Polk was actually one of the pioneers of HiFi quality speakers that were decently affordable for homeowners, and today that’s still what they’re largely known for. In fact, several of their older and discontinued products remain best sellers from 2nd party vendors, enough so that they’ve even revived some of their legacy products with cosmetic revamps. The PSW10 is one such product – despite being many years old not being officially listed on Polk’s product page anymore, it still remains a top selling subwoofer on Amazon.
Specs
Speaker type: Powered, front firing, ported
Nominal power handling: 50 watts
Peak power handling: 100 watts
Impedance: n/a
Sensitivity: not specified by manufacturer
Frequency response range: 35 – 200 Hz (+/- 3dB)
Unit weight: 26 lbs
Unit dimensions: 14.0 x 16.1 x 14.4 inches (width x depth x height)
Warranty: 3 Years (Amplifier), 5 Years (Woofer) (does apply to purchase from Amazon.com)
Review and Discussion
There are very few decent 10+ inch powered subwoofers that can be acquired for less than $100, and that’s the main appeal of the PSW10. The trade off, we suppose, is that this product is rather old, but loudspeaker technology has honestly not fundamentally changed in recent years. One of the great advantages of audio equipment is that it can last many years, decades even.
Polk knows it’s market, and this is exactly the type of low priced subwoofer that can augment a pair of budget-tier speakers, which are usually what can use an added sub the most. 50 W of continuous power output isn’t earth shattering, but is quite sufficient to pair with similarly powered speakers. And that’s the ultimate goal of any subwoofer: to only be as loud as it needs to be to fill the gap and take some of the brunt off the speakers’ woofers in producing lower frequencies.
How does it look? Decent enough – the washed wood look is pretty boilerplate and common among Polk’s budget tier speakers. The silver front-panel is a little jarring, but that’s easily solved with the option of putting on a standard foam-grill front cover. The PSW10 also comes in a more old school looking “cherry” color in addition to the black.
Set up is fairly easy. It’s front firing so it will sound best centered in between your speakers, so you’ll need to manage a place for that. Other than that the hookup is standard RCA and should be compatible with pretty much any receiver. The crossover range is between 80-160 Hz, which you can just set to match the bottom end of your speakers.
Polk subwoofers come with a 3 and 5 year warranty on the amp and driver respectively, which is excellent for the price – you’re usually lucky to get 1+ years of coverage in the low price tier.
Our Take
It’s almost impossible to go wrong with a Polk loudspeaker, and there’s a reason this remains such a top seller despite being an older legacy product. If you’re looking to augment a pair of budget speakers with a subwoofer (most do benefit greatly from one), and you’re still looking to keep your costs down, Polk made the PSW10 exactly for that reason.
See our current picks for the overall best budget subwoofers
