Polk Audio Car Speaker EX652a User Manual

E X S E RIE S  
POLK AUDIO  
5601 METRO DRIVE  
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21215  
(800)377-7655  
Polk Audio  
EX Series II Owner's Manual  
POLK AUDIO EUROPE LTD.  
TYTTENHANGER HOUSE  
COURSERS ROAD  
ST. ALBANS AL4 OPG  
GREAT BRITAIN  
TEL: 1727.827311  
POLK AUDIO GERMANY  
UNTERTUERKHEIMER STR. 24  
D - 66117 SAARBRUECKEN  
GERMANY  
TEL: (49) 681 5800 888  
"Polk Audio" and "The Speaker Specialists" are  
trademarks of Britannia Investment Corporation used  
under license by Polk Audio Incorporated.  
 
EX SERIES II SUBWOOFER FEATURES:  
BUILDING YOUR OWN SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE  
The EX Series II subwoofers use the latest technologies and highest quality materials to  
Since the subwoofer enclosure is so critical to getting the best performance from your EX  
provide you with the best bass response and greatest reliability possible. The EX Series II  
subwoofers have been optimized to give skull-collapsing performance from a wide variety of  
enclosure types. Some of their design elements are:  
subs, you should ask yourself the following questions:  
1. Do I really enjoy working with my hands?  
2. Do I have good woodworking and mechanical skills?  
• 1mm thick mineral filled polymer composite cones – ultra stiff and strong to  
withstand the enormous pressures generated inside subwoofer enclosures without cone  
breakup and distortion.  
3. Do I have or have access to woodworking and electrical tools?  
4. Do I have a solid understanding about musical reproduction in an automobile?  
• Injection molded polypropylene dustcap – prevents distortion due to the build up of air  
pressure behind the cap.  
• Rubber surrounds – provide a much tighter and more durable air seal behind the  
cone than foam, paper or cloth surrounds, for deep, tight, quick bass. In addition,  
rubber surrounds do not dry rot like foam surrounds.  
• If you answered "NO" to any of the above questions, we recommend you choose one of  
these two possible alternatives. First, you may choose a pre-built subwoofer enclosure  
available from companies like Obcon, ADD and Q-Logic or an enclosure kit from  
BassLine and other manufacturers. The second alternative is to have your authorized  
Polk Audio dealer design and build a woofer box for you.  
• Four layer, 2" voice coil (EX10 and EX12 only) – handles heat generated when your  
amp is really cranking.  
• If you answered "YES" to all of the above, let’s review some basics before you begin.  
• Vented pole piece – lets air circulate over the voice coil to keep it cool and in control  
even when the bass is really thumping.  
Effective planning will help ensure that your system performs the way that you want it  
to. Every car is different, and everyone has slightly different musical tastes. You need to  
make informed decisions before you begin to build your system. Polk EX subwoofers  
are designed to work in a wide variety of enclosures, and each enclosure design has a  
unique list of pros and cons. The following is the basic information about the most  
popular automotive subwoofer enclosures.  
It is not possible to provide all of the information for enclosure options here. This  
manual will give you enough information to build a great sounding enclosure. If you  
are interested in a greater choice of enclosure designs, your Polk EX Series II dealer  
has extensive experience designing woofer boxes and will be more than happy to work  
with you. If you prefer, you can call our Customer Service Department from 9AM to  
5PM, Monday through Friday, Eastern Time at (800)377-7655 or email us at  
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FIGURE 1.  
ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION ENCLOSURES  
The acoustic suspension cabinet is a sealed airtight box,  
and is the simplest, easiest box to build. It is a very  
predictable enclosure with easily calculated  
parameters and a smooth natural sound. Properly  
built acoustic suspension cabinets have a  
reasonably flat frequency response that begins  
rolling off at 12 dB per octave at the frequencies  
below its cabinet resonance. This works very well  
inside a car because of a natural phenomenon  
called “room gain” or “transfer function” that gives  
you a 12 dB per octave increase in bass frequencies. You can  
roughly calculate at what frequency this gain begins by using the  
together and cancel themselves out, making no bass at all. If you plan on building an  
infinite baffle system you must plan on sealing all of the air passages between the trunk and  
the passenger compartment (not an easy job). Also the metal used on the rear decks of cars  
does not make for a very good baffle board; the metal will tend to resonate and again cancel  
out the bass frequencies. You should plan on mounting your woofers on a non resonant  
wooden baffle. A properly designed infinite baffle enclosure will roll off at 6 dB per octave  
below cabinet (speaker) resonance, and will have a very smooth frequency response. The  
infinite baffle is the least efficient box design.  
TUNED PORT ENCLOSURES  
FIGURE 3.  
The tuned port enclosure is similar to the acoustic suspension box  
except that it uses a port to take the back wave from the  
speaker and “tune” it to reinforce the front wave. A  
equation F= 565 / L. F is the frequency at which bass gain begins, and L is the longest  
dimension of your “room”. If, for example, you measured the longest dimension in the  
interior of your car as 5.65 ft., the room gain begins at 565 / 5.65 or 100 Hz. If your goal  
was perfectly flat frequency response, you would design your cabinet for this particular car  
to have a resonance frequency of 100 Hz. Since most people want more bass than a flat  
frequency response yields, tuning the cabinet at a lower frequency, say 50 Hz, would give  
you a gain of 12 dB per octave between 100 and 50 Hz and flat response from 50 Hz down.  
The larger the cabinet, the lower the resonant frequency, and the lower the efficiency. Two  
identical systems will sound very different in a Honda vs. a Cadillac. The bigger the car, the  
lower the frequency at which room gain begins.  
system becomes more efficient when the  
frequencies of the port and the front wave are in  
phase. It is absolutely critical that the dimensions  
of the box and the port are perfect, or the back and  
front waves will cancel each other out, reducing  
your bass output. Tuned port enclosures tend to be  
peaky in the bass, and many people (particularly  
Bassheads) like the punchiness of the sound. Tuned port  
enclosures roll off at a very steep 18 dB per octave below cabinet  
resonance, which means that the room gain of the car will not help to extend the lowest of  
frequencies. In addition, the woofer becomes “unloaded” below the tuning frequency of the  
port and very loud musical information below these frequencies can damage a woofer.  
FIGURE 2.  
INFINITE BAFFLE  
Also known as free air enclosures, this essentially means mounting  
your woofers in the rear deck of your car, and not building a box  
BAND-PASS ENCLOSURES  
FIGURE 4.  
Band-Pass boxes can be built in a near infinite amount of  
around the speakers. At first glance, this would seem to be a very easy  
configurations. They incorporate at least two  
way to install your new speakers, but many problems can occur if this  
individual chambers and are by far the most  
is not done exactly right. In the acoustic suspension design described  
complicated box to model and build. The theory  
behind band-pass boxes is to limit the frequencies  
produced by the subwoofer, thereby making it more  
efficient in the frequencies that it produces.  
A by-product of this efficiency is that it is often  
possible to build a band-pass box much smaller  
than its equivalent acoustic suspension box and get  
the same quantity of acoustic output. If you have a very  
small car with limited room for a subwoofer box, a band-pass box  
above, the box is providing two major functions: first, the air that is  
sealed within the box acts as a spring to help support the suspension of  
the speaker. As the woofer cone moves in towards the box, the air in the  
box pressurizes; and as the cone moves out a vacuum forms. This helps to  
keep the cone from traveling too far and destroying itself. An Infinite Baffle design  
has no box; therefore, it has no trapped air behind the speaker to act as a spring. If your  
speakers are not specifically designed for infinite baffle use they can be damaged. Your new  
EX Series II woofers are designed for use in enclosures and are not recommended for  
infinite baffle use. The second thing that a sealed box provides is sound wave isolation  
created from the front of the speaker cone due to the waves that are created from the back of  
the speaker cone. If the two wave fronts are not isolated from each other they will mix  
may be a good choice. The downsides of the band pass box are numerous. First, the  
construction must be flawless, any airleaks or rattles will seriously degrade performance.  
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PARTS YOU WILL NEED TO BUILD YOUR ENCLOSURE  
There are three choices of enclosure material:  
Second, designing band-pass boxes is as much art as science, just because a computer  
program says that a certain design will work is no guarantee that you will like the  
performance of the finished design. Third, all subwoofer enclosures exhibit a phenomenon  
known as “group delay”. It means that the sounds from the subwoofer will lag in time from  
the sounds created by your high frequency speakers. This causes a smearing of the sound  
and in worst cases a ping-pong effect from the highs in the front of your car to the bass in  
the rear. Band-pass boxes are especially prone to long group delays. Finally, the pressures  
and vacuums formed within a band-pass box can be extremely high, if the subwoofer you  
are utilizing does not have a very stiff cone. It can buckle under the high pressures, making  
very bad noises. The Polk EX subwoofers utilize 1mm thick mineral filled cones, and are  
extremely well suited for use in band-pass enclosures.  
1. Particle board  
2. Medium density fiberboard (MDF)  
3. Marine grade plywood  
These materials range in price as well as availability. Particle board is the most common,  
least costly, and can be purchased at most hardware stores. MDF and marine grade plywood,  
although preferable, are usually much harder to find, and more costly. Whichever you  
choose, we recommend that its thickness be 3/4". This will provide the rigidity necessary for  
optimum performance.  
If you have never built an enclosure before, we are going to try to make this as easy and  
painless as possible. If you have built enclosures before, you can skip this section and go  
right to the specification page to get the technical parameters.  
TOOLS YOU WILL NEED TO BUILD YOUR ENCLOSURE  
If you have decided to build your own enclosure for your Polk EX subwoofers, here is a list  
of the tools you should have available.  
1. Wood (particle board, MDF, or marine grade plywood ) 4' x 8' x 3/4" sheet  
2. Wood glue (one bottle)  
3. 1 1/4"x #8 wood screws (one box)  
4. Caulking gun and silicon caulk (two tubes)  
5. Terminal cup (one per speaker) available at electronic parts stores  
6. Speaker wire  
7. Carpet (optional)  
8. Grilles to protect your subwoofers (optional)  
9. Solderless speaker connectors (available at electronic parts stores)  
• Calculator  
• Assorted drill bits  
• Screwdriver bit for drill or manual screwdriver  
• Circular saw  
• Tape measure  
• Drill - electric or cordless  
• Jig saw  
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FIGURE 5.  
DESIGNING YOUR POLK EX SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE STEP BY STEP  
1.) How much room do you have to work with in your car or truck?  
2.) Which of the above enclosures sounds the best to you?  
When designing your subwoofer enclosure, the first thing you need to figure out is just how  
large an enclosure will fit in your vehicle. When an enclosure is going in the trunk of a car,  
you first need to measure your trunk to find the maximum height, width, and depth  
available. Pay attention to trunk hinges and tension bars. If your enclosure is going in an  
area other than a trunk, make sure you check for similar obstructions. After measuring,  
subtract 1.5" from each dimension. This compensates for the thickness of the material you  
use, and will give you your usable (internal) dimensions. Record these dimensions in the  
space below for future reference.  
17 1/2" 16"  
34"  
Maximum dimensions  
Usable dimensions  
Height:__________inches  
Width:___________inches  
Depth:___________inches  
(Minus 1.5 inches)=______inches  
(Minus 1.5 inches)=______inches  
(Minus 1.5 inches)=______inches  
Usable volume=________cubic inches  
Usable volume=________cubic feet  
35 1/2"  
You now have all the dimensions you need to begin cutting out your wood. The illustration  
above shows a diagram of the enclosure with all the panel sizes that need to be cut.  
After you have cut all of the wood, it’s time to start assembling your enclosure. Before you  
assemble your enclosure there are a few things we recommend doing. You will need to cut  
out the hole for your EX subwoofer and your terminal cup. The terminal cup is a connector  
that allows you to plug and unplug the wires from your amplifier into the enclosure. You  
may want to have a friend help you with assembly since it’s hard to hold the pieces together  
and assemble them at the same time. When building your subwoofer enclosure, we suggest  
that you use wood glue in combination with wood screws for the strongest joint. We also  
suggest that you use one screw about every three inches along the seams of your enclosure.  
Assemble the enclosure as shown in the above diagram, but leave one side off. We suggest  
that you leave off the baffle board. This will allow you to seal your enclosure more easily,  
and an air-tight seal is crucial! The best way to insure an air-tight seal is to seal the inside of  
your enclosure with quality silicone caulk. This also includes sealing around your input  
terminal cup, and, if you are using a ported enclosure, around your port. It is not advised to  
use silicone around your subwoofer when mounting it to the baffle. Instead, we recommend  
using the foam gasket weather stripping supplied with your EX subwoofer. When mounting  
your subwoofer to the baffle board, pre-drill your mounting holes using the template  
supplied. This will make the mounting of your subwoofer easier and will help prevent  
damage to your subwoofer from a slip of the drill. When securing your subwoofer to the  
enclosure we recommend using bolts and tee-nuts, but if you prefer, you can use wood  
screws. Whichever you use, make sure it is at least 1.25" long. This will insure a good grip  
into the wood.  
Multiply your usable Width x Height x Depth. The product will be the usable (internal) volume  
of your enclosure in cubic inches. Divide this number by 1728 (the number of cubic inches in a  
cubic foot). This will give you the internal volume in cubic feet. Divide your internal cubic feet  
by 2 (only if you are using a pair of EX subwoofers). Compare this number to the chart on page  
14 of this manual. Choose the recommended enclosure which is closest in size. Now that you  
have all of your needed dimensions, you can begin cutting your wood. From the above chart  
you can tell how big each piece of wood should be. Here’s a sample enclosure.  
Maximum dimensions  
Height:__________inches  
Usable dimensions  
(Minus 1.5 inches)=______inches  
17.5  
16  
Width:___________inches  
(Minus 1.5 inches)=__3_4___inches  
35.5  
Depth:___1_1_.5______inches  
(Minus 1.5 inches)=__1_0___inches  
5440  
Usable volume=________cubic inches  
3.15  
Usable volume=________cubic feet  
By looking on the chart at the bottom of page 14 of this manual, you’ll find that this usable  
volume is slightly more than double the recommended volume for a single EX12, in either  
a sealed or vented enclosure. Assuming that you will be using a pair this will work out well.  
If you are using a single subwoofer, you can cut your width in half. Since we will be using a  
pair of EX12 subwoofers for our sample enclosure, we now need to determine the center  
divider displacement and the resulting total usable volume. This can be figured out by  
multiplying the height x depth x thickness of the divider, and subtracting that number from  
the total usable cubic inches. Using the example above yields the following result:  
[5440 in3 - (16" x 10" x 3/4")] = [5440 in3 - 120 in3] = 5320 in3 total usable volume.  
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11  
 
AMPLIFIER POWER REQUIREMENTS  
Your speakers will work well with a variety of electronic components. As little as 50 watts  
per channel will deliver adequate listening levels in most cars. If you have a noisy car or  
intend to play your system at loud listening levels, more power is necessary to achieve the  
best performance. More power is always better. Consult your Polk Audio dealer for  
specific recommendations.  
When building a ported enclosure we suggest that, whenever possible, you locate the port on  
the same baffle as your subwoofer. Your port should be unobstructed both in front of and  
behind it by at least 1 to 2 times the diameter of the port. If, on the inside of your enclosure,  
the port comes within 1 to 2 times its diameter of the rear wall, you will need to “bend”  
your port tube. If you are using PVC pipe you can either cut your port on a 45 degree angle  
and rotate the cut portion by 90 degrees, and glue (using PVC cement) or you could buy a  
90 degree elbow from your local hardware store. If you are using a card board port tube you  
will have to use the cut and rotate method. Since you will be unable to install a “bent” port  
from outside the enclosure, you can now see why we recommended leaving your baffle  
board off until last.  
SAFE LIMITS OF OPERATION  
Your Polk loudspeakers are made with the highest quality materials for years of trouble-free  
performance. However, damage to loudspeakers can occur when an amplifier, regardless of  
its wattage, is made to play at higher listening levels than its power can clearly produce  
(usually beyond the “1 to 2 o’clock” position on the volume control).  
Finally, one last thing you could do to your enclosure before installing it is to stuff it. The  
primary reason for stuffing an enclosure is to “trick” the woofer into thinking that the  
enclosure is larger than it actually is. You would want to do this if you build your box  
smaller than the recommended size. By stuffing the box you can build the box as much as  
10% smaller than recommended and still achieve the same net result as the full size  
unstuffed box. The easiest way to do this is to use dacron pillow stuffing which can be  
purchased from craft stores fairly inexpensively. The rule of thumb for stuffing your  
enclosure is 1 pound of dacron per cubic foot. When putting the dacron into your enclosure,  
do not pack it in, rather place it evenly around the inside of the enclosure. When stuffing a  
ported enclosure, it is important not to obstruct the port with the dacron.  
This results in very high levels of audible distortion, originating in the amplifier, which  
adds a harsh, gritty sound to the music. Contrary to popular belief, a speaker is more likely  
to be damaged by trying to get too much volume from a low-powered amp than from a  
high-powered one.  
LOW FREQUENCY CUT - OFF FOR SYSTEMS WITH SUBWOOFERS  
Now that you have a subwoofer in your system, you may want to decrease the amount of  
bass going to your mid-range speakers. This will get you better midrange sound and  
increase the power handling. There are two ways to roll off the bass before it gets to the mid-  
range speakers. One way is to use a “bass blocker”, a capacitor placed in series with the  
main input. The other route is to use an electronic crossover device which allows filtering  
below 100 Hz or so.  
Although your new EX subwoofers were designed to work in a wide variety of enclosures and  
configurations, we have included only the most popular ones. For more enclosures and  
configurations, please contact your local authorized Polk Audio dealer. We hope that this  
manual has helped to take the mystery out of designing an enclosure for your new Polk  
Audio EX Subwoofers.  
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
Good luck and enjoy your new Polk EX Series II Subwoofers. If you need assistance or have  
any questions, call 1-800-377-POLK (7655) between 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday  
Eastern Time.  
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EX SERIES II SUBWOOFER SPECIFICATIONS  
EX SERIES II 1 YEAR WARRANTY  
Polk Audio, Inc. warrants the original purchaser only that this Polk Audio EX Series II  
EX8  
EX10  
EX12  
THIELE/SMALL PARAMETERS  
Product (the Product) will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period  
of (1) one year from the date of original retail purchase from a Polk Audio Authorized  
Dealer. However, this warranty will automatically terminate prior to the expiration of the  
(1) one year period if the original retail purchaser sells or otherwise transfers the Product to  
any other party. The original retail purchaser shall herein after be referred to as "you." To  
allow Polk Audio to offer the best possible warranty service, please fill out the Product  
Registration Card(s) and send them to the Factory at the address provided in the  
Registration Card within (10) ten days of the date of purchase.  
Type  
subwoofer  
8"  
subwoofer  
10"  
subwoofer  
12"  
Driver Complement  
Nominal Impedance  
Frequency response  
Fs (Hz)  
Re  
Le  
Qms  
Qes  
4ohms  
20-300Hz  
44.64Hz  
3.73 ohms  
1.57 mH  
11.43  
4ohms  
20-400Hz  
32.47Hz  
3.34 ohms  
1.55 mH  
8.27  
4ohms  
20-500Hz  
24.47Hz  
3.38 ohms  
1.40 mH  
8.14  
0.57  
0.54  
0.48  
0.31  
0.30  
Qts  
0.45  
1.59 ft3  
44.56L  
150watts  
400watts  
92 dB  
0.177 in.  
4.5 mm  
2.0 in.  
4 11/16"  
120 mm  
5 1/16"  
130 mm  
9 1/16"  
230 mm  
Vas (cubic feet)  
Vas (liters)  
0.66 ft3  
18.51L  
125watts  
300watts  
90 dB  
4.72 ft3  
132.02L  
150watts  
400watts  
93 dB  
Defective Products must be shipped, together with a proof of purchase, prepaid insured to  
the Authorized Polk Audio Dealer from whom you purchased the Product, or to the Factory  
at the address given in this booklet. Products must be shipped in the original shipping  
container or its equivalent; in any case the risk of loss or damage in transit is to be borne by  
you. If, upon examination at the Factory or Polk Audio Authorized Dealer it is determined  
that the unit was defective in materials or workmanship at any time during the Warranty  
period, Polk Audio or the Polk Audio Dealer will, at its option, repair or replace this Product  
at no additional charge, except as set forth below. All replaced parts and Products become  
property of Polk Audio. Products replaced or repaired under this Warranty will be returned  
to you, within a reasonable time, freight prepaid.  
Power Handling (watts continuous)  
Power Handling (watts peak)  
Sensitivity (SPL at 1 watt / 1 meter)  
Xmax (inches)  
Xmax (millimeters)  
Voicecoil Diameter  
Mounting depth (inches) top mount  
(millimeters)  
Mounting depth (inches) bottom mount 4 1/4"  
(millimeters)  
Mounting diameter (inches)  
(millimeters)  
RECOMMENDED ENCLOSURES  
Sealed  
Sealed volume(cubic feet)  
(liters)  
Ported  
Ported volume(cubic feet)  
(liters)  
Port diameter (inches)  
(millimeters)  
Port length (inches)  
(millimeters)  
Tuning frequency (Hz)  
Bandpass  
Bandpass total volume (cubic feet)  
(liters)  
Front chamber volume (cubic feet)  
(liters)  
0.177 in.  
4.5 mm  
1.5 in.  
3 7/8"  
85 mm  
0.177 in.  
4.5 mm  
2.0 in.  
5 3/8"  
135 mm  
5 3/4"  
145 mm  
10 7/8"  
276 mm  
110 mm  
7 1/8"  
180 mm  
This Warranty does not include service or parts to repair damage caused by accident,  
disaster, misuse, abuse, negligence, inadequate packing or shipping procedures,  
commercial use, voltage inputs in excess of the rated maximum of the unit, cosmetic  
appearance of the cabinetry not directly attributable to defects in materials or  
workmanship, or service, repair, or modifications of the Product which has not been  
authorized or approved by Polk Audio.  
.5 ft3  
14.2 L  
.65 ft3  
18.4 L  
.95 ft3  
26.9 L  
.75 ft3  
21.2 L  
3 in.  
75 mm  
10 1/4"  
255 mm  
45Hz  
1.0 ft3  
28.3 L  
3 in.  
75 mm  
11 1/4"  
280 mm  
38 Hz  
1.25 ft3  
35.4 L  
4 in.  
100 mm  
12 5/16"  
305 mm  
40 Hz  
This Warranty is in lieu of all other expressed Warranties. If this Product is defective in  
materials and workmanship as warranted above, your sole remedy shall be repair or  
replacement as provided above. In no event will Polk Audio, Inc. be liable to you for any  
incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the Product,  
even if Polk Audio, Inc. or a Polk Audio Dealer has been advised of the possibility of such  
damages, or any other claim by any other party. Some states do not allow the exclusion or  
limitation of consequential damages, so the above limitation and exclusion may not apply  
to you. This Warranty gives you specific legal rights which may vary from state to state.  
1.1 ft3  
31.1 L  
.70 ft3  
19.8 L  
.38 ft3  
10.8 L  
3 in.  
75 mm  
12 3/8"  
310 mm  
58 Hz  
1.1 ft3  
31.1 L  
.50 ft3  
14.2 L  
.60 ft3  
17.0 L  
3 in.  
75 mm  
9 7/8"  
250 mm  
51 Hz  
1.5 ft3  
42.4 L  
.75 ft3  
21.2 L  
.72 ft3  
20.4 L  
4 in.  
100 mm  
19 3/16"  
480 mm  
46 Hz  
Back chamber volume (cubic feet)  
(liters)  
Port diameter (inches)  
(millimeters)  
Port length (inches)  
(millimeters)  
Back chamber tuning frequency (Hz)  
This warranty applies only to Products purchased in the United States of America, its  
possessions, and U.S. and NATO armed forces exchanges and audio clubs. The Warranty  
terms and conditions applicable to Products purchased in other countries are available  
from the Polk Audio Authorized Distributors in such countries.  
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