Product Comparison: Polk Audio PSW505 vs Klipsch R-12SW

Advertiser Disclosure

This site is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and comparison features to its visitors. Please be advised that the operator of this site accepts advertising compensation from certain companies that appear on the site, and such compensation impacts the location and order in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also impact the scoring that is assigned to them. The scoring that appears on this site is determined by the site operator in its sole discretion, and should NOT be relied upon for accuracy purposes. In fact, Company/product listings on this page DO NOT imply endorsement by the site operator. Except as expressly set forth in our Terms of Use, all representations and warranties regarding the information presented on this page are disclaimed. The information which appears on this site is subject to change at any time. More info

Polk Audio PSW505 Powered Subwoofer

Check Price

Best Pick

Klipsch R-12SW Subwoofer

Check Price

General Specifications

Brand

Polk Audio

Klipsch

Model

PSW505 ( AM8505-A)

R-12SW

Origin

USA

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 Reference R-12SW subwoofer uncovers what you've been missing in your music, movies and games -- clean chest-thumping bass. The high performance subwoofer provides deep bass and placement flexibility thanks to its front firing driver and all digital amplifier.

Key Specs

Power RMS

300 watts

200 watts

Driver Diameter

12 in.

Power RMS
Driver Diameter

Size & Weight

Color

Black

Height

16.13 in.

18.2 in.

Width

15.13 in.

14 in.

Depth

18.19 in.

16.1 in.

Weight

48 lbs.

33.1 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-12SW Subwoofer

It's a pretty good size sub what would you expect.... very good bass.
Pretty hefty size but lighter than most 12 inch woofers (because of the digital I guess)
Size wise it's not the smallest, but can also be placed in a smaller space.
Does the job but very light in weight which makes me wonder about quality of product.

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

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-12SW Subwoofer

This subwoofer is very powerful and sounds great! Shakes my house well with heavy bass.
Very powerful sub. Produces the low frequencies which you can feel. Got it to go with some klipsch r-15pms, and it has been an excellent combo.
Extremely powerful. Probably could have got away with the 10” model. In a medium sized room, I only need it at 10-15% to fill the room with tight bass
Boom Boom Boom. Really a steal compared to others in the 400 Watt power range. No regrets. it is clean and has such a wide range of adjustments for intensity and cut off... was easy to dial in.
Bought this sub and it does sound really good and was very impressed. However, after 3 months use the amp went out. Speaker won't turn on in auto mode and when I switch it to constant power the light turns on but no sound.

Features

Box Design

Ported

Controls

Volume control, Bass adjustment, Phase switch

Volume control, Bass adjustment

App-Controlled

Indoor Or Outdoor Use

Indoor

Extras

Slot Load Venting improves bass response.

All-Digital Amplifier, Low Pass Crossover And Phase Control, Line/LFE Inputs

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-12SW Subwoofer

It includes low pass and phase control. It's also an all digital subwoofer (the first I've owned) and I'm anxious to see how it handles everything we throw at it.
It has enough controls to dial it in quite nicely.
Being able to adjust the low pass crossover and phase control makes this a great speaker.
Sounds good, but could use a little more control.
The only negative is that the controls are on the back, making it very hard to adjust or even power off.

Connectivity

Inputs

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

Line in (LFE unfiltered/low frequencies filtered in)

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-12SW Subwoofer

I've got it connected to an Onkyo TX-RZ820 with 5 old Bose surround speakers.
Easy hook up and connection. Outstanding deep bass in all sound modes.
Plug it in to a power source, make one cable connection, set-up the volume and crossover range. And it will work amazing.
Works best when connected using a single subwoofer cable.
It installs easy, just plug it into the wall for power and connect speaker wires.

Warranty / Certifications

Certifications