Polk Audio PSW505 Powered Subwoofer Review

Over the recent years, Polk Audio has built a strong reputation as providers of high-value products at affordable price ranges.   

Their offerings range from anything including amplifiers to subwoofers, towers, and much more. But regardless of the type of product, you can expect to receive one of the best in its class, especially when you consider how affordable it is.  

The Polk Audio PSW505 is a beefy 12-inch subwoofer that delivers on Polk Audio’s reputation.  

Read on more below to find out why we think that the PSW505 is one of the best subwoofers available today.  

What Features Make the Polk Audio PSW505 So Good?

Deep and Powerful Bass

Featuring the Dynamic Balance design by Polk, the 12-inch subwoofer is built to keep out unwanted resonances from the cabinet.

Because of this design choice, the PSW505 is capable of delivering deep, pure, and powerful bass that will make your movies, games, and music more thrilling to listen to and more exciting to watch.  

Polk Audio PSW505 12" Powered Subwoofer - Deep Bass Impact & Distortion-Free Sound, Up to 460 Watts, Easy Integration with Home Theater Systems, BLACK
  • HEART-THUMPING MUSIC WITH DEEP, POWERFUL BASS – Polk's 12-inch Dynamic Balance Woofer sounds better because it is built better. Make your movies, music & sports experience thrilling
  • ACCURATE SOUND REPRODUCTIONS – Be it delicate, melodious string music or solid blasts and booms from bombs and bullets, this subwoofer picks the subtleties between different kinds of sound correctly and reproduces them with absolute perfection
  • DRIVEN BY IMMENSE 460-WATT POWER, the PSW505 gives HIGH PERFORMANCE IMPACTFUL SOUND WITHOUT ANY DISTORTION. While it blends with any speaker, it works best with Polk's Signature Series Speakers. Highly recommended for your home theater
  • VERSATILE & FULLY LOADED – The front grille is detachable, and the back has a magnetically shielded LFE-input for noisy signal aversion, line- & speaker-level inputs and outputs, and a Phase Toggle Switch designed for running multiple subwoofers
  • EASY TO INTEGRATE WITH EXISTING SYSTEMS – Hook up this sub to the receiver and upgrade your music sound instantly. Features continuously variable 60-120 Hz crossover and 25-125 Hz frequency response

Accurate Sound Reproduction

The problem with most subwoofers is that they focus too much on the boom. This muddies the rest of the audio and makes the highs sound worse than they should.   

That’s not going to be a problem with the PSW505  

It doesn’t matter if it’s the sound of bombs dropping or the delicate sound of guitar strings, this subwoofer can pick out the subtleties between different kinds of sound well enough to reproduce them properly with minimal distortion.

Klippel Distortion Analyzer

This feature measures performance at extreme listening levels. This essentially means that Polk Audio designed the PSW505 to deliver solid audio performance across low, mid, and high frequencies.   

This is a feature practically unheard of in subwoofers at this price range.  

460 Watts of Peak Power At Its Disposal

Unless we’re talking about high-end home theater systems, 300 watts of power for the subwoofers is more than enough. 

The PSW505 has that, and then more, with 460 watts of peak power at its disposal. More importantly, the PSW505 can reach deep within the 20Hz range.

You’ll notice this immediately as soon as you have the PSW505 set-up and powered on. The lows that you once missed will start sounding richer and more noticeable. The best part? They’ll always sound huge and without any disortotion.  

Works Well On its Own and With Existing Systems

On its own, the PSW505 is great. But where it excels the most is when it’s hooked up to a receiver to complete your set-up.  

Industry-Leading Warranty

Polk’s reputation isn’t just because they create good products, but they’re also not afraid to back it up with excellent warranties. TO that end, the PSW505 comes with an industry-leading 3-year warranty for the subwoofer amplifier, and 5 years for the other non-electronic components.   

This is arguably why the PSW505 remains a sought-after model despite already being discountinued by Polk.  

Pros:

  • Already a value purchase at its original MSRP, the PSW505’s price has since gone down after Polk decided to discontinue the model. This makes it an absolute steal at its current price point.
  • Enjoys superior power, range, and warranty compared to other subwoofers within and slightly above its price range.
  • Plenty powerful enough to meet the needs of both average and advanced users.

Cons:

  • If aesthetics is a concern, the PSW505 doesn’t have a lot going for it. The budget speaker design, including the black-washed MDF board and a front covering foam grill, makes you NOT want to show the PSW505 off.
  • The PSW505 is pretty bulky. Even though you’ll only have to set it up once, you’ll have to make a lot of space for it. This also means that clean-up will be a literal chore.
Polk Audio PSW505 12" Powered Subwoofer - Deep Bass Impact & Distortion-Free Sound, Up to 460 Watts, Easy Integration with Home Theater Systems, BLACK
  • HEART-THUMPING MUSIC WITH DEEP, POWERFUL BASS – Polk's 12-inch Dynamic Balance Woofer sounds better because it is built better. Make your movies, music & sports experience thrilling
  • ACCURATE SOUND REPRODUCTIONS – Be it delicate, melodious string music or solid blasts and booms from bombs and bullets, this subwoofer picks the subtleties between different kinds of sound correctly and reproduces them with absolute perfection
  • DRIVEN BY IMMENSE 460-WATT POWER, the PSW505 gives HIGH PERFORMANCE IMPACTFUL SOUND WITHOUT ANY DISTORTION. While it blends with any speaker, it works best with Polk's Signature Series Speakers. Highly recommended for your home theater
  • VERSATILE & FULLY LOADED – The front grille is detachable, and the back has a magnetically shielded LFE-input for noisy signal aversion, line- & speaker-level inputs and outputs, and a Phase Toggle Switch designed for running multiple subwoofers
  • EASY TO INTEGRATE WITH EXISTING SYSTEMS – Hook up this sub to the receiver and upgrade your music sound instantly. Features continuously variable 60-120 Hz crossover and 25-125 Hz frequency response

Conclusion

Polk Audio’s reputation is not without foundation. They’ve put out products that are of excellent value for years now. The PSW505, despite being discontinued, lives up to the company’s reputation of creating valuable products.

Sure, the PSW505 is not a looker. You’d be hard-pressed to describe it as anything outside of boring and plain.

But for most people who are simply looking for a powerful subwoofer, the PSW505 delivers – and then some. Although some would prefer to have something less powerful, at its current price range, the PSW505 is a must-buy.

Even if you didn’t need the power just yet, having it at your disposal is always nice, and you can have that with the PSW505

Last update on 2021-12-31 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API