My review of the Polk DB 501 5 inch front speakers

For those of you thinking about upgrading your front speakers, this is my review of the Polk 5 inch 501. The Polk is one of our very limited options at this time and I can sum them up in one word...........HORRIBLE!
I bought these because several members on another Wing forum swore by them, said they sounded much better than stock with just less bass.

For starters they claim a 5 inch size, not even close! Our OEM speakers are 5 inches, these are more like 4 inches.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps11ee7d1e.jpg

I spent a couple hours figuring out the best way to get them mounted as clean as possible and ended up making some brackets for them out of sheet metal.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps3eab7868.jpg

I filled the rear cavity with some Poly fill for better sound.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps315fa545.jpg

I got them mounted up.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...psae24264c.jpg

Fired up the system and the sound was horrendous! I had to turn the bass down 4 levels just to get them to stop distorting. If there was little to no bass coming through them then I imagine they would sound ok for mid to high range sound. As part of a 4 speaker set up with larger more bass providing rear speakers then I could see how they would be ok. I know the full Wing has 4 speakers so they probably sound a lot better. For us F6'ers these don't cut it as the only source for audio, at least imo. I ordered the J&M's so we'll see how they are. They get mixed reviews and I question if they are weather resistant or not but time will tell. If they J&M's don't cut the mustard then I will figure out a way to get a high quality 5inch-5 1/4 inch speaker mounted in there......stay tuned!

Thanks for the review!

You did a nice job on the speaker mounts, too bad it didn't work out. :icon_frown:

Do you think there's enough room behind the speakers for a spacer to put bigger speakers in? I bought a kit for my Street Glide from Paul Yaffe's Bagger Nation but I returned it when I decided to trade in for the F6B. I wanted to hear those speakers SO bad but wanted the new bike more. Here's a pic of the kit. I wonder if it would fit, or if they would make a kit. I'll send them an email.

Attachment 877

Better pic.

Attachment 878

Link:

http://www.baggernation.com/products-stereo.htm

Thanks for the info! Great job on brackets! Looking forward to more experimenting with sound, although I find it acceptable as stock so far.

I wonder if poly fill behind the speakers would put an end to road debris flying in there. I'm tired of seeing leaves and such in there.

Don't waste your money on the RF stuff either. They didn't make much of a difference in my 07 RG. The RF amp was good, the speakers not so good. Still got that box also. I never throw shit out...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by chipmaker

Don't waste your money on the RF stuff either. They didn't make much of a difference in my 07 RG. The RF amp was good, the speakers not so good. Still got that box also. I never throw shit out...

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Really? Ouch. That stuff isn't cheap and to hear that is disappointing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Thanks for the info! Great job on brackets! Looking forward to more experimenting with sound, although I find it acceptable as stock so far.

I wonder if poly fill behind the speakers would put an end to road debris flying in there. I'm tired of seeing leaves and such in there.

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The debris comes in front of the speakers. I wonder if these would work though.

Attachment 882

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bobbyf6b

Thanks for the review!

You did a nice job on the speaker mounts, too bad it didn't work out. :icon_frown:

Do you think there's enough room behind the speakers for a spacer to put bigger speakers in? I bought a kit for my Street Glide from Paul Yaffe's Bagger Nation but I returned it when I decided to trade in for the F6B. I wanted to hear those speakers SO bad but wanted the new bike more. Here's a pic of the kit. I wonder if it would fit, or if they would make a kit. I'll send them an email.

Attachment 1350

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There is a good amount of space back there. If the outer frame is 5 inches that is what is important. You have several inches behind the speaker for a good sized magnet. Mine are currently empty. If you like I can snap a pic of the cavity for you. I can also measure the space back there and let you know what you have to work with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GiddyupF6B

There is a good amount of space back there. If the outer frame is 5 inches that is what is important. You have several inches behind the speaker for a good sized magnet. Mine are currently empty. If you like I can snap a pic of the cavity for you. I can also measure the space back there and let you know what you have to work with.

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Thanks for the offer but I'm not ready for that yet. I was just trying to give you more ideas for yours.