I'm rrrrreally leaning towards the SVS PB-2000. Matter of fact, I've got one in my Amazon cart right now. lol Gonna wait another day or two to make sure I've got all the bases covered, but I'm thinking that's gonna be my choice. Have read a bunch of posts, reviews, and watched a bunch of videos reviewing these subs....I think it's gonna be a good choice for me.

I'm in SW Oklahoma.

 

[ryanosaur]

I'm really leaning towards the SVS PB-2000. That is just speaking to me for some reason. Hehe

I think that's a solid choice for the situation... and with their customer service policy for returns and upgrades and whatnot, its hard to go wrong.