My install of lucid's Polk Speakers (on sale!)
04-26-2002, 06:53 AM
#1
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My install of lucid's Polk Speakers (on sale!)
I received my shipment from lucid last Thursday of a set of the Polk speaker panels, including new front Polks speakers, all of which was on sale on lucid's site for the past few weeks. Now, I'm no audiophile, but even I could tell that the stock setup left much to be desired. On the freeway especially, the wind noise pretty much drowned out any nuances in music or speech. I turned up the treble about 3 notches just to be ableto discern some detail. Basedon all the glowing reviews, lucid's products seemed the way to go. These are not exactly high-end speakers, but for my ear, I suspected they'd be good enough.
OK, step 1 was to upgrade just the door speakers, to see what difference that would make by itself. I noticed that lucid had only included instructions for the rear speaker install, but I remembered that he had put all the install instructions on his site a couple weeks ago, so I printed out the appropriate pages (plus the speaker adapterinstructions) on my new Canon F30 color printer, and got to work. I did one speaker last night, the the other this morning before going to work. The first one took about 30 minutes, some of it going back in the house to search for a better fitting screwdriver, the next one took about 12 minutes. Lucid's instructions are top-notch, as advertised.
After installation of just the fronts, I went for a quick top-down drive on the freeway to check for any improvement (this is with the stock head unit, mind you). I found that the clarity was greatly improved - listening the morning show guys was actually possible at 70mph with the top down. I turned the treble back to neutral, and it was fine. I suspect that it also helped that with better speakers, I can crank it up a bit more without distortion.
The verdict - considering that these speakers are not especially high-end and pretty inexpensive, the fronts alone are worth the $85 (includes lucid's door speaker adapters) for the added clarity.
Tonight I'll start on the more difficult job of installing the back speakers (also Polks).
Stay Tuned!
JonasM
OK, step 1 was to upgrade just the door speakers, to see what difference that would make by itself. I noticed that lucid had only included instructions for the rear speaker install, but I remembered that he had put all the install instructions on his site a couple weeks ago, so I printed out the appropriate pages (plus the speaker adapterinstructions) on my new Canon F30 color printer, and got to work. I did one speaker last night, the the other this morning before going to work. The first one took about 30 minutes, some of it going back in the house to search for a better fitting screwdriver, the next one took about 12 minutes. Lucid's instructions are top-notch, as advertised.
After installation of just the fronts, I went for a quick top-down drive on the freeway to check for any improvement (this is with the stock head unit, mind you). I found that the clarity was greatly improved - listening the morning show guys was actually possible at 70mph with the top down. I turned the treble back to neutral, and it was fine. I suspect that it also helped that with better speakers, I can crank it up a bit more without distortion.
The verdict - considering that these speakers are not especially high-end and pretty inexpensive, the fronts alone are worth the $85 (includes lucid's door speaker adapters) for the added clarity.
Tonight I'll start on the more difficult job of installing the back speakers (also Polks).
Stay Tuned!
JonasM
04-26-2002, 07:21 PM
#2
Thread Starter
I installed the rear speaker panels this evening. The install went very smoothly, once again thanks to lucid's great instructions. I though it would be more difficult to thread the wires down the console, but I had no difficulties getting it done.
Now for the test drive. Although it was getting late (11PM) and it was about 40 degrees outside, I had to go check out the sound. I grabbed a couple CDs (Blue Man Group, Test for Echo (Rush), and O Brother Where Art Thou) for variety, and headed for the freeway, heater on full!
Overall, I wasn't floored by the sound, but that's not what I was going for. All I wanted was to actually hear the music without blasting it to distortion, and in that, these speakers succeed nicely. The Polk speakers have a nice balance to my ear, clear and crisp, not too much bass to rumble my seatback (I hate that). As I swapped each CD, I was very satisfied with the sound. Occasionally, to reinforce the difference, I adjusted the fader back to fronts only, and was surprised by the (relatively) tinny, crappy sound I've been putting up with!
If you're a real audiophile, this won't satisfy you, but for the average person who just wants a little more out of the stock unit, the Polks are a great deal!
lucid, you are the Man!
JonasM
Now for the test drive. Although it was getting late (11PM) and it was about 40 degrees outside, I had to go check out the sound. I grabbed a couple CDs (Blue Man Group, Test for Echo (Rush), and O Brother Where Art Thou) for variety, and headed for the freeway, heater on full!
Overall, I wasn't floored by the sound, but that's not what I was going for. All I wanted was to actually hear the music without blasting it to distortion, and in that, these speakers succeed nicely. The Polk speakers have a nice balance to my ear, clear and crisp, not too much bass to rumble my seatback (I hate that). As I swapped each CD, I was very satisfied with the sound. Occasionally, to reinforce the difference, I adjusted the fader back to fronts only, and was surprised by the (relatively) tinny, crappy sound I've been putting up with!
If you're a real audiophile, this won't satisfy you, but for the average person who just wants a little more out of the stock unit, the Polks are a great deal!
lucid, you are the Man!
JonasM
05-05-2002, 08:27 AM
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I also got the Polks from Lucid front and rear. Wow what a great set-up! His harness, speaker adapters and instrucions were the highest quality immaginable. Thanks Lucid!!Anyboby need rear panels (behind the seat) in black and in perfect condition?
How about the stock speakers?
05-06-2002, 09:36 AM
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I just bought my car last month (an 01 New Formula Red/Black with 2500 miles, I'm in love) and my left knee blocks the door speaker. Did you have this problem before and does this rear speaker kit help get rid it? Thanks for any insight...
05-06-2002, 09:43 AM
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I just bought my car last month (an 01 New Formula Red/Black with 2500 miles, I'm in love) and my left knee blocks the door speaker. Did you have this problem before and does this rear speaker kit help get rid it? Thanks for any insight...
05-06-2002, 10:26 AM
#6
Thread Starter
1) I feel that the Polk fronts have a cleaner sound, and are therefore less 'muffled' by my leg (note I said 'less').
2) The rear speakers definitely make a difference here. Cruising yesterday on the freeway, I noticed that moving my leg didn't make a lot of difference in the sound (at least not as much as it used to).
Find someone in your area who has the rear speakers & hear for yourself. For me, I trusted the comments on the board, and was not led astray.
JonasM
2) The rear speakers definitely make a difference here. Cruising yesterday on the freeway, I noticed that moving my leg didn't make a lot of difference in the sound (at least not as much as it used to).
Find someone in your area who has the rear speakers & hear for yourself. For me, I trusted the comments on the board, and was not led astray.
JonasM
05-06-2002, 02:57 PM
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I've ordered rear 3 way Kenwoods with rear panel and front Polk components from Lucid and eagerly waiting delivery. I remember the days when I literally had to take the interior of a car apart and do some fancy soldering and wire-feeding.
Judging from what I read in these threads, sounds like the install this time will be a breeze in comparison!
I can't wait!!!!!
Judging from what I read in these threads, sounds like the install this time will be a breeze in comparison!
I can't wait!!!!!
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