Those of you who have been reading the LONG "speakers" thread, know that the POLK DX-6 (6-1/2" coaxial speakers) have been discontinued and are getting harder and harder to find. They orginally listed for $169.00 msrp.

These speakers make for a really nice and easy upgrade to the stock TL-S BOSE system. I'm NOT saying that they are the only speaker that makes for an easy upgrade, nor are they the ULTIMATE solution to a system wide upgrade. BUT, they do provide much tigher bass and REAL highs! They have adequate efficiency to be used with the stock Head Unit and EQ. They also have a full sized 1 inch silk dome tweeter that does not sound too bright for use with the stock EQ, yet would be plenty bright if and when the stock EQ is bypassed. They also have enough power handling capability to allow for a future amplifier upgrade. These are GOOD coaxial speakers!

BEST OF ALL! They fit without having to cut the door frame, or without having to build a custom spacer. They have the exact depth of the stock speaker, and can be mounted with easy alterations to the stock 3/4 inch spacer/basket. THE HOLE PATTERN EVEN LINES UP! You don't even have to drill new holes in the door! A simple cut to the stock spacer/basket and recrimp two wire connectors and bingo, You're good to go. This mod by itself, may be a sufficient level of upgrade to satisfy many people, yet it would still allow for even greater improvements with the addition of another power amp down the road. We have already had about half a dozen satisfied people who have swapped these speakers out of their front doors on the "speakers" thread. Please read some of the responses if you haven't already been saturated by them.

These speakers WERE the BEST 6-1/2 inch coaxials that POLK made. They have now been discontinued, and the components are being separated and being made into the DX3065 "Component" series.

So now what POLK offers is lesser grade speakers in their coaxial line. The EX365 is a cheaper version speaker. It has a lesser weight magnet, it only has a 3/4" inch tweeter (although it swivels) and the hole pattern is different enough that you would have to drill ONE new hole in order for the speaker to fit. POLK has also come out with a new line of ECONOMICAL factory replacement coaxials called their GXR Series. They only have a 1/2 inch tweeter and are definitely not incorporating near the caliber of materials as used in the DX-6 speaker.

It's like POLK just took this "PERFECT" coaxial swapout for the TL-S and went both directions with their marketing. You can now either jump up and go the component route with the same woofer and tweeter that was once combined in the DX-6 with their DX3065 series, or go even higher with their new MOMO component series. All of the component series speakers would require substantial mods to the door frame, spacer, and door panel, sail panel, etc. and the MOMOs would require an extra amp to really push them.

SORRY for the long post... BUT I just wanted to inform those of you who are not aware of this REALLY NICE discontinued speaker, that it is getting harder and harder to find. Read the mania in the "speakers" thread and I think some of you may be wishing to purchase a pair or two of these before they are completely gone.

Some places were having clearance sales on them a month ago. I bought the LAST pair at FRYs for only $59.00! LIST PRICE, $169.00! Since then I bought a second pair for my rear doors for $80.00 online. A lot of online sites have been selling them at closeout prices as well. However, they are going fast. Below is a list of internet sites that I have searched that ALL had them available two weeks ago. NOW, more than half of them are soldout and the prices are not as good. Some people have had luck with purchasing these on EBay.... But for those of you interested in getting in on the last of these gems... Below is a list of internet sites that I have researched and their current availability status.

POLK DX-6
6-1/2 inch COAXIAL SPEAKER WITH 1" SILK DOME TWEETER

1. www.audionmore.com (NO LONGER IN STOCK)

2. www.carstereoworld.com (NO LONGER IN STOCK)

3. www.caraudiodiscount.com ($80.00, NO LONGER IN STOCK)

4. www.fullline-audio.com ($80.00, NO LONGER IN STOCK)

5. www.caraudiovideosystem.com (NO LONGER IN STOCK)

6. www.competitionsound.com ($97.42, *IN STOCK!)

7. www.woofersetc.com ($99.00 plus CA Tax, *IN STOCK!)

8. www.carstereomall.com ($109.00 plus CA Tax, *IN STOCK!)

9. www.caraudiozone.woofers.etc.com ($99.00 plus CA Tax, *IN STOCK!)

10. www.uscaraudio.com ($104.99 plus CA Tax, *IN STOCK!)

READ ABOUT THESE DX-6 SPEAKERS ON THE POLK WEBSITE AT www.polkaudio.com/car while they still have them listed.

They are going fast, and I thought that my fellow TL-S owners should get first dibs on them before the rest of the general public grab them all up. Some of these websites may actually be the same retailer using different website names. So they may even be harder than they look to obtain. Also, some of the sites may not actually be able to deliver, because they haven't yet taken them off of their website database either.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, ACT FAST! It's the best and easiest $100 stereo upgrade that you can do to the STOCK TL-S BOSE system... Again, read the "speakers" thread for more details on their performance and characteristics, etc.
Southbound

 

UR THE MAN!:smokin:

 

I was wondering it there anything else beside the POLK DX6, casue the spl on the DX6 is like 90db i want something higher. What is available without doing any mods to the door its a 2001 TL.

 

If you can find something with a HIGHER SPL that will fit the screw hole pattern of the stock door frame, use the existing 3/4 inch spacer, and also fit inside of the door hole cutout, plus sound better than the stock speakers WITH THE EQ LEFT IN, BUT, be beefy enough to take some extra power if and when you end up replacing the stock amp... GOOD LUCK!

You realize that SPL is specified many different ways. This speaker is actually pretty damn efficient. POLK does it legit' They spec 90db at 1watt/1meter. This should be the standard reference.

Others use ratings at 1watt/.5meter... That's bogus! In that case you need to SUBTRACT 6db to get the correct number, since sound dissipates as the square of the distance.

Others use ratings of 2.83Volts/1meter... That's also bogus. That is 1watt into 8ohms. Since all car audio speakers are 4ohms or less, you have to SUBTRACT 3db in this case to get the correct 4ohm number.

You CAN'T believe everything you read! Make sure you are comparing apples to apples when it comes to the SPL rating as supplied by various manufacturers. A lot of them are trying to trick you, just like amp specs are misrepresentative sometimes as well.

 

Southbound,

I've been reading your posts on the audio system situation, and speakers in particular. I just orderd a set of the Polk DX6s from one of the sources you listed above.

I wanted also to thank you for the time and effort you spent researching/analyzing the situation. As a long time audiophile I read with interest your in-depth comments... it all made sense. We are lucky to have you on this forum!

Again, thanks for the effort!

 

Thanks for the nice comments RandyL

Which source did you find them in stock from as of this date? I ordered a backup pair from www.competitionsound.com back on April 16th. SO far they have yet to deliver???? I got an email from them last week about how they would have to be "special ordered" and it would take another 7-10 days???? It took them three weeks just to tell me that they would have to special order them? I got them within a week from carstereoworld.com when they still had them in stock. My fear is that competition sound will find out that they are no longer available from their supplier either, and they may never actually deliver???

Let me know what you find out for real? I guess I could and should call these people to find out more about my actual status, but so far I have just been playing the waiting game...
Southbound

 

I found some while browsing at onlinecarstereo.com

https://www.onlinecarstereo.com/cara....asp?sku=11148

it doesnt say whether its in stock or not tho .. $109

 

I ordered a pair last night from www.woofersetc.com. They sent me an order confirmation but that's all. I really have no idea if they'll ship or not. Some of these web stores look pretty flimsy, kind of makes you wonder.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

Southbound, I would like to echo RandyL sentiment. I took your advice about the DX6's and I am very happy with the resulting improvement in the soundstage. My previous job was the manager of a small electronics store that specialized in high end installations and I can honestly say it would be very difficult to get more improvement in sound quality for such a small investment of time and money.
I would also like to say as a lurker for the past four months, that this forum represents the best of the internet that has only scratched the surface of its potencial.
BTW, I paid $86.00 (US) plus shipping on Ebay.

 

Yeah, it might not be the BEST speaker out there. But all things considered, it's the best easy fit for the stock system with some room to grow.

It's not the ulimate upgrade, but it's definitely worth $100 bucks and a Saturday afternoon. Other speakers that I tried, either needed another amp to drive them or required more mod work to the spacer and door frame, etc.

These are a quick fix with a relatively decent payoff.

Southbound

 

Anybody know of any other GOOD speakers that fit without having to cut or make a box ti make it fit?

 

Read the info that has been posted in a new thread called "Speaker Questions?" started by "got 3.2"

There's some options discussed there.

Thanks!
Southbound

 

Do the rears replace with Dx6's as well or different ones?

 

So does TLs have 4 - 6 1/2s?? Im thinkin bout using 4 coaxials and a set of image dynamic compression horns.... How does the Polk DX-6 compare to other top brand names?

 

Yes, the TLS uses four 6-1/2 inch speakers. BUT the door hole cutout and screw hole pattern is relatively small for true 6-1/2 inch speakers. Most 6-1/2 inch speakers recommend a door hole cutout of 5 inches. The stock door hole cutout is only a little over 4 inches. So a lot of otherwise nice 6-1/2 inch speakers won't fit without mods to spacers or even cutting out the door frame hole to a bigger size. Unless you are planning to bypass the factory EQ and add your own aftermarket amp... you won't be wanting to add four coaxials and additional high frequency horns. Things will sound waaaay too bright!

The POLK DX-6s are GOOD coaxials. There are better ones out there, but these are about the best that I've seen that will fit directly into the stock spacer and door hole cutout. They are also efficient enough to be driven by the stock headunit and have a full 1 inch silk dome tweeter that is not too bright with the stock EQ left in circuit. They do have plenty of high end left to spare and can provide quite a bit of punch. They would stand up well to a moderately powered aftermarket amp. BEST OF ALL... THEY FIT! They have the same depth as the stock speaker, just a lot better magnet, better cone material, REAL tweeter, good efficiency and their hole pattern matches the stock door spacer and frame. All you have to do to mount these is to cut the back off of the factory spacer/basket leaving you with a 3/4" spacer that fits them perfectly. Cut the factory connector off and butt two new terminals (or splice the wires supplied to the existing speaker wires) and you're done!

A lot of other makes require the use of their 5-1/4 inch models in order to fit our small hole and depth requirements. Others have had success with mounting higher grade 6-1/2 inch speakers, such as components, but of course, they have had to fabricate custom spacers, etc. and typically require the EQ to be bypassed and an aftermarket amp to really get the best use out of them.

It's just a matter of how far you want to go with the mod process. Sadly, the DX6s have been discontinued, so you have to get them while and if you can through various internet providers. I thought they served a nice easy medium upgrade for our TLS system.

GOOD LUCK!
Southbound

 

I got my Polks in this weekend, and they sound sweet. I went from 2 clicks positive to 1 clicks negative on my treble.

Thanks for all your help Southbound!

BTW, I had a phillips screwdriver slip while screwing in the speakers and it punched into the the speaker, right in the seam between the surround and the cone. I felt it meet the metal on the housing behind. I was absolutely sure I put a hole in it. But when I looked closely, there was only a slight smudge - no hole. Amazing. That's one tough speaker.

eCo

 

Glad you're happy eco,

You might want to put a thin layer of silicone RTV sealant over the screwdriver mark. Use the type of RTV silicone that REMAINS FLEXIBLE. But it could help prevent the scratch mark from getting worse over time. Only you know how deep you scarfed it. If it actually cut into the marterial, I'd add a little layer of protection on top of it. If it was indeed only a surface smudge, then hopefully you don't have to worry about it.

DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS!

Good Luck!
Southbound

 

do any of you know what kind of work would be needed to fit a set of infinity kappa 60.5cs components into the front doors of an 02 TLS?