Advice Needed: SR6500 and JL Audio Amp

tigmd99

Hey all,

First post. I read thru 8 pages of posts and cannot find the answer. Here is my current system in my Corolla:

Infinity Reference 6.5 components (front)
Infinity Reference 6x9s (rear deck)
JL Audio 300/4 amplifier
Small self-powered Kenwood subwoofer under passenger seat.

I want to upgrade to something more natural sounding. The Infinity Reference components are a bit too bright and too mechanical for me. So, i am very interested in the SR's.

First question: My JL Audio 300/4 amp makes about 90 watts RMS x 4 (from 10-14 volts). This is actual RMS watts as tested. So, does my JL amplifier make enough power to make the SR6500 sound real good (aka up to potential)??? I don't want to buy an expensive speaker system and sell it short with not enough amp power.

Second question: In home audio, you kinda want all speakers to be from the same line from the same company. This allows for the speakers to blend together better. So, with SR6500's, will the Infinity 6x9 in the rears make my car sound less "integrated"??

Third question: I am afraid that the SR's tweeters won't fit my upper door sails. Right now, my Infinity 1" soft-dome tweeter fits without a problem. Is the ring radiator tweeter much bigger than this????

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Greg Peters

Your factory sail panels have a built-in tweeter like the attached thumbnail?

If so, factory sail panel appears to be big enough to hold an SR tweeter in place of the Infinity one you have installed, but you may have to fabricate a bracket to mount the SR tweeter in the same location as they are fairly big. You would have to take apart the sail panels and measure against Polk specifications to see if you have the room necessary.

You'll probably notice vastly improved imaging with the SR set over the Infinitys, and as such if you run rear speakers as fill you'll want to cut their output so as not to mess with that imaging. You don't want too much high frequency information coming from the rear of the car.

If money is not an object, you could replace the rears with SRs as well (so they match), but if you were to fade most of the output from the rears you already have, it would probably not be an issue. At higher volumes, the Infinitys can be really screechy, overly bright, and the only way to get rid of the irritation of those Infinitys would be to replace them or dial them down to a less noticeable level with the fader.

Your JL amplifier has output inline with the suggested power levels of the SR components, would probably do a heck of a job. MacLeod has been using an SR set biamped with 75 watts on the SQ competition circuit with great results, so that 90 watts would be fine.

tigmd99

Yes, my tweeters are the same as the ones in the pic. As for amp power, my initial concern was because the SR6500 RMS power rating is 125 watts.

Thanks for your quick answers.

tigmd99

Is it a good idea to bridge my JL Audio amp to power the SR6500s up front and let my OEM headunit power my Infinity 6x9's in the rear? I am not that interested in biamping it because of the complexity.

bknauss

If you changed the amp to a Polk 400.4, it would sound so much better you wouldn't believe it

And Infinitys sound bright to a lot of people because of the metal dome tweet. Just not my favorite material for tweet domes.

tigmd99

bknauss wrote:

If you changed the amp to a Polk 400.4, it would sound so much better you wouldn't believe it

And Infinitys sound bright to a lot of people because of the metal dome tweet. Just not my favorite material for tweet domes.

Why would the Polk 400.4 sound better than JL Audio 300/4??

My Infinity Reference speaker is at the bottom end...it does NOT have metal tweets. It has a soft-dome which i prefer.

MacLeod

tigmd99 wrote:

Is it a good idea to bridge my JL Audio amp to power the SR6500s up front and let my OEM headunit power my Infinity 6x9's in the rear? I am not that interested in biamping it because of the complexity.

No. Im not a fan of bridging 4 channel amp to run mids/highs. Its always better to not push an amp at 100%.

Head unit power is the worst there is. Very little but high distortion.

You should use same brand speakers for best results but you could still use the Infinitys if you tune them down enough they should blend in ok.

tigmd99

Macleod, what kind of RMS wattage are you using to push the SRs??

MacLeod

A bunch. Im bi-amping so Im running over 70 to each tweet and 70 to each mid. Thats more than theyre rated to push but with proper gains and common sense with the volume, it works.

tigmd99

So, do you think that 90 watts to each component is enough?

Greg Peters

tigmd99 wrote:

So, do you think that 90 watts to each component is enough?

They are rated for 250 watts peak, 125 continuous. Polk recommends as little as 50 watts for the SRs, but you will have louder and cleaner output with more.

I've had the Infinity Reference series (two pair), and even with the soft dome tweeters I still found them to be screechy. I also found their mids to break up fairly easily trying to play lower mid-bass. Some people quite like the Infinity sound, but if that were the case with you, you probably wouldn't be looking to upgrade . I found that my Infinitys sounded much better in a friend's car.

cam5860

The 90 watts coming from that JL audio will be plenty enough. I not a big fan of overpowering speakers like a lot of folks.

Speaker ratings are not near as underrated like amps are. I also like to stay about 25 watts RMS under the power ratings to be on the safe side.

To much power will blow speakers specially if you like to play them loud alot.

If there rated at 125 RMS 90 to 100 RMS watts is what you need to go with.

It's really common sense if your car has a top speed of 140 would your car last longer with you driving 100 or making it scream all the time at 140.

Think about the same way with speakers. The more power you feed them the hotter the voice coils get.

Thats means the more heat it has to try to get rid of. It's going to fry sooner or later with to much power.

MacLeod

Hooking up a 500 watt amp to a speaker doesnt mean youre giving it 500 watts all the time.

Take your car analogy. Say your car can go 150 MPH. Do you start it up at 150 MPH and drive it at 150 MPH all the time? Probably not. Same with a 500 watt amp. More than likely youll use a lot less of it. And if you listen to your speakers and not overdrive them, more power can be good.

cam5860

Yeah thats true! But how many people have you seen that had a sports car and drove it 55 mph?

Samething with a stereo system most people play them loud and if you have to much power on them your going to overdrive them into failure.

MacLeod

People that would do that would destroy their anyways, regardless if they had a 1000 watt amp or a 50 watt head unit.

bknauss

tigmd99 wrote:

Why would the Polk 400.4 sound better than JL Audio 300/4??

Cause Polk watts just always sound better than JL watts. Its a proven fact!

tigmd99

bknauss wrote:

Cause Polk watts just always sound better than JL watts. Its a proven fact!

Hmmm, sounds good to me. I am gonna throw away my JL amp right now and run out and get that Polk amp!!

Thanks for your unbias opinion. Where would i be in life without this forum?!:)

exalted512

i hope you didnt come to a polk forum to get an unbiased opinion...
-Cody

MacLeod

Just because we're biased, doesnt mean we're wrong.

1996blackmax

The JL amp should be fine for the SR's.

exalted512

MacLeod wrote:

Just because we're biased, doesnt mean we're wrong.

exactly my thoughts, especially when it comes to JL
-Cody

1996blackmax

He already has the amp so.......

exalted512

i already have 4 amps, doesnt mean im not going to get 4 more:D
-Cody

1996blackmax

I get ya .


I don't think I will get anymore amps for a very long while now....

tigmd99

Come on...the JL Amp is perfectly fine. There is no way i am getting rid of it for a small namer from Polk. Don't get me wrong, i love the SR6500s...thus, i am here. However, Polk making amps is a new thing, while JL has been doing this much longer. JL amp makes about 90 watts (real, tested) consistently no matter what input volts (10.5-14 V). Can Polk do that?? (proof please)

1996blackmax

There are many amps out there that are not as popular, or as available as some brands. This does not mean that they are any less of an amp. You have a good amp, we are just having fun.

Greg Peters

tigmd99 wrote:

Come on...the JL Amp is perfectly fine. There is no way i am getting rid of it for a small namer from Polk. Don't get me wrong, i love the SR6500s...thus, i am here. However, Polk making amps is a new thing, while JL has been doing this much longer. JL amp makes about 90 watts (real, tested) consistently no matter what input volts (10.5-14 V). Can Polk do that?? (proof please)

Small namer...perhaps that's kinda defensive.

The whole "R.I.P.S." power supply is a maketing strategy that JL has made a name out of, and while it is nice to know the amplifier output remains constant through a range of input voltages, it does draw considerably higher current when used at the lower voltage levels to make that rated power.

Polk has not made any claims to offer a "R.I.P.S." type power supply, but if you were to read up, you'll find that they do excel in other areas with their amps- apples vs oranges. A lot of choices boil down to brand preference. If I could have afforded (and had room to install) a bank of Polk amplifiers in my car, I would have been all over that. Bulletproof amps with outstanding customer service.

I don't believe anyone expects you to toss that amp you have- it will do a fine job- they are just trying to point out that Polk's product is also worth looking at. When it comes to customer service and warranty, I would have to give the nod to Polk over JL, because Polk is not known for an elitist attitude that requires equipment to be installed by an authorized dealer (or be inspected and "blessed" by an authorized dealer) to maintain warranty coverage.

JL Audio 300/4 vs Polk C400.4? Both available online within $20 of each other, Polk with warranty, JL with warranty voided. It would make for an interesting comparison.

MacLeod

The 400.4 makes over 90 watts per channel and has a crossover just as good as the JL's. Plus the Polk isnt regulated which is a good thing.

1996blackmax

I never liked the elitist attitude that JL and their dealers have had over the years. This was one of the things that pushed me away from their products.

exalted512

Wow, their amps can make the same power from 10-14V. Umm...who cares? If your car is running at 10V then theres something wrong...
-Cody

MacLeod

exalted512 wrote:

Wow, their amps can make the same power from 10-14V. Umm...who cares? If your car is running at 10V then theres something wrong...
-Cody

Bingo!