Polk Audio Powered Subwoofer

Polk Audio PSW505 12-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)

Polk Audio Subwoofer

Product Features

• A single powered subwoofer for use with stereo or home theater speaker systems
• Equipped with one magnetically shielded 12-inch long-throw woofer
• Frequency Response: 23Hz – 160Hz
• Peak power handling: 460 watts (300 watts continuous)
• Slot-load venting minimizes turbulence, noise, and distortion

Technical Details

• Brand Name: Polk Audio
• Model: AM5050-C
• Color Name: Black
• Speaker Type: Subwoofer
• Speaker Amplification Type: Active
• Speakers Maximum Output Power: 460 Watts
• Speakers Response Bandwidth: 23 – 160 Hz
• Speaker Connectivity: Wired
• Depth: 18.2 inches
• Height: 16.1 inches
• Width: 15.1 inches
• Weight: 56 pounds
• Warranty: 5 years warranty
• Dripping with bass, September 22, 2009

Polk Audio Subwoofer

Dripping With Bass

By Money Leaker (Rancho Cordova, CA USA)

Bass is clear, deep, oh, and LOUD! If you really want your HT to sound like an IMAX theater, then I whole-heartedly recommend this sub. It fills in the low end seamlessly. It also takes the burden of reproducing low lows off of your other speakers (which aren’t nearly as capable as the PSW505). This is not a cheap “rumble box”. The first movie I watched with this sub connected is Peter Jackson’s “King Kong”. The raptor/bronto chase through the gully is off the hook! The 30-ton bronto’s gallop will set up a standing wave in your intestinal tract!!! But loud does not mean muddy or rumbly with the 505. I was pushing the sub to about 50% volume and I thought my house’s windows may break. And like I said, that was only at about 50% volume. Besides, you want to be a good neighbor and not max this thing out cuz it can be heard clearly from a good 50 feet away. I find that it performs exceedingly well at about 15% of its capability in my medium/small sided living room. At normal/reasonable volumes, this sub recreates the super lows that truly make the difference between listening pleasure and listening rapture. No HT is truly complete without a sub and this one fits the bill to a tee.

a) I definitely WOULDN’T recommend this product if you live in a dorm/apt/condo/townhouse. This thing has the sonic capability to really anger your neighbors.

b) This sub is one of the few in its price range that actually has an LFE input (Low Frequency Effects) in addition to LL & speaker-level. I you didn’t know, LFE & Line-Level (LL) inputs both use an RCA connector. The difference is that the LFE channel carries only low freqs from source whereas LL carries the entire sound spectrum. The LFE goes straight to your sub’s amp whereas LL first goes through your sub’s built-in crossover and then from there to your sub’s amp. If you plug LL into the LFE input, you’ll be asking the sub reproduce the full sound spectrum. Not what you want, of course. Probably not a big deal whether you use one or the other. The Polk’s built-in crossover is fine, i’m sure, but I’d rather do the crossing-over at the A/V unit level.

c) Apparently, a good powered sub has an ON/OFF/AUTO switch, a 180-degree phase-change switch, a volume control, a cross-over level control (this control is not functional if you are using the LFE), a LL input (or two), an LFE input, and a Left/Right channel speaker-level input and corresponding outputs (for a total of 8 speaker wire connectors).

d) The unit seems very well built with what feels like sturdy wood (or MDF) and is somewhat heavy. Which is a good thing. It feels reassuringly sturdy/massive.

e) Would I buy this sub again? Well, I’ve discovered that many of the wonderful items

Yamaha Subwoofer

that are for sale at Amazon are no longer being produced. IE, they are discontinued by the manufacturer. Do a product search at polk.com and you will no find this sub (you can do a search in the product support section to find its corresponding literature pdf). I just guess that that is the nature of the beast. Great products sooner or later get replaced with even newer & greater products. The older and merely “great” (not “greater”) products still need to get cleared out of the inventory so they wind up at amazon.com or other e-tail sites. So, despite the fact that this sub is no longer in production, no longer supported, and is probably a year or two or three (or more) old… would I still buy it again? HELL YES!

Sony Subwoofer

Sony SA-W3000 Performance Line 12″ 180-Watt Subwoofer

Technical Details

• 12″ 180-Watt powered subwoofer
  

  Sony Subwoofer

• Mica-reinforced cellular woofer construction
• Motion feedback technology
• Speaker and line level inputs
• With 6ohm loads, 20-200Hz frequency response; rated 100 watts, Minimum RMA Power, with no more than 1% THD from 250 Milliwatts to rated output
• Brand Name: Sony
• Model: SA-W3000
• Color Name: Black
• Speaker Type: Subwoofer
• Speaker Amplification Type: Active
• Speakers Maximum Output Power: 180 Watts
• Speakers Response Bandwidth: 20 – 200 Hz
• Speaker Connectivity: Wired
• Depth: 16.6 inches
• Height: 16.7 inches
• Width: 14.2 inches
• Weight: 35.3 pounds
• Warranty: 1 year warranty

Product Description

Feel the power of 180 amplified watts of pure bass. The Sony SA-W3000 Performance Line Subwoofer makes music come alive and elevates the movie-watching experience to theater-like levels. For cinematic effects, crank up the bass and let the 12″ mica-reinforced cellular woofer and advanced bass reflex design do the rest.

This is exactly what all the previous reviews said it was……a truly deep value for money. The bass is as deep as could be without noticeable distortion and it is clean looking enough to pass the wife’s scrutiny. I am a music buff and I find the bass production to be just as good as the very, very good sony sf 6000 front speakers I use. However the big advantage with this unit is when watching movies…..5.1, 3.1 or 2.1, the bass is way deeper than you can get with the big front speakers. The difference is really dramatic, even to a new comer’s ears.

It should be also noted that the unit DOES have an auto off function (not described on Amazon) which can be disabled at the back. This is great, except when actually watching a movie because it shuts of within 5 minutes if it does not receive a low bass signal from the amps, so during dialogue it sleeps in low power and then has a delayed restart when the bass returns.

Yamaha Subwoofer

Yamaha YST-SW315 10-Inch Digital Pro Series Subwoofer (Black)

Product Description

Yamaha Subwoofer

Yamaha’s YST-SW315 offers 250 high-efficiency watts–enough power to deliver shattering, movie-theater-like bass effects. Full enjoyment of Dolby Digital and DTS surround sources requires deep, clear bass. This is especially true with 5.1- and 6.1-channel sound, because the “.1″ channel is dedicated to the bass frequencies. That means you not only need a subwoofer, but a high-power subwoofer capable of handling extremely low frequencies. The YST-SW315’s down-firing 10-inch driver translates power into clean bass sound, and the YST-SW315 boasts a frequency response of 20 to 160 Hz (-10 dB at the extremes of the range).

The YST-SW315 delivers high power at deep bass frequencies, with excellent stability and low power consumption. This is made possible by the sub’s highly efficient PWM (pulse-wave modulation) digital-drive power amplifier. The amplifier achieves superior conversion efficiency by minimizing power loss from the power transistors. It delivers stable audio power while minimizing AC power consumption and heat production. As it requires no output filter coil, it’s extremely quiet with low distortion.

Yamaha’s patented Advanced Active Servo Technology (Advanced YST) generates incredible bass from small speaker enclosures. This system uses negative-impedance feedback in the amp and a Helmholtz resonator in the speaker to provide strong and accurate bass.

QD-Bass (Quatre Dispersion Bass) technology uses a down-firing driver with square, pyramid-shaped reflective plates to radiate sound efficiently in four horizontal directions. The reflective plates (not used in other brands’ down-firing subwoofers) negate any effects caused by the floor surface and reduce resonance between sound waves reflected from the floor and the unit. Most other systems use circular cones, but the YST-SW315 avoids firing sound into the legs of the cabinet by radiating in four directions. Changing the height of the pyramid varies the acoustic load, permitting relatively simple high-cut adjustment and improving bandpass properties. QD-Bass also grants greater freedom of placement, since the sound radiates with equal effectiveness in all directions.

The user-adjustable, continuously variable high-cut filter sets the highest frequency the subwoofer will deliver. It can be set anywhere from 40 to 140 Hz. For instance, if the filter is set at 75 Hz, only frequencies 75 Hz or below will be delivered by the subwoofer. This allows the sub’s output to be matched to the lowest reproducible frequency of other speakers in the system and the room’s acoustics for a seamless presentation.

The rotary volume control permits the perfect matching of the sub’s output to the overall volume of the system. The YST-SW315 has a signal-sensing circuit. When the subwoofer detects an audio signal, it turns its power on. When it senses no signal for several minutes, it shuts itself off.

Yamaha’s BASS (Bass Action Selector Switch) tailors the sub’s output for video or music at the touch of a switch. Two sets of inputs let the sub accept either line- or speaker-level inputs, while a handy phase normal/reverse switch makes it easy to phase the subwoofer with the other speakers in your system.

Three-way speaker terminals accept banana plug and a variety of other connectors, as well as speaker wire, and the YST-SW315’s thick, rigid MDF cabinet reduces vibrations and resonance. The speaker’s handsome black-ash finish blends in with room decor and complements many furnishing styles, and it’s magnetically shielded so you can place it near a TV or computer monitor without degrading the picture.

Product Description

Don’t let the compact design fool you. The Yamaha YST-SW315 Natural Sound Subwoofer uses 250 watts of clean power and a 10-inch down firing spruce cone driver to deliver movie theater-like bass effects and deep, clear low frequency musical sound. Volume Control enables matching of output to overall system volume Frequency Range – 20 to 160Hz Signal Sensing On/Off circuit Dual inputs 3-way speaker terminals Black ash finish MDF construction reduces vibration & resonance Size – 17H x 13-3/4W x 15-1/16D; weighs 42 pounds

Product Features and Technical Details

Product Features

• 10-inch driver with high-efficiency, 250-watt PWM digital amplifier
  

  Yamaha Subwoofer

• Advanced YST ensures that the speaker and amplifier work together to create perfectly linear speaker motion
• BASS (Bass Action Selector Switch) tailors the sub’s output for video or music at the touch of a switch
• Yamaha’s QD-Bass technology radiates bass in all directions for greater impact
• Measures 13.75 x 17 x 15.1 inches (W x H x D)

Technical Details

• Brand Name: Yamaha
• Model: YST-SW315
• Color Name: Black
• Speaker Type: Subwoofer
• Speaker Amplification Type: Active
• Speakers Maximum Output Power: 270 Watts
• Speakers Response Bandwidth: 20 – 160 Hz
• Speaker Connectivity: Wired
• Depth: 15.06 inches
• Height: 16.94 inches
• Width: 13.75 inches
• Weight: 40.0 pounds