Polk Subwoofer Woes

[DarkHost]

I recently noticed that my Polk PSW-140 has stopped working. No sound and no glow from the power light. Unfortunatly I failed to hang on to my receipt (stupid me, I never thought the unit would go belly up) so, even though I registered the speaker with Polk, they won't honor the warranty. So now I have to decide on whether to get it repaired or buy a new sub. The issue with getting it repaired is that I can't get a price for the work until I ship the unit to Polk.

So my first question is can anyone fathom a guess at what's likely wrong with the unit and what it would cost to fix? My guess is that between shipping, parts, and labor the total cost of repair would put me well on my way to paying for a new sub.

If I decide to replace the sub, can anyone offer a recommendation for a similar sub (I'm done with Polk) at about the $500 price-point? I mainly watch movies, and I have been happy with the sound quality from the sub (and my other Polk speakers).

Thanks in advance for the advice.

-DH

[Woochifer]

First off, where did you buy it and when? Most dealers keep track of their customers' purchases, and if they have your purchase information on file, they can take care of dispatching your subwoofer to the appropriate repair shop. If you bought the sub from an authorized retailer, they should be able to help you because the reason why manufacturers go with authorized dealer networks in the first place is to take care of the initial customer inquiries.

If you bought the unit less than a year ago, then obviously the warranty's still in play. Polk wants a receipt so that they can verify that unit was purchased from a legitimate source, but if your dealer deals with them directly, there's no reason why Polk would not honor the warranty at that point.

Obviously, if you mail ordered it from an unauthorized source, then Polk has no reason whatsoever to honor the warranty.

[Bryan]

What size room will the sub be going in? Any openings into other rooms? For example, if you have a smaller room, look at the SVS PB-10 or Adire Audio Rava. If you have a bit larger, a HSU VTF-2 may be what you are searching for. Do not forget B-stock or used gear, especially as you may be able to find a Rocket UFW-10 for $425 plus shipping.

[Hairsonfire]

I had the same situation, no volume, power up light would not light - turned out to be just that I had the volume turned all the way down! Also, totally unplug the power supply, wait a few minutes and then plug it back in. Hope this helps!

[Lord_Magnepan]

Velodyne makes very good subs too for the money (and for those who can afford a DD18 )

[E-Stat]

I recently noticed that my Polk PSW-140 has stopped working. No sound and no glow from the power light. ...So my first question is can anyone fathom a guess at what's likely wrong with the unit and what it would cost to fix?

At the very least, check to see if you have simply blown a line fuse. I freaked when my CDP abruptly stopped working with a similar prognosis. It was indeed an opened fuse but diagnosing it was a challenge since the fuse was an inline "behind a drawer" affair built into the IEC jack.

rw

[DarkHost]

First off, where did you buy it and when? Most dealers keep track of their customers' purchases, and if they have your purchase information on file, they can take care of dispatching your subwoofer to the appropriate repair shop. If you bought the sub from an authorized retailer, they should be able to help you because the reason why manufacturers go with authorized dealer networks in the first place is to take care of the initial customer inquiries.

If you bought the unit less than a year ago, then obviously the warranty's still in play. Polk wants a receipt so that they can verify that unit was purchased from a legitimate source, but if your dealer deals with them directly, there's no reason why Polk would not honor the warranty at that point.

Obviously, if you mail ordered it from an unauthorized source, then Polk has no reason whatsoever to honor the warranty.

Honestly, I don't remember which out of Circuit City, Good Guys, or Crutchfield I bought it from. As for when, it was about two to three years ago -- likely on the cusp of the warranty.

I did register the speaker with Polk. So I while I can understand that they want a receipt, it would have been nice of them to let me know if I'm in or out of warranty based on that date before I spend a day running around town looking trying to track down a duplicate receipt.

At this point, I'd really perfer just to write off my screw-up with the receipt and just get a new subwoofer.

[DarkHost]

I had the same situation, no volume, power up light would not light - turned out to be just that I had the volume turned all the way down! Also, totally unplug the power supply, wait a few minutes and then plug it back in. Hope this helps!

I checked the volume. It wasn't turned all the way down. I'll try unplugging, waiting a few minutes and, then replugging. Thanx.

[DarkHost]

At the very least, check to see if you have simply blown a line fuse. I freaked when my CDP abruptly stopped working with a similar prognosis. It was indeed an opened fuse but diagnosing it was a challenge since the fuse was an inline "behind a drawer" affair built into the IEC jack.

rw

There's no visible fuse on the unit.

[DarkHost]

What size room will the sub be going in? Any openings into other rooms? For example, if you have a smaller room, look at the SVS PB-10 or Adire Audio Rava. If you have a bit larger, a HSU VTF-2 may be what you are searching for. Do not forget B-stock or used gear, especially as you may be able to find a Rocket UFW-10 for $425 plus shipping.

It's an L-shaped room. About 14 wide and 30' long with a 12'x12' extension on one end. Vaulted ceiling. Bamboo hardwood floors.

[Bryan]

To preassurize that room with sound you are going to need some serious subwoofer power, needing two, if not three subs. For room one you have 4200 cubic feet (assuming an average ceiling height of 10' for both rooms) and for room two you have 1440 cubic feet. You may be initially satisfied with one B-stock UFW-10, for example, but your room requires more. Something along the lines of an older Paradigm Servo 15 could work extremely well for you. Even then, two are likely required.

[DarkHost]

I managed to track down my receipt, and it turns out I'm just out of the warranty period. So I decided to crack open the unit and see if there was an internal fuse that was blown. Found the fuse, and it was still intact. Unfortunately there is a resistor on one of the circuit boards that is competely fried. Anyone know if this type of failure is worth having fixed, or should I bag out and buy a new sub? Also, I'm a bit surprised that it's a resistor rather than the fuse that's blown, especially since I'm not really one to "crank" my sound system. Any comments from the experts would be appreciated. Thanx.

-DH

[DarkHost]

To preassurize that room with sound you are going to need some serious subwoofer power, needing two, if not three subs. For room one you have 4200 cubic feet (assuming an average ceiling height of 10' for both rooms) and for room two you have 1440 cubic feet. You may be initially satisfied with one B-stock UFW-10, for example, but your room requires more. Something along the lines of an older Paradigm Servo 15 could work extremely well for you. Even then, two are likely required.

Funny, I always felt that the single 180W Polk sub adequately filled the room with sound. For example, the depth charge scene in U-180(?) sounded just incredible. Perhaps that's because I sit across the short (14') dimension of the room. Also, that the room is on a raised subfloor might help.

That said, I'm certainly not an expert, so I do appreciate you taking the time to give me your opinion. However, even if you are correct, a replacement unit under $1000 (perferable closer to $500) is about all I'm going to be able to swing any time soon, as all other fundage is already ear-marked for home renovations and travel.

-DH

[tjw]

If you were happy with the Polk, you will be absolutely ecstatic with an SVS 20/39PCI ($549-I think).