MBQuart vs Polk

agarwalgaurav81

Hi Experts,

Today I went for installation of ICE for my friend's car Fiat Linea (India).
The Showroom owner recommended MBQuart (round coaxial) over Polk.

I am still to get my car (a hatchback) installation done next week. I would like to know experts view on which is better, MBQuart or Polk.

I found MBquart sound quality decent, but I have never heard polk output.

Initially, I was planning for DB6501 component for front and db691 for rear with JBL amp. Now I am bit confused.

Recommendations are welcome.

Please help.

Thanks a lot.

phuz

MBQuart isn't what it used to be.

Polk, ALL DAY.

Installer4life

A few years ago MB Quart were the speaker to buy. What happened and why they fell I don't know. I would say the best Quart speakers would be comparative to the best Polk speakers. I have some MB Quart 10" subwoofers that I got in the early 90"s that still sound good. The best thing to do is to listen to the speakers before you buy the speakers. I would not buy the entry level MB Quarts or the entry level Polks myself. I have had the Polk SR components and would not hesitate to buy them again.

MCCLIPSE

I used MB quart in my old install in my 99 Tahoe. I had comps in all four doors. And I gotta tell you it was a harsh, bright sound that doesn't even compare to the Polk MM coax's I have now. Something about those titanium tweeters just ripped my ears apart. And for the record, I had older MB quart speakers made before Maxxsonics took over. Don't get me wrong, they weren't terrible, but they didn't even come close to my new Polks.

LONG TIME BUYER

If you are in to very detailed sound,stick with the polks.

arun1963

Polk mm6501 up front, polk db 10" in a small sealed enclosure in your hatch, all running off the 4ch jbl 100.4. Go for it. You don't need rear speakers with this configuration.

what hu are you running?

agarwalgaurav81

Hi All,

Thank you so much for the input. So now I am clear about my choice n POLK it is.

I planning for Pioneer as HU (probably 3190).

Also, I would like to get opinion on Amplifiers. Yesterday my friend's setup was not very satisfying with JBL amp. He got GT5 S644. Would you all please suggest some gud 4 channel amp. I read reviews on Pioneer GM6400F and Alpine F300, F600 and PDX and they are really encouraging. How about Kicker ?

My budget is around $150-$200 for amps.

Would you please suggest some gud amp with Model number (should be available in India) to get best out of Polk Components speakers.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Regards,
Gaurav

arun1963

The jbl 100.4 is a good amp. The alpine amps are decent too. Keep it simple. Speakers give you the sound, amps just power the speakers. All you need is clean power.

If your friends JBL speakers didnt sound good on the jbl amp, its more an indictment of the speakers not the amp.

If you can, go for a slightly higher range of hu. Get one with TA, a 7 band eq and at least 2 preouts.

agarwalgaurav81

Hi Arun,

This HU model has 2 RCA. However, it has only 3 band eq. What is TA ? would you please elaborate.

Thank you for the inputs. They are really valuable.

best regards,

Gaurav

arun1963

TA = time alignment. You need this to get the speakers in phase. To ensure that sound from speakers that are at different physical distance arrive at your ears at the same time. Makes a HUGE difference.

How much can you spend on the hu?

agarwalgaurav81

Pioneer 3190 is costing me around Rs.7k (with bill and warrenty). I can streach to around Rs.10k provided I get somthing really worth spending.

Which model would you suggest Arun.

Thanks for your guidance.

arun1963

For a budget of around 10K you can look at some of the older pio series like the 8650 or the 8850. You may have a search a bit to find these. You can also look at the Clarion dxz785. At this price range I am sure some of the Kenwoods would have this feature as well. Check out a few places and see what you come up with.

tk421

The MB Quart Premium sub is very good.

Vital

Why not go with Polk Audio PA500.4 amp??
very good amp and u'll "keep it all Polk"

DBs are def great speakers but if u can pay just a bit more get either momo or mm series. Both are a step up from dbs and will five you more details.
Momo's might be hard to find since they are discontinued but well worth it if u do find them (new or used but in good condition that is)
Again, DBs are great speakers.

And like said above - whichever amp u go with make sure u get good quality amp, u'll be surprised how much an amp effects sound quality, it's not just to make your speakers loud

agarwalgaurav81

I am convinced of the fact that Polk amp is be better than any other Amp, however, it comes for a price too.

The cost is double and will be out of my budget. Yes, I can certainly try to go for mm or momo over db provided it does not impact my budget much (I still have to get prices for mm n momo's from the dealer).

Thank you Vital for the guidance.

Vital

^^^ actually if u look around QUALITY 4x100W rms range amps u'll find that PA500.4 is among the cheapest ones. Def not overpriced. I'm talking about QUALITY amps thou, not any BOSS/LANZAR garbage.

Also, u can find lots of used but in great condition MM/MOMO stuff on ebay/craigslist.

agarwalgaurav81

I still need to get the price for it. Meanwhile any comments on JBL GTO1004 amp.

Installer4life

In my opinion most companies entry level equipment is not that great. Example, TMA products by JL audio, Prime series by Rockford Fosgate, Terminator series from MTX just to name a few. GTO series is JBL's entry level amp and I would not purchase it. However a very good amp for the money is Alpines entry level product the MRP series. The MRPF600 would be a good amp for what you are trying to do. They should be close to the same price. I have installed both the GTO and the Alpine amps and the Alpine are hands down the best choice. One thing I have never had from and Alpine amp is unwanted noise. I can't say this for the JBL. I do all basic amp installs the same with soldered terminals where needed and very good grounds. There are a lot of amp choices out there so do your research but I would not consider this JBL amp...

Vital

Installer4life - what's your opinion on PA series amps? Seeing how Polk doesn't really have much of a choice when it comes to amps i wonder what category PAs fall into - entry level?
From what i know there's only momo amps that are discontinued and PA amps. That it.

agarwalgaurav81

How is Alpine MRP series different from PDX series. Which one is better?

BTW this is going really great and very valuable indeed for me. I hope to get a very nice setup after all these discussions.

Thank you all for contribution.

arun1963

MRP are the entry level models while PDX and PMX are the top end amps that Alpine makes. MRP's are nice clean amps that make rated power. Look at the MRP F450. 4x70 watts and you would get 200 watts to your subs by bridging the channels on the amp. Good for your application.

Your speakers and hu are more important than your amp. A good hu with decent tuning features and good speakers running off a decent amp will sound much better than a decent hu and just decent speakers running off a great amp.

Installer4life

I have only installed one PA500.4. It sounded good but it had engine noise with it. took a couple of signal noise isolators to get rid of it. The noise could have come from the headunit which was a Pioneer Avic N4. I wouldn't say that the Polk amps are entry leve because they only make one line. That was one thing I liked about Kicker in the past is that they only made one line. Some companies go after everybodys dollar and I don't think that is always good. Polk makes good quality product. The Alpine PDX amps are better than the MRP series but they are more expensive. I think you can find better sounding amps for the money than the PDX series. Now the PDX series are small in size and draw less current from your battery which is nice. But if size and current draw is not that important then you can get a better sounding amp for less money.

agarwalgaurav81

Hi All,

Will PA200.4 be OK to power DB6501(front) and a sub(or may be db691 for rear) ? I am finding PA500.4 absolutely out of my budget.

regards,

arun1963

the pa 200.4 will give your front components around 40 watts each and the rear channels bridged will put out 150 watts to a sub wired at 2 ohms. Will it be ok? Yes it will. 80watts per channel would be great but yes, 40watts is good.

For a small / medium hatch, an 8-10" dvc sub in a sealed box will be good. Make sure you spend around 6-7K on sound deadening. Dynamat etc.

agarwalgaurav81

Hi All,

Finally I got my ICEd done.

HU : Pioneer 4290
Front : Polk db6501
Amp : Infinity 475a

Over all the sound quality is very gud. I dont feel need for rear and infact sub too.

I tried Polk PA200.4 initially. but I found it was not able to power the comps. Infinity was able to do the job.

I would like to thank eachone of you for continuous guidance.

Comments on my setup are welcome.

regards,

arun1963

You have 2 channels on your amp that you're not using. Buy a 8-10" sub and hook it up to the free amp channels. Then you can come back and thank us again.

agarwalgaurav81

The problem with PA200.4 was the volume. At volume level of 35-40 of HU, it was not able to produce loudness. Though I am no expert, I have a feeling that since this amp is only 45watts X 4 RMS and infinity is 75watts X 4 RMS is making the difference. Please correct me if i am wrong.

This Infinity model I got is of May 2007, will it create any problem? I had very little choices among, Infinity, crunch and kickers 200.4, and I chose Infinity.

I'll surly get a Sub in my 2nd phase may be after a month.

Thanks again.

agarwalgaurav81

Also, would you please explain Single Voice Coil and Dual Voice Coil for Sub.. and which one should I go for.

arun1963

An svc sub will show a load of 4ohm to the amp. A dvc sub where the coils are connected in parallel will show a 2 ohm load to the amp. Most (not all) amps put out more power at lower impedance.

With your amp, you would connect the sub across the two rear channels on the amp (bridging). In bridged mode, your amp is only stable to 4 ohms. Hence your sub would have to be 4ohms, i.e. svc.

arun1963

DSkip wrote: »

Not entirely true. Some subs are 2 ohm subs to begin with, and I think I've seen a few rated at 1 ohm. The difference is wiring options. Having a DVC is kind of like having 2 subs when wiring it up. It allows the sub to run at rated ohms, or cut it in half to draw more power from the amp. I use a DVC, and I was able to draw another 90 watts to the sub that I couldn't have otherwise. It also helps on wiring up to those 2 channel amps that aren't bridgeable. You can still use both channels and not risk blowing the amp up.

ok. thanks for cluing me in.

2ohm svc subs would be the exception not the norm.
So a 2ohm dvc sub could be wired to present a 1ohm load yes. what % of subs are made this way?

Yes I already mentioned that lower impedance would get more power from most amps, of course assuming the stabillity factor.

agarwalgaurav81

Okie. too much technical. I am confused now.

So what do you guys suggest ? Which sub should I go for ? Please help with model number.