Just got my new POLK speakers and VERY MAD

052500Diesel

Ok, new here and would love some advice. Have an 05 2500 Dodge quad ram cummins diesel. Just bought a Jensen MV9311 DVD headunit. Wanted something nice and with a DVD. Didnt really care about anything else. ok, since I just got my new DVD headunit, I figure I should replace the stock speakers with something better. So I ended up getting (4) new POLK AUDIO db690.

So I get it installed today and turn the music and find out not only does it sound the same, but it even sounds worse and plus now I get distortion . My buddies at Circuit city(where get all this audio stuff from) were suprised that there was NO difference and said that my headunit isnt making enough power and that is why there is NO difference. They also tell me to get a seperate 4 Channel amp to power the (4) speakers but I also am getting 2 or maybe 1 10" Type R which then it would require a seperate mono or 2 channel amp. Dont know what to do, either return these polks and just stick with my stock speakers and get the subs (not sure how thats going to sound) or get a 4 Channel amp to power those speakers. Im suprised tho, I cant believe that even with my pre-amp in the headunit, both the stock and POLKS sound the same.

My DVD headunit is actually NOT rated high, 160 Watts Peak Power (40 Watts x 4).

Greg Peters

I've never been a fan of Jensen's "sound quality". While they do sell a lot of product, I imagine alot of that product gets swapped out pretty quick from people who expected better. That 40x4 wattage number for the head unit will be extremely optimistic.

The Polk db series speakers sound pretty good, especially for the price. They do sound much better after they break in for a while, and sound way better with an external amplifier powering them. A friend of mine with a slightly older Ram also went with db690s, and didn't like them initially...until they broke in.

I installed a pair of db650s in the doors of my Jeep years ago, powered off a "60x4 watts" Alpine head unit- 2nd from top of the line in '03. I was initially very dissapointed with the sound quality. I was tempted to take them back and buy something else, but after a few weeks of listening, those speakers gradually came to life. Another week or so, they sounded downright great.

I ended up buying another pair, also powered off the same head unit. When I added a four channel amp to the mix (75x4 watts), those same Polk db650s sounded way better than they could off even a clean (but realistically 16x4 watts) head unit signal- so much so I could hardly believe the difference.

If you can amplify them, do so (but try something other than Jensen or other "bargain" brands). If that doesn't improve sound quality to your liking, consider going with a better head unit.

danger boy

you need an amp plain and simple.. sounds like your buddies at CC are right.. that's why you're getting distortion, not enough power from your Jensen hu. have a 4 ch amp installed.. and i betcha it'll sound 10000000000 times better.

Check into an Alpine or Pioneer premiere head unit instead.

PolkThug

For troubleshooting purposes. Install one Polk on the left side and one stock speaker on the right side, and listen.

Greg Peters

PolkThug wrote:

For troubleshooting purposes. Install one Polk on the left side and one stock speaker on the right side, and listen.

Those db's are efficient, but I'd bet that the stockers are more so. OEM will probably sound louder in a L/R comparison, but the dbs will have them beat in the high frequency/detail/transient response department.

The head unit will be the limiting factor too. I'd almost be tempted to do the L/R comparison with the factory HU (as it probably sounds cleaner than the Jensen).

MacLeod

The problem is not with the speakers really but with what youre likely associating with "sounding better".

The stock speakers are better at reproducing more bass. Mind you, its not better bass just more of it. The factory does this to make a decent sounding system without a sub.

Aftermarket speakers like the DB's are reproducing the mid and high range frequencies 10 times better than your old factory speakers but youre not noticing it because the lack of bass is smacking you in the face first. This is also why youre getting distortion. Youre turning the volume up more to compensate for the lack of bass and the HU is running out of power fast. HU's are horrible power sources.

Also, dont forget that these new speakers will take a little while to break in. Their bass response will improve over time.

Here is what you should do.

First, get a good solid amp to power the speakers. There is nothing wrong with the SQ of the Jensen HU other than its making only about 10 watts per channel. I assume youre looking for budget minded gear so I recommend Profile. Very cheap but well made and will make their rated power. This 60x4 would power your speakers fine and make a noticeable improvement in SQ.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1VWd2I0ZoZU/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=120&I=489AP1040


You should also get a sub. This will give you much more bass than your stock speakers and also much better and more accurate bass. I too drive a Ram Quad Cab and there isnt much room for a sub. The best way is to build a box if you can for an 8" sub and use the storage hole under the passenger side of the rear seat. You should be able to build a proper box for most 8's in there.

Then get something along the lines of the Momo 2084 for $80. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1VWd2I0ZoZU/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=520&I=107MM2084

Then get a good Profile amp to power it like this one. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1VWd2I0ZoZU/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=120&I=489AP600

This setup properly installed will sound 100 times better than your stock system.

wallstreet

Don't take their word on the power problem. Most car audio salesman solution to any problem is throw more power at it. I've spent time critically listening to high power and average power running through old Polk EX speakers and damned if I could tell a difference. The midrange (the weakest link in these speakers) didn't fare any better with a separate high powered amp than with my Pioneer 30x4 head unit. My final take on upgrading is that you've got to invest thousands to significantly upgrade today's high end manufacturer audio systems.

MacLeod

wallstreet wrote:

Don't take their word on the power problem. Most car audio salesman solution to any problem is throw more power at it. I've spent time critically listening to high power and average power running through old Polk EX speakers and damned if I could tell a difference. The midrange (the weakest link in these speakers) didn't fare any better with a separate high powered amp than with my Pioneer 30x4 head unit. My final take on upgrading is that you've got to invest thousands to significantly upgrade today's high end manufacturer audio systems.

I couldnt disagree more.

A 30x4 head unit wouldnt put out 30 watts per channel if it were struck be lightning! Regardless what the manufacturer states, it will never be much more than about 10 real world watts because its limited by its size. Just look at a typical 50x4 amp and compare it to the size of a "50x4" HU. Even if the HU claims 22 watts RMS, look closely at the specs and Ill bet its at something like 4% THD.

The fact that you cant tell a difference between speakers being driven by 10 watts and another being driven by 50 is hard to swallow. At low volumes youre right, there will be no difference, but once you start turning up the volume even to simply overcome road noise, the difference will be drastic. Much more dynamaics and detail, plus the lack of distortion and increase in bass response will be definitely noticeable.

And as for spending thousands, thats not true either. I can throw together a system that barely hits a grand and will smoke virtually ANY "high end" OEM system out there.

audiobliss

wallstreet wrote:

Don't take their word on the power problem. Most car audio salesman solution to any problem is throw more power at it. I've spent time critically listening to high power and average power running through old Polk EX speakers and damned if I could tell a difference. The midrange (the weakest link in these speakers) didn't fare any better with a separate high powered amp than with my Pioneer 30x4 head unit. My final take on upgrading is that you've got to invest thousands to significantly upgrade today's high end manufacturer audio systems.

I'm with Mac. There's absolutely nothing he could have said to make me disagree any more.

wallstreet

I'm normally right with you guys, but there I was in their listening room doing A/B testing where A was all my equipment without the amp, and B with all my equipment with the amp, and I couldn't get any more performance out of the speakers. I'm not saying my situation is typical though as I've seen the opposite very clearly on my HT side. All I'm saying is go in with the attitude of "show me the sound" before you drop your hard earned $.

exalted512

You do you testing for car speakers in a sound room? hmm...
-Cody

MacLeod

wallstreet wrote:

I'm normally right with you guys, but there I was in their listening room doing A/B testing where A was all my equipment without the amp, and B with all my equipment with the amp, and I couldn't get any more performance out of the speakers. I'm not saying my situation is typical though as I've seen the opposite very clearly on my HT side. All I'm saying is go in with the attitude of "show me the sound" before you drop your hard earned $.

Put the exact same speakers in a car and take off down the road and then turn it up for some volume and youll run out of power very quickly. Listening to speakers in a soundroom is a lot different than in a car. You dont have a lot of reflective surfaces, no road noise and no engine noise to overcome. And when you have all those things, 10 watts per channel aint gonna do squat.

As for bass response, 10 watts per channel aint gonna do squat no matter what room youre in! It takes more power to reproduce lower frequencies and a good set of speakers getting 100 watts will sound better with much better bass response than the exact same speakers getting 10 watts.

wallstreet

exalted512 wrote:

You do you testing for car speakers in a sound room? hmm...
-Cody

What part of this don't you understand?

wallstreet

MacLeod wrote:

Put the exact same speakers in a car and take off down the road and then turn it up for some volume and youll run out of power very quickly. Listening to speakers in a soundroom is a lot different than in a car. You dont have a lot of reflective surfaces, no road noise and no engine noise to overcome. And when you have all those things, 10 watts per channel aint gonna do squat.

As for bass response, 10 watts per channel aint gonna do squat no matter what room youre in! It takes more power to reproduce lower frequencies and a good set of speakers getting 100 watts will sound better with much better bass response than the exact same speakers getting 10 watts.

I've got a separately amplified bass unit to handle all bass frequencies. Doesn't everyone have one of these?

MacLeod

But the sub is only handling the 60 Hz and below frequencies (40 and below for me). The 60-200 midbass frequencies are handled by your midrange speakers (unless you have dedicated midbass speakers). For this youd need more oomph than a HU.

Dont get me wrong, a HU will sound just fine for most people and most applications, but youll never get the best performance from your speakers with head unit power.