Small factor. Sounds bigger than its size. Accurate lows. I used exclusively for music and it shines 5 stars.

None whatsover. More than a decade old and it is pumping hard.

I'm giving this subwoofer 5 stars because my experiences with it suggest it is not widely reviewed and underrated where it is. I have seen it derided as part of a low-end speaker system with two satellite speakers. Well, true, it is certainly no match for my $900 Dr. Hsu subwoofer, but then I am not expecting it to do what the Dr. Hsu sub does (rattle the floors and windows). The first use given to the Polk PSW50 sub was to supply a bottom end for my Ohm Walsh 2 speakers, which I use in my small home theater. The Polk proved more than ample in the carpeted 16'x13' room. In fact, it contributed authoritative bass you could hear and feel. And it was not the uncontrolled boomy-style bass you'd expect from a "low-end" component. It was tight and musical as well as being loud when the music or sound track demanded it. For example, watching the movie "Dunkirk" provided all-too-thrilling realism during bombing and battle scenes. The second use given to the Polk PSW50 will surprise. I took it out of the home theater to make it part of one of three banks of speakers fed from my large home organ. Here it supplies added oomph to two Electrovoice Interface 1 speakers, which themselves are not bass shy. Despite having a fixed crossover at about 110hz and only one 8" driver, the Polk blends very will with the Electrovoice speakers and delivers a moderate amount of extra bass without calling attention to itself. it outshined two other more expensive subwoofers I tried there first. I am so pleased with this sub that I ordered a second one just to provide more even coverage through the room. I am convinced that Polk took modest resources and employed them to their fullest potential in this sub. The cabinet is very well built and large enough to extract the maximum bass from the 8" driver. Very wisely, Polk mounted that cabinet on strong feet and put a down-firing port on the bottom. This port creates a powerful dispersion pattern along the floor, essentially utilizing the floor as part of the transducer. The result is that this modest sub is able to reach down to about 30hz with sufficient power to make a real difference in what you hear and feel. For the prices that these old PSW50's are going for now, they are real bargains, in my opinion.

The high-level speaker connectors are serviceable but not very robust.

High Level of Refinement (both sound and construction), clean sound.

Price, Frequency Extension

Bought the PSW50 to compliment my Polk RT3's for a small sub/sat system. Was never dissappointed with the performance of the subwoofer. Although it would be nice if the sub had its own crossover frequency control (it is set at 120hz, non-changable), it blened well with the RT3's. The sound is way more refined than I had expected. Although it isn't the loudest sub out there, it definite filled my bedroom, and dorm room with clean bass. I enjoyed beating on the sub with various hip-hop tracks, rock and roll, and a blues riff now and then...it did it all, and did it quit well. Just recently I added it to a home theater system. Altough the volume is a little lacking, it has thrown out tremendously accurate sounds on explosions, gun-shots, and musical scores that comprise a big Hollywood film today. I have been very happy with this product.