TSC 100 vs Polk PSW10 (or PSW 110)

[JP99]

Hey there,

I know there are dozens of questions about what sub to buy on a budget, and I tried searching extensively, but didn't quite find the answer to my main question.

I'm on a very tight budget ($150), and from my research, I know you guys will say to just save and get something more in the $300 range.

The problem is that I have just had it with my Philips 8" sub that came in a $300 htib circa 2000... I need an upgrade, and fast.

I've since upgraded to an Onkyo 605 receiver and Polk CS10 center. I also replaced the front mains with $50 Sony bookshelf speakers (waiting to get some nice Polk towers soon). The surrounds are all the super-cheapo Philips from the htib.

Anyway... ANYTHING has to be a huge upgrade over that Philips subwoofer.

The SHORT VERSION of my question is... despite neither being reference quality, would you take a similiarly priced subwoofer from TSC or Polk? Both are roughly $150, and the Polk PSW 110 should still be on sale in that $150 range by the time I can order it this week.

Sorry for the long winded question... please help!!!

 

[rnatalli]

I haven't heard a Polk sub yet that I liked. The TSC stuff I've heard isn't bad for the money. Another option is a Dayton sub from Partsexpress.

 

[jvgillow]

The T100 is a bargain. I've got 2 of them in my house right now.

 

[KASR]

What's the space that you are filling up with sound? Dimensions? Pressurizing the room with the sub frequency will be key to having the sub sound good/right, so keep that in mind that a good/bigger sub may not solve the problem. RMS wattage on the sub can and will come into play - the different flavors/sound that each manufacturers create will then be a matter of opinion/preference. Best Buys carry the Polk line - go give them a listen - but more importantly, make certain that your soundstage is setup decently to achieve the best possible sound with what you have to work with. That's half the battle!

With that said: the polk psw110 is a great sub...one that I am actually considering as well...although it'll prolly be the psw125 or a Chrysalis Starfire 12"

 

[JP99]

Thanks guys... I appreciate the input. Keep it coming!

Kasr, unfortunately... I'm not sure the size of the room my HT will be in. I'm moving in mid-January, and I spotted two possible HT rooms in the new house. One is very tight and cozy (maybe too cozy... I'll have to look again to see if I can fit everything in there)... and the other room is HUGE.

I'm hoping the smaller room is just big enough. I know I'll need a massive sub to do the job in the bigger room... but it'll be awhile before I'm able to spend $300+ on a sub.

 

[KASR]

Thanks guys... I appreciate the input. Keep it coming!

Kasr, unfortunately... I'm not sure the size of the room my HT will be in. I'm moving in mid-January, and I spotted two possible HT rooms in the new house. One is very tight and cozy (maybe too cozy... I'll have to look again to see if I can fit everything in there)... and the other room is HUGE.

I'm hoping the smaller room is just big enough. I know I'll need a massive sub to do the job in the bigger room... but it'll be awhile before I'm able to spend $300+ on a sub.

Smaller rooms will challenge you with acoustical problems (sound bouncing, bass travelling along the walls, etc.), so if it's possible, the larger room might give you a better overall sound - although, you never know until you get in there. Congrats on the new place - give us posted!

 

[JP99]

Yeah, that's my exact worry about the smaller room... audio wise, might not be spacious enough to take advantage of 7.1 surround sound, even if it technically 'fits'.

I like the smaller room because its further away from the bedrooms (I have a wife and a 2 yr old)... so I could get away with louder volumes there. The bigger room is basically the living room... and its smack-dab in the middle of the house.

The killer thing is, the smaller room could be the PERFECT size, but its split into two smaller ones!

I don't know why every house isn't built with a dedicated HT room in mind.

 

[adwilk]

Dayton would be my choice. The Sub 120 is pretty incredible for the price.

 

[JP99]

My fear about the Dayton 120 is that it looks so cheaply made.

Aesthetically, the appearance doesn't matter to me... it just seems cheap (paper woofer for example).

Am I wrong?

 

[KASR]

If you looking for a bargain on the polks, check out their ebay direct storefront: http://stores.ebay.com/Polk-Audio-Direct_Subwoofers_W0QQ_fsubZ160111519QQ_sidZ686154689QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322

 

[JP99]

Thanks again for the help, guys.

Looks like for better or worse, I'll be going with the TSC T-100 10" subwoofer.

I was able to talk the wife into it because of the fancy design quality... but she was initially miffed that it cost more ($160) then the PSW10 that I had told her was about $120. ; -)

So that'll put the other options out of the budget range... but at least this T-100 will be a serious upgrade over the Philips HTiB sub that's closing in on 10 yrs old.

I'll update the thread in a couple weeks with a review, since not too many people have experience with this model.

 

[dorokusai]

I haven't heard a Polk sub yet that I liked. The TSC stuff I've heard isn't bad for the money. Another option is a Dayton sub from Partsexpress.

No argument from me. The subwoofers for the last decade haven't been very good in comparison to the surge in internet retailers and simply better choices. I think we've turned the corner on that but only time will tell.

Mark

 

[KASR]

I'll update the thread in a couple weeks with a review, since not too many people have experience with this model.

Very cool - looking forward to your thoughts on the sub!

 

[j_garcia]

My fear about the Dayton 120 is that it looks so cheaply made.

Aesthetically, the appearance doesn't matter to me... it just seems cheap (paper woofer for example).

Am I wrong?

If that is your fear, then the Polk sub may not impress you much either. I'd argue that the Dayton likely has a better built cabinet vs the Polk.

Let us know how the TSC sounds.

 

[camaro01]

I picked up the polk about a week ago and im imressed with it and for the price of $125 from Best Buy i couldnt pass it up .

 

[JP99]

So, I got the Sub in the mail yesterday. I was planning on waiting till Christmas to open it up... but I'm too big of a baby and had to plug it in immediately.

It's definitely a serious upgrade over what I had, that's for sure! Explosions really have some weight now.

I watched The Dark Knight last night... and the sub did struggle a few times. I got up close to it to do some tweaking and found that it wasn't port noise, unless I have the term confused... but sound from the actual woofer moving in/out so much. Kind of like you could hear the woofer vibrating/rattling. Another way to describe it would be, it sounds similar to if you taped a piece of paper to the front of the woofer.

Hopefully its something that will soften as the sub has a chance to break in a bit.

Any thoughts on what exactly that sound problem might be? I don't think I'm pushing it too hard... My Onkyo 605 was had the sub level to +2 and the T-100's volume was at about 2 o'clock. The level seemed pretty spot on for most of the scenes, it just struggled in a few quick parts.

 

[JP99]

I should add that I don't have a Y-Adapter for it yet (no dedicated LFE input on the sub)... so I'm only going into the Left RCA input for now. Hopefully the adpater arrives today from Monoprice.

(I was just going to add this to my last post, but I couldn't find an 'edit' option... am I blind, or is there no such option here?)

 

[Adam]

(I was just going to add this to my last post, but I couldn't find an 'edit' option... am I blind, or is there no such option here?)

There is an edit button, but it's only available for a certain time period after the original post. I believe that it's one hour, but I'm not positive.

 

[JP99]

Hey... Just wanted to finally add my 'official' opinion on the TSC 110 Sub.

I'm running in it a pretty small room 12x10x8 that opens up to an even smaller room, but the area is pretty contained.

But this sub just can't be pushed at all. Even with the Sub volume knob at 12 o'clock, crossover set to 80, receiver's sub level set to 0... I still get port chuffing on certain scenes with 'too much' bass.

I wasn't expecting a sub that could blow my roof off for $160, but I also didn't think I'd have to baby the thing in such a way that renders it just about useless. Only good thing is it definitely is better then my original sub that came in a cheap HTiB circa 1999.

I'd avoid it and go with other subs in the price range. The really frustrating part is that the sub itself could be great if the damn port would allow it to be.

 

[Matt34]

Hey... Just wanted to finally add my 'official' opinion on the TSC 110 Sub.

I'm running in it a pretty small room 12x10x8 that opens up to an even smaller room, but the area is pretty contained.

But this sub just can't be pushed at all. Even with the Sub volume knob at 12 o'clock, crossover set to 80, receiver's sub level set to 0... I still get port chuffing on certain scenes with 'too much' bass.

I wasn't expecting a sub that could blow my roof off for $160, but I also didn't think I'd have to baby the thing in such a way that renders it just about useless. Only good thing is it definitely is better then my original sub that came in a cheap HTiB circa 1999.

I'd avoid it and go with other subs in the price range. The really frustrating part is that the sub itself could be great if the damn port would allow it to be.

Are you level matching it to your mains? You might have it too hot which is causing the excessive port noise. Then again you can't expect too much from a $200 sub. I run a TSC ASW-8 in my bedroom and it does great within its limitations. Jvgillow seems to be happy with his pair....too bad you couldn't pick up another one.