Whats up guys... planning on upgrading my interiors again (blew out driver side woofer) anyways i've read some 6.5" components will fit up front in the TL..(i have an 02 for reference) but never found any solid information on which mounting depths will work.. last set i bought were 6.5" diamond audios and my installer said there was no way they would fit.. personally i think he was just too lazy to try fitting them, but i ended up going with 5.25" to make it easier... these i will be installing myself so i dont mind the extra fitting work. Also is it even worth it to go with 6.5" over the 5.25?? will they sound any better over 5.25's... i know i'll need a 3/4 inch spacer but any other help would be appreciated.. fyi i was planning on going with some boston acoustics.. either the SR60's or the Sc60's anyone have any experience with theses speakers??

thanks in advance for the help!!

 

6.5" drivers will play a little more efficiently (cone area) all else equal, but if you haven't done so already, consider investing in an amplifier and/or processor which will do more for your system than adding a little cone area ever would.

 

Yea I'm already running a jl 300/4 for my interiors, 5.25 Polk components upfront, and 5.25polk coaxials in the rear for fill... Jus wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade to 6.5s since one of my components blew out

 

Couple thoughts:

The JL amp actually has active crossover ability, so if you want to try to up the ante a bit, go with separate drivers, and power them off that JL actively. The cost of components is on par or less than what you had previously and the performance potential is much higher.

And definitely go 6.5" as long as it fits. I have found the A-pillar location to work extremely well for an active setup btw.

 

Sorry, you lost me, Audio isnt really my strongest suite, kinda learning as I go for now, my previous installer was pretty Shitty apparently because ive had to go back through my whole system and retune everything so I'm still learning (will end up saving myself money in the long run)

My tweeters are currently in the a-pillars though.. Jus was hoping someone could chime in with what mounting depths would be acceptable for running 6.5s up front... Defiantly appreciate all the info you've given me thus far!!!

 

you can master your basics www.bcae1.com and be fully up to speed if you want.

The mounting depth issue is I think a little less than 3" including a spacer baffle up front. A simple plywood or better yet cuttingboard plastic (HDPE) baffle works great. 2.5-3" depth I think will work for you.

What I was saying is your amp has a crossover section that allows you to directly connect your tweeters to one set of channels, and your woofers to the other set. What this gives you is excellent control over each speaker's output and signal, and without a passive crossover box in the pathway, the system will sound cleaner and meaner. Basically, upgrade.

Passive crossovers are subject to all sorts of distortion and when you purchase a set of "comps", really the place where most companies cut corners is on that crossover...the part that has the most effect on the sound quality! My going from a passive-crossed system to an active-crossed system, you can run individual speakers rather than "comps". In fact, you could leave the tweeters right where they are, and get a set of woofers to go in the door that work for you. Example:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=295-372



That's just off the top of my head. I would double-check with other members for depth, I forgot to measure when I was in the door.

If you have to go w/ components, there's hundreds of good brands out there it seems. I like my DIY options personally.

 

ohh, totally got you now, just didnt understand the terminology in the first... definatly makes sense though, and will look more into running it like that as opposed to using the crossover that come with the comps...

yea still waiting for someone to chime in about those depths.. dont wanna find out the hard way theyre not gonna fit... if i remember correctly a 3/4" spacer was def needed like you said..

the mounting depths on the Boston acoustics i was looking to run are 2 7/16 both top and bottom mount depth so hopefully someone can chime in and confirm so i can pull the trigger...

 

hey bobo. depends how much u want to spend my hertz mille mlk 165 6.5" comps are deep 3 3/8" inch total depth of the speaker but these are high power and high cost. just took them out of my accord. i have no idea what i will be doing with them but i could always sell em too ya let me know they are some of the best sound speakers you can buy on the market hands down. anyways if room is your biggest issue, i would look at crutchfields website to see what speakers they say fit your car. then look at those speakers to see how they compare to your ones that are in there now. crutchfield is just a basic guide fitment. or always go to best buy get a pair of speakers to see if they work then return em

 

IMO if you are starting to think at the level of HERTZ, there is no reason I can come up with to NOT go active.

A set of Scanspeak, SB Acoustics, Morel, etc. with some smart thinking as to breakup nodes, qts, response and roll-off, and sensitivity, and you're set. Probably at 1/2 the expense of a high-end component set.

FYI, HERTZ do very well active too!

 

when changing the speakers how u get the damn door off or does the piece over the speaker come out

 

You take the screw out behind the door handle and the screw below the ARM rest. Then gently pull the door panel from the door from the bottom and work around till all the clips are out. Pull the door panel up and turn 180 degrees towards the mirror and it will come out. There is two plugs one for and interior light that twists out and one for the electric window. There is a tab on the side of it you push in and pull the wiring harness out.

What I want to know from everyone is how to get 6.5 speakers to fit instead of 5.25. Went to best buy today for a speaker adapter and he hadn't even heard of them. Crutchfield says 6.5s will fit with an adapter provided with new speakers but I can't find just the adapter. I have an 03 tl

 

Im also thinking of doing this as soon as possible.. Fourthmeal i've seen you post those dayton audio speakers a lot lately. would you recommend them in my setup, I'm looking to change the 4 door speakers and at least 2 tweeters. and what amp would be good to pair with all those? i know we talked about this before and i was gonna take your advice in wiring the front tweets/mids to the amp and power the rear mids off the HU. Lemme know your advice. sorry for hijacking just don't wanna get attacked for starting a new thread when there's so many already.

 

6.5 diamond audio HEX in my 00tl with a spacer that i made myself... expect fitment issues but nothing that you cannot fix, trim or cut in order for it to sit well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QTU8a5R-es

 

6.5" fit right onto the stock spacer, just cut off the back of it. Also, I wouldn't try to fit a speaker with a mounting depth of more than 2.75".

 

To fit a 6.5 midbass/woofer, you have to build a custom spacer due to the depth of most of the aftermarket speakers, and plus the larger cone area.

I had to do these with my Boston Pro Series. Quite easy to make, but since I try to be a perfectionist when doing small things such as this, I took my time to build it.

Speaking of audio, for the audiophiles on this forum, I'll be doing some upgrades soon and will have a thread up for fiberglassing the door panels to fit a 7" midbass. Most might think it is overkill, but when I explain the reasons why on my build thread, I'm sure you'll all understand.

And as for the OP, 6.5" will sound much better than 5.25" due to bigger cone area and longer throw for lower midbass ranges resulting in a more full midrange/midbass sound. Believe me, you'll hear some differences you might have never heard before.

 

very helpful post...look 4ward to seeing ur upgrades...appreciate u sharing the knowledge...i am also in the process of upgrading whole system

 

illmat1k is 10000% correct. I ditched the entire bose system and put 6.5" all around.

When I originally bought the car I bought the old Alpine type R (with bigger magnet) 6.5 comps for the front and 6.5 coax for the back. I opened the door panels and quickly realized the Type R's were not going to fit with out fabrication. I returned them and bought Polk DB Comps for the front and coax for the back and simply dropped them in with factory unit.

Was REALLY unhappy with that install so I said f**k it and RE DID it ALL! Like illmat I built custom brackets (which with the Polks you dont need to do since they are not huge magnets) but because I wanted to do it right I made the bracket/ring.

Mounted the tweets in A pillers, ran new wires, mounted my amp under passanger seat. Next month I plan to install 6.5 Comps in the back instead of the crappy coax. If you still need help then, ill be sure to take many pictures.

YES DITCH the 5.75" and GO WITH 6.5!! If you get some that do not have big magnets (Polk DB or NEW Alpine Type R) you wont need to cut the door opening and a simple mounting bracket will suffice. We don't have much room behind our door panels but you can still get GREAT sound.