[harpreet007]

Hi guys,

I am looking to replace my old sub woofer and was wondering if I could get some advice/opinions. So right now I have a Polk Audio PSW505 sub woofer and I'm thinking about replacing it with a Cerwin Vega XLS 15S. I want to replace my old one because I recently got the cerwin vega 15 inch towers and the centre, so thought I'd get the matching sub too. The specs online say that the Polk audio 12 inch is rated at 300 watts continuous power and goes down to 23Hz and for the Cerwin Vega 15 inch its 250rms and goes down to 25Hz. I have experienced both Polk and CV speakers and I think even though Polk may look better on paper, CV probably still outperforms.

My question is, will it be worth it for me to upgrade to notice a big enough difference?

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

 

[eljaycanuck]

Polk Audio PSW505 (owner's manual)
- 12" driver
- 300W (continuous) amp
- 28-125Hz +/-3dB
- 16-1/4" (h) x 15-1/4" (w) x 17-1/2" (d)


Cerwin Vega XLS 15S (product page)
- 15" driver
- 250W (RMS) amp
- 40-300Hz +/-3dB
- 24.1" (h) x 17" (w) x 22.9" (d)


The much-larger CV will likely have more overall output, but the trade-off is that it won't extend as deep. It's a trade-off I wouldn't make.

 

[lovinthehd]

Subs don't really "match" speakers except perhaps aesthetically. Like eljaycanuck says, the CV will likely have greater output but lose the low end. Depends what your goals for spl and extension are. How big a room is this for? What's your budget?

Don't focus on the amp power particularly, as without the driver's sensitivity or impedance (let alone the amp's impedance at rated power) it doesn't mean a lot.

 

[harpreet007]

Thanks for the quick responses guys, and yeaa I was worried it wouldn't go down as low.

This is mainly to listen to music and watch movies. Its going in my dedicated home theater room in the basement, approx 500 sqft. I usually like to listen to my music loud and I like the bang when watching movies and the low notes when listening to music. My budget is around $500 as this is also the price I'm getting the CV for.

Also, I feel that when I have my 2 towers on stereo mode I can barely hear the sub. until it goes really low.

So yeaa not sure if I wanna give up the lows for more SPL

 

[Kini62]

Thanks for the quick responses guys, and yeaa I was worried it wouldn't go down as low.

This is mainly to listen to music and watch movies. Its going in my dedicated home theater room in the basement, approx 500 sqft. I usually like to listen to my music loud and I like the bang when watching movies and the low notes when listening to music. My budget is around $500 as this is also the price I'm getting the CV for.

Also, I feel that when I have my 2 towers on stereo mode I can barely hear the sub. until it goes really low.

So yeaa not sure if I wanna give up the lows for more SPL

At $500 the SVS PB1000 is about the best choice if you want something that digs pretty deep. It has good output to around 18hz.

If you have enough power going to your towers you could set the crossover for the sub at 40hz and let your towers handle the mid-upper bass.

Or run the towers full range (large) and the sub to LFE + Main or double bass and see how that sounds. That's how I run my setup and it seems to work well in my room.

 

[Gorilla Killa]

save up till you have $800 to spend, big field of good subs in that range. no sense moving up in small increments, have the 505, there are much better offerings

 

[Holiday121]

If money is a issue buy a used sub off the classifieds here with warrenty still in tact. There a are lots of good deals

 

[bgtighe23]

What is your budget? What is the size of your room? There are better options:

Currently, Reaction Audio's S-15 is in B-Stock for $499 shipped with a warranty. Jeremy also said it was virtually scratch free. It has a smaller footprint, and isn't a huge eye catcher compared to the Cerwin Vega which could be an eye sore for some. It also digs deeper, and sealed. http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com.../s-15-500w-sealed-subwoofer?variant=992284853

That would be my $500 sub choice right now. Great savings.

Another option is the Rythmik LV12R: http://www.rythmikaudio.com/LV12R.html. It's about the same price as the Cerwin Vega (possible a little more due to shipping) and digs down to 19hz. That will cover 98% of HT movies, music, and games extension.