Polk Monitor XT10 Home Subwoofer, 10" Deep Bass Woofer, 100W Class D Amplification, Dolby Atmos, Auro 3D & DTS:X Compatible, Black

I am a self-proclaimed audiophile with a serious inclination towards VALUE. This, my friends, is a product that has immense value.To give you an idea of what I mean by value, my previous set-up had KLH Subwoofers that were so under-rated and unknown that it wasn't until I spoke of them that people even considered them as KLH (being that KLH, for some unknown reason, has a bad name. Now, by no means would I consider myself cheap...I like value--inexpensive items that do as they say while preserving quality. Being that Matt Polk put the name of the Polk legacy on these, the quality should not be in question at any point.I think the only reason that these are at such a reduced rate is because of their meager ratings (50-Watt amp and 10" woofer...something else that is unattractive is the front facing port--don't they know that most new speakers come with the port to the rear to avoid port noise??!!) and, even moreso, reviewing its bigger brothers and sisters with downward firing ports means that although this sub isn't in the same class, there are offerings for more discerning listeners. If I had a good $1000 to blow on subwoofers, I would have probably bought two of the PSW110s without question...Ah, yes...TWO.The biggest reason that I look for subwoofers of value is so that I can purchase more than one (if you were wondering why I keep using these nouns in the plural). Although I am still relatively young <30y/o, I've been into home theater since the days when there was no such thing as Home-Theater-In-a-Box and Definitive Technology illuminated the minds of young, aspiring audiophiles with diagrams of their BP3000s tower speakers with built in 300-Watt Amplifiers and 15" Sub-/Woofers. Ah yes...those good ol' days...Now, Home Theater is the standard and it may be difficult to discern one product from another (trust me, most of it is trash--INCLUDING BOSE). The best way to go about building a theater system is not by adhering to the one-click feature-like HTiB. Piece by piece...step by step... It helps to buy speakers in a particular company's model family since they are normally making use of the same drivers and are normally tonally matched. Many companies claim their speakers as tonally matched without considering the effects of the difference in enclosure size and construction of a center channel and a satellite... Ah...that's info for you--but not why I'm writing this review...This review is about the two Polk Audio 10PSWs sitting here in front of me.They sound awesome for what they are. I'm glad that an earlier reviewer made it known that the 50w amplifier is continuously rated--not instantly...or even rated considering a massive amount of Total Harmonic Distortion--as many companies do and then say "@ 1KHz"...who sits home listening to 1KHz Sine signals?? At loud volumes even? Don't be fooled. Normally they follow that spec up with "30-20KHz +/-3db" As many of you probably know...that's HALF the power that they're quoting it at...3db = 1/2 Wattage (or twice the wattage considering the context...normally, it's LESS, not MORE).Many of you, I'm sure, have bought one of these and are either loving it or hating it (most loving from what I can tell). Indeed, with the varying types of music and source program I use, these fit the bill nicely. The sound is present...strong...detailed. I haven't experienced the muddy sound as other people have noted. I'm sure that it's not just luck...I have two...surely, one would be muddy if this was prevalent.Now, time for pointers (I love the reviewers who leave pointers...it's normally the nudge for most people to consider a truly awesome product--as this one is)Pointer#1: Buy Two (2)These are probably some of the least expensive, best sounding subs you can get right now. When in the market for a sub, you should at least have a budget of $200--$400 even...otherwise, you'll find yourself wondering what you paid for... Remember, there are materials (wood, cables), components (subwoofer driver, subwoofer amplifier), and labor that goes into that bass machine. If any of these things aren't optimally constructed, the overall device will suffer. You can understand this, I'm sure. The flip side of this, is that surely, there was a corner cut somewhere. Thus, why continue to hammer out your amplifier? The amp is often overlooked in all of this. Most people see the pretty cone of their subwoofer and totally disregard the reality that the real work horse of the build is the amplifier.Having two subs is not for more bass...but to conserve the life of the subwoofers you have. In addition, when the time comes to party or watch a movie, you don't have to worry about your subs (the drivers themselves) bottoming out or sounding as if they're straining. Thus, with two, you get the benefit of both worlds (longevity, present sound quality). Electronics have limitations...use them wisely and they will perform AND last a very long time...Pointer #2: Gain >1/2You should never have to turn your amplifier gain past half. Past half is where distortion and clipping are introduced. Sure, depending on your source, this may not be prevalent, but if you have a good, strong signal, there will come a time when you hear artifacts that weren't intended for reproduction (e.g. distortion, clipping). As a rule, if you have to turn your sub past half, you might want to adjust your settings in your receiver or see Pointer #1 again... A benefit of two, is that the both of them can be readjusted lower to account for the assistance or each other. My Polks are each at about 1/3 (and that's only because I really enjoy the sound right now...so I'm excited...otherwise they would each be at 1/4). The reason you only want "enough" volume is because headroom is what you want... this is the power that is used during explosions, kick drums--sudden bursts...this is what you bought it for, right?Yes, that's right. I know that there are many other reviewers--bless their heart--who are praising having it just past half or 3/4 of the way up. Mine are at 1/3 and it was like that when I only had one connected. Now that I have both connected, I'll have to half the volume of both of them to equal the volume of the one (and no, the gain knob potentiometers are not linear, so it'll have to be by ear).Pointer #3: Subs Fill, Not DominateSubwoofer modules are only meant to fill in where the other speakers in your system fail. My set-up has Mirage towers as my mains. However, the built in crossover of my Harmon/Kardon handles all bass traffic well--cut off at 60Hz (the point where bass can not be located by the human ear). Having the setting higher than this will not only put more stress on your sub but also the amplifier (lets not forget the amp). When adjusting the gain, you just want to ensure that the frequencies from the sub are at around the same volume as your main speakers. This will keep you from being bass hungry. That's not the point of a sub...this isn't a mobile system...this is home. The environment doesn't warrant that level of "hyper-bass"... If done this way, you will be able to reach higher sound pressure levels while retaining your dynamism...These pointers should help with any sub...this sub is truly a great, great buy...Hope this helps...

We needed a replacement subwoofer after our receiver bit the dust after a lightning strike since the previous sub had no internal amp. After some research, we decided on the Polk. Best decision ever. This thing is super! Hook up was beyond easy.Some people seem to be complaining about it not being great, some claim it sounds "muddy", etc. However, we haven't experienced these things and as long as you have your settings correct, it's fantastic for movies, music & games. Those complaining about the boominess or "muddy" sound likely do not have their equipment adjusted for the sub right or the knobs set properly on the sub for the room they have it set up in. We have a receiver with a single "sub out" jack and the Low-Pass knob on the back of the subwoofer all the way clockwise which creates an LFE input (since this sub doesn't have one). After a couple days of testing, we found that the best place for the sub's volume knob was just below half. With that, we've got GREAT bass all around for practically every situation whether we're watching movies, playing games or even listening to music (which seems to be the primary gripe out there for this sub...don't listen to 'em) and it doesn't make the rest of the range sound murky. Dialog is crystal clear & higher frequencies are distinct. Just set it up according to the manual & then make minor adjustments until you find what works best for the room and you.One point of note that likely won't affect many people...We have a PS3 hooked up to the tv via HDMI and the tv is outputting sound to our receiver with an optical cable. Games sound AWESOME on it with two exceptions...Rock Band & especially Guitar Hero. The output on those isn't tailor made for output in this fashion evidently & we find we have much fuller sound on those with a standard PlayStation output cable with the left & right audio RCA plugs going directly to the receiver. It sounds counter to everything one might have heard or understands about sound with this equipment, but it works great for those two game series. We just have the PS3 set up to output audio to multiple sources & whenever we want to play Rock Band or Guitar Hero games, switch the receiver over to that input and voila...fantastic, full, rich sound with plenty of bass while not drowning out the higher frequencies.All in all, this is a wonderful subwoofer, easily the best one I've had experience with in this price range. It won't break the bank and you'll LOVE it once you have it set up properly for your living room/den/entertainment room.HIGHLY recommended!!