Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

OBJECTIVE: - To revive a decades old stereo system with the least amount of money - Take the bass load off the smaller speakers so they could express better mids and highs - Lessen the power load on the receiver by adding a powered subwoofer - Add more plucky, clean, musical bass rather than boom and vibration I could not justify spending a lot of money on my audio hobby right now. An expensive sub, or one made for home theatre that's meant to vibrate the house, was not in my plans. The more I read about this little sub, the more I felt it was worth $100. Now, if you forgo the cherry veneer version of the Polk PSW10, you save about $40. With super-saving shipping and tax, I paid $108 through Amazon. With another $50 in new speaker wire and banana plugs and pins, I basically built a new speaker system. Once I got the unit unpacked, I wired it up and started experimenting with the placement, volume, and low pass in order to make it work seamlessly with the main speakers. [Note on wiring: my receiver has no sub outputs so I had to wire everything through the sub's crossover using Monster QuickLock MKII Gold Flex Pin Connectors For Easy Self Crimping Terminations - 2 pr. It was easy enough. Use a run of speaker wire from your amp to the sub, and then another run from the sub to the main speakers]. Some reviewers complained of booming muddy bass from this unit. I experienced this at first, so I moved the sub around the room in different positions and at different sub volume settings. Every room, amp, and set of speakers brings a bunch of variables to positioning, so take a few hours to work out the kinks. My particular listening room is very small (10' x 10') and anything above the 4th increment on the sub's volume just destroys the music. That being said, CD's and downloaded music also vary in quality and mixing. I recommend placing the sub in such a way that you can always access the back panel to make adjustments. CONCLUSION: So far, I definitely think I got more than my money's worth. If you have small speakers, an old system, or you just want to add a little zip to your musical experience, I say this is a great place to start. I can hear new dimensions on my CDs, and the main speakers sound much more spacious and clear.