Polk Audio PSW 1000

[Cruise Missile]

Hello all.
I have been a long time reader on these boards, and have never posted. Too much to read first!

I purchased the PSW 1000 a little more than two years ago. (SVS here I Come!). I have found this semi/sub to be very musical. The bass is fairly accurate down to 38hz ish. The response below this point rolls off sharply providing very little output below 30 hz.(fairly large room). This is why I call it a semi/sub.

Any way, for someone in a close neighbors situation, read apartment/townhouse ect., this Polk may be a good choice. I Know deep powerfull bass is what most of us are looking for esp. movie buffs. but some people don't want to be evicted But still desire to fill in the bottom end.

This model has been out for quite a while now and should be availabe used for a good price. I am a fan of the Polk sound, but I wouldn't recomend this sub for anyone looking for gut-wrenching LFE.

-Bryan

 

[Seth=L]

Interesting insight, I would say the same about that sub. It's good for music, with decent output and what seems to be accurate bass, but just doesn't go low enough for home theater. It would be great in a music only system for sure.

 

[Cruise Missile]

I'm actually planning to build a 2.1 for the bedroom and this polk will be used there. I can't bring myself to sell it because it's quite musical.

 

[furrycute]

Give the Velodyne SPL series subs a try. They are musical and dig deep.

 

[croseiv]

I've often wondered what the PSW1000 sounded like. You have given a pretty good description there, thanks!

What SVS sub are you considering?

 

[dorokusai]

It's no suprise to me. That subwoofer is incapable of hitting low and hard....it's just a fact.

I don't think Polk paid enough attention to this bracket for many years but that's finally changed post-PSW1000, specifically with the DSW and Micro-Pro Series. You have to realize that for the most part, Polk hits a different and larger audience than those of us on these types of user/audionut forums. However, that dynamic has shrunk DRAMATICALLY in the past 5 years and people are seriously looking for blood and guts subwoofers these days.

I've been an SVS owner(4 subwoofers) for almost 5 years and am a few clicks away from a PB-13 in the next week or so. That being said, I'm real happy that folks like Mark Susskind(Polk Audio Sub & 12V Guru) aggressively fought to really sink some teeth into this area again. It's not that Polk can't make a good subwoofer, seriously...it's a speaker company, it's just different approaches to marketing in the end.

Does SVS have anything to fear? No, again design and objective BUT I finally don't feel embarrassed to talk about them. I wish they would make a beast but perhaps that's for another meeting....and another back of the room waving of hands.

Not everything you make is a winner and not everything wins a prize....that's audio.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

 

[Cruise Missile]

I have gotten the green light (from the wife) to get a pair of PB-13 ultra's!!!! Now for the always painfull wait while I save up the money. Also, I don't think the PSW-1000 is a bad sub at all, for music it's great. But I like movies that stuff goes BOOM in....

 

[Seth=L]

I have gotten the green light (from the wife) to get a pair of PB-13 ultra's!!!! Now for the always painfull wait while I save up the money. Also, I don't think the PSW-1000 is a bad sub at all, for music it's great. But I like movies that stuff goes BOOM in....

I think both you and her will be very surprised when those land at your door. Those subwoofers are very large. Two of them should garranty you never run out of bass though.

 

[Gimpy Ric]

I have gotten the green light (from the wife) to get a pair of PB-13 ultra's!!!! Now for the always painfull wait while I save up the money. Also, I don't think the PSW-1000 is a bad sub at all, for music it's great. But I like movies that stuff goes BOOM in....

Holy Cow!!! Two Ultras!?!? I have on order a Piano Black PB13-Ultra, for a Master Bedroom system in my sig. If your a condo/apt/townhouse dweller, you might look for a house, because two 13's will get you evicted fast!

 

[codexp3]

Give the Velodyne SPL series subs a try. They are musical and dig deep.

I'd get one Velodyne DD or JL. Placement will be easier. Placement of two subs is too much trial and error. It'll be even worse if you don't have a dedicated listening room with wall/corner treatements.

 

[Gimpy Ric]

If I had $4000.00 for my sub budget, I would look at one JL Fathom 113. But since you can buy two SVS PB13-Ultras, WAF APPROVED I would go that way myself, even if I had to stack them.

My sub budget stops at $1900.00 so I'm just getting one PB13-Ultra Should be plenty for the master bedroom

 

[Cruise Missile]

Update on the 13's.... We are going with one for now. The money for the other is instead being put into room treatments. I should have done this loooong ago.
Still, we're pretty excited about the changes to come!!

 

[codexp3]

Update on the 13's.... We are going with one for now. The money for the other is instead being put into room treatments. I should have done this loooong ago.
Still, we're pretty excited about the changes to come!!

I think that's a VERY smart move! Two subs only offer marginal improvement over a single sub. The room treatments and the new sub will offer greater improvement. Let us know how it sounds!

 

[Sheep]

I think that's a VERY smart move! Two subs only offer marginal improvement over a single sub. The room treatments and the new sub will offer greater improvement. Let us know how it sounds!

No they won't. Room treatments rarely touch Low Frequencies. You'd need 8inch think panels just to get into that range. Multiple subwoofers are not hard to place, either. Audioholics has an article showing multiple subwoofer placements and how they react with the room. It shows which placements offer the flattest frequency response, and best overall performance.

And the improvement is more then marginal. Not only will the help boost peaks (something you can't do with an EQ) it will also make the sweet spot much larger. When I had a single sub, I had 3 seats with decent bass. I added the second subwoofer and now I have 6 seats with good bass. 4 subwoofers is the golden number, but only the most dedicated rooms can handle that much real estate taken up for bass reproduction.

SheepStar

 

[Cruise Missile]

I actually am planning on at the very least, two subs.
The room treatments now versus later is based on the fact that we are moving and I'm going to have an empty room to start with. So now seemed like a good time to tackle the room.
I have already gotten the plans for our next home and spent hours and hours planning, drafting, calculating, **** cursing, wading up pages, just to start again.... I love doing this!!
BTW, I am going to start a thread in members galleries to document the process. hope to see you there. Feedback, feedback, feedback.