I have heard both. The QSD's dont suffer from any harshness due to a rubber surround. On top of that, they just have an extended upper range that you can tune to your liking via EQ. The are very Neutral sounding, so you really do get a great flat responce from the speaker initially that can be tuned any way you want without fear of distortion. If you like extra bass, you can tune that in without problems. if you want great mid and high range, I think the QSD's are un-paralleled.

As for the Polks, I feel they are a bit Bass heavy from the get go. Granted if you are looking for "Earth Shattering" bottom end, they might be your ticket, but it comes at the expense of a muddied mid range. High end is not as dynamic as the QSDs either. the Polks will be "LOUD" though, that is probably what most people want.

In the End, Most people don't really have an ear for SQ anyways, so they are happy with whatever they have. The Question is, what do you want? The most accurate reproduction of your signal as possible, or something that is colored for Bass heavy music?

 

I feel ya man, and actually I have an extremely good ear for SQ (i'm a musician)....that's the main reason why i'm getting rid of the BA's. Honestly, I haven't listened to either one of these speakers but it seems as if you know what you're talking about. I will try out the polks and if I don't like them, I'll check out the QSD's. The only thing is that I'm getting contradicting reviews regarding the QSD's and the Polks are Unanimously the sh** (if u know wat I mean, lol). Anyways, thanks a lot for your advise and imput and there is a chance that I may be acting on it if I ain't feelin the Polks. Thanks again man!

 

you also need to figure that i'm sure alot of reviews come from shmucks that just pop in the speaker and are very happy with the fact that it can make them deaf. I have found that most people unless you are a musican or have a musical background really don't have a good ear for sound quality (obviously with some exception). I think you need to hear them both first hand, try to find an audio store that carries them.

 

+1

The 350Z Forum is probably not the best place to ask advice on high end Audio. There are only a handful of us on here that work with or compete with ultra high-end equipment. I would take your same question here; http://www.audiogroupforum.com/csforum/ and see what response you get.

 

http://http://www.audiogroupforum.co...ht=polk+sr6500

http://http://www.audiogroupforum.co...ht=polk+sr6500

http://http://www.audiogroupforum.co...ht=polk+sr6500

there's plenty more where that came from. as i stated before, ppl love the polks.

 

I Think you will find 10 times as many people that prefer the Quarts, but that in no way means the Polks are inferior, just different. I have competed on the international level and judged hundreds of cars for SQ and Quarts, Focals, Dyns and Rainbows have always been the better sounding speaker when backed up with the correct electronics. Which also brings up a good point, what amps and source units are you planning to use with your new high end speakers? On top of that you have to factor in correct mounting, placement and deadening.

In the end, I don't want to argue with you bro, Speaker selection is pure personal preference. I think it is dissapointing that you are selecting any speaker based on Hype alone without auditioning them.

 

Bingo, address the electronics first or it doesn't matter what drivers you use, they will still sound poor.

 

JL 300/2 will be pushing them. I hope that's good? I also purchased the door pods from wickedcas, should I dynomat as well?

also sq40, i'm not trying to argue with you, i'm just trying to enlighten you to the fact that there are other "educated" opinions out there other than yours. now once i install the speakers i will make an unbias decision as to whether i like them or not. if my opinion favors the latter, i will sell them and get the quarts or maybe dyns....we'll see. i enjoy forums posts like this because it is healthy discussion and i am not knocking your credintials at all. but it is my responsibility to take other opinions into consideration as well. however, can you tell me what i would need to do further to get the best sound out of these polks?? thanks man.

 

that amp should run them well, plenty of stable power that is decently clean. The pods will help alot, i would also dynamat the door around the pod. Other than that it sounds like you are set up for some good sound. Now it just comes down to the speaker i say

 

Like I said before it is all opinion, I am well aware of others opinions, I do respect those and I have stated my cold, unbiased opinion based on my experience. No need to be rude or attempt to "enlighten" me about it.

With that out of the way;

Four Major Rules of building the highest SQ Systems;

1) Match all of your Electronics. Meaning you should always buy the same brand of electronics (Head units, EQ's Amps) of the same "Level". If you buy a Mid-Grade Alpine HU, Buy Mid-Grade Alpine Amps for example. Most manufactures tend to make certain series of electronics with each component complimenting the other. That is not to say you can't mix and match, but you will always get the best results from consistency.

2) Match all of your Drivers. Same concept as the electronics. If you buy a High end Polk Component for the Front, Buy a matching set of the same series for the rear and for the Sub. Even if you plan to "tone down" the sub or the rears, you will have tonality differences if you get different series of drivers. If your primary speaker is Focal, Buy ALL focal gear.

3) Match all of wattage specs. The best speaker will not function correctly if it is under or OVER powered. Period. When you select your drivers, check the RMS and Peak wattage requirements. Select and Amplifier that matches its RMS and Peak wattage as closely as possible.

4) Buy the best wiring Possible. I do not mean spend $xxxx Thousand dollars on the gimmick wire of the week. I do mean that you should make sure you have the proper gauge of wire for each power and ground you run. You should have proper fusing and distribution. You should also have a high quality signal cable, be it fiber optic or un-shielded twisted pair (UTP). You can also get UTP speaker cable. It works VERY well at reducing noise.

Do you have a Plan outlined for you install?

You need to consider the following Items;

Speaker Placement (Looks like you have that under control with the pods)
Your speaker Wiring layout
You power and ground layout
your sound deadening layout
your time alignment requirements if any

After that, Its all tuning. Do you have a DB Meter? (You can get a sub 130db meter at RadioShack for $30). You can then tune your system using audio discs from places like Chesky Records or USACi's Sound Quality Demo Disc. I like the Chesky “Gold Stereo Setup Disc” for tuning and their Ultimate Demonstration Disc;


http://www.chesky.com/core/productli...e=Test%20Discs

 

well, you know i apologize if you feel offended by anything I said it was not intentional and was meant as a simple meeting of the minds. thanks for all your help and for the information, i will be keeping you posted of my progress.

 

i have a slight problem now, i found out the door pods i ordered couldn't be delivered to me until the 13th of november!!! so i cancelled the order, is there anywhere else i can get these from?

 

I am not sure there are too many people that make ready made door pods and from what I understand those were Top Quality. 2 Weeks is not that long to wait for high end custom equipment. (I have auditioned them in a Z, they were quite well made)

I Think the factory speaker locations give great staging myself. The pods are a bit too susceptable to giving you the "rainbow" effect in staging without adding a second set of tweeters to the sail pannel location.

 

well since the staging is pretty good in the stock location, would it be possible for me to use dynomat (of course) and fabricate my own custom grill to cover the speaker? or would it sound terrible if i left the grill completely unconvered?


the reason why i am somewhat dissapointed is because i was told they would be shipped out yesterday (friday), and then i found out that it wouldn't be available for another two weeks. i already set-up an appointment for installation for next week.

 

I would use the Factory Grills, they work very well and snap right in to the door. I used a set of 1/2" spacers to move the speakers out on the door frame, but the factory grill still had plenty of room. (I was using CDT Speakers with Iron Ferrite Magnets, rather Large, Compared to the Small NeoD Magnets on the Q's and the SR6500's) You can also use Mesh to fab your own grill using the stock as a template. The less grill material the better for sound. The grill is only there to protect the speaker and for looks.

As for Dynamat, CHeck out http://www.b-quiet.com and their ultimate & V-comp product. (You can also check out my Volvo S40 Install on their site's "Installs" section) Really good stuff at a good price.

 

iv'e listened to the polk sr's you were refering too in a g35 coupe mounted on axis in factory stock locations..they dont sound too bad..they deff take what ever you throw at them well.but my opinion i really didnt like the mid bass they produced..sounded muddy and lack clean tight bass..i was in the same situation as you on tryin to find a good set of comps for my car.. after listening to many differnt brands i ended up going with the jl zr series,i love them,mid bass is really tight and punchy along with the highs they are smooth and easy on the ear's but like i said before..just my opinion..

 

wow that price is good, well i'll prolly go head and get the spacers and call it a day, i will also fab the door grill more "speaker friendly". i got one more question for ya, where can i find some spacers for the speaker? and the spacers are made to bring the speaker closer to the grill right? so what kind of spacer would i need? thanks

 

i feel ya man, and thanks for the input. i've never heard the jl line of components but i know they're subs hit hard, i have one JL w7 and i love it. so i would imagine their components are tight too...hopefully, if the midbass on the polks are muddy, i can eq it to an optimum level. i have a kenwood ddx-8017 and that thing has too many eq settings..lol. also i've heard that these speakers need to be "broken" in...so that could play an effect on the sound quality as well. thanks again for the comments, more appreciated!

 

You only need the spacers to allow the magnet to clear the window glass on the inside of the door when it is down. If you have a small magnet, like the Q's or SR's, you might not need them. MB Quart includes a 1/2 spacer with all of their speakers. You can also fab one up using ABS Plastic (Check Mcmaster.com) or MDF (Check Home Depot). You can also use the Z's factory Speaker as a Spacer by cutting out the Cone and Basket of the OEM Speaker. This will make sure you have all of your mouning holes lined up and is cheap and easy.