Polk Audio Signature Elite ES8 Powered Subwoofer (Black), 8" Long-Throw Woofer with Mineral-Filled Polymer Cone, 100W Class D Amplifier, Front Firing Home Subwoofer, Time-Smart Phase Control

I originally left a review on the Polk Audio PSW10, talking about how I returned it because I was looking to find a solid budget subwoofer, because who really needs to spend $700 on a sub to get good sound. I tried to get away with cheap, tried cheating the system, something decent to match with my good mains for mostly music listening. I knew it really couldn't be done but had some time to kill and wanted to give a shot. So for about four months I demmoed a bunch of budget and low end subs putting them through their paces. I talked about my experience more in depth in that review how I went through them and what I found and the quick TLDR is that cheap is cheap for a reason. I tried the Audioengine S6, Kilpsch R-120, Yamaha NS-SW100, Edifier T5, a Dayton Audio SUB-1000 and the Monoprice SW-10 all sat in the same spot the ES10 is sitting, before I gave up and just bought good quality "semi-expensive" quality subwoofers. They all felt like crap, cheap, and had lots of woof and floppy sound resonance, no tightness, nothing controlled. Sure they were subs and they subbed like a sub, but it was so almost non enjoyable especially with my high quality main monitors that I literally couldn't take it. In short, cheap and expensive really don't compliment each other and cheap doesn't really sound or feel that great. Polk is great, the build quality on it was the best out of all of them, but sound wise it was certainly low end and moreso "entry level" budget. I'm here to tell you as the title of the review states.....Do It Right The First Time!!!!! and just buy this sub if you're looking for a front firing ten inch to blow your mind and ears. Yes...it's a little expensive but it's worth every penny. This things is professional and it's amazing. If you know anything about subwoofers, then you'll know that SVS makes some really good quality stuff, almost the "industry standard" at this point, and this is in the same league with the SVS all day long. I demoed the Polk ES10 against the SVS PB-1000 Pro, and ultimately ended up just staying with the Polk ES10. as I actually enjoyed the sound a bit more. To add to it, the price was right due to prime day so I just went all in. Lets talk about cost, list price is currently $700. Depending on where you live this is gonna run you closer to $760 with tax. On sale it can go as low as $549, and at that price it's an absolute steal. The price at $549 makes this punch well above its weight with almost anything up to the $1200 range in my opinion for a 10 inch sub that is currently offered on market. If you're looking for the 12, I highly recommend the ES12 by Polk Audio (it's bigger brother quite literally) because that thing is awesome as all heck. I actually had it, used it for like a month and it was actually a bit too much for the room, due to being long wide, but short in length. It's a 18 by 11 narrow family room. Hardwood floors. Ease of setup is ease as heck all day. Everything is digitally controlled and uses an LED lighting system to display whether something is on or off or where something is adjusted and set like the phase control and volume. There is no remote control, you get the sub, the grill, the power cable, and a subwoofer that rocks. You plug it in, turn it on, plug your cable into it from your preamp, amp, or receiver, and you're ready to rock. Getting a good sound is easy, this thing sounds amazing right out of the box, quite literally the most perfect sound I could've imagined. Very little setting up needed, just a bit of a tweak here or there and I was good to go. NOW...if you wanna dial it in further to get quite literally perfect sound in your room that is going to be a bit of trial and error like it is with any sub, but this is so much easier and the phase flip allows for a big ol' setup with two of these and a bunch of monitors, making them fit in to blow the roof off. I uploaded a demo video of this playing Lil Wayne, I tried A Mili, Six Foot Seven Foot (what's in the video) and Lolipop, and I felt it in my chest, soul, and mind, and transcended. The next two hours I fell in love with some of my favorite songs all over again. It really blew me away. Top notch delivery of bass to what not only hits hard, but compliments the music. Yes, you can make this stupid dumb punchy and loud so that the cops show up, but you can also set it correctly so that it fills the song out, hits hard, brings low end and burst, while still being a sub and making bass much more heavy and up front. This thing is a ten outta ten in performance, I highly recommend it if you're looking for the best of both worlds, and really want a good tight and punchy bass that stands out but feels like your mix was mixed. It also helps define bad bass from good bass, for trash producers and mixes. As it shows flaws in the music. I love that about this. I've used Polk Audio stuff, but the Elite series is where it starts to get really good. I can't recommend this enough and I highly suggest picking it up if you're looking for GOOD quality designer level high end subwoofing with out going into mega debt. Its price to performance alone is worth it, but overall this not only met my expectations, it murdered them. I can't believe I went this long without having a good sub to provide balanced company my monitor audio silvers. Get it!

I'm not sure how I would rate this at a $450 cost, but for the $359 I paid, it's a bargain. This was not for a home theater, but for a mini HiFi system. Plenty of tight bass for music, which is what we use it for. If you're looking for a sub for a home theater system, this is probably not it--the 8" woofer and 100 watts of amplification simply don't move enough air. However, for music this sub is great. It's well built, small, and offers both line-level and LFE inputs. The volume adjustment is top notch, too. It's digital, allowing for precise settings. The crossover setting works the same way. The fit and finish are high end. The controls and inputs are well placed and provide for flexibility. It offers prodigious, precise bass for music. I could not be more pleased for the price I paid.

Wow, this Sub is the real deal. It is smooth, and loud and just wonderful! You might want to turn it down a bit, it is pretty loud at default levels.

Great sounding subwoofer. So glad I bought it

This well made unit works well in my Sony 7.1 sound system. Seamless setup with a great sound.

The price is extremely high for the subwoofer class. Polk should consider it lowering it under $500 tag. There are so many better choices from the other manufacturers.

Reference Onkyo RZ30 receiver The answer to the issue: goto receiver setup Determining the fault: The subwoofer produces no sound Check the test tone You can determine whether there is a fault by checking the test tone. Use the following procedure to play the test tone: 1. Turn off external devices (TV, DVD player, etc.) and turn on this unit only. After turning on, wait for about 30 seconds until the system turns on completely. 2. Turn on the power of the subwoofer. • If the subwoofer has a volume control, increase the volume slightly. 3. Press mceclip2.pngSETUP on the remote controller, then select "Speaker" - "Level Calibration". A test tone is played from the left front speaker after a moment. 4. Press the DOWN cursor several times to select "Subwoofer" and check if the test tone is played from the subwoofer. – There is no test tone After turning it off, unplug the subwoofer cable, then plug it in again. If there is still no sound after plugging the cable in again, there is probably a fault with either this unit or the subwoofer. – There is a test tone The following causes are possible: • A subwoofer element (LFE) is not included in the input signal. • The front speakers are set to "Full Band". When set to "Full Band", then during 2ch input such as from the TV or music, the low range elements will be output from the front speakers rather than from the subwoofer. To output the sound from the subwoofer, make one of the following settings. 1. Change the setting for the front speakers to a setting of crossover frequency value other than “Full Band”. The range below the specified frequency will be output from the subwoofer instead of from the front speakers. If your front speakers have a high low range reproduction capability, changing this setting is not recommended. 2. Change “Double Bass” to “On”. The low range elements of the front speakers will be output from both the front speakers and the subwoofer. Due to this, the bass sound may be emphasized too much. In such a case, do not change the setting, or make the setting with the above option 1. For the setting details, refer to “Speaker” - “Crossover” on the Setup menu.

I run this sub with Polk S50’s being driven by a Yamaha S301 amp. Perfect match for my analog music corner of my den.

I bought the ES8 and it is surprising, oh, you thought I was just a cute little 8-inch? nah fam, I’m here to break drywall and rearrange your organs. The 8 inch subwoofer in a 9x9 room makes my head shake, And here we were thinking Pfft an 8inch woofer get wrecked. But its soooo good, shocking the price is a bit steep. I wanted clear bass that hit hard but not "neighbors call the cops hard" that the 10 and 12 may bring. Truth be told I may add another ES8 ....if you are thinking of, do buy it you won't regret it ! computer > Fosi DAC > Fosi Preamp > sub out > I am running Sanyun monitors (dont scoff) they are also pretty darn good)

Simplemente genial

Es bueno para películas y audio envolvente, pero para música o sistema estéreo se queda corto.