Stereo Upgrade - Polk to JL Audio

[Kelsupra]

Hi all,

I posted this in the Supra/Moomba Facebook page but no replies really. I wonder if somebody from here could help please:

Hi Everyone,
It's time to do some stereo upgrades to my 15 SG 550. Right now I have the Polk Audio system through out. Spinner tower speakers as well as Roswells. One of the Polks (mm651) in the spinners are gone as well as one in the cabin and one in the bow for a total of three (all are mm651).
For new towers I would like to go with 2 - JL 8.8's and 2 - JL 7.7's. Is that the setup for 2016+ Supra boats? Or is it 4 - 7.7's?
What do think I should do with replacing the mm651 speakers? These are 2 ohm speakers that are no longer available and the replacements are mm652 4 ohm speakers. Or should I move to another brand? What are the amp implications? Change those too? Trying not break the bank on this project lol.

One last question - How do the JL Audio M3 650 speakers compare with M6 650 speakers? There is a big difference in price between the two.

Thanks all

[j.mo]

I’m just about to take all of the MM out of my Supra for 6 new revo6, and 2 rev410 on the tower. I will have 10 coming out. I’d make you a good deal on a few If you want.
The JL will definitely be an upgrade, but you’ll be making amp changes as well and it will cost a bit.
Boat has 90 hours and has been stored inside. Either way, let us know which route you choose. Lots of good guys and info here.


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[larry_arizona]

I have a JL m400/4 amp in excellent condition for sale. $300 plus shipping CONUS.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210213/d04b7e8d099576233a7a4cd1684b2381.jpg

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[MLA]

Polk did offer a 2.7 ohm MM651 as well as a 4 ohm MM651UM. There is now issue going from a 2 (or 2.7) ohm speaker to a 4 ohm. However, if any pair are wired together to a single amp channel, you may want to reconfigure that connection.

As long as the amps are performing as intended, no need to replace either.

I would consider 2 pair of 880 rather then a mix of 779 and 880. Only a little more investment for the larger speaker.

Another option, go with a single pair of larger 10" or 11" and just remove the lower pair of pods all together. Turn the OEM 4 chnl tower amp into a 400W x 2 2 chnl.

The M3 uses a first order cross-over and .75" tweeter. The M6 uses a second order cross-over and larger 1" tweeter. The gives the M6 better sound quality and greater power handling.

[larry_arizona]

This might help you decide between M3 and M6.....


https://www.marinestereo.com/jl-audio-m3-vs-m6-marine-speakers.html


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[larry_arizona]

I have a JL m400/4 amp in excellent condition for sale. $300 plus shipping CONUS.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210213/d04b7e8d099576233a7a4cd1684b2381.jpg

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Amp SOLD.


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[Kelsupra]

Thanks Guys, I’m leaning towards JL towers for sure. Still undecided on what to do for cabins/bows. The difference in $ between m3 and m6 is almost double lol.

If I run my Polk amps with new speakers, I can probably upgrade those later...

I don’t know if my PAD400.4 Polk amp will be enough for new tower speakers

[Kelsupra]

Darn it Larry I was going to jump on you JL amp lol...

[larry_arizona]

Darn it Larry I was going to jump on you JL amp lol...

Sorry man. The 400/4 will power 2 JL8.8 towers nicely.


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[Kelsupra]

That’s ok Larry, I’m leaning towards 4 towers.

[larry_arizona]

That’s ok Larry, I’m leaning towards 4 towers.

For reference Supra uses an 800/8 to drive 4 jl8.8 towers.


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[Kelsupra]

Wow that's a lot of power for 4 towers!

[MLA]

Its only 200W rms to an 8", thats a good spot. However, the M800/8 is a poor way to go IMO. 1) you end up running all 8 chnl at their minimum load, just to get that 200W from each pair of bridged chnls. 2) in order to configure this setup correctly, You have to populate all 8 inputs. The DSP MVi series is a different scenario.

Now, before someone pops in to say "the amp works with only a single pair of RCA", yes it does, but its less then ideal. And "Supra only used a single pair of RCA" yep, and Nautique also ran this amp setup poorly. JL's own literature outlines it.

For the money, there are 2 chnl marine amps with more wattage output that are not going to require a pile or RCA Y cables to make it right.

[larry_arizona]

Its only 200W rms to an 8", thats a good spot. However, the M800/8 is a poor way to go IMO. 1) you end up running all 8 chnl at their minimum load, just to get that 200W from each pair of bridged chnls. 2) in order to configure this setup correctly, You have to populate all 8 inputs. The DSP MVi series is a different scenario.

Now, before someone pops in to say "the amp works with only a single pair of RCA", yes it does, but its less then ideal. And "Supra only used a single pair of RCA" yep, and Nautique also ran this amp setup poorly. JL's own literature outlines it.

For the money, there are 2 chnl marine amps with more wattage output that are not going to require a pile or RCA Y cables to make it right.

I am not sure why JL does this for Supra and Nautique as they are the ones designing and tuning these systems for each model boat.

But JL is using the mvi amps now.

Supra currently uses the following.....

M800/8mvi for 4 8.8 towers
M800/8mvi for 2 8.8, 2 7.7 and 2 6.5 in boats
M1000/1mvi for 2 12” subs.

JL personnel are supposed to custom tune each boat at Skier’s choice.


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[larry_arizona]

I thought the RCA’s were for zone control.

1) Bow
2)dash
3)cockpit
4)tower
5)sub


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[MLA]

But JL is using the mvi amps now.


JL still offers the M-Series M800/8, as well as the new MV800/8i. Prior to the MVi series, the M-Series was used bridged into 4 chnl mode. Its important to make the distinction between the M and MV since there are two 8 chnl amps available. One is good, one is less then ideal due to how its has to be configured with RCA.


I thought the RCA’s were for zone control.

My post refers to the RCA inputs on the amp, not media unit's RCA output.

[Kelsupra]

Guys, what do think about jl mdh600/4 to run jl tower speakers? That is the amp I'm looking at now. My old amp is the Polk Pad400.4

[MLA]

If you are going to drive 4 of the same speakers, the MVi MV600/2i would be my choice over the MDH600.4. The MV600/2 is easier to wire, but the trade-off is the DSP tuning is WAY more involved compared to the MDH amp.

[Kelsupra]

Just had time to check out the setup as it is now. This is what I have:

1) Polk PAD4000.4 - one of the wires says "top" so assuming its powering the Roswell towers
2) Polk PAD4000.4 - running Polk towers/polk bows?
3) Polk PAD5000.5 - cabins/Polk sub

Is this correct?

Do I have enough to power JL m6 6.5 speakers in cabin and bow?

[MLA]

I have not run across a Supra Polk setup that had two (2) PAD40004 amps, but just one, and then a 50005.

The 5 chnl 50005 will power all the in-boat speakers.............. main cabin and bow.

A single 40004 will power 4 coaxial tower pods or can be made into a large 2 chnl amp and power a single pair of large, high power handling HLCD tower speakers.

To four speakers, the polk 40004 is going to deliver 125W rms to each speakers. Volume wise, thats no different then the Jl MHD600/4's 150W rms x 4.

[Kelsupra]

Mike, its a little mind boggling for me! Thanks for the help indeed.

In your opinion do I have enough power with my setup to power 4 m6 tower speakers and 6 cabins/bows m6 6.5's (plus my sub)? Do I need the JL amp?

The reason that I thought that my sub was powered by the PAD5000.5 was because there is a bigger guage wire pair in the last connector.

[MLA]

The woofer should be powered by the 50005 as it has a dedicated mono woofer channel built in, thats the 5th channel. The other 4 chnls of the 50005 can easily power the bow and min cabin.

if it was going to spend money on a new tower amp, its want to get a real return on my investment. The 40004 will do fine to power 4 speakers, as this is typically how we find it being used. Going from four 6.5" to four 8", you will naturally gain volume as well as mid-bass. However, neither the MHD600/4 or the MV600/2 will be a seat of the pants volume difference. Both are great amps in their own right. The regulated power supply of the 600/4 means it maintains its rated wattage output throughout its voltage operating range. The MV is digital processing, meaning you can tune the amp with the fine tooth comb via your laptop.

tech and build quality, both of those JL amps are heads above the polk. Just want to manage your volume expectations going with either of those amps, compared to the 40004. Displaimer: this presumes the 40004 is wired and tuned correctly at this point.

[Kelsupra]

Thanks Mike.