OasisKid

I'm sure the cost will be minimal, anyone have any suggestions? Should I take it to Acura? Thanks in advance for your help.

fokkerfitch83

Mmmmm, new speakers. I have Polk Db651's in my TL. They can take abuse and sound excellent. Install was a breeze, and the price is great. Usually circuit city has a deal every week on Polks like buy 1 pair get the other half off. Check'em out:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Polk-...oductDetail.do

OasisKid

Thanks for the recommendation, I appreciate it. Now that you mention it, I may just swap out the 4 main speakers all together. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know as much about audio shit the way a lot of you on this board do. In fact I know very little. In a perfect situation, I would simply swap out the two front speakers on the driver & passenger side doors, as well as the two rear speakers behind the back passenger seats. I really don't want to spend more than $400 total. Do you guys think it makes sense to just swap out those four speakers without going all out with the amp and sub as well as well as the tweeters and center channel speaker? From what friends tell me, that's gonna run me around another $1,000 which is what I am trying to avoid like the plague. Any ideas? Thanks guys.

fokkerfitch83

I am no expert myself but w/ the help of this site and some elbow grease I was able to do all the mods myself. It does make sense to at least swap ot all 4 6.5" F/R speakers. The difference in sound quality is very noticeable and the install is pretty straight forward to do it yourself. I highly recommend those speakers I mentioned before and you can usually get all 4 for $150 + tax. If your not too sure go to a Circuit City/ Best Buy/ Car Audio / etc. store and listen to some firsthand, before you buy. And if/when you do buy some, get some Honda speaker adapter plugs. They make the install 100% plug and play. You can disconnect the factory speakers from the harness, attach the adapter to the new speakers and plug it into the factory harness. With that you A) won't void any warrantee and B) Can easily reinstall your old speakers if you ever decide you want to sell your car and keep the mods you put in it. FYI, I re-did my entire audio system for around $550 and thats for all new speakers, tweeters, C. Channel, sub, amp, and wiring. Search eBay, you can find some great deals on there from time to time.
Good luck!

OasisKid

Thanks a lot fokker. But will the stock Amp have enough juice to power those new speakers? From what I've read on this forum most people have said a new amp is the only real way to get the most out of a speaker upgrade. Is the difference/upgrade in sound that noticeable to you with the stock amp still in place? Thanks mate...

CrazyFresh

iTrader: (1)

Can you tell us where you got those Honda Speaker adaptor plugs?

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Thats funny..Im actually at the Acura Dealer right now getting my driver speaker replaced for the THIRD time.

Covered under warranty but I Think im going to go with some nice Infinity or Polk components in the front

ityper

i just might have to join the club and get these polks! where's a good/cheap place to purchase these from an online etailer?

fokkerfitch83

Not true. The stock amp can easily push the those Polks. To swap the OEM amp out would be a MAJOR pain in the ass and also void a warranty as you would have to cut and resplice/solder the new connections. And also find an amp that would fit in the passenger kick panel Most of us here actually put a new amp in another location I.E. trunk, under seat, where the tire change kit is, etc. If your doing just a simple speaker swap you will not require a new amp. I did a lot of research too, before I decided to change mine so I have asked all the questions you have been asking. Those polks also have positional tweeters so you can aim them to your liking. The clarity is superb IMHO. Try eBay if your trying to find a good deal on them but make sure they're new. Even better go to a site like Nextag or Pricegrabber and just do a search for "DB651" and that will list the cheapest e-tailer. As for where to get the adapters - if your shopping online Crutchfield I know has them. If your gonna make the trip out to Circuit City then all you have to do is go to the Car audio section and ask the guy for them. I just told the guy I had an 04 Acura TL and he went in the back and grabbed 2 pairs and told me although they sa Honda on the box it fits all Honda made models. Even better yet go here http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Acces...ategorylist.do They are the ones called "Metra Honda/Acura Speaker Harness (DW7800SH) " I couldn't click on the link for some reason but I could add them to my cart AND...THEY'RE ON SALE! Haha, they apparently are going for $3.50 a pair right now. See if you can do the site-store shipping and you can pickem up in 24 minutes! I honestly think CC would be your best bet if you can pick up all 4 for $150.00
Let me know if ya have more questions

fokkerfitch83

Oh yeah, hey CrazyFresh. I see your from Philly. Whats up w/ I-95?? It took me 3 hours to get from Philly back here to South Jersey on tuesday. Usually takes an hour haha. The expletives were flying that day.

aSPECtL06

Fokkerfitch, great information. I will be doing this mod very soon. How is the process of removing the existing speakers?

fokkerfitch83

The front's are easy - see the 3G garage for a scan on door panel removal. Basically for the front, you remove the plastic behind the door handle, then the 2 screws that were covered by it. Then you take out the screw w/in the armrest - you have to sit down to see the hole and you need a fairly long Phillips head to get to it. Then the last screw is the little Stopper/Rubber door stop on the bottom left(driver's side) or Right on the passenger's side. After that its a matter of just popping the clips that hold the door panel in and unplugging the the harnesses on each door. I had a crate and let each door panel sit on that to rest as you cannot get the panel off fully but you can set it aside to let you do the work easier. To install all you do is unscrew your stock speaker and pull it out. Then unlug that harness from the speaker. W/ the adapters you just bought you slide the connections over the new speakers terminal - white for positive and black for ground. Use the Screw hole adapter that comes with the new speakers to fit the new speaker in the OEM spot. Once its secure you just have to reverse the order of the door panel removal to put the panel back on.

The rear speakers are a little trickier but mainly because of the limited space. The speaker install is the same as the front though. Look in the 3G Garage for the rear seat removal and rear tray. Any more questions feel free to ask

ityper

Quick question; do i need to get the DB651 or the DB651S (shallow) polk speakers? I'm on crutchfield and the website tells me the DB651 is the way to go?

also, does the door panel need to be modified to fit these speakers or can i keep the stock look w/o any modification to the door panel speaker cover?

fokkerfitch83

Go w/ the DB651 - they're mounting depth is thin to begin with. As far as the door panel goes, you will not have to modify it what so ever. It retains the the stock look.

rksokol

Was it your speaker actually went out? I just ask b/c the last two cars I owned each had the driver door speaker go out. I was convinced it was the wiring. I forget why, but somehow attributed it to the constant opening and shutting of the driver door over time.

blkaspec

CC says that these DO NOT have directional tweeters

fokkerfitch83

That's BS. I OWN them. I can confirm that they do in fact have directional tweeters. CC is wrong. Here check out the specs -
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...=3&tp=95&avf=N

ityper

thanks for the reply, I'm in the process of orderin them today! can't wait to slap these bad boys on

OasisKid

Thanks for all the useful info, I really appreciate it. I picked them up today from circuit city, they were $229 for the 4 plus tax, the pair of 6x9's for the back passenger rear setup were an extra 30. I wasn't bothered. I listened to them in the store and they sounded really crisp with good bass as well. I am having them installed by a friend who I trust to do this kind of stuff next week. I can't wait to get them in and working. I will be sure to let you know what I think after it's all done. Thanks again bro!

fokkerfitch83

ERRR wait.... Did you buy 1 pair 6 1/2" and a pair of 6x9? I hope not. The 6x9 will not fit in the rear. Both front and rear speakers require 6.5" speakers. If you bought 6x9's return'em and get another pair of 6.5" and while your at it mention the half off deal considering you bought a pair 6.5"s already and didn't realize your rears were the same as your front. Let me know how it works out.

OasisKid

Haha, damn man, Circuit City is a disgrace. Thanks for the info. The sales kid couldnt tie his own shoes. Then he proceeds to tell me that my TL requires 6x9's for the rears, he then "confirmed" it in his trusty manuel. So I guess I am taking a trip back there Monday, great. Thanks for the info!

OasisKid

So... I went to a local car audio stereo place and they installed the speakers for me. I can notice the difference in the quality of sound, but I still see the same problem with the volume levels. 35-40 still is not sounding all that loud to me. Again, I can hear the difference in quality, but I still feel that they are no where near loud enough. I guess my only option is to add an amp to these speakers... What else could be the problem?

fokkerfitch83

35-40? That's really really loud! Are you listening to a CD or the radio/XM @ that level? I have never put my volume past 21 as it's almost deafening even @ that level - well w/ a CD in I should say, XM volume could go a bit higher. What are your audio settings set at? I have my bass, treble, and Center set @ 2 under the Max and my subwoofer set @ 3 above the lowest, but a I have a JL Sub where the stockie used to be so thats enough sub bass for me. Let me know...

OasisKid

I have tried to adjust the settings to a million different combinations to see if it makes a difference, I don't know what it is but it's pissing me off that's for certain. I can tell the speakers are quality but there is just no juice. Do you think it mattered that he just spliced the existing wiring and didn't use the Metra Honda speaker harness? I don't know much about that shit but I don't think it would make a difference, correct? Ahhhhh, I have shit luck to start with. I just don't understand how you are getting so much more sound with the same Amp & Speaker setup. Granted, I don't have an aftermarket sub but that is not relevent anyway. IDK, I'm thinking of just matching up a decent $200 4 OHM AMP to these new speakers and really upping the ante. What do you think Fok? I appreciate the help...

OasisKid

Does anyone know if I would be able to install a Kicker 06ZX350.4 AMP without having to swap out the head unit?

fokkerfitch83

Hmm... in reality the splicing he did COULD affect sound quality and output IF the installer did a half-ass job and A) only crimped female speaker connectors to the wire or B) if he soldered the connection, it could have a e bad joint but, I doubt that's the case unless the installer was a noob himself. An amp would push the speakers more but you would need more than a 4 channel amp if you wanted to swap out the existing OEM one. I believe you need a 6.1 channel amp - don't quote me on that as it's been a while since I searched but, you need an amp that will resupply all speakers with the new-added power and a 4 channel would only do 4 speakers. Do a search on this site for something like "changing stock amp" or along those lines. There was a write-up a long time ago I remember seeing and they listed the amp he used but I remember the whole process seemed like a huge PIA. You might want to take it to the dealership if its THAT bad. Maybe your stock amp is going or there is something faulty w/ your head unit. Otherwise Im at a loss for what to tell you. Keep me posted

fokkerfitch83

Also, those amps are PRICEY and you must make sure it will fit in the Kick panel.