Price Strong, floor shaking bass Low "boom" factor Well-built

Size (basically, its depth)

First, the bottom line: It's well worth the money. The ratio of value to its price point is high. I'm more than happy with this sub. This is my first sub and I've mated it to Klipsch Forte II's with the SC-1 center channel. I'm a "born-again" audiophile who ventured onto the stereo scene back in the mid-'60s when monoaural systems were the norm. After having "dropped out" of the audio world during the '90s, the recent purchase of a DVD player has renewed my audio interest. I purchased this sub after reading numerous reviews and write-ups. Normally, I would personally audition any speaker purchase but having done that so many times in the past, I didn't relish the idea of going from store to store listening to various subs under various listening environments. Speaking auditioning is a task that's daunting, frustrating, and very time-consuming. Before anyone starts on a subwoofer journey, however, you must ask yourself about your expectations. Do you want a sub that overpowers a movie scene (or piece of music) that in the end becomes its own entity? Or do you want something that "seamlessly" fits in the background? I was looking for a sub that would blend in and sound "natural" without becoming a distraction. The Polk sub provides that missing link in my stereo/surround system. The bass is clean and well defined. I can definitely FEEL the bass but more importantly I can distinguish the individual bass notes and differentiate the bass from the drummer's kick drum. In HT scenarios, it's awesome and forceful without becoming an overpowering distraction. Its output is distinct without a lot of "boom." And the sub's volume setting is turned up only halfway. The sub handles itself well during the famous Star War's Pod Race as well as Jurassic Park's T-Rex intro scene. I experimented by turning up the sub volume to maximum and found it was too much (for my tastes) for my 20'x 30' living room (actually, a "great room"). Overall, I'm completely satisfied with its presence when listening to music or when watching movies. I'm not naive, though, and I'm sure if the sub were placed side-by-side to a more expensive sub, the differences would be noticeable. But for a delivered price of $250 I've found a sub that fits my needs and my budget.

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POWERFUL

None

I love this sub. It replaced an older advent. I can feel the bass under my feet, on the floor, my chair. Overall it's just a great sub.

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Advent

Price point. Good sound with reasonable power for the money.

Can't handle power passages.

I have Energy tower speakers with smaller Energy rear speakers. I bought the PSW450 as my first sub-woofer. While it handled most music well, there were passages when played loudly that it clipped. (That is the loud "clack" that you hear when a speaker "bottoms out". Well, I am moving up to the Klipsch RSW15 and will let you know how it performs. The Polk was okay for the price and would recommend it for a person who listens to their music moderately. But for "kick-ass" applications I would suggest spending more and getting a better built sub-woofer.

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Will get back to you.

good product,rates as a 3

below 30 hz,forget about it

OK here's the deal,if you want a decent sub,this will do.DO not believe it is a giant killer,it is not ,it can compete with any 300.00 sub.I CANNOT compete with any,even a 10" reference quality sub.Some of these reviews on this site are really out there.You get what you pay for so don't think for 300 bucks you will reach reference levels.

Excellent sound, price

Seems to stay ON in the auto on/off mode. On/Off/Auto-on mode switch confusing.

I am very pleased with this sub. The sub has tight base and is good for both movies and music. I have Klipsh bookshelfs for main and surround and HK receiver and the sub blends in well. This sub sounded better than most subs costing much more. You will be hard-pressed to find a better sub at this price range.

Power

None

When I saw the deal Polk was offering with the $200 off if you purchase at least $499, I couildn't wait any longer. I've never tested this sub, I was going by the other reviews from this great web page. I wasn't disappointed I replaced it for another subwoofer I've had about ten years. I could not believe the difference. I could feel the shaking under my feet even with carpeted flooring, I could feel it thru my very thick covered lazy boy chair. I dont't believe it could be any better.

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An older subwoofer

Thundering base LOW hits shakes the room when needed. Easy hook up

Maybe only the looks I hate that cheap grain stained black look and sharp edges.

I searched and searched read soo many reviews listened to SOOO many differnt subs all over town and found one the Polk PSW450 the best sound and value. I have klipch Ref. speakers and a dennon 3802 rec. So I of course wanted to stick with Klipsch sub everyone said timber matching so important...NOT A sub is so differnt they all sound differnt depending on location volume and rec. and of course freq. The thing I relized first is that down firing subs like the klipisch KSW12 was WAY too boomy and with any kind of carpet muddy. I listned to other down fireing subs pretty much the same..I dont like them. Most dont I found after researching.So I really looked for forward fireing or duel side fireing. Mirage made a good duel and klipisch madea good duel but of course it was ref. series and started at 1000.00 and UP!!! Went all over found a guy a ciruit City and Frys that would let me bring in a couple plus the ones he had in stock. I have to say The PSW450 was almost as good as any $1000.00 sub out there. DEEP THUNDERING base. So after a few more tests I ended up with The Polk. I cant be happier shakes the pictures off the wall in scenes like Ice Age and When We Were Soldiers. I am not dissapointed in any way a great price for a better sub than some priced higher.

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JBL,Klipsch,Sony,mirage

Tight bass, fills my 20x30 listening room with plenty of bass.

Amp stays warm to the touch all the time - is that a weakness?

I set this sub up against the HTD Level 3 sub. big difference in the tightness of the bass with the Polk being much tighter and better for my listening needs. If you like rap or speed metal music the HTD may be a better choice. Running of the LFE out on my Denon amp. Great service from both companies and nice product for a mid range budget. Check it out.

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See above - HTD

where?

Bottoms out easy and you can't feel the bass all that good.

This subwoofer is not anything it is said to be. I was thinking of getting one but went to Best Buy to listen to it and it kept bottoming out!!! Not something you would expect from a fairly nice sub, it wasn't even moving that far nor was it loud!! I went to a few other stores thinking this sub was defective but all of them bottomed out, they wernt impresive at all. We ended up getting a Klipsch

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JVC and Klipsch

Good subwoofer for movies AND MUSIC.Very good musical detail. Bass guitar string detail with a nice kick.

All of my subs need to offer easier access to volume and controls

Very good musicality. I already had a Bic 12" down firing woofer. The Bic (not ideal for music but offers v/good nice and deep >25hz floor shaking special effects for satellite and DVD. Because of the "direct firing" feature, the Polk was right $$$. The Polk offers the tightness and detail lacking in my Bic. I have the Polk and Bic set up in "stereo" next to my main channel speakers. I have both Sub's connected to a Denon 1801 "LFE output" via a 1-2 RCA jack splitter. Both sub's require 2 volume sttings (one for music cd's and and one for home theatre. The Polk (volume setting at 50-60%) has added the low end detail that my system needed.

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Audio source 8" Bic V1215 12"