Need Help with picking Speakers.

[FloJet]

Well to be honest, I don't have those polks yet, but by hearing and knowing power of them I def thinking that route. For the price point I promise you there is no better 6 1/2 speakers out there. I've done WS, JL and at that price those 651UM is the champ. Even WS don't have a 92 sensitivity rating which is huge in boats. These polks have that and can put lots of wattage to them. Not saying WS or JL is not good as I love all them. Just saying if someone is looking for a good price point 6 1/2 speakers, MM651UM is the best.

 

[David Analog]

David what do you recommend?

For in the boat, if you have the space for a larger 7.7" speaker then definitely go that route. Greater surface area will be more of a factor than any of the other speaker design and construction elements. Add to that, the JL Audio is the top speaker in my book, engineered in the US, built in the US, designed by some pretty fanatical people, and the most natural sounding marine speaker.

 

[David Analog]

Well to be honest, I don't have those polks yet, but by hearing and knowing power of them I def thinking that route. For the price point I promise you there is no better 6 1/2 speakers out there. I've done WS, JL and at that price those 651UM is the champ. Even WS don't have a 92 sensitivity rating which is huge in boats. These polks have that and can put lots of wattage to them. Not saying WS or JL is not good as I love all them. Just saying if someone is looking for a good price point 6 1/2 speakers, MM651UM is the best.

Yes, the Polk is a very good sounding speaker, and a good value. No question. But they are NOT more sensitive than the MX JL or 650 Wetsounds. And the Polk MM/UM will not handle as much power as either the JL or Wetsounds. I've tested all these products side-by-side, quick AB, on big power, in the identical environment/source/amplifier. Again, it's a matter of fully understanding specs, what they mean, their qualifiers, or lack there of, and the differences in companies and how conservative/liberal their approach is. Polk Audio is just a marketing & importing company with zero domestic engineering. I have no issue with the value of the Polk speakers, my real issue is with falsely establishing the value based purely on meaningless specs and bogus reviews.

 

[FloJet]

Sorry bout Polk has the highest sensitivity out of the two. I'm not saying it's better but on paper it is. But looking at specs, I totally disagree with you. Now by ear that is so debatable. First Frequency response of JL MX is the worst out of all three. Sensitivity rating it's also the worst. Those are two main factors for me. Power handling also 3 rd place. I love JL but it does not compare in 6 1/2 speakers on paper.


POlk MM651UM / Mobile Monitor (Polk)
Peak Power Handling
200 watts
RMS Power Handling
100 watts
Sensitivity
92 dB
Frequency Response
40 - 25000 Hz
Impedance (Per Voice Coil)
4 ohms
Top-Mount Depth


JL MX 6 1/2 Specs

• power handling: 20-60 watts RMS (225 watts peak power)
• frequency response: 55-25,000 Hz
• sensitivity: 89.5 dB
• top-mount depth: 2-15/16"
• warranty: 2 years

WetSounds
RMS Watts: 100
PEAK Watts: 200
Frequency Response: 40Hz to 20Khz
Sensitivity: 90db at 1watt / 1meter
Mid Bass: 6.5 inch composite cone woofer with rubber surround.
High Frequency: Coaxially mounted Titanium Tweeter.

 

[FloJet]

Pound for pound at the price point POLK wins lol

 

[PEARCE]

I have the Polk MM651UM throughout my Yamaha with an amp hooked up to them and I love them. They sound great and look great too. You can't beat the price point either. Get what you want and want to pay for. Who cares what the spec sheet says, you shop for speakers by your ear and what your wallet can handle.

 

[David Analog]

Sorry bout Polk has the highest sensitivity out of the two. I'm not saying it's better but on paper it is. But looking at specs, I totally disagree with you. Now by ear that is so debatable. First Frequency response of JL MX is the worst out of all three. Sensitivity rating it's also the worst. Those are two main factors for me. Power handling also 3 rd place. I love JL but it does not compare in 6 1/2 speakers on paper.


POlk MM651UM / Mobile Monitor (Polk)
Peak Power Handling
200 watts
RMS Power Handling
100 watts
Sensitivity
92 dB
Frequency Response
40 - 25000 Hz
Impedance (Per Voice Coil)
4 ohms
Top-Mount Depth


JL MX 6 1/2 Specs

• power handling: 20-60 watts RMS (225 watts peak power)
• frequency response: 55-25,000 Hz
• sensitivity: 89.5 dB
• top-mount depth: 2-15/16"
• warranty: 2 years

WetSounds
RMS Watts: 100
PEAK Watts: 200
Frequency Response: 40Hz to 20Khz
Sensitivity: 90db at 1watt / 1meter
Mid Bass: 6.5 inch composite cone woofer with rubber surround.
High Frequency: Coaxially mounted Titanium Tweeter.

OMG. Those specs are absolutely/positively MEANINGLESS! One by one I can demonstrate how utterly useless every one of the specs are.
Polk, originating from a home audio company before the car audio side was purchased by an Asian car alarm company, used a 2.83 voltage/ 1 meter standard based on predominantly 8-ohm speakers. When applied to a 4-ohm speaker, or a 2.7-ohm speaker, the specs create a false advantage by several dB. Now, the cheapest speakers with the most erratic and peaky response usually have the highest sensitivity. Why? Because they are measuring peak rather than average. Besides, sensitivity is usually taken at a very low power level with a crested signal. So this tells you absolutely nothing about the speakers true output efficiency across a wide bandwidth (say 100 Hz to 12 kHz) and a normal wattage level (say 10 to 50 watts). In fact, higher sensitivity speakers usually translate to narrower bandwidth speakers, with the inverse also being true. And this is the major difference between useless sensitivity and more useful efficiency.
This only scratches the surface in dissecting how worthless these specs are for brand to brand comparisons.

 

[swatski]

Sorry bout Polk has the highest sensitivity out of the two. I'm not saying it's better but on paper it is. But looking at specs, I totally disagree with you. Now by ear that is so debatable. First Frequency response of JL MX is the worst out of all three. Sensitivity rating it's also the worst. Those are two main factors for me. Power handling also 3 rd place. I love JL but it does not compare in 6 1/2 speakers on paper.


POlk MM651UM / Mobile Monitor (Polk)
Peak Power Handling
200 watts
RMS Power Handling
100 watts
Sensitivity
92 dB
Frequency Response
40 - 25000 Hz
Impedance (Per Voice Coil)
4 ohms
Top-Mount Depth


JL MX 6 1/2 Specs

• power handling: 20-60 watts RMS (225 watts peak power)
• frequency response: 55-25,000 Hz
• sensitivity: 89.5 dB
• top-mount depth: 2-15/16"
• warranty: 2 years

WetSounds
RMS Watts: 100
PEAK Watts: 200
Frequency Response: 40Hz to 20Khz
Sensitivity: 90db at 1watt / 1meter
Mid Bass: 6.5 inch composite cone woofer with rubber surround.
High Frequency: Coaxially mounted Titanium Tweeter.

@FloJet hmm... Did you read @David Analog's post?
I'm just not getting where you are coming from.

EDIT: Darned, I'm late again. lol.

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[FloJet]

Hey I'm not hear to debate if they are meaningless or not. I just know if someone was a newbie looking for speakers, this is their only viable way without experiencing such equipment forehand. Again all my posts has been about specs ON PAPER. If they were meaningless I suppose everyone needs to quit putting them on there. Just like food labels, MEANINGLESS. Sure I don't agree with everything I read, but it's a good starting point for most of us without the technical background of things. I know what works for me and I hope the same for everyone. But if I was picking something that I've never experienced first hand, I WILL always go off what the spec sheet states. Just my two cents.

 

[FloJet]

Yes sir I've read it. I'm just trying to advise that on PAPER the Polk MM651Um is the best 6 1/2 speakers. I can't say by ear or anything like that. When specs are compared against each other, it wins in the major categories.

 

[FloJet]

To be honest if you look at just specs only, which is the only guideline for most new speaker buyers, The JL MX kinda suck. Again by specs. Put it like this Spec wise Rev 410 are supposed to only have 400 watts RMS to them. For most applications that is great. For me I laugh at that. So yes all depends on personal preference and what you are trying to accomplish. But would be kinda rather ridiculous to say Specs are meaningless when for most consumers when they are trying to make a logic buying decision without hearing all the products side by side. Which hardly ever happens like that.

 

[swatski]

@FloJet Seriously?

Let me see if I get it right:
Outrageous/unverifiable claims in hypersaturated consumer products market where businesses have to fight to get our attention
vs
Pro advice (from a reliable and trusted source)

Hmm..., what should I go with?

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[David Analog]

Hey I'm not hear to debate if they are meaningless or not. I just know if someone was a newbie looking for speakers, this is their only viable way without experiencing such equipment forehand. Again all my posts has been about specs ON PAPER. If they were meaningless I suppose everyone needs to quit putting them on there. Just like food labels, MEANINGLESS. Sure I don't agree with everything I read, but it's a good starting point for most of us without the technical background of things. I know what works for me and I hope the same for everyone. But if I was picking something that I've never experienced first hand, I WILL always go off what the spec sheet states. Just my two cents.

Ummm, Food labels? Yes, there's a governing body. Audio equipment? No governing body. Often just snake oil for the uninformed.
Anyway, I totally get your point and from now on will be sure to direct you to Boss and Pyle equipment based on superior power to dollar specs.

 

[FloJet]

@swatski since sound is subjective to everyone I could care less what any pro would tell me tho! It's about what I like not the pro. So when making logical decisions I will have trust the company specs over biased opinions. I've had so called pros set up prior systems to only fail and underperform. Enough research and common sense with stereo systems PROs can be very subjective!

 

[FloJet]

Again to reiterate this on PAPER polk MM651 has the best specs. I really don't know what else to say about that lol. Everything else past that is all subjective!!!!


Too many times I've seen shops hired dumb assess off the streets and call them pros. 80% of the time only the owner is a pro and he hardly does the work now days.

 

[swatski]

Again to reiterate this on PAPER polk MM651 has the best specs. I really don't know what else to say about that lol. Everything else past that is all subjective!!!!

Here is my last post in this thread. I like how @David Analog put it:
"... the specs are meaningless when comparing brand to brand. There is no standardization.
Frequency response? 40 dB down at 40 Hz? They don't qualify the response within a given decibel range or at a specific decibel level.
Sensitivity? Voltage or wattage? Tested with what type noise? Peak or average? Some don't clarify. Some are incorrectly stated. Some don't know the difference.
Power handling? On what basis?"

To make meaningful comparisons you need to have standardized measurements/settings. This is not up for debate, @FloJet.

--

 

[FloJet]

I totally agree @swatski

But unless you have all the equipment to test against those spec claims, you can't debate against what it states!! Sure we can debate how things sounds but most of the time that's all about amps/eq/tuning/headunits.

Most consumers can only go off specs regardless of inaccurate or not. If I didn't know nothing about speakers, I promise you the JL MX would be last to consider. I have all JL amps so no way I'm against JL. Just trying to take subjectiveness out of purchasing new equipment. For all I know Some pro can be trying to promote a certain BRAND. So paper specs is a good starting point for most.

It's the same debatable thing with batteries. Some rate Amp hours at 20 hour test. Some 10 hours. So you right no standard in anything.

 

[David Analog]

Here is a video about written/printed mobile electronics manufacturer specs. Everyone should watch this.

 

[MattFX4]

Here is a video about written/printed mobile electronics manufacturer specs. Everyone should watch this.

I always knew boss was junk. It's true.. you get what you pay for. I would like to see this test done on a JL amp. Thanks for sharing.

 

[bobbie]

Don't forget to look at exileaudio.com. They are comparable to wetsounds.