Product Comparison: BIC America F12 vs Polk Audio PSW505
General Specifications
Brand
BIC America
Polk Audio
Model
F12
PSW505 ( AM8505-A)
Origin
USA
USA
About the Product
For more than 50 years, midrange and high frequency horns have been the hands-down choice for movie theater sound engineers. From the softest whispers... To the highest impact sound... Hrn drivers have no equal when it comes to clarity and dynamic range. The BIC Formula Theater Series carries on the legacy of the first Formula Series introduced in 1973. They offer an output capability of up to 116dB (live rock band levels), while offering refinements that surpass all of its predecessors.
The PSW505 is equally at home reproducing all the subtle nuance of a plucked string bass as it is belting out a rocket's roar. Full-featured and over-powered, the PSW505 will rock your world.
Key Specs
Power RMS
150 watts
300 watts
Driver Diameter
12 in.
12 in.
Size & Weight
Color
Black
Black
Height
14.8 in.
16.13 in.
Width
17 in.
15.13 in.
Depth
17 in.
18.19 in.
Weight
20 lbs.
48 lbs.
What customers say about "Size & Weight"
BIC America F12 Front Firing Powered Subwoofer
- One awesome sub! I was surprised with its size and weight, but it was a pleasant surprise as this thing pumps out the bass at crazy levels.
- This is a pretty good woofer at nice price, both quality and size/weight wise.
- Build seems quality and has some weight to it.
- It's big and heavy just like it should be!
- Sounds great at normal levels, struggles when you push the volume. The cabinet vibrates and moves on the floor. Needs a little more weight to dampen the movement.
Polk Audio PSW505 Powered Subwoofer
- Solid construction and good weight.
- The weight is good though because it will never shuffle around the floor, even when pushing it.
- I love the design and structure. The sub was well packaged and took a few minutes to set up.
- Awesome deep bass creator and is incredibly heavy. The build is robust and works like a charm. Produces such heavy and deep bass that could shadow other heavily priced brands.
- I also have one large complaint regarding the design. All of the speaker input posts are clustered so close together that it is virtually impossible to use high quality cables with good connectors. There is just not enough room.
- Sound is good. Have had this for a few months now with limited use, and already 3 of the four cheap plastic feet have split and broken off leaving exposed screws that have gouged my floor.
Audio
Min. Frequency Response
28 Hz
23 Hz
Max. Frequency Response
200 Hz
160 Hz
Peak Power
475 watts
460 watts
Sound Output Direction
Front-firing
Front-firing
What customers say about "Audio"
BIC America F12 Front Firing Powered Subwoofer
- If your looking for something reasonably priced to add a tremendous amount of clean low frequency presence it will be hard to find a better piece of equipment.
- Powerful bass that will shake the floor, walls and ceiling (ceiling-yes. Vent cover fell out). The amp allows crossover frequency adjustment as well as volume. It does not muffle or distort any sounds unless you have it at max, which is not a good idea.
- It's great for the average living room size if you like to play music and get the full experience of frequency range.
- Sounds great as I expected. Plenty of power!!
- Deep bass, not very controlled though. However, for the price it's a good buy; a good beginner's sub.
- Lots off distortion even at low volume. Crossover set all the way down to 80Hz didn't fix it. I'm going to to assume I got a defective unit and will update after I get a replacement.
Polk Audio PSW505 Powered Subwoofer
- Boy, did I make the right purchase. It did take a bit of tweaking, as it should for anyone. You need to find the right balance of power on the sub itself, the low-pass filter of the receiver, and the sub-woofer level of the receiver.
- It is a powered sub woofer with more power than I ever expected. I like running wide open and this unit I can not it just blows me away. Very good and powerful sub woofer , I have a lot of respect for it.
- This sub doesnt overpower even if you are in apartment. Just use volume and frequency control knobs at back to tame this beast. I live in apartment and i have no issues with this sub.
- Very powerful and estheically pleasing so fits nicely in your room Has a nice kick so no need to turn the volume high to get that nice deep bass.
- This subwoofer doesn't have the defined bass of a higher end sub. It can rattle the house but the bass sounds muddy at low frequency.
- Returning this item as amp runs extremely hot, you can feel the heat from the knobs on the amp when trying to adjust the volume or crossover frequency.
Features
Box Design
Ported
Ported
Controls
Volume control, Crossover adjustment, Phase switch, Automatic signal sensing
Volume control, Bass adjustment, Phase switch
App-Controlled
No
No
Indoor Or Outdoor Use
Indoor
Indoor
Extras
Patented BIC "Venturi" vent eliminates port noise
Slot Load Venting improves bass response.
What customers say about "Features"
BIC America F12 Front Firing Powered Subwoofer
- The back of the unit features a crossover control, phase switch, and auto-off feature. You can turn it on or off manually or you can set it to auto which is what I do.
- The auto-off feature works pretty well
- On the back of the sub you will find a pleasing variety of inputs and controls. It's easy to operate
- I love this sub. Has all the features you want and a great price. Simple, powerful, perfect for a 5.1/7.1 system
- Bought this sub a couple years ago and still love it. the only thing that i can think of that i don't like is that there is no remote to adjust the level of bass. this is a little bit of a problem because the bass level is very touchy.
Polk Audio PSW505 Powered Subwoofer
- My favorite feature of this polk audio sub is the auto on and off switch. I think that is the coolest thing, since it gets used daily, I can just leave it on auto and anytime I turn the stereo on and start playing music, the sub will turn itself on.
- The PSW505 has all the power and features I wanted: Auto off and an unfiltered line input
- I have engaged the auto on/off feature, which works fine. It pops on almost as soon as I power on my receiver and shuts off about minutes after I turn everything off.
- The amount of controls and options for different wiring configurations is quite nice
- Amp is cheaply made. All the controls on it are what you find on cheapo electronics. Sound is dull and you can't really crank it, distortions kick in.
- Typical BOOMY subwoofer, terrible pitch control, slow response.
Connectivity
Inputs
RCA LFE input, 2-channel (+/- for each channel) speaker level inputs
RCA in, Line in (LFE unfiltered/low frequencies filtered in)
Outputs
2-channel (+/- for each channel) satellite speaker outputs from the integrated amplifier
Low-frequency filtered stereo out for 2 external speakers
What customers say about "Connectivity"
BIC America F12 Front Firing Powered Subwoofer
- I personally use the LFE input which is a standard RCA mono cable but if your receiver doesn't support LFE you have an option for using speaker wire terminals. Also on the back include built in crossover and volume controls.
- You can connect via the standard RCA Coax if you have a Coax Subwoofer out connection on your AVR/Stereo
- You can connect this "in-line" with your speakers -- that is connect the speaker wire from your receiver to the posts marked IN on the sub, then connect wires going to the speaker(s) on the posts labeled OUT on the back of the subwoofer.
- I used a cheapo RCA cable which was sitting around to connect this sub to my receiver and everything sounded horrible
Polk Audio PSW505 Powered Subwoofer
- Connectivity is versatile and works well with my receiver
- You have the option to connect the HT receiver's subout to either the single LFE or the two non LFE connections. In my case, using a y connection into the two non LFE connection did not produce sufficient loudness.
- As for the configuration, it was very simple to set up and get working. Connect your RCA cable, power, and flip the Auto or ON switch. This is honestly one of the BEST subs I have ever heard (or had the opportunity of owning) for an indoor stereo system.
- Love the fact that I can hear what best connection to use via LTE cable, RCA Line In or good ol' raw speaker wire hook up.
- I am not an audiophile but I think this product offers outstanding performance for the price. I used the 'direct' connection between the amp and the subwoofer so the hookup was very easy.
Warranty / Certifications
Manufacturer Warranty
5 year(s)
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