Gantra

Just talked to manager at Al & Eds. He insisted that even though it appears from what the manual says that the crossovers for the tweeter and mid-range on the Polk components don't block the low frequencies, they actually do. He really didn't believe me when i said that according to the manual there isn't any block of the low frequencies.

But he offered to have a look at it tomorrow, even so.

Could he be right?

mas

I think he's giving you BS. The crossover only blocks the lower frequencies from going to the tweeter. That midrange/woofer, from the looks of it, is designed to play bass - just look at the rubber surround.

Ask Lucid about this, he sells these speakers. You can also do a search for "EX3560" on the electronics and see who else has them and ask them about it.

mgiang7

if that was true, it's simple to test, just bypass the xover and go directly to the speakers.

but i've never heard of component speakers doing that automatically, usually there is a switch on the xovers to set that.

like mas said, those speakers were made to play bass.

fmah

There seems to be some misunderstanding about the function of crossovers. Crossovers divide up the audio frequencies such that the high frequency drivers (tweeters, midrange) get the high frequencies and the bass drivers get the low frequencies via a low pass filter (removes the high frequencies). Do not connect tweeters directly to the speaker cables without the crossover (which in its simplest form is just a capacitor) since the tweeter could get fried by too much power. If you wanted to know if the crossover is misdirecting low frequencies to the tweeter instead of the bass driver, you have probably already done that by turning up the power and not frying the tweeter. Your only simple test is to see what comes out of the bass drivers. Turn the treble off with the HU controls. If there is absolutely no bass, even with the balance control turned to get sound out of either the right or left side alone, then (provided the amp has no high-pass filter) it's your signal source. If the bass sounds better with one speaker only, it could be a phase problem. Just reversing the lead connections of one of the bass drivers would fix this. If your amp has an option for passing only highs or lows to an amplifier section, then that may be the culprit. But, why are you doing all this head-scratching. You paid someone to install it. They should be responsible to fix it for you.

PJK3

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mgiang7
[B]if that was true, it's simple to test, just bypass the xover and go directly to the speakers.

mas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PJK3
[B]if those aren't the issue, then perhaps the tweeters are too bright and need to be brought under control... ??

PJK3

yeah, i was thinking the same thing when i wrote that.... it would also depend on where the tweeter was mounted... i know w/ mine - i have the Focals set at -2db, but they are essentially mounted on the floor. and if he had a super bright tweeter (i don't recall the Polks being 'that' bright when i listened to them..), and he put it in the factory location -- it could be very bright. still, at 1/2 to 3/4 volume, he should be 'feeling' some bass even if the treble is screaming... draping a towel or something over the tweaters might help sort some of this out...

if we don't have some sort of clear resolution on this by Friday afternoon, i'll drive out by Circuit City and see if they have a set on the wall that can be listened to... that would definitely give me an idea of how bright and/or bassy these components are... problem is, it'll take me 10 minutes to convince the sales guy that i don't want the treble and bass maxed out and the loudness on...

mgiang7

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PJK3
[B]

LATEOTT

PJK3 just to clarify, the text you quote in the manual is for those installing subs and WANTING to block low frequencies from their mid-range speakers. That's a different story.

But there IS actually a low frequency cutoff in the crossovers. It blocks low frequencies from being directed to the tweeters.

My point about the crossovers is that the terminals going to the tweeters are high-pass (no low), and IF the woofers were connected to the wrong terminals you might get Gantra's symptoms. Coupled with the fact that his tweeters are making his ears bleed, that's why I was suggesting he double/triple check on the connections.

When hooked up correctly, of course, low frequencies are not blocked to the woofers.


Now, I have never hooked up speakers wrong in this way. In theory you could blow the tweeters rather easily, but that will only happen at a certain power level. Main point was to check the connections.

PJK3

you don't have to say that twice.... sheesh... i would have so preferred a more adjustable crossover vs the MX junk.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LATEOTT
[B]PJK3 just to clarify, the text you quote in the manual is for those installing subs and WANTING to block low frequencies from their mid-range speakers.