All these so called "Blown Polk mm series" speakers has me thinking.
I have seen several post where guys say the glue let go and physically they can see the tweeter post coming apart.

But then I see other who say they just stopped playing after snap crackle and popping.

So I want to try this. I want to hear from anyone who has had a set of Polk mm series speakers blow or break.

The question is this
What amp were powering the Polk's when the blew up??

I have a hunch that they most of them are using the same amp or same amp manufacturer.

Post up fella's What amp were you using when the polk speakers blew or broke?

 

Ss 520 I think the reasoning for mine 2 sets were gained turned to high using ultra nutz method but when iPod plays songs at different level I think that when they went just continuous playing on them

 

I was/am using a RF PBR 300x2. My right speaker went while using my IPod as well. The tweeter stalks both shifted, and the right speaker stopped working. I too turned down gains and have been all good for several months now.

 

I have the mm6501 so no tweeter issues just the mid bass drivers started crackling and popping. The tweeters still work just can't turn them up lol..I'm running the ss 520 amp with gains at 11 o'clock..

 

The amps aren't the problem. The way some amps are adjusted could be part of the problem. I believe setting the amp to AP allowing to much bass to pass to the speaker coupled with to much volume has been the problem for some. Some received speakers with sorry glue causing their speakers to deform when they got a little hot. Then there are others that have just had their speakers crap out! I've had the Polk MM651's installed since March and they're still crankin' right along with no issues whatsoever "knock on wood" and that's with the RF PBR300x2. IMO the Polk MM's are the best speakers you will find for the price and are better than allot of more expensive speakers if you receive a good set!

 

I disagree and here is why.

First off, there is no way that "too much bass" can get to the speakers. All Polk mm series speakers have crossovers that do not allow frequencies below what they can handle to get to the speaker.

Why I am trying to find out is this. If you have an amp that is pushing "dirty power" to the speakers, that creates distortion.
What destroys a speaker when they distort is heat, among other things. But heat would explain the glue letting loose and the tweeters coming apart.
It would also explain the speakers that just stop playing after crackling and popping like some have described.

Just because you can set the gain with a DMM in your driveway under a controlled environment, does not mean it will stay properly set while riding.

Once the bike is rolling and the rpms are up, your charging system delivers over 14 volts to the battery and amp.
When you sit still and set your amp with a DMM, you are only feeding it 13 volts at best.

But that is not why I believe some are getting dirty power from the amp. I think that some of these amp are distorting at higher volumes and even more once you feed it 14 volts.

Most amps test the RMS rating at 14.4 volts. Meaning that when you have an amp that is rated 125 watts per channel @ 4 Ohm and 14.4 volts. And you set the gaim from your calculations based on 125 watts but only feeding the amp 12 to 13 volts either not running or just idling?

You are over driving the amp once you are moving down the highway and your charging system is delivering over 14 volts to the amp!

Ad that with the fact that some of these amps use cheaper components and there is an even higher chance that you are feeding the speakers dirty power or a distorted signal.

This is why I want to know what amp is most commonly associated with the blown Polk speakers. i think there is more to this than just a bad batch of glue.

I too think the Polks are the best bang for the buck and is why I ran an all polk system till a few days ago when i started testing the Pioneer 6x9's.

But this is just a theory of mine. I am in no way claiming to know this is fact.
I just want to know for my own information. You can read into it what you want and come to your own conclusion.

 

Soundstream PN4.520

 

The MM crossovers are a 2 way design that uses caps and coils to send the highs to the tweeter and the lows to the mid-bass. There is no "bandpass" that will limit low frequencies sent to the mid-bass driver, if you run your amp full range it will indeed see all the low frequency notes contained in the music. Very low notes played at high volume can certainly smoke a 6.5 inch driver, just as clipped highs can smoke tweeters.

 

1.) the STOCK charging system is NOT capable of delivering over 14.8 volts throughout the entire system whether it be to the battery or to any device connected to the system. This is precisely what the voltage regulator is for. Now if the VR was failing, that would be a totally different story but then you would likely have fuses popping every where because most of these electrical devices whether it be a gauge or an amp will cease to function over a pre-determined voltage set by the manufacturer.
2.) I feel you're on a witch hunt here pal..

Polk is Polk and I still think they're one of the best out there. I also tend to believe based on past experience that SS is also one of the best out there "bang for the buck". The issues have been correlated to 1 single batch of speakers in the 5000 - 6000 range with 1 exception so far and it's close enough to 5000 to call it the same batch.

**EDIT**
Also, the 14.8v I stated up top is also at 3600+ RPMS. Doubt very seriously if anyone (I could be wrong though) is riding at 3600+ RPMs so your voltage is going to stay in the 12.8 - 13.5v range about 95% of the time.

 

That my friend is incorrect. I have the Power Vision connected to my bike and mounted on the bars.
I cruise the highway around 3500 rpm most of the time and my charging system puts out 14.2 volts at that rpm and around 13+ volts at idle.

I never said anything about 14.8 volts. I said "over" 14 volts.

But my point was this. It you set the gain with ...say ....12.5 to 13 volts not running and then crank the stereo to max volume while your charging system is pumping out ( in my case ) 14.2 volts, you are over driving the amp plain and simple.

I also did not say anything bad about the ss amp. All I said was I want to see what amp people are using that are blowing these Polk speakers.

But I stand by what I said about cheaper amps and the components used in them.
It is what it is and cheaper components can, do and will have a broad range of quality.
You may have never had a problem with ( in your case ) a ss amp. But that does not mean that they are all top quality. And I bet some of all amps are not as capable of delivering clean signal at max rated rms as others out of the same batch.

So if you have a guy with an amp that is capable of pushing 125 watts like it is rated at but will distort at any level above that. And then you over drive it by a little bit, it will distort!

Then this guy rides for days cranking his bad **** sound system, and the speakers eventually fail.

Like I said, this is MY treory and I am collecting this information for my use. I am not claiming that everyone has crap for amplifiers. I just want to know what amps are used in the systems that have posted here that they have blown Polk mm series speakers.

But I also stand my ground that it is very easy for someone to over drive their amp if they set gains at a lower voltage than the voltage the amp will see while riding.
Do the math and you can;t help but agree with me on that one.

How many watts does one more volt give you coming from the amp? And is that amp capable of delivering that extra wattage with a clean signal?

Very valid points and deserve looking at instead of taking offense like I trashed talk a particular brand of amplifier, don't you agree?