Hi steerr.
Yep it is a bit harsh as you put it, i have it insured against breakdowns so the only problem is all the game saves are lost, hence i got a 320gb version at the end of last year to cover it.
The Paradigm PDR-10 for me has been a brilliant sub & is left plugged in all the time. I set it up to blend in with my speakers with a hint of bass & presently have the crossover on the amp set to 100hz. I tried the sub with a 80hz setting on the amp & it seemed to miss things out on the bass ( with films ), as most blurays have a dedicated LFE channel. I get good bass with action & explosions in films that way. The volume on the back of the sub is set about half way & the crossover is set fully up, so my amp controls it. I have it sat on a granite plinth too, which seemed to improve it, slightly. IMO it's excellent with movies & good at music.
The only negative i have, is a very slight transformer hum, only noticable when the rest of the system is turned off & the sub is waiting to turn it self off automatically. This apparently is common fault with the ealier PDR series subwoofers & does not interfere with my listening enjoyment.
At present i'm considering a replacement for the subwoofer, it is 12 years old now, although still sounds fine. I was toying with the idea of getting 2 smaller subs ( i have 2 sub outs on my amp), due to space concerns. Alternatively i would be just as happy to get an up to date PDR-10, the one i've got has certainly been very reliable, probably because it's not been driven to extremes.
Regards .. Paul