Product Comparison: Polk Audio PSW505 vs Klipsch R-120SW

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Best Pick

Polk Audio PSW505 Powered Subwoofer

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Klipsch R-120SW Subwoofer

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General Specifications

Brand

Polk Audio

Klipsch

Model

PSW505 ( AM8505-A)

R-120SW

Origin

USA

China

About the Product

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.

The Klipsch R-120SW subwoofer is designed to deliver awe-inspiring bass for your movies and music. A 400 Watt all-digital amplifier powering a front-firing spun-copper IMG woofer produces a clean, deep bass response for your home audio system.

Key Specs

Power RMS

300 watts

200 watts

Driver Diameter

12 in.

Power RMS
Driver Diameter

Size & Weight

Color

Black

Height

16.13 in.

16.5 in.

Width

15.13 in.

14 in.

Depth

18.19 in.

19.2 in.

Weight

48 lbs.

31 lbs.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

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.

Klipsch R-120SW Subwoofer

It's surprisingly boomy for its size, most likely due to the port. If you want a reasonably priced subwoofer to usher you into the realm of high fidelity sound, this is it.
This is small, and that is awesome for those looking for a small sub.
This sub is very cute, very small and has much better sound than the Polk.
This sub is small and should easily fit into a corner.
Easy to set up and the sound is fantastic, but it's very heavy duty.

Audio

Min. Frequency Response

23 Hz

29 Hz

Max. Frequency Response

160 Hz

120 Hz

Peak Power

460 watts

400 watts

Sound Output Direction

Front-firing

Amplifier Class

Class D

What customers say about "Audio"

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.

Klipsch R-120SW Subwoofer

Plugged it in, tuned it for the room and overall volume, works great with heavy lows.
The subwoofer is powered by its own 400 watt all-digital amplifier so it is independent of the receiver to which it is connected.
The dynamics of each frequency became so obvious with this subwoofer added to my system.
The response is quick and clean, the low frequency roll off does exactly what I want and where to happen and for a little front firing, rear ported, 10”.
This sub has a noticeable dropoff in volume on ultra low frequencies too.

Features

Box Design

Ported

Controls

Volume control, Bass adjustment, Phase switch

Volume control, Low Pass

App-Controlled

Indoor Or Outdoor Use

Indoor

Extras

Slot Load Venting improves bass response.

All-Digital Amplifier, Spun copper img woofer, Black Textured Wood Grain Viny, Low profile grille

App-Controlled

What customers say about "Features"

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.

Klipsch R-120SW Subwoofer

Controls are available for gain and impedance. I adjusted these once and left it alone.
It also has ports and controls to adapt to almost any sound system.
The volume and frequency knobs turn nicely and feel solid. The copper driver is gorgeous, just as a bonus.
Auto on/off feature so it does not use as much electricity when not in use.
Not sure if this is a fake speaker or they don't have quality control in their factory. It's like they didn't sand or smoothen the wood before painting.

Connectivity

Inputs

RCA in, Line in (LFE unfiltered/low frequencies filtered in)

RCA LFE input, Stereo RCA

Outputs

Low-frequency filtered stereo out for 2 external speakers

What customers say about "Connectivity"

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.

Klipsch R-120SW Subwoofer

It attaches to your receiver/amp via the normal single RCA cable.
The product was packaged really well considering how heavy it is. It was really easy to set up with my existing system, and sounds great.
The output can be adjusted by setting the LOWPASS (LP) crossover point knob and the level knob.
If there is no dedicated subwoofer port on the receiver being used then it can be connected to a pre-amp stereo output using two RCA cables.
The R-120SW provides an RCA INPUT which is a tremendous advantage when connecting my MacBook to the bookshelf speakers and the sub.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

2 year(s)

Certifications

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

Manual

Download