12 replies to this topic

[CatchMeIfYouCan631]

I'm looking for some advice from the audiophiles and fellow installers here

Come January, I will be ripping out my Bose speakers to put in one of 3 speakers that I have in mind, they are:

JL Audio's ZR Series
Polk Audio's SR Series
Kicker's SS Series

Has anyone heard any of these speakers? I'm not looking for the 'best' of the 3, just whatever would be best for my preference of music. I listen to mostly Metal and Rock. Here's why I have narrowed it down to these 3. Please correct me if I'm wrong with my assumptions:

ZR: Since I've gotten into car audio, I always felt JL was a top notch company, where even their lower lines are still pretty good. I have not read many reviews on these (I've found 1 review on sonicelectronics and 1 on techtronics), but they both gave these speakers a 5 star rating. Also, these are JL's top of the line components, by default they have to be awesome.

SR: I've always seen Polk as an okay brand, but according to articles and reviews, they stepped it up with this component set. Numerous reviews on Polkaudio.com all say the same thing, that they are mind-blowing, they take about a month to fully break in, and their crossovers are massive Some also say that these speakers are audiophile quality.

SS: I already know these are not as good as the other 2 choices, but I've had 2 kicker L7's hooked up to a Hifonics 1500w mono, and they were loud. Being a metalhead, bass is a priority due to the kick drum, and if these SS's are bassy, and clear, then you can see why I'm considering them.

I have researched all the brands under the sun, and the ZR's and SR's are the highest I'd go as far as price goes. If anyone can give a review of these, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks

-CMIYC

[CatchMeIfYouCan631]

Bump.

[F90BT]

I voted for the sr6500 because they have better mid bass response than the other two...better response all around really. Those tweeters are vifa-sourced ring radiators and are superb with very low distortion.

P.S. what kind of amp do you have? and how do you prefer your high end to sound?

Since you listen to a lot of metal i'm not sure if you prefer the brighter highs of a metal dome and if those will be too harsh for ya or if you prefer soft domes (like slik) which are less fatiguing...i personally run pioneer's premier ts-c720prs comps for my front stage off of a jl 450/4...you might wanna look at those as they rival the components you listed but can be had for <$220 shipped off ebay

http://www.caraudiomag.com/testreports/ ... index.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/kli ... 20prs.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/mem ... 20prs.html

[F90BT]

Also the jl comps are way overpriced for what you get. I really wanted the c5's but just couldn't buy them knowing that i could get much better performance for sooooo much less. My whole system is JL except for the comps. (10w7 in H.O. box off 500/1, 450/4 running the premier comps and all jl wiring) The ZR's have a nice basket and motor structure but the cone on the midrange sucks...its damped very well but is way too soft. The voice coil is also really small (1 inch diameter) and xmax and xmech specs are pretty weak. The midbass essentially sucks compared to other offerings that can be had in the price range.The tweet is a lpg 26fna, the same one used in the xr's, just matched to tighter tolerances and decorated a bit better. And they want to charge $849 retail?

Also, are you dead-set on one of the listed sets? If not, look into mid-range focal, seas, & dynaudio sets.

diyma.com is a great resource to do some further research....hope this helps.

[CatchMeIfYouCan631]

At one point I did consider the Premier components. Working at the shop, I can get them for dealer price where I'd have to pay double for SR's, and if they are as good as the Sr's like you said, then that's one hell of a bargain, also having the avic is more appealling since I like all my auio pieces to be the same brand. I just installed A series speakers in a friend's car, and they didn't sound that bad, and I bought my fiance' a 6 speaker/2 amp D series system for Xmas, so hey, it might be easier to go with Premiers.


I can also go with e GM-6300F for the multi-channel, and maybe a 10" shallow sub in the back with maybe 3, 400 watts to that. I'll deffinitly take what you said into consideration.

I'm not much of an audiophile, so I really don't know how to answer how I want my front ends to sound, but I can say that I have the volume as about 42-45 and it's just not loud enough. With the Bose speakers, anythhing higher and the speakers start to cut out, so I just want them LOUD, clear, and very rich in bass. Thnk you very much for your input and advice, it's very much appreciated.

[CamelTowing]

Premier components have great mid bass for the price. Pretty efficient too. I would go with them if you can get them at dealer cost. Or look at Focal if your budget goes way up

[F90BT]

No problem...if u have any more questions just ask. I've been a long time lurker here ever since the announcement of the f-series and finally decided to post. I may pick one up soon however i'm waiting to see what is revealed at ces next month

[CatchMeIfYouCan631]

So F90BT, since both you and CT are giving good reviews to the Premier's, between those and the SR's, which would you recommend, as far as price/performance goes. Would I be getting more bang for my buck with the Premier's, or are the SR's worth every penny? Thank you!!

PS, I'll be at CES as well, can't wait

[CamelTowing]

I like my premier's. Some customers prefer something with a harsher tweeter but I would choose them. Last year Pioneer had 2-3 cars with them installed at CES so if they bring them again, you can audition them in sin city in a couple weeks

[F90BT]

The bang-for-the-buck championship goes to the premiers, no questions asked. Then again, some believe that the sr6500's are worth the price. One cool thing about the sr6500 is they can also be mounted as coaxes by simply plugging the tweet onto the phase plug of the mid.

The premiers will have better midbass extension and a less colored midrange, while the 6500's will have extreme detail without being harsh on the high end. I really like the tweet on the ts-c720prs, but i listen to a lot of jazz and neo-soul. It has a mellow smoothness and realism to it that i can't really quantify. They just sound great ; whereas the 6500 tweet is more accurate with a tad less distortion, but it sounds a little sterile and artificial to me. Slightly.

It all boils down to your ears though. If at all possible you should listen to both sets. I can't really see anyone being unhappy with either set, but those premiers retail @ $550 and can be had for about half. The sr6500 retail @ $750 and can be had for around $500.

[CatchMeIfYouCan631]

F90BT, I took your advice and went to listen to them before purchasing, and I ended up going with the ZR's from JL. The Polk's and JL's blew the Premiers and SS's away, but the SR's and ZR's sounded very similar to me, so I went with the ZRs because I like how their tweeters look over Polk's. I ordered 2 sets of the ZR650.CSi, and got the HD600/4 4 ch. amp. Paid in total about $1600, which I don't think is too bad considerign how much they retail for. I will post install pics when they go in, Thank you, F90BT and CT for your advice and input.

-Anthony

[F90BT]

Excellent....glad you decided to listen to each set before you purchased. You know best what your ears like. You must prefer a brighter sound than i do

[CatchMeIfYouCan631]

UPDATE:: Over the weekend I finished installing the system. Overall is consists of:

(1) Premier F90BT
(2) JL Audio ZR650.CSi
(1) JL Audio 10W6v2
(1) JL Audio HD600/4
(1) JL Audio HD750/1
(1) Whip Audio 2.4F Cap