PSB SubSeries125 Subwoofer Preview

PSB has just released the SubSeries125 subwoofer, a replacement for the SubSeries 1 subwoofer. It's their attempt at making the best subwoofer possible for the money, which puts them up against some very stiff competition. Almost every major speaker manufacturer makes a subwoofer around the $500 range, and the specs and design choices are drastically different. Still, Paul Barton, Founder and Chief Designer for PSB says they have perfected the tools necessary (namely utilizing the National Research Council facility) and he believes “this new compact SubSeries125 sets a new standard in affordable subwoofers.” With that said, let’s take a look at what the SubSeries125 is capable of.

It is a bass reflex design sporting an 8” front-firing driver with a front-firing slotted port directly below the woofer. The 8” driver is made of Polypropylene, a very common woofer material, with an oversized rubber surround for long cone excursion. The subwoofer is rated with a -3dB point at 35Hz, but usable bass down to 31Hz. What exactly is considered “usable” is open to interpretation. Still, for a $449 subwoofer, 35Hz is reasonable if rated at high output levels, but some of the competition is rated to play with a -3dB point of 25Hz or lower.  The 35Hz rating says to us that PSB designed the subwoofer for higher output instead of a lower frequency response.

PSB SubSeries 125 front no grill (left), rear view (right)

At 9-5/8” W x 12-1/8” H x 15-5/8” D, the cabinet is pretty small, so this sub should work well for people who want to slide it out of sight. The amp is rated at 125w continuous power and a dynamic peak power of 320W. With an efficient amp and low distortion these numbers can be respectable; However, in general the amp in the SubSeries125 seems a little weaker than some of the competition. On the front of the subwoofer are volume and crossover controls, which is a nice touch. On the back are line-level inputs, high-level inputs, phase switch, and a power switch.

Conclusion

The PSB SubSeries125 looks like it will be a great option for people looking strictly at brick & mortar options, but likely not the most powerful or feature-rich subwoofer when compared to some Internet Direct offerings. Now, this isn’t supposed to be a blanket statement comparing traditional speaker companies and Internet Direct companies. However, if you take the time to directly compare the $449-$499 subwoofer offerings between traditional and ID companies, you will notice some trends. The SubSeries125 is missing DSP control, EQ options, or a 12v trigger. The rated frequency response also doesn't dip quite as low, but we can at least give PSB the benefit of the doubt in that they typically use more conservative ratings. Still, we will hold our final judgment until we get some hands on experience with PSB's newest offering.

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Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.