MacLeod or anyone else. SR line

[Ecin]

Since I'm a new member I cannot private message. I'm writing to you because you really vouch for the SR6500. I recently auditioned them @ soundadvice, but they don't sound like the $949 focals. The focals had much more bass and were louder. I asked the guy did they tweak the crossovers an stuff because it sounded like the polks low freq were cut. I still like the sound compared to the rest of the focals and jl audios they had there. And i'm gettig the SRs for less from a polk accomodation. Also I'm thinking about getting 1 or a pair of 8w7v3 Is there any comparison with the polk sr104 or whatever is called. And which really good amp should i power the speakers with. Not polk please. Anyways I really really want a good SQ setup. I don't know if you are familiar with my car 2003 e-class mid-size/large car should i get 1 pair or 2 pairs of sr6500 / sr5250

One last question. Do you know if there's anything better than JL audio cleen sweep?

[MacLeod]

For OEM integration, the JL Cleansweep is unbeatable.

As for the SR's, I swear by them. The Focals do have better midbass response BUT I still prefer the more natural sound of the SR's. As for high frequencies, the Focals cant touch the SR's in smoothness as the Focals tend to be a little bright and even slightly harsh.

Another thing, every Polk speaker Ive ever owned sounds 10 times better about a month after first installing it. They just need to break in and they really come to life.

I say this all the time but I did very well last year in SQ competitions using the SR6500's and NO EQ. Nada. Just the humble 5 band EQ on my head unit. The guy that beat me at finals had a $10,000 custom install and $800 Alpine processor.

Now that has nothing to do with me. All I did was ensure they were properly installed and they did the rest.

As for an amp, just look for something with at least 100 watt per channel and youll be groovy.

The W7 is a simply awesome sub line. No doubt about it. However, the SR line was meant to compete more with the W6 lineup. Still, Id go with the SR104 because of 2 reasons. (1) Itll sound just as good as the JL (2) most importantly, not everybody and their brother has an SR sub. ;)

[Greg Peters]

I recently auditioned them @ soundadvice, but they don't sound like the $949 focals. The focals had much more bass and were louder. I asked the guy did they tweak the crossovers an stuff because it sounded like the polks low freq were cut. I still like the sound compared to the rest of the focals and jl audios they had there. And i'm gettig the SRs for less than $400 from a polk accomodation.

Did the dealer have both the SRs and Focals powered within their ideal range?

If comparison truly was apples vs apples in that regard, another factor you should consider is the sound quality of any speaker is limited when auditioned in a sound board.

Both speaker sets will sound drastically different (usually much better) when properly installed in an actual vehicle. The manufacturer typically takes cabin gain into account when designing a speaker for the 12V market. The sound board does not. I would bet (after break-in, of course) that the properly installed and set up SR6500s would provide more than enough midbass in the car- unless you prefer an exaggerated midbass response.




Also I'm thinking about getting 1 or a pair of 8w7v3 Is there any comparison with the polk sr104 or whatever is called. And which really good amp should i power the speakers with. Not polk please. Anyways I really really want a good SQ setup.

Without knowing what you expect from your installation other than "SQ", your listening preference, the room you are willing to devote to sub enclosure(s), and the amplifier power you're willing to pay for...that's a tough call to make. The 8w7 is no slouch- more of an SQL woofer than straight SQ. I assume you've listened to one, as well as a number of larger format subs. A similar deal on an SR104 or 124 would also be a deal maker ;) . I don't think you'd be dissappointed with the SR104's SQ, but it probably trails in sheer output when compared to JL w7s.

[Tim B.]

Ecin,

I am new to the forum myself. I have had the opportunity to listen to the SR6500 and the 165K2P running of the same head unit and amps. In my opinion the Polks walked all over the Focals. They sounded amazing I was really surprised because I was really considering Focals and Dynaudio. The SR are real smooth sounding speaker with a Dyn like quality to them.

I also listened to the SR124 subs and they did not disappoint. I am going with an all SR setup for sure. If you can share that good deal with me if you still considering other options. But I think these are some great speakers.

Mac has hit it head on. You won't be disappointed.

[Ecin]

My goodness, this is the 3rd time i type this. stupid laptop. It says only employees are eligable for purchases. But it's not clear if i can resell them or regift them. Anyways they limit my purchase to2 components, 2 subs, does not say anything about the amps. and 1 home theater system.

I have and plan on keeping
my factory HU
JL500/1 mono block amp

i definately plan on getting the
jl clean sweep
1 pair of SR componnts

i'm undecided on
zapco or jl amp .. any others?. i wish polk had SR amps
monster or competitors cables
2nd pair of components the price is great so if i need fills thats' what i'll get
1 or a pair of 8w7s about 300 or sr104 that's about 150 this is very important to me so the price diff isn't important. well actually if i get 2 8w7s it is.

[Ecin]

I need somewhere to audition the subs. Any ideas? I live in Miami

I forgot to thank all of you who responded. I did before but it got erased. The trunk is big, but i don't know if i'm going to use it. For the last few months it was a closet, till i cleaned it out 3 days ago.

[MacLeod]

Tweeter is a good place to demo some stuff.

You can also go to different manaufacturers websites and they should have a dealer locator on there.

[Tim B.]

I will buy the other set of SR6500 and a SR124 from you if you get them.

[exalted512]

Dont get the cleansweep, get a RF 360.2. A much better choice for what youre working with.
-Cody

[MacLeod]

And costs $600 more. With only 5 volt outputs as opposed to the 8 volt from the CS. Those extra 3 volts are going to go a looooong way in lowering that noise floor.

Im just not that impressed with the 360. It couldve been a great piece but even tho it costs as much as the high end processors, it falls short in the features.

[Tim B.]

Come to think of it what about the Rockford Fosgate 3SIXTY.2. I have heard it was real good for OEM intergration. I have an old rockford symetry in my toyota 4Runner. It has always been a great piece.

[MacLeod]

Pay attention!!!

:p

[Tim B.]

Dont get the cleansweep, get a RF 360.2. A much better choice for what youre working with.
-Cody

Sorry, When I went back in I did not realize that exaulted had mentioned it.

[Ecin]

I prefer the CS too. some guys at the MB forums use this http://www.mobileaudiocontrol.com/product.asp?Product_Id=31215 LC6. I didn't know the clean sweep had 8v out. does that mean it will perform likke haveing a 8V HU?? from what i've heard 5v is amazing. and low end HUs have 2V. My HU is made by harman/becker if i'm not mistaken

[Ecin]

it's funny how we have to pay $300+ to keep the factory head unit LoL

[MacLeod]

What the CS does is take the speaker wires from your HU as inputs, uses DSP (digital signal processing) to flatten the curve out and then sends that signal out at 8 volts.

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=90

If I had the $300 to spare, I wouldve used it instead of putting my Alpine in.

The Audiocontrol LC6 isnt a half bad option and can be had for less than $200 but since it doesnt have a line driver chances are youll get noise.

[exalted512]

You can get the 360.2 on cardomain for $525 right now. The JL is $350.

Lets add up the benefits.

360.2 gives you 5V outputs, as good as any deck out there. If you have a decent pair of RCAs and a non-alpine processor, more than likely you wont have noise issues.

JL Cleansweep has 8V outputs which is better, but some amps cant even handle 8V for long periods of time (USAmps for example)

Anyway,
JL 1
RF 0

Both have inputs for iPods, etc
JL 2
RF 1

RF has front, rear, sub, and center channel outputs
JL has front and rear
JL 2
RF 2

JL costs $350
RF costs $525

JL 3
RF 2

JL has absolutely NO processing capability
RF has 126 equalization bands

JL 3
RF 3

JL accepts 4 inputs
RF accepts 6

JL 3
RF 4

RF can store different 'programs' for different users. For instance if one judge likes settings 1 way, you can save those, and then for another judge, you can have settings for him saved. Takes about a minute to load a pre saved program. Or maybe you run SPL, you can have your own program for that.

JL 3
RF 5

You can control everything from your front seat with a palm pilot with the RF. For the JL, well, theres nothing to control...
JL 3
RF 6

RF requires a blue tooth palm pilot, thats another $100 on ebay. JL requires nothing b/c all it is is a glorified LOC with a line driver
JL 4
RF 6

If you want a LOC with 8V outputs, get the Cleansweep. If you want something thatll be 4x better than even my g/f's 880PRS which retails at $450 for just a little more thatll actually give you tuning capabilities, look no further than the 360.2
-Cody

[Tim B.]

Exalted I don't think you could of put it any better. Can't this even be controled with the treo phones as well.

[Thom]

It says only employees are eligable for purchases. But it's not clear if i can resell them or regift them. Anyways they limit my purchase to2 components, 2 subs, does not say anything about the amps. and 1 home theater system.

It should be clear that they're not to be re- sold. A- holes who buy stuff at accom. prices to re- sell for profit (especially on eBay) are the types who ruin it for everyone. Accom. deals enable employees to afford product they might not otherwise splurge on. It's not intended as a way to supplement your income. Buying a set for your brother is understandable. Buying a set to sell to a stranger with the intent of pocketing some money is a bitch move...

[MacLeod]

Dude, youre comparing apples to oranges. The CS is not an EQ or processor or crossover. Its simply for OEM integration.

If youre wanting an EQ, time alignment and crossover features, then yeah, the Cleansweep is not for you.

What the CS will do is flatten out the OEM EQ curve, bump it up 8 volts which is plenty to lower the noise floor, and also has a current sensing remote turn on AND remote output for your amps so that saves you a lot of hassle. And any quality amp will handle 8 volt inputs. Thats what the gains are for. The 5 volts from the RF aint shabby but its also not enough to get over the noise. Every single 360.2 Ive heard running off the OEM HU has had hiss.

Now you want to compare apples to apples, compare the CS to the Audiocontrol LCi6 or the RF 360.1. Thats a more fair comparison.

If you want to compare the 360.2 to something like it, put it up against the H701 where the ONLY thing the 360.2 has the edge on is high level inputs. Everything else would go to the H701 and for the same price.

And the CD is $300 retail at any shop. And I dont consider some hack used PDA for $100 on Ebay. The cheapest PDA you can buy new that will work is $200. So youre $300 for the CS and $750 for the 360.2

[exalted512]

Maybe I'm off, but youre telling him to get a cleansweep over a 360.2, correct?

So hes going to have only front and rear outputs and a bass and treble knob on his factory radio...How is that better than the 360.2?

The 360.1 is $265 on cardomain and STILL gives you tuning options.

Both RF gives you the same remote sensing and a remote output for your amps that the JL does. Both RF will flatten out any extremities in the OEM signal.

The cleansweep would have been absolutely PERFECT for you, because you have a processor already. But for anyone that wants an all in one package, the 360.2 cannot be beat

Ive also installed about 15 of em and not one had any type of hiss.
-Cody

[audiobliss]

Man, I want a 360.2. But what kind of HU would you want to get to run with one? Seems like a nice $500+ HU would kinda be a waste to use with a 360.2. Could you just use a Navi unit or DVD player with the 360.2?

[MacLeod]

Thats the good thing about processors. You dont need a big fancy head unit.

[Ecin]

CS has other things that attatch to it. The one to add more devices, and a summing thing whatever that is for. I want it simple. I really don't mess with EQ and leave it things at it was recorded. That's why I'm going with the CS. by the way my HU (if it matters) is harman/becker i may upgrade it to the euro version that plays DVD so i can add a navi to it.

[exalted512]

In a car environment, you have to have an eq to hear things how theyre recorded.
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Right. The speakers will change the original sound, the sub will, the interior of the car and all its reflective surfaces will change the sound. An EQ is the only way to get it back right.

[Thom]

Or you could wait a few months and get the JBL processor, which will take a dump on both the CS and 3Sixty...

:D

[Tim B.]

If you would like him to consider this unit why don't you put up a link to so he can see what the features the unit has. This way he can make an educated decision.

[Jstas]

http://www.google.com

Search for JBL.

But you know what? JBL is updating thier website and it's not available right now so Thom posting a link would be futile at best.

[MacLeod]

Or you could wait a few months and get the JBL processor, which will take a dump on both the CS and 3Sixty...

:D

Ooooh. No kidding! That thing is supposed to be a monster!! I cant wait to see it.

Its going to be a whole lot of fun watching Alpine try to top it. God, I love competition!!

[Thom]

If you would like him to consider this unit why don't you put up a link to so he can see what the features the unit has. This way he can make an educated decision.

I don't work for JBL, so I don't care if he buys one or not. But it sounds like a very cool piece...

http://www.audiogroupforum.com/csforum/showthread.php?t=63407

[Tim B.]

Sorry if I offended you. I just thought that since you were telling him about the piece. You had access to information on it and it would be nice of you to share it with him so he could make a decision. The only info you gave was the it was made by JBL.

The info your provided is great. Thanks.

Again I did not mean to offend you.

[exalted512]

I wish we sold JBL...haha
-Cody

[MacLeod]

HA! You should already be ashamed of the accomodations you get now!! :p

[exalted512]

I can still get 4 360.2's for the price of one h701 :)
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Bastard!

[Ecin]

damn that's expensive..

[Thom]

Sorry if I offended you. I just thought that since you were telling him about the piece. You had access to information on it and it would be nice of you to share it with him so he could make a decision. The only info you gave was the it was made by JBL.

The info your provided is great. Thanks.

Again I did not mean to offend you.

I wasn't offended at all. I should have added a smiley face or something.

I just wanted to add fuel to the fire in the 360 vs. Cleansweep argument...

:D

[Tim B.]

NP. But the info on that forum about the MS-8 does look interesting. That was also the unit that got 2007 CES Inovations award. I just don't know about screen though. I wonder if it would display on other in dash dvd units. To me it would look like an eye sore mounting that on your dash.

[Ecin]

NP. But the info on that forum about the MS-8 does look interesting. That was also the unit that got 2007 CES Inovations award. I just don't know about screen though. I wonder if it would display on other in dash dvd units. To me it would look like an eye sore mounting that on your dash.
you and me both, it's an inconvinience. I think it has a built in amp, that's not half bad to justify the price, but you don't know what kind of qualiy you are getting, andwith the JBL brand even worse. I think Harman should of just sold it under mark levinson or Harman Kardan even if it was JBL engineers who developed it. oh well.

[MacLeod]

No need to add fuel. Cody is well aware that anything JL puts out will be far superior to any piddly old RF piece.