C400.4 and Things...

Byob2
Byob2 Posts: 4
edited December 2005 in Car Audio & Electronics
Hello fellow Polk lovers...

I have never actually joined or posted but have visited time to time to gain a tad bit of knowledge on everything Polk.

Well I've had a pair of MM6's in front and back of my Explorer Sport for about three years now and I finally snuck enough money under my couch to save up for the C400.4

I'm wondering however if I should power only the front speakers or both the front and back with this amp. I want to get the most out of the speakers and if I can only do one I will wire up only one set for the sake of premium sound.

Also should I pass the crossovers and just use the amp? It seems like the three installers I went to have no idea how to do this or have never put it in use and are recommending against it.

I'm in the Houston area and have limited knowledge on car audio. Any help will do.

Merry Christmas to all.

Thanks,

Xavier
Post edited by Byob2 on
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Comments

  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited December 2005
    Well its a matter of personal preference as some people prefer rear speakers but in my humble opinion you will get 10 times better sound out of the MM6's if you bi-amp them.

    I ran my MM6's straight wired at first then decided to try bi-amping them and couldnt believe the improvement in SQ after a little dialing in. In fact it has sold me on bi-amping for life now.

    Straight wiring the MM6's, the tweeters can be a little too loud for some but if you bi-amp you can dial them in to their sweet spot and at that point they become the best speakers on the market dollar for dollar.

    If you want to run all 4 speakers then you should use the amp to run em all, but if youre wanting the best SQ and imaging you can get, bi-amp the front MM6's off the amp.

    Also, the 400.4 was designed specifically to power the MM6 and as such has one of the best variable crossover networks on the market today. Skipping the passive crossover and using the amps would be a great idea.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • Byob2
    Byob2 Posts: 4
    edited December 2005
    Hey thanks a lot,

    This is all very exciting.

    So if I were to just bi-amp the front ones, skipping the passive crossovers...would I have to enable the Pre-EQ switch?

    Thanks,
    X
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited December 2005
    Right you are. The Pre EQ automatically sets the front and rear amp channels to the precise frequencies to run Momo components. One of the best features on the market!
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • Byob2
    Byob2 Posts: 4
    edited December 2005
    Most excellent.

    So what controls do you speak of when you mention "dialing in" and fine tuning and such? I'm guessing not the Crossover Settings given to you on the amp because its noted that choosing the Pre-EQ will override all other crossover settings.

    Hey thanks a lot MacLeod. Its great to get help like this.makes me even more proud to be a Polk fan.
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited December 2005
    No problem at all. My wife gets sick of hearing about car audio so Ive gotta talk to somebody!

    By dialing in Im mainly talking about your gain setitings and some minor bass and treble settings on your h/u. It wont sound great at first but after you fiddle with it for a while it will.

    Start out with the treble and bass set to 0 or flat and the gains set at the bottom. Then follow this tutorial to set the midrange gain. Then set bring up the tweeters gain til it sounds right.

    It will take a week or two for you to get it dialed in to where you like it best.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited December 2005
    MacLeod wrote:
    It will take a week or two for you to get it dialed in to where you like it best.
    or a year or two (a la me), depending on how anal you are about it (and how often you move your tweets 'just to see how it sounds', then can't get them back to where they were before :rolleyes: )
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • Byob2
    Byob2 Posts: 4
    edited December 2005
    Ha ha. This sounds like me and my home theater stuff, but for me I'm never satisfied and every tweak I do I consider groundbreaking but yet no one else notices. With the car stuff it should be just as fun. :D

    Hey thanks MacL for that link, I have a better understanding of how all this works now. I feel a bit more confident and can't wait to try it all out.

    It might be a a week or two before I can save up for the amp kit and such but when its all said and done I'll let you guys know how it sounds.


    -X
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