Polk Audio PSW303 8-Inch 100-Watt Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black)

by Polk Audio

Product Details

Product Manual [821kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 15.8 x 15 inches ; 35 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 35 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00007E845
• Item model number: AM3030-C
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,197 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Designed for small to mid-sized rooms, the Polk PSW303 100-watt powered subwoofer makes a great addition to your home theater or stereo system. The sub features an 8-inch long-throw driver that produces a longer excursion and better linearity than most comparably sized models, along with slot-load venting that improves the bass response by dramatically minimizing turbulence, noise, and distortion. The resulting thunderous bass shakes out all the thrills and chills of your favorite movie soundtracks, while its accurate musicality makes you sit up and take notice whether you're listening to rump-shaking hip-hop or a powerful classical piece. And unlike many subwoofers, this modest-sized unit fits easily in a cabinet or behind furniture, where it won't attract undue attention.

Contributing to the distortion-free bass response is the rock-solid medium-density fiberboard (MDF) housing, which includes a 1-inch-thick front baffle that minimizes panel resonance. Additional features include a hi-roll surround that supports longer excursion; a high-current 100-watt continuous (260 watts dynamic) power amplifier; adjustable low-pass crossover, phase switch, and volume controls; and an auto on/off circuit that automatically turns on the subwoofer when it senses a program signal. If no signal is detected, the amplifier turns off within 15 minutes.

The PSW303, which sports a genuine wood veneer finish in black, includes an unfiltered LFE input for use with low-pass filtered output jacks along with filtered speaker-level and line-level inputs. As a final bonus, the sub is magnetically shielded for safe, flexible placement near a TV or video monitor. The sub measures 11.44 by 12.44 by 16.5 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a five-year warranty on the speaker and a three-year warranty on the amplifier.

What's in the Box
Subwoofer, user's manual.

Product Description

8" Bass driver / Integrated 100 Watt Amplifier / Automatic On and Off / Adjustable Crossover / Magnetically Shielded

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flat down to subsonic, June 25, 2007

By 

anonymous (ponto jetty) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polk Audio PSW303 8-Inch 100-Watt Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black) (Electronics)

You can't really buy something like this just by
reading reviews. I auditioned subs in this price
range (under $250 discounted) at Circuit City, Frys,
and BestBuy. This subwoofer always sounded better
than the psw10 or xb2, but not as good as the psw12, xb4, or vrp-1000
which had lower LFE response. This also was much better against budget
subs like the sa-w3000 and sa-w2500. The amplifier in this subwoofer is
100W RMS and even though its only 8-inch, it could play
as loud as most of the larger 10-inch subs.
My room (20 x 20) isn't that large, but the advantage
of having a more powerful sub is that at normal movie or music levels the
piston and amplifier aren't overworked and distortion
is kept low. For a compact 8-inch sub this is impressive. Installed in my room using stereo line-in connection, the sub works
perfectly with phase set to 180 and volume turned to about 1/4 rotation. All the auto-on, cutoff, phase, and volume
controls operate well. Although I don't
need it, it has shielding. The only reason I don't give
this a higher rating is that the 8-inch driver has a foam
surround which I know will have a lifetime of only
4 to 6 years before it totoall disintegrates. The warranty
is 5 years for everything except the amplifier/electronics (3 year).

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent subwoofer from polk,with very good bass.This unit is small and compact,with an 8 inch bass driver., January 13, 2006

By 

stewart L (flushing ,ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polk Audio PSW303 8-Inch 100-Watt Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black) (Electronics)

This subwoofer is fantastic.Polk has always designed their speakers to be as musical and true to the actual performace,wheather it be classical,jazz,rock,pop,or a dvd movie..The bass is full and natural,with tremendous bass slam.When there is no bass you wont hear any...But when bass is present,watch out!!!There are many subs that produce one note bass,and sound quite muddy...Not the polk...You just hear the music or movie as it was intended to be heard...The subwoofer is compact,and doesnt take up alot of space...I find the polk perfect for tight spaces,and fits perfectly,in my nyc apartment.I hope my review was helpful for you..I thank you Stewart L.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY surprised at how good this little sub is, October 24, 2006

By 

Craig (Nowhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polk Audio PSW303 8-Inch 100-Watt Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black) (Electronics)

I was using a Sony 10" powered sub with my Onkyo home stereo and was annoyed by the plastic rattle you'd get and mushy sound while the sub was even moderately loud. I decided to just get rid of the Sony and buy a new sub and did a lot of research before settling on the Polk PSW303. Combined with a set of Polk R40's, I was AMAZED at how clean and crisp the bass was. I'll never buy another Sony audio component, but I have no reservations about recommending Polk. I thought the 8" sub would be a little small for the room it's in (about 12' X 24'), but the bass is all there and sounds excellent while listening to music and watching movies. Hook-up was super-easy, even on my older reciever, since the Polk had speaker line-level inputs. The sound is HIGHLY adjustable, so it'll suit your tastes, whatever they may be. I'm very happy with this purchase.

EDIT: Okay, it's been about 3 weeks since I got this. I'm now hearing a random popping sound when the sub is otherwise quiet. I tried a different sub and the problem went away. I'm returning the PSW303 and am exchanging it for a PSW404 in the hopes that it's better built.