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GETTING ST
ARTED
Please inspect your loudspeaker carefully. Notify your Polk dealer if you notice any damage or missing items. Keep the carton and packing material. It will do the best job
of protecting your speaker if it needs to be transported.
Note to PSW505 owners only: Y
our PSW505 system includes a detachable power cord that’s packaged seperately from the cabinet. Insert female end into recepticle on amplifier
plate and inser
t polarized AC plug into wall outlet (or power strip) as per safety instructions on inside cover of this manual.
PLACEMENT (FIGURES 1, 2 & 3)
Your PSW Series subwoofer offers many placement options—in an entertainment center, behind furniture, or next to a sofa or chair. It can be placed anywhere in the room, but you
will get the best per
formance from it when it is on the same side of the room as the front speakers. Placing it near a wall or in a corner will increase bass loudness. Allow at least 6
inches (15cm) of space between the subwoofer driver and a wall or obstr
uction (Figure 1). The subwoofer should only be placed on its base (Figure 2). It may lie on its side, but
NEVER LAY THE SUBWOOFER ON THE AMPLIFIER END—THIS WILL DAMAGE THE AMPLIFIER (Figure 3).
Y
our powered subwoofer is magnetically shielded for placement near video monitors. Allow at least 18" (45cm) of space between your subwoofer and any television. If you notice
video distor
tion or discoloration, immediately move the subwoofer away from the TV and call Polk Audio Customer Service 800-377-7655 (US & Can), 410-358-3600, 9am-6pm EST,
Monday through Friday, or email: polkcs@polkaudio.com.
Y
ou’ll find an informative article on “Subwoofer Positioning and Adjustment” in the set up section at: http://www.polkaudio.com/home/faqad/.
CONNECTING THE SUBWOOFER TO THE SYSTEM—GENERAL
If you elect to use the speaker level inputs, use two-conductor 16 gauge or thicker speaker wires. See your Polk dealer for wire recommendations.
Note that one of the speaker input ter
minals on the rear of the speaker is marked red (+) and the other black (-). Make certain that you connect the wire from the red (+) terminal
of your amplifier to the red (+) terminal on your speaker, and the wire from the black (-) terminal of the amplifier to the black (-) terminal on your speaker. Most wire has some indica-
tion (such as color coding, ribbing, or writing) on one of the two conductors to help maintain consistency. If your subwoofer doesn’t seem to produce much bass, it is most likely
that one of the speaker wir
es is connected backwards. Double check all connections for correct polarity.
Strip 1/2" (12mm) of insulation from each of the two conductors on both ends to expose the bare wire. Twist the exposed wire of each conductor to form two un-frayed strands.
Connect two conductors to the r
eceiver or amp (refer to the owner’s manual supplied with your electronics for assistance with proper hookup). Connect the two conductors
on the other end of the wire to the speaker terminals. Repeat for the other channel.
USING PUSH-TAB TERMINALS – PSW303 (FIGURE 4)
Push the plastic tab of one connector to open up the hole. Insert the bare wire into the hole, and release the plastic tab. Repeat this step for the other terminal.
Make sure that none of the bare wire ends (left & right) touch. Such contact could result in an electrical short and cause your receiver or amplifier to turn off or malfunction.
USING BINDING POST CONNECTIONS – PSW404 AND PSW505(FIGURE 5)
Unscrew binding post hex nuts several turns. Make sure that none of the bare wire ends touch. Such contact could result in an electrical short and cause your amplifier
or receiver to turn off or malfunction.
RECOMMENDED HOOK-UP METHOD FOR “SATELLITE” SYSTEMS
SUCH AS POLK RM SERIES SPEAKERS
(FIGURES 6 & 7)
°
Connect the left and right front speaker outputs of your receiver or amplifier to the speaker level inputs of the powered subwoofer using speaker wire.
°
Then, connect the left and right fr
ont satellite speakers using speaker wir
e fr
om the speaker level outputs fr
om the power
ed subwoofer.
°
If it is mor
e convenient, parallel wire the subwoofer and front satellites from your receiver (Figure 7).
°
Connect the Center Channel Speaker directly to the center channel output from your receiver.
°
Connect the Rear Sur
r
ound Satellites directly to the rear or surround channel outputs from your receiver.
RECEIVER SET-UP / BASS MANAGEMENT
All sur
round receivers allow you to “customize” their performance depending on the size of your speakers. Refer to the owner's manual of your receiver or surround processor to
lear
n how this is done. T
o get the best per
for
mance from small “satellite/subwoofer” type systems, use the
following settings with the above hook-up method:
Front speakers—set to “large”
Center speaker—set to “nor
mal” or “small”
Surround speakers—set to “small”
Subwoofer—set to “OFF” or “none.” (We know. Doesn’t make sense, right? Your system obviously has a subwoofer. But really truly, this is the correct setting for the recommended
hook-up method. By setting the front left and right speakers to “Large” and routing them through the subwoofer as instructed above, you deliver a full range signal to the sub-
woofer’s low pass filter. The low pass filter directs low frequencies and to the subwoofer. Full range signal is passed to the front speakers, for perfect sub/sat blending.)
HOOK-UP METHOD #2 (FIGURE 8)
This method can be used with electronics that include a “SUB OUT” feature (Figure 8). It is not recommended for use with compact sub/sat systems. Connect a single RCA cable
from the “SUB OUT” of your electronics to the LFE input of the subwoofer. This input bypasses the subwoofer’s variable low pass filter and relies on the filter built into your electron-
ics. If your “SUB OUT” is an unfilter
ed signal (check your owner’
s manual), use either left or right “Line Level Input,” to use the low pass cr
ossover in the subwoofer
. When using
method #2, it is necessary to adjust the settings of your electr
onics as follows: Fr
ont speakers = lar
ge or small depending on their output capabilities; Subwoofer = “ON.”
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