May 9, 2005, Baltimore, MD–Today speaker manufacturer Polk Audio announced the first model in a planned line of premium priced, premium quality mobile audio products dubbed Signature Reference series.
The premiere product is the SR6500, a 6-1/2″ “compaxial” system, a two-way speaker that may be used in either coaxial or separate component mode. The new speaker system offers the best performance, flexibility and fit in Polk’s near-20 year history of mobile loudspeaker design.
The SR6500 uses several signature Polk technologies to deliver superior sound quality. The mid/bass driver cone is Aerated Polypropylene in which air is injected into Polypropylene to produce a honeycomb structure that serves to stiffen and damp the cone without adding mass. This is the same cone technology employed in Polk’s critically acclaimed LSi Series audiophile-grade home speaker line. The new driver also features a Nitrile Butyl Rubber (NBR) surround tuned to absorb additional cone resonance. This driver represents a significant evolution of Polk’s Dynamic Balance driver technology that uses laser imaging techniques to develop low resonance, high performance driver units.
In order to minimize mounting depth the SR6500 driver uses a small Neodymium magnet. The rigid cast aluminum basket has narrow “hips” and multi-pattern screw mounting holes; plus Polk supplies a total of four mounting ring spacers for use in vehicles with limited mounting depth. All of these elements combine to make the SR6500 the easiest to fit premium automotive speaker on the market.
The 22mm tweeter also draws technology from Polk’s award-winning LSi Series. Rather than a conventional dome, the SR6500 tweeter is a Ring Radiator design. Ring radiator tweeters have inherently few performance-robbing resonance modes. The result is flat, extended frequency response beyond 40kHz, low distortion, excellent dynamics, exceptional detail and transparency.
While ultimate sound quality is the focus of Signature components, Polk engineers did not forget quantity–the SR6500 plays very loud with minimum distortion and maximum power handling and reliability. The tweeter uses a ferro-magnetic colloidal fluid in the gap to sink heat away from the voice coil for improved power handling and reliability. The driver employs a 1.5″ diameter voice coil on a high-temperature (220°C) Polyimide former for a power handling rating of 125 Watts Continuous per channel. The cast aluminum basket draws heat away from the voice coil and dissipates it into the air via heat sink fins.
The tweeter can be mounted in several ways using the supplied hardware. It can be coaxially post-mounted on either a straight or angled post, or it may be used as a separate component tweeter in either a flush or angled mounting cup. Indicative of the degree of attention to detail that went into the SR6500’s design; the coaxial posts are gracefully smoothed and present no sharp edges. This design minimizes diffraction of sound-waves from the mid/woofer that would cause interference effects. Even in coaxial alignment the sound quality and imaging are reminiscent of expensive studio reference monitors, not car speakers.
The external crossovers feature premium 1% tolerance components such as Mylar capacitors and air-core inductors. A sophisticated Zobel circuit in the crossover acts to smooth the impedance curve of the system for more efficient amplifier operation and better high frequency response. Users may select one of four tweeter levels +1db, 0db, -1.5db and -3db via an internal jumper. Wire termination is accomplished with gold-plated spade lug connectors.
The new Polk Audio SR6500 component system will be available in authorized Polk Audio US and Canadian retailers in June 2005 with a MSRP of $799 ($1099 CDN).
Polk Audio is an international manufacturer of home and car loudspeakers with headquarters in Baltimore Maryland. Founded by Matthew Polk and George Klopfer in 1972, Polk Audio holds over 55 patents for advances in loudspeaker design and technology. Polk products are distributed the US and Canada and in over 50 countries. Consumers can reach Polk Audio by phone (800) 377-7655 or by email polkcs@polkaudio.com.
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