Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me make myself clear before I begin. I love Polk, I originally was going to make my system all Polk however, as any half decent audiophile knows, one company simply does not make the best of everything. I have Polk Audio Monitor70 Series II Floorstanding Loudspeaker (Black) Each as fronts Polk Audio CS10 Center Channel Speaker (Single, Black) and BIC America Venturi DV84 2-Way Tower Speaker, Black (Single) rears. I own the Polk PSW505 and have been using it on my main surround system for the past 7 months I wasn't content at all with my Polk PSW505 as you can see in my over 1000 word review of the PSW505 on Amazon, so I saved up money to try the F12 and planned to send it back after testing it out. Honestly, I didn't want the f12 to sound better than my Polk. I tried to tell myself the no name Bic f12 could not compete with the Polk PSW505, that sub is practically God of home subwoofers on Amazon. As the current owner of both, I would advise you to buy this f12 and never look back. My main issue with the PSW505 was port noise. When my Polk sub hit below 30 hertz it sounded just awful and unless you just watch Teletubbies, Dora the explorer, and Sesame Street your sub will be forced to hit below 30 hertz. This becomes very important if you are watching blu rays with Dolby True HD or DTS HD Master Audio. This sub can punch, roll, and roar much beyond its $200 price tag. With my Polk PSW505 it struggled to hit some lows in Dark Knight among other Blu rays as well as music with heavy bass. That is not the case with the F12 not only will it hit these low notes, but it will shake the room while maintaining clarity. I have seen quite a few negative reviews on the build quality of this Bic F12 I would agree and disagree. I have disassembled the Polk 505 multiple times so I am more than aware of its build quality, but have not yet taken apart the Bic. I believe the PSW505 has a better exterior finish than the F12, bic clearly did not spend as much on the cabinet. Bic spent its money on the driver and amplifier, which far surpass the Polks driver in quality. I would know this because Polk has sent me two PSW505 drivers(the actual 12 inch speaker) and they somehow even sound muddy and distort when not inside the cabinet. The F12 has a very nice metallic looking driver and it does outperform the PSW505 I know its difficult to believe that this f12 sub will outperform the tried and true 505 but it really does. Don't stray away from the Bic just because it isn't a big brand. Polks subs have a premium to them because of the brand. With this Bic all your paying for the sub. For example Klipsch, Energy, and def techs are great well-known subs but they have a markup because of the name. In contrast HSU, Outlaw, Epik, and SVS are not household names but they will destroy the big names in performance without the markup. Don't let the brand scare you! Bic customers are some of the happiest in home audio. If you have any questions about the differences between these 2 sub-woofers please leave a comment and I will be happy to respond.