kennelm

I have been in my TL-S for over a year, and I have mixed feelings about the sound system.

First, let me say that I don't like tons of bass, but I also don't like a really bright system that pierces my ears (my friend's BMW 330 has the Harman-Kardon system and I really didn't like the way it sounded - way too bright). I listen mostly to modern and classic rock.

So, it would seem that a system like our Bose, with lots of mid-range, would be suitable to me. Problem is, it seems like the sound is never quite right. Most times, it seems muddled. And if I turn up the volume a bit, I just don't ever appreciate the sound quality, so I end up turning the volume back down.

I have other people get in the car and say the stereo sounds great. I think it sounds OK, but not great. Could it be I'm just a whiner?

I am considering the Polk DX-6, with the Southbound mods. Kudos to Southbound (and Iggy) for sharing his findings. I don't think I have seen anyone more helpful nor demonstrate more expertise on a message board than what I've seen from Southbound.

Anyway, for those who have the DX6 with mods, do you think I would like the sound quality, given my listening preference? Will this speaker address the issues I cite above?

What is the characteristic sound from Polks? Are Polks known for being bright? Are they bass-heavy? Or do they deliver a good balance? Of course, I realize that the Bose EQ/amp will affect the sound, but I was just wondering about Polks, as a rule.

Anyone in the NoVA area done the Polk upgrade, with mods? If so, I'd appreciate a chance to listen before I decide to do mine.

Thanks,
LK

Southbound

Kennelm,
Sounds like you are in the dilemma that I was in 6 months agon. I too listen to mostly classic rock. I don't need the excessive bass that is characteristic of hiphop/rap music. And, I too, do NOT LIKE BRIGHT SIBILANT music...

However, the phenomenon that you are experiencing with the BOSE (in that you just can't seem to find a happy medium)...IS CALLED DISTORTION... Distortion is very fatiquing to the ears and sounds loud and blaring way before it normally should. That is the problem with the BOSE speakers... while they have a lot of midrange, it's muddled, as you say, and turning it up just makes it sound loud and blaring as opposed to better...

The POLK speakers in general have a trademark of "Bright without the Bite"... They are made with a silk dome tweeter as opposed to other harsher titanium tweeters used in some other really nice speakers. With our factory EQ, we DON'T need metal tweeters. So the smoother silk tweeters in the POLKS are more desireable. (unless you upgrade the entire system, and then you can choose any speaker of your choice)

Also my tweeter resistor mod allows you to cut down the tweeter level to YOUR OWN PREFERENCE...and it allows for an additional high frequency roll off with an added cap, which then gives you a myriad of custom tuning ranges.

The terminator mod will clean up a lot of the "blare" even with the Bose speakers... but the clarity of the Polks with all of the mods, will have you actually turning things up full volume and still not develop that earache/headache syndrome.

The Polks are NOT bass heavy, but they have a "NICE PUNCH" compared to the Bose. The midrange and bass notes are noticeably tighter and SOLID! Put a sheet of dynamat underneath them during the easy install and things really sound much richer. The brightness can be controlled by the mods that I have recommended.

If you are skeptical, I would swap out the fronts first, and that would provide you with a nice improvement while leaving the predominently midrange fill from the rear coming out of the old Bose. Although, I would be willing to bet that you will want to change out all four in due time. I first changed out my fronts, and was afraid to do the rears because things might get TOO bright. That's when I came up with my tweeter level resistor mod along with the rolloff cap, and things can now be tailor made to your liking. Now the improvement in clarity makes me wonder how I ever hacked the old stock system. As you say, it's OK, but just not quite good enough to really get excited about. None of the bass/treble settings really help. THE SPEAKERS JUST SUCK!

Again, I don't own stock in POLK, and I'm sure that there are other great sounding speakers out there... but these fit EASILY with NO drilling or sawing, are very efficient, have a full sized 1 inch silk dome tweeter, and have a construction that makes them easy to perform my mods on. That makes them a great choice for a simple speaker replacement mod, while leaving the electronics stock.

Get em while you can... speedsound.com is the only place that I know of that still has any in stock, and I'm surprised that they still do... Time is running out for these easy to install speakers.

They won't have you buzzing, vibrating and rattling the car doors, and they won't burn your ears out with sibilant splatter, if you do the EASY mods. As long as you or a friend can solder and desolder resistor leads from a terminal strip... then the mods are nothing to fear... INSTEAD, you will finally be hearing the guitar pick on the strings, and the breaths between the vocals, etc. etc. REAL MUSIC!

Hope this helped... Perhaps some other happy users can chime in to reiterate their satisfaction. Of course there are always better mods to the entire audio system... but this is probably the easiest speaker replacement without spending a lot of money or doing a lot of retrofit work.

GOOD LUCK!
Southbound

kennelm

SB,

Would you be willing to PM me here? Or, shoot me an email? I would like to run a couple of thoughts past you.

Larry1962@NOSPAMflashmail.com

Just remove the NOSPAM above.

Thanks!
LK

Southbound

kennelm,
I'll have to do it from work when I get the time. I don't give out my home email because of unfortunate fraudulant pranks that have been played on me in the past. Hope you understand. If your thoughts aren't too personal or way off track... We could continue to discuss them via the forum. As long as they are educational to the rest of the board, I don't think the moderators will mind. If they are questions that you would prefer to keep strictly private, I understand that as well. Let me know, and I'll try to see what I can do here or offline.

Southbound

kennelm

I'll wait to hear from you (I hope you can find the time). I don't think my questions/idea should be posted here.

If you AIM, I can be reached at LunchTymeLarry