12" self powered home theater sub woofers

[twodko]

What are you using?

[Old Moparz]

I have a Polk 400 watt Subwoofer, but I forget model number, it's tucked in a corner where I don't ever see it.   

It'll rattle the windows if I crank it. My home theater receiver is a Yamaha RX V3900 Receiver, 7-channel 980W surround sound - 140W x 7, but I hardly use it for anything but music in stereo.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3v7U9EvoOo

[tan top]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3v7U9EvoOo

 

[twodko]

I'm replacing a 10" PSB SW that has died after almost 20 years of use.

I'm looking at 12" SW's now specifically Bose, BIC, Cerwin-Vega and Polk all self powered.

Tough choices.

[Old Moparz]

I'm replacing a 10" PSB SW that has died after almost 20 years of use.

I'm looking at 12" SW's now specifically Bose, BIC, Cerwin-Vega and Polk all self powered.

Tough choices.

There is a place in Ohio called Parts Express that carries SW's as well as many other parts & equipment. I've bought many replacement woofers over the years from them & saw that they have a 15", 1000 watt powered SW that I was tempted to get. I actually ordered it but it was out of stock & the Polk I have was on sale at J&R Music while I was waiting for it.

Dayton 1000 watt as a kit:
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-t1504k-15-titanic-mk-4-1000-watt-subwoofer-kit--300-764

Same one assembled:
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-t1504a-15-1000-watt-titanic-mk-4-subwoofer-system--300-765

[twodko]

Wow! That thing is a monster. I don't have room for a 15" SW but I bet it would sound awesome.

Tell me about the Polk SW you have.

[Mopar Nut]

Running two klipsch reference rw-12d here for seven years with no problems.

[twodko]

Nice!

[Old Moparz]

Wow! That thing is a monster. I don't have room for a 15" SW but I bet it would sound awesome.

Tell me about the Polk SW you have.

Years ago I'd have the model number & the specs memorized, but I had to dig out the manual for the info....  

It's a Polk model number PSW505. It has adjustments on the back to increase or decrease the bass which I like. Some of the sources, like the Sirius satellite connection, sometimes seems like the low end is missing. The turntable & CD player can sometimes seem like there is too much bass. J&R Music had it on sale for $199 shipped. I believe it was a discontinued model at the time, November 2011.

By the way, when I had it shipped to my office one of my coworkers got curious when he saw the box & asked about it. I told him how much it was & he went right to their website & ordered the same one.


http://www.polkaudio.com/products/psw505


PSW505 Features

Real wood veneer finish

Slot Load Venting improves bass response. The wide, long Slot Load Vent dramatically lessens turbulence, noise and distortion, pouring out a tidal wave of precise, thunderous bass!
   
Polk subs sound better because they're built better. Rock-solid MDF construction (including a 1 inch thick front baffle) suppresses enclosure panel resonance for distortion-free, accurate response.
   
Big 12 inch Long Throw Driver for longer excursion and better linearity.
   
Huge Hi-Roll Surrounds that support their longer excursion.
   
Most powered subwoofers are good for just gut-rumble and boom. Polk understands that you listen to music too so our subs are tight, precise and accurate.
   
High current 300 Watt Continuous (460 Watt Dynamic) power amplifier.
   
Adjustable low pass crossover, phase switch and volume control allows perfect blending with any main speaker.
   
Auto on/off circuit that automatically turns your subwoofer on when it senses a program signal. When no signal is present, the amplifier turns off within 15 minutes
   
Unfiltered LFE input for use with low pass filtered subwoofer output jacks
   
Pro-grade 5-way binding posts speaker inputs and outputs.
   
Magnetically shielded for safe, flexible placement next to a TV or video monitor.

[twodko]

I've narrowed down my choice to either a Klipsch Sub-12HG or Polk PSW505.
I have Klipsch rear channel speaks and a Klipsch center channel speak so it'll come down
to user reviews because the specs are almost same same. A lot of buyers really get
buried in the minutiae of specs that most people can't hear anyway.......unless
they have dog ears. 

[Old Moparz]

True about hearing the differences. There was this friend of a friend that loved to constantly change the settings on my equalizer I had set up. One day I unplugged the RCA jacks knowing he was coming over, & sure enough, he messed around with the slide controls & commented about making it sound better.  

I bought the Polk SW without having had a chance to listen to it. I knew I could return it, but also knew that Polk made decent equipment & have heard their speakers & liked them so I took a chance. Being hundreds of dollars less than what I thought I was going to buy, an Infinity, also helped in the decision making. I first set it up with a pair of Infinity towers I have, but have since put the towers in a different room without it. I have a vintage set of 4 Fisher, 3-way speakers with 15" woofers set up with the Polk SW & like the combination better for whatever reason.  

By the way, I see the same Polk listed on Amazon at the same price....
http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-12-Inch-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000092TT0

[twodko]

Yep, saw the same Amazon pricing. Back in the day Fisher made some very good speaks. Sounds like you have a set.

I think we all know someone who is convinced they can tweak any system and make it sound epic. 

[Old Moparz]

Yes, I've had them since the mid 70's when I got them new, XP-95. I did replace the woofers due to dry rot in the foam. They could've been re-coned but I got 4 woofers, all 15" with a higher power handling from Parts Express at a cheaper price.

[bill440rt]

Last year or so I picked up a Klipsch Soundbar system with a 10" wireless sub. Because of the layout of the room, I could not go with a true surround home theater system.
The Klipsch soundbar has a surround-mode, I am more than pleased with the sound & quality of the unit.

[twodko]

As soon as I buy whichever SW I decide on and get things hooked back up I'll post a pix or two.

A buddy of mine sent me a couple eBay links for SunFire SW. These units are incredible audiophile
grade subs but way too pricey for me.

[twodko]

Well,I bought a Polk PSW110 10" woof today. I'll get it Thursday and give it a listen. I bought it for $160........ just happened to have that cash amount on me. Impulse buy and I hate impulse buys.

I'm still interested in a Klipsch Sub-12HG Synergy Series 12-Inch 300-Watt Subwoofer so this Polk may go back.  

The Polk 12" comparable is huge. Huge like a Pygmy's coffin.  

[twodko]

I'm liking this one a lot.

Velodyne Impact-10 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Black)

[twodko]

I decided to take the Polk PSW110 back, it was very cheap looking and the cabinet
was chintzy thin MDF.
Instead I bought a SunFire SDS12.........holy decibels Batman! I own my own sonic cannon.

When I pick this SW up I ran across an Oppo BluRay player.......pricey at $500 but
a very robust machine. Check it out on Amazon especially the owner reviews. There is another
model with "Darbee" technology that isn't worth the extra $100 IMO.

[Mopar Nut]

What a beast that SunFire SDS12 is after reading the reviews.   

[twodko]

It is indeed. My music listening/home theater space is small at roughly 18x12 and I was
giving serious thought about this model last night in terms of overkill.

The SunFire SDS10 cabinet isn't much smaller in size or capability than the 12 and I'm sure
it would be more than sufficient. I kept thinking about a remark the reseller buddy
of mine said when I ordered it, "You can always turn down the volume on the 12"
but you can't crank the 10" more than it's got".

I can't imagine needing that much bass gain under any circumstance so the choice
was simply bang for buck........$550 retail vs $355.

[SnoPro440]

I'm a little too late for info since you already bought one but I use SVS.  By far one of the best powered subs you can get.  I had an 18" Definitive Technology powered sub that blew up and I replaced it with an SVS PC13-Ultra.  I've had it almost 4 years now and it still hits just as hard as the day I bought it.

http://www.svsound.com/

[twodko]

Thanks for that link, it's a brand I was unaware of and a good read.

[Mopar Nut]

I can't imagine needing that much bass gain under any circumstance so the choice
was simply bang for buck........$550 retail vs $355.

That's not a bad price at all.

[Lord Warlock]

I've got a parts express 12 inch powered sub, it works well with my Klipsch speakers in my home theater.  Unfortunately the wife hates bass so most of the time its turned down to almost off status unless watching a movie, then i'll turn the gain up enough to hear it.  Shakes the room great and didn't cost a fortune.