Well, after having a third Polk Audio mm651 speaker go bad in 2 years I think Im going to change things up and give the Infinity Kappas a try.

Im running the stock HK head unit and had a PBR300x2 amp powering the polk speakers. 2 times the polks gave out and where replaced under warranty.
I recently traded the amp for a soundstream pn4.520D and was impressed with the increased sound and volume, granted my FM reception suffered.

Not more than a month and bam another polk speaker goes bad. I contacted polk customer service last week and have yet to get a response. I dont expect much from them as the speaker is out of warranty, but you never know.

I am somewhat conservative in my settings so not sure why the polks are giving out. Figure I would give another brand a shot and see how they hold up for comparison sake.

I wish UltraNutz was still here to help troubleshoot what may be going wrong with polk audio speakers. I hear there is a bad batch within a certain serial number range that seems to be the problem with all the polks blowing lately, but Polk will not admit it.

Anyways, has anyone else had similar issues with polks and have you tried Infinity Kappas? Im interested in hearing your thoughts. I will have mine by tomorrow so will post back and share my findings.

Also, anyone running Kappas, where you able to use the cool looking grills that come with them? Any mods have to be done?

 

I had that exact same setup, factory HU, RF300x2 and Polk MM651s. I ran them for over a year with no issues, but I swapped out the speakers for the Kappas after reading about all the Polk failures. I also swapped my RF amp for a Precision Power, which is a clone of the Soundstream, and put in a Sony HU. With a new amp and HU I can't directly compare the speakers, as the other changes made such a huge difference. I will say I really like the Kappas, and they seem to have a better track record for longevity. I didnt use the grills, but I don't think they would fit right even if you cut them up due to the speaker adapter ring. I used the Hawg Wired metal grills, they look good and let all the sound through.

 

The Polks have developed a reputation for going bad. It's a problem with the glue being used on the tweeter stalks. I don't know if it's been addressed by Polk. Since several sites are listing them as discontinued I hope that means the problem is being corrected. As for the Infinities there are several guys running them, myself included, and I think you'll like them. Not as much low end as the Polks but the Kappas are underrated in the power department. Meaning they can easily handle more RMS power than they are listed at and they remain crystal clear. Doing the polyfill wrap is a must with the Infinities to tighten up the low end frequencies so pick some up if you don't already have some.

 

Mike is correct . . . It's the glue on the tweeter stalks causing the problem. I went through 6 sets before I found a good set. No way to troubleshoot. Factory defect. I think you will like the infinity's. The are very durable speakers and crystal clear at 70 mph.

 

Installed the Infinity Kappas last night. I think I had the radio volume to high when adjusting the gains as I hear some static to sound from 1/4 volume on up. Ill open up when I get home tonight and double check.
For those with this setup what where your settings? Radio 3/4 volume, amp gains at 5 o clock position?

 

That's pretty close but remember, every HU and set of speakers will differ slightly. The best thing to do is turn the gain all the way down and the bass and treble levels on the HU to flat. Using a CD that has some dynamic music on it, preferably with the type of music you usually listen to, slowly bring the volume up until it begins to distort. Then back it off a little. Take your time doing this and let the song go through its louder parts. Now, leaving the volume where it is, start bringing up the gain. Again, take your time and back it off a little once it starts to distort. If you're doing it by yourself don't hesitate to move around to the seated position so that you're hearing from the direction the speakers are pointing. The other thing to double check is that you don't have any of the speaker wires crossed. make sure they are + to + and - to -. Otherwise it's out of phase and won't sound right no matter what your levels are set at.

 

Thanks Little Mike. Thats the procedure I followed but was alone and rushed going back and forth as it was late last night. Ill try again as I think I failed to back it off a little after the slight distortion. Doesnt sound bad, just hear some of the distortion creeping in well before it should.

 

The other thing to double check before you take it for a ride is that your AVS is set on one. You can adjust it up if needed but you don't want to start with it set higher.

 

What does setting avs to 1 do? I never did that before.

 

Sorry, that should have been AVC (automatic volume control). That you've probably done, lol. But if not it's on the main menu of the radio along with the bass, treble, and volume when listed on the screen. What it does is increase the volume as your speed increases to compensate for additional wind and exhaust noise. The numbers indicate the level of compensation. 1 is the lowest amount. You can increase it later if you decide you need more volume at speed.