Surprisingly Impressive
Written: May 21 '00 (Updated Aug 28 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Silk domes, Need only a small amount of power to sound good
Cons: Surface-mount kit has a cheesy pressure-fit mounting style, Slightly lacking midrange
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| Michelle107's Full Review: Polk Audio dX3065 Car Speaker |
Silk vs. Titanium
After reading the specifications on Polk's webpage, I was pleased to find that the tweeters in the system were made of silk. The difference between most car and home audio products is that tweeters are almost always made of some sort of metallic compound such as titanium or aluminum. This is often overlooked by an everyday consumer but tweeter material is actually the main reason speakers sound different from one another. Metal-dome tweeters feature very precise, crisp notes and sound especially good at low volume levels. However, the metal tweeters many times sound synthesized and hiss, buzz, or sound too crisp on the high peaks of music. "Soft-dome" tweeters, such as silk or cotton provide a very smooth, soft response to high frequencies. Silk tweeters are much softer on your ears even at high volumes. The disadvantage is that many times silk tweeters cannot achieve the "brightness" of the metal tweeters without proper equalization.
Nice features
Well anyway, my friend bought a pair of the Polk db3065's new on Ubid.com for $100. Included in the package were different types of mounting kits and grilles. After opening the crossover networks I was pleased to see not only a tweeter adjustment switch (with 3 variable adjustments to compensate for tweeter placement) but also jumpers that can be set to select the woofer crossover slope.
Tough Installation
We had some problems with the installation into his 4runner due to the large magnet of the woofer. There was a bar blocking a flushed mounting position in the stock door locations. Mounting any woofer without completely sealing it to the mounting surface affects bass response. Unfortunately, this was our only option so we used long screws which left an unavoidable gap between the bracket and the speakers.
The tweeters were conveniently small enough to fit nicely inside the stock sail panels without excessive custom work.
I wished that companies would make some sort of "waterproof" crossover because it would allow the passive crossovers to be mounted in the doors. Like all component crossovers, we had no choice but to mount them in the 4runners stock kick panels to avoid rust on the terminals. The problem with this, however, is trying to fit after-market speaker wire through stock looming for a clean look.
Sound Quality
After the somewhat difficult installation, I was thoroughly impressed with the sound quality of the components. They sounded excellent all the way to high volumes with a 40(x2)watt JBL amplifier. The high frequencies were smooth and fairly bright without a hint of sharpness or piercing. The midrange was only mediocre as expected out of a 6.5" driver but the mid-bass was decent and gave a nice punch -- even from an unideal mounting location. Even without a subwoofer, these speakers performed excellent overall and reproduced a nice range of frequencies. For a crazy audio freak like myself they met my standards in sound quality and everything else. These speakers are definately a great value for those of you with the "soft" tweeter preference.
*UPDATE*August 28, 2000: After further listening to the speakers problems are more evident, however. During some songs they CAN even get a little too bright for me and they seem to have a roll-off in the upper midrange making it difficult to present voices fully. However, both these Polk separates and the JBL amplifier are very non-fatiguing to listen to. In fact, it seems to sound better and better the longer I listen to them - a sign of a good system! It is always a pleasure to hear them in my friends car.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Michelle107
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Location: Irvine, CA
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 18 members
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