cyber1ed

After reading all of the posts on audio upgrades, I figured I would give the DX6 speaker upgrade a try before doing anything else. I added the terminator mod along with the tweeter mod on the front speakers, and installed them in my TL in a couple of hours (really very easy to do). The audio quality is astounding compared to the stock Blows system that I have been listening to for over 2 years now. It is absolutely amazing. Anyone out there who is having any second thoughts about this upgrade - DON"T! It is absoultely the easiest, most satisfying quick fix I have ever done. My thanks to Southbound and Iggy for the inspiration!

Next week I'm putting in the RMB8s with a new amplifier - I can't wait!

BlackBeauty

I also got mine in yesterday, Thanks to TopGum, SouthBound and Iggy

My only concern is not much noticable increase in volume ?

I noticed I have to turn up the treble a bit when in the front seats

Overall, very good sound quality

Phil

randomwalk101

speaker will not increase in volume, amplifier does...you changed the speakers, and you're expecting a wrong thing. Common sense here!!

egilsrud

I echo cyber1ed's comments. We all owe a big debt of gratitude to Southbound - without his research and legwork, we'd all still be listening to the Blose speakers or trying to make other speakers fit (not an easy task).

The high frequency rolloff mod (resistor/cap) is the icing on the cake - otherwise, the high frequencies would be WAY too bright, given the EQ circuitry which tries to make the full-range Blose speakers sound decent.

Cheers to you, Southbound!

StreetEffectz

I just installed these in a customer's TL today....where's this unbelievable difference everyone is talking about????

egilsrud

The unbelievable difference is from the stock Bose speakers.

For less than $250 (which includes dynamat) I was able to replace all 4 Bose door speakers. No modification of the door panels was required. It is a simple installation that can be accomplished by almost anybody, and results in a big improvement in SQ, while retaining the stock HU (which requires very efficient speakers due to the low power ouput).

Obviously, as a professional installer, you have different criteria for what constitutes an "unbelievable difference", and I sure you would be able to install superior components with a resultant increment in SQ. But remember, we're talking self-installation with a minimum of fuss, and at minimal expense.

Southbound

Couldn't have said it better myself, Egilsrud!

I have maintained ALL ALONG that there are bigger and better upgrades to be had. But for a couple of hundred bucks and a "do it yourself" afternoon project... it is a sizeable improvement. As you have pointed out, it's probably not near the caliber of upgrade that Streeteffectz is used to doing for his "custom" customers. But then the $2k-$3K price tag is also missing.

There are obviously many levels of upgrades one can do to ones system. Some people also have different expectations. I'm sure that Ron is used to hearing a LOT of SUPER systems... therefore, this simple DX6 speaker replacement may not be his first recommendation. This is not a competition... we're all on this board to help each other where we can. Again, I've made it clear that the DX6 replacements are NOT the ultimate upgrade... but they are a LOT nicer than the stock BLOSE. Even Ron has to be able to acknowledge that. Yet, they won't be running him out of business either, nor are they mean't to. Some people will always want more extravagant and more costly/custom mods. More power to those people...

But for those of use who want a simple and cheap upgrade without having to hassle with removing the stock HU or EQ... this is the best thing I've seen out there for the money and effort.

Thanks egilsrud for the compliments and for keeping things in proper perspective.

Southbound

jim2003TL-S

I can't find these speakers anywhere..Does anyone know where I can get 2 pair?

Thanks,

JIM..

StreetEffectz

I didn't mean to sound snotty or anything....the customer himself installed the front polk speakers and said the same thing, that he didn't hear much of a difference. I definitely wasn't comparing high end upgrades to drop in speakers, that's for sure, but from all I have read about these speakers, I was expecting a little more than just a slight improvement in clarity. The install was in an '03, and whatever acura did to the sub, they really screwed up if you ask me....WAY too boomy...it overpowers the whole system.

egilsrud

Ron, did he modify the Polks to cut down on the highs? Otherwise, the tweeter will be way too bright, and if you turn down the treble on the HU to compensate then it will eat into the mids, resulting in a hollow sound.

Also, replacing the rears will improve the clarity. The Bose speakers (paper cone and all) are pieces of sh**.

If he's not happy with the DX6's and replaces them with something better (perhaps components with the tweet in the sail panel), then the Polks can be moved to the rear - they would provide excellent rear fill. Of course, components would also require more power than the stock HU can put out.

I'm happy with my DX6's - excellent return on the cost/benefit equation. Then again, I'm also happy that I replaced the stock sub with a 10" Diamond audio sub and Xtant amp!

egilsrud

Jim,

The last I heard Speed & Sound in NY still had some stock. They are still listed on their website (www.speedsound.com). I paid $120 w/ shipping for a pair. (I also got a pair from Music City for $80, but they are now out of stock.)

Give Speed & Sound a call at (800) 647-6863 and see if they can help you out.

StreetEffectz

Actually, what was weird about the whole thing was that the highs were barely even there. That's what I didn't like about them. The rears had more highs present than the fronts (VERY lacking)...I didn't check into the install that was done up front, but did have the door panels off to cascade.

Southbound

Streeteffectz, no offense was taken to any of your comments. I'm sure you're mods are leagues above anything we are talking about here with regard to a simple change out of the door speakers.

However, from what you are describing... something sounds amiss with the DX6 install. These speakers are quite sibilant when swapped straight out as Bose replacements. They have a LOT of high frequency presence with the factory EQ intact. Perhaps the "customer" completely disconected the tweeters before installing them??? Perhaps they mis-installed my recommended mods??? Perhaps they have the phases reversed somewhere??? Or perhaps they tried to bypass the EQ and got a few wires mis-configured??? Iggy and I have done a lot of tests regarding various ways to bypass the EQ and some of the methods do end up causing the BASS BOOMINESS that you are speaking of... I don't believe that there is ANY difference between the 02 and 03 TL/TLS... so that shouldn't have anything to do with the odd Bass sound and lack of highs that you are reporting.

While the DX6s may not be up to par with some of the super systems that you typically install... they do, none the less, REALLY improve the "STOCK" system. There have been way too many other happy DX6 listeners out there to make it only my opinion.

My guess is that the customer hasn't told you the "whole story" behind their situation... If they had already swapped out the speakers... Why were they bringing the car into you? Like I and egilsrud have said... A DIRECT SWAP OUT OF THE BOSE DOOR SPEAKERS TO THE POLK DX6 SPEAKER WILL RESULT IN A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN HIGH FREQUENCIES. And as also stated, if you use the STOCK headunit to turn down the treble so that the highs sound normal... the midrange is lacking and hollow. That is why I came up with my tweeter rolloff mod. It works well with THESE speakers and the STOCK head unit. Better means of equalization should be used if a more powerful amp or new head unit is installed with other speakers. If you are saying that the stock BOSE speakers in the rear are putting out MORE Highs than the Polks... then something is definitely wrong with this picture...

If the system is "otherwise stock" and you are hearing deficient highs... then something else has been done. My guess is that either the customer has completely disconnected the tweeter to get rid of the sibilance, or has bypassed the EQ and without proper grounding and/or termination of the unused EQ inputs/outputs... the bass response can become very erratic. I haven't quite figured out why that is, but both Iggy and I have noticed the phenomenon.

I know that you weren't meaning to come off snotty, and neither am I... but for a couple of hundred bucks and NO MODS to the rest of the system... these Polks do make a significant improvement. They raise the grade of the system from a "C" to a "B"... Your systems raise the grades up to the "A" and "A+" range.

Trust me, something is not stock about the DX6 swapout that you are listening to... I'm sure you'll figure out the whole story in time... If you have the time.

Keep up the good work and thanks for all of your help to members of this board!

Southbound

randomwalk101

Ron/StreetEffect,
man, I don't know but if you installed the DX6 and found no improvement over the stock Blose speakers, it's either you did something strange or the pair of DX6 was gone to begin with...

ash3ktl

Hey guys, I'm the customer Ron is talking about. As he said, I did not find much difference in SQ. I have done all the mods as per southbounds suggestion. I pretty sure I did not miss anything. But something is definately wrong. I live in NJ. I would like show it to u guys. So if anybody is in the tri-state area and can spare some time, please please PM me. (I guess Ron is too busy for that. I went to him to get the casade installed on the doors). I'll appreciate.

ash3ktl

As I just said in the above post, I went to Ron to get the cascade installed. I'd like to bring up an issue here (no disrepect to Ron).

Ron installed the cascade above the wirings and took the vapour barrier out. I feel that the cascade or any sound dampenening material is ONLY effective if it sticks to the bare metal of the door.
If you put it above the wires, it can not provide the sound dampening properly. But it might act as a vapour barrier.

If you guys remember the install done by Iggy, he had installed the cascade on the metal. I believe thats the way it should be.

What you guys think???

Here's the link

Iggys install

StreetEffectz

I just emailed you back again, and as I stated, all you have to do is bring me the car back and I will do the install identical to iggys, not a problem AT ALL

ash3ktl

Ron

Check your mail, pls.

CincyR/T

Maybe a bit off topic here but how is the Cascade sound deading? I work strictly with Dynamat Extreme and find it to be the best stuff that I've work with so far (as far as dynamat that is oriignal, super etc) I'll assume the Cascade is a bit cheaper. And if memory serves me some one posted as to the DX being effecient.....in my experience the Polk Dx's were never effecient....more effecient then the old DB's but thats not saying much.

egilsrud

Ash3ktl,

I'm a bit out of the tri-state area (unless you're referring to Washington/Oregon/Idaho ), so I can't check out your install in person. However, another fellow TL'er (BlackBeauty) is having problems similar to yours (except his is driver's side only). I made some suggestions in this link:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=47655

Good luck!

Southbound

ash3ktl,
egilsrud has posted some great troubleshooting tips in his link above. IF the mods are installed incorrectly, things defintely won't sound right. If you understand basic electronics and are skilled at soldering, it shouldn't be too difficult to back track and locate your problem.

Here is a quote from egilsrud's troubleshooting checklist. I only have ONE MAJOR thing to clarify. The POSITIVE TWEETER WIRE AND THE TWEETER RESISTOR DO NOT CONNECT "DIRECTLY" TO THE POSTIVE TERMINAL OF THE OVERALL SPEAKER! The positive terminal of the "overall speaker" connects directly to one side of the midrange/woofer and then it connects to the "POLK FACTORY" crossover cap. This is ALSO a 4.7uF/35volt nonpolarized cap... LEAVE THIS FACTORY CAP INTACT, AND DISCONNECT THE TWEETER WIRE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CAP WHERE IT CONNECTS TO A TERMINAL POST ALONG WITH THE POSITIVE LEAD OF THE TWEETER. This is the POSITIVE SPEAKER LEAD THAT ELGILSRUD IS TALKING ABOUT... As long as you follow egilsrud's checklist... while making sure that you are talking about the TWEETER POSITIVE SPEAKER TERMINAL (the terminal after the factory crossover cap) then you will be checking connections correctly. I'm sure that egilsrud has done things correctly, BUT I'm anal, so I'm making sure that everything is ABSOLUTELY CLEAR... Because, If you mistakenly connect one end of the 3.9ohm resistor directly to the "overall speaker" input... you would be BYPASSING the factory crossover cap and the bass would end up overdriving the tweeter.

Now that we are clear as to what is mean't by the POSITIVE TWEETER/SPEAKER TERMINAL... here's egilsrud's checklist...




"BB,

Sorry to hear of the troubles with your driver's tweeter. Here
are some things to check:

1) Make sure ALL leads from resistors and capacitors are
insulated properly - can't stress this enough!

2) Check your tweeter wiring. You should have disconnected
(unsoldered) the tweeter wire from the positive speaker
terminal. Then the 3.9 ohm/5 W resistor should be soldered
to the tweeter wire, with the other lead of the resistor
soldered to the positive speaker terminal.

3) One lead of the 4.7 uF/50 W non-polarized electrolytic
capacitor should be soldered to the connection of the
positive tweeter wire and 3.9 ohm resistor. The other lead
should be soldered to the negative speaker terminal.

4) The terminator mod should be soldered to the negative
and positive speaker terminals.

5) Make sure that the bottom of the cutout in the door frame
for the speaker is well insulated! I would suggest 3 layers of
duct tape.

If all of this seems to be OK, I would suggest removing the
mods and reconnecting the positive tweeter wire to the
positive speaker terminal. Then, reinstall and see if the
tweeter works. If it doesn't, then the problem is indeed in the
DX6 (and I sure hope it isn't).

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out."

Now I (Southbound) have only THREE more comments to say about your DX6 experience...

1. Either you are expecting WAY too much of a whopping improvement by only swapping out four $100 dollar door speakers... (Just think about things for a moment... You are probably spending a lot more on the cascade than you did on the speakers!) I only used a single sheet of dynamat extreme underneath each of my speakers and it definitely helped to soldify the sound and add some solid punch to the sound. Therefore a WHOLE DOOR of cascade (even if it is on top of the wiring harness) has got to be an improvment over a single square foot sheet that I have used. SO YOU SHOULD BE NOTICEING A SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF IMPROVEMENT at this stage. Is it the ultimate upgrade at this stage? NO! Is it adequate? That would depend upon individual expectations. I sometimes wish that I had more power to the speakers... but depending upon which CD I am playing sometimes things sound REALLY nice. It's definitely a compromise solution... but what do you want for $200 BUCKS??? Still there should be no question in your mind that it sounds QUITE a bit better than the stock BLOSE. If you CAN'T say YES to that, then something is definitely installed wrong... Even installed correctly, the system may still not be awesome enough for you, but it should be a noticeable improvement. One you could live with it you had to. That's how I look at my system now... Yes, I still wish that it was better, but I can live with it now. I'm no longer ashamed to play it with someone in the car...

2. The other MOST LIKELY possibility is that you somehow incorrectly installed my mods. Checkout everything from the checklist above (making sure to be checking things with respect to the STOCK POSITIVE "TWEETER" TERMINAL) IF EVERYTHING IS WIRED CORRECTLY.... DOUBLE CHECK YOUR VALUES!!! Perhaps you mistakenly bought a 39 OHM, or 390 OHM or 3.9"K" OHM resistor??? This would KILL YOUR TWEETER OUTPUT! Perhaps you bought a 47uF cap instead of a 4.7uF cap... This would also KILL YOUR TWEETER OUTPUT.

MAKE SURE THE TWEETER ROLLOFF MOD COMPONENTS ARE CORRECT... 3.9 OHM/5 WATT resistor and 4.7uF/35volt (or higher voltage) non-polarized cap.

The terminator mod components should have NO effect on output level or direct frequency response. They only serve to provide a proper match between amplifier and speaker for transient response, etc. But still make sure they are ACROSS THE OVERALL SPEAKER TERMINALS (where the wires from the amp connect) and their values should be .05uf/100volt (or higher voltage) cap in series with 100ohm/1watt resistor. IF the cap value is off, the only thing that would change would be that the resistor might get hot, or the desired transient clarity effect might not happen in the audio range. If the resistor is off value, the only thing that would happen, would be that the resistor might get hot, or again, the desired clarity improvement might not be achieved. Even if you wire this network directly across the tweeter instead of across the overall speaker input... it would cause no harm. Because of the crossover cap, it is essentially in parallel with both the midrange and tweeter speakers either way that it is wired. WHEN IN DOUBT DISCONNECT ALL OF THE MODS AND PUT THE SPEAKER BACK TO STOCK AND TRY IT OUT. YOU SHOULD HAVE LOTS OF HIGH FREQUENCIES IN THIS MODE! Then if that makes a RADICAL difference, YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAD THE MODS WRONG, and you can start over with the mods to achieve the proper midrange to high frequency balance due to the bogus BLOSE EQ in the circuit.

3. The last thing to check is to MAKE SURE THAT YOU CUT OUT ALL OF THE REAR BASKET ON THE STOCK PLASTICE SPACER/BASKET! Good speakers need a good sized hole to allow the back side of the speaker to breath. IF there is acoustical resistance on the back side of the speaker OR if the back side is NOT SEALED off from the front side... you will have poor output. Without open space behind the cone, the speaker won't be able to move as readily and therefore require more power to produce the desired output. IF the rear of the cone is not sealed off from the front of the cone, the soundwaves will acoustically cancel each other and sound poor like when you have the speaker playing in your hand... THERE IS NO PUNCH IN THIS SITUATION... MAKE SURE TO CUT AWAY ALL OF THE STOCK BACKET UP TO THE RUBBER GASKET WHERE IT SEALS TO THE DOOR FRAME. This will leave you with a simple 3/4" spacer that allows the speaker to adequately port into the door frame. Make sure it is properly sealed to the door frame, and this will improve your overall speaker output.

As car coaxial speakers go, THESE DX6 SPEAKERS ARE VERY EFFICIENT. They are not as efficient as the BLOSE, but the blose are made of cardboard and a small magnet... therefore it doesn't take that mcuh power to produce sound from them. But the sound sucks! In general with aftermarket speakers, they are going to have a much larger permanent magnet... The larger that magnent, the more power it will take to the voice coil to move the cone against it. So generally speaking, better speakers require an aftermarket amp to sufficiently drive them because of the larger magnets employed and the stiffer cone materials used. These DX6s are a great compromise that are efficient enough to be driven by the stock HU, yet still have enough quality components involved in their construction to sound darn nice.

If you end up putting these DX6s back to "FACTORY STOCK", and install them over a door of cascade... and they still don't sound any better than the BLOSE to you or Ron... then I guess you guys are used to listening to some VERY HIGH END systems... and have lost touch with the average car stereo... IN THAT CASE, THERE'S ONLY ONE FIX.... $$$$

Thanks for taking the time to read another one of my rambles.

I guess I created a monster!
Good luck everybody!
Southbound

Y2KWDPTL

Hi guys..the DX6 topic is a runaway success thanks to Southbound! As many of you, I just grew weary of the lackluster performance of the Bose system. After enjoying and devouring the treasure chest of information here, this solution is just to good to get away from me and decided to finally take on the DX6 upgrade as well. I just ordered 2 pairs yesterday from Speed and Sound in NY after calling around many places. Funny, lots of sites still list them but not stocking them... hmmm... I also got the two packs of the Dynamat, the 5W/3.9 ohm resistors, the 1W/100 ohm resistors and the 4.7uf/50V Non-polarized electrolytic caps.. I am waiting on the .05uf/1kV Ceramic disc caps to arrive from an NTE Distributor (http://eskc.com/index.php?f=invout.p...earchFor=90350) and they are on their way.. a little pricey though but I was pressed for time so I dove in .. Anyway, I think I have the configuration down pretty well to put it all together but what I am wondering is.. does anyone happen to have a photo to post with the mods installed on the speaker? I saw the speaker photo on Iggy's site but it doesn't have the 3.9 ohm/5w resistor and the extra non-polarized 4.7uf/50v cap shown.. I sometimes do better with a photo or a diagram.. guess I am a visual guy but it would help confirm how I think it would look..

Really looking forward to the upgrade.. thanks much guys for all of your expertise, innovation and guidance especially Southbound, Iggy and Egilstrud. Funny thing, yesterday while calling around to see if the DX6's were in stock.. two shops asked "Are you a member of the Acura Club?" I had to crack up.. Good news gets around!! Ha!

Later guys... Glen

ash3ktl

Southbound/egilsrud,

I absolutely positive that I have done the mods correctly. I may have lost my touch but I'm not unfamilliar to soldering. Anyway, I'll take everything apart and do it again. As far as the sound is concerned, its not as bad as BLOWSE. Actually, I do think there's some improvement. The thing I want to make sure is the factory wires color codes. If anybody know it, pls post it. I'll be happy.

egilsrud,

Thx for ur help. But washington is 4 hours drive from here. I'll go thru the posts and make sure everything is correct.

But thanks a lot all of u for your help.

Southbound

Y2K,
I know that a picture is worth a thousand words... but I don't have a photo of my own mod! How stupid is that? At the time, I didn't realize that I would be turning it on to so many people. Sounds like you've done your homework... you have all the parts... I'm sure that you'll get it right, and I'm sure that you'll be pleased with the results. So far, Ash3ktl is the only dissatisfied recipient, and I'm still convinced that something has gone awry with his situation.

Ash3ktl,
I don't know what else to say except to take things apart and really check out the wiring AND THE PARTS VALUES. If you somehow have the wrong resitor or cap value, that would explain things. If you've cut the basket off of the stock spacer, and have these DX6s mounted on top of cascade... they should sound fairly nice at moderate volumes. YES, they could stand to be pushed by a better amp, but they really do BLOW away the BLOSE! Are they the best speaker out there? Of course not, but you shouldn't be in the position of having to "guess" that they sound better. There should be no question about it??? It doesn't take much to sound better than these stock BLOSE!

You shouldn't have been able to reverse the phase of the tweeters because you only need to disconnect ONE of the tweeter wires for the rolloff mod. However, you might possibly have reversed the overall phase of the speakers resulting in an overall null.

As you requested, here are the STOCK color codes for the door speakers:

LEFT FRONT
+ RED/GRN
- BRN/BLK

RIGHT FRONT
+ BLU/GRN
- GRY/BLK

LEFT REAR
+ BLU/YEL
- GRY/WHT

RIGHT REAR
+ RED/YEL
- BRN/WHT

This should help you double check the overall phase of all four speakers.

When you have the door panels off, listen closely with your ear up to the speaker and make sure that the tweeters are playing. It should be obvious that they are making music. My mod really only knocks them down by around 3db until you get above 10Khz where the 4.7uF cap kicks in an additional 3db. If you had the speaker in your hand and were able to connect and disconnect the tweeter mod... you just be able to perceive a SLIGHT difference. I did this by trial and error several times with clip leads before choosing my final values.

Have you done anything with the STOCK headunit or EQ? Have you added an amp for the door speakers? Or is EVERYTHING to the doors stock?

That's about all I can think of for you to check... perhaps you are one of those few out there that really dislike this particular speaker? I could easily understand a debate about these speakers verses other good aftermarket speakers... but against the BLOSE, something just has to be wrong here????

I WOULD NEVER GO BACK TO MY BLOSE IN FAVOR OF THE DXs!

Good luck!
Southbound

Y2KWDPTL

Southbound

This is too funny.. I told myself when I bought this car, that was it on stereo installs since I have done so many over the years.. I just wanted buy a nice classy Acura and leave it alone. Subsequently, I moved my need to dabble onto vintage home audio.. I am OK with a schematic and can make necessary changes but not the expert on the true diagnostic end of things.. Anyway, to help people along, as soon as I get all the parts, I will get a photo of the finished product and post it for others to see. Probably next week.

How was the sound when you finally added on the two rear speakers.. Did you lose any mid fill like you mentioned might result? I would think that in any case, it was still a vast improvement.

I was also wondering if you have ever heard of DEI speakers.
I have a pair of components installed in my Subaru and I am really impressed with them. Efficiency is rated at 90 db 1W/1M on these as well and have Neodymium magnets which are very small but highly efficient. The basket is a light weight fiberglass
reinforced injection molded speaker frame the tweeters are silk dome and the woofer cone is injection molded graphite w/butyl rubber surround. Good quality materials. These would be a great consideration for anyone who wants to install components in their TL because they only have a depth of 2 7/16". Just wondering what your thoughts are on these and if you have ever heard them. They retail for about $200 to $250. a pair.. I have been real happy with them and I am driving them off of a 50wX4 Kenwood amp with a Kenwood Excelon HU. The rears are a pair of crap Infinity Reference but I think I am going to replace those with the DX6's too..

Glen

BlackBeauty

Maybe the solders are wrong, one of mine is "not right" and I believe the tweeter is not working on that one.

I will fix it, the other 3 sound awesome

cyber1ed

After listening to the DX6's for a week now, I am even more impressed with their SQ. The highs are crisp, mids filled in, bass much improved. The only bad part is I can now hear how bad the stock blose sub is - its gotta go!

However, I had the chance to listen to my friends $10k audio system in his 2000 Maxima - tweeters in cutom the custom made a-pillars, mids in all 4 doors, two 12" subs taking up half the trunk space. This system was incredible - it blew away my home audio system, and trashed the upgrade I just made to my TL - but then again, I only spent $200 on the DX6s...

kennelm

I now have a pair of Polk Dx6 speakers, and I am waiting for the parts to arrive for the mods.

Meanwhile, I would like to orient myself with respect to the speaker's positive and negative leads, etc. so I can follow the instructions posted by Southbound and others.

As I look at the back of the speaker (I can read the stuff printed on the back label) , the exposed circuit board is closest to me.

On the left of the circuit board is the negative terminal.

On the right of the circuit board is the positive terminal.

The tweeter wire comes down from the magnet and attaches to the right-center of the circuit board. Also attached at this point is one lead of the factory cap.

The factory capacitor spans from this point to the positive terminal.

Am I correct?

egilsrud

Yes! You are absolutely correct.

Good luck with the install, and let us know if you encounter any problems!

P.S. I know Southbound has mentioned this many times, but don't forget to protect the speaker cone when you solder. A piece of cardboard (or something similar) should suffice - you don't want hot solder burning a hole.

Southbound

Y2K,
Thanks for posting a pix of the mods when you have them finished... be sure to do a nice clean job now... hehehehe. Use sleeving on the leads and RTV to mount the tweeter rolloff components to the magnet and basket.

I was only concerned about losing the midrange fill BEFORE I had come up with the tweeter rolloff mod. I first installed the DX6 speakers in their factory stock configuration (except for my always used terminator mod). They were way too bright, so I had to turn down the HU treble control. This resulted in a midrange dip from the POLKS compared to the ALL MIDRANGE BLOSE. Once I installed the tweeter rolloff mod, I could then turn the treble control back up to center or even a couple of clicks above. This brought back the POLK midrange without the highs being too bright. I then replaced the rear BLOSE with POLKS that only have the tweeter "cut" (resistor only) mod. The overall sound was twice as good as before! IT just comfirmed how crappy the BLOSE really were... the clarity that came from the rear fill was a delight. I highly recommend replacing ALL FOUR! You don't need the extra rolloff cap on the rear speakers, because the brightness gets cut down before it reaches your ear by the back of the seats. This also helps to keep the volume more balanced. While these speakers are pretty efficient for coaxials, they still aren't as loud as the BLOSE. SO you do have to turn the volume up a few clicks more for the same loudness... but you now have a nice full range sound. Sorry, I'm not familiar with DEI speakers... but from the price and your description... they should be pretty nice. They might also fit the small Acura dimensions? 90db at 1W/1M is a good efficiency. I've only seen one or two other decent speakers that are rated higher at 93db at 1W/1M. Most others are more like 87db or 84db WHEN TRULY MEASURED AT 1W/1M... A lot of specs are mis-leading. I hate speaker manufacturers that play the cheat the spec game... Like 1Watt at .5 meter... or 2.83V at 1 meter (which is 1watt into 8ohms or 2watts into 4ohms) These specs are actually 6db and 3db less than if they were rated properly as 1W/1M.

BB,
Find the bad solder joint or broken wire to your driver's tweeter and you will be good to go! Things will sound a LOT BETTER WITH ALL FOUR CONNECTED. You know how when you turn the balance to one side only... the sound just isn't that thrilling. It's because you have lost your stereo imaging. When you fade the balance back to the middle... things sound more than twice as good as either side by itself sounded. This will happen to you when you fix the broken tweeter connection. Since it's up front, the high frequency stereo imagry will really come together when you have both hitting your left and right ears! Find that bad connection and give us a report.

cyber,
You just made the FATAL mistake! Listening to a $10K system will ruin you for life... Stay away from "supermodels" like that... they will make everything else appear ordinary... I'm afraid that you will have to go "without any" for a week or so before you can appreciate the Acura/Polk system again. But as I have always said... the Polks are a great improvement for minimal money and effort. For those who want to marry a "supermodel" they will have to pay the "high maintenance" fees... But maybe it's worth it? ahhhhhhhhh... to have a permanent smile on ones face.....

Kennelm, as egilsrud has just stated... you are completely correct. You have the setup understood. The far left terminal is the overall common/negative terminal. The other side of that factory cap that spans from the tweeter lead to the far right "overall speaker" positive terminal... is the simple "highpass" crossover cap that only passes the high frequencies above 3khz to the tweeter. This keeps all of the lower bass frequency energy from cooking the small tweeter. (I'm sure you knew that)

egilsrud,
as usual, thanks for your help in explaining the DX6 install and the purpose of each of the mods. I couldn't keep up with the requests for help without you and Iggy jumping in to help explain things.

Ash,
Any luck yet??? Make sure to check the values of the components as well as the wiring configuration. IF everything is indeed correct, then all I can say, is I guess you are one of those people who were born to marry a "supermodel" and have very discriminating tastes... A few thousand dollars should help you out of your bind$$$$$

Thanks for the responses and good luck everybody!
Southbound

ash3ktl

I took everything apart yesterday and put it back again. But I took the roll-off cap from the fronts. The system is sounding much better now. If I get a chance I'll show it to Ron someday. With the roll-off cap on, I wasn't getting any highs from the fronts. The diff betn the fronts and the rears was too much. Now its allright.

And I put the 100Ohm 2W resistor on the sub. I don't know what happened, but the "sweet spot" which used be behind the front seats, moved forward. And the boominess reduced a bit. Couldn't be happier!!!!

While doing all this stuff, I lost my cars' memory seats settings and now the passenger mirror does not tilt when I put the gear in reverse. I know there's a way to program this. Any suggestions???

vlam

ash3ktl

Passenger mirror issue http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...ghlight=mirror

kennelm

OK, I got all the mod parts except the roll-off cap. For some reason they didnt ship that in my order. I think I can get this from radio shack? I'll check this weekend.

Anyway, I got started on the mods. My soldering iron doesn't do suction, so it was a bit tedious to unsolder the existing leads. But, I think it went pretty well for a novice. I just followed the detailed instructions from SB. I went ahead and installed the terminator mod too.

Since I don't really like hissy highs, I plan to add the roll-off cap before I do the install.

Thanks to SB, et. al. I'll let you know how it sounds once I get everything installed.

Larry

Southbound

Good news Ash! If you had a big difference between the rear and fronts... I just gotta believe that you had the wrong value of cap. There is really only a subtle difference between the two tweeter mods. But if you're happy now... that's great!

Are you sure the rolloff cap was only 4.7uF... NOT 47uF or higher? In any case, I have always left the installation of the additional rolloff cap up to the individual listener. some may think that it takes down the brightness too much? Apparantely you are one of those... No prob. This mod was designed to be able to be tweaked by the individual user for his or her particular set of ears and listening preference.

Thanks for the update! The terminator mod on the woofer probably tamed down the erratic boominess. The more highs up front probbably moved your soundstage forward.

Thanks for the report!
Southbound

egilsrud

Ash3ktl - that's great news! Like Southbound, I was wondering if you got too big of a capacitor - or maybe you just like your highs brighter. In any case, I'm glad you're now a happy camper.

Kennelm - you won't find anything close to a 4.7 uF/35V non-polarized electrolytic cap at Radio Shack. Try seeing if there is an electronics shop that carries NTE components in your area - you may get lucky. Our local shop had everything EXCEPT for the high frequency rolloff caps - I had to order those from NTE directly.

Sounds like you're doing well with the soldering iron. Soldering is a bit like riding a bike - you never really forget. Keep those good reports coming!

Southy - thanks for the thanks. You have helped me so much that I figure it's my turn to give back. Long live the Bose-less TL! Also, thanks for clarifying the issue with the positive speaker terminal - that's what I get for not thoroughly checking my own post!

ash3ktl

Southbound

I'm pretty sure the rolloff cap was 4.7uF. Probably wasn't soldered properly. Who knows? I'm happy without it.

Thanks everybody for all of your help.

"Long live the Bose-less TL!"- egilsrud
Amen!

heyrandy

I took pics of my speakers if someone knows how to post it.

Let me know.

Southbound

Ash,
My only other guess to what may have happened with your rolloff cap is that the lead became shorted out to the door frame bottom or to another lead. That could happen without shorting out the amp, because of the 3.9ohm resistor in series. The resistor would protect the amp and keep it playing while only the tweeter would be shorted out... That is actually really easy to do without knowing about it. Things look fine while you have the speaker a few inches from the door, but once you press everything all the way in, the speaker wires can add some stress or press up against something and cause them to short out. Glad you're happy without the cap. It's definitely not required... it was meant to be an additional rolloff for those who wanted to tame down the brightness just a little bit more. I have never called for a cap on the rears... So there's really not that much difference with or without the cap. If you find that things start to sound too bright, you can always go back in and try to add the cap again. But if you're happy, don't mess with it... WHERE DO YOU SET YOUR TREBLE CONTROL NOW WITH THE POLKS AND JUST THE TWEETER RESISTOR? If you're at center, or a click or two above, then I would say you definitely don't need the cap... if you're running the treble BELOW center... then adding the cap will allow you to turn the treble back up and add some midrange without increasing the extreme highs. That's what it was intended for...

kennelm,
Actually, I do believe that RADIO SCHLOCK does sell a 4.7uF/35volt non polarized electrolytic. They are axial lead rather than radial lead... but as long as you sleeve things well, the lead should be long enough to fold back over itself and reach the solder point. 35volts is fine for the STOCK headunit... especially with the 3.9ohm resistor in series. This would cutdown the voltage that the cap sees by half. In fact the factory crossover cap on the DX6 is only 35volts... So if I'm not mistaken, go ahead and use it if you can find it at the Shack. (then again, I could be wrong, as egilsrud has stated, they don't have much stock... I know they don't have the .05uF cap... but it seems like I did see a 4.7uF electrolytic. JUST MAKE SURE it's non-polarized.)

heyrandy... long time no see!!! Hope all is well. I wish that I could learn to stay in the shadows more. I read the board everyday... but don't always have the time to respond... then I feel guilty... so I end up clacking all night long instead of going to bed... I'm still waiting for CSNY to come out with a NEW LIVE ALBUM from their tour last spring... Have you heard any news? It would definitely be awesome... It's time to have something more technically advanced as well as modernized arrangements... Deja-Vu needs an update!

Oh well, it's all good!
SB

kennelm

Southbound, Thanks for the Radio Shack tip. I just picked up the caps at a local place I found in the phone book. Now, I just need some dynamat. Do you think I can find this at stereo installation shops?

Thanks!

BlackBeauty

Update: Polks KICKIN some ARSE

Went to my installer's shop here in CinCITY, "Bigg Pappa's", and we listened close to each speaker and...

My fronts are the same !!! I am hearing the "highs" from behind me and more from the right .....and my leg is often against the drivers front door, muffling it somewhat.

I have a decent sub with lots of base so I thought I wasn't getting tweeter form the fronts, maybe being "drowned out" by my Comp VR 12" Sub ??!!!

Well, I will leave it alone, I am very happy with the sound....

BTW: One installer recommended making all 4 speakers like the rears, more tweeter and hiss.. Another installer, older guy said to make them all like the fronts, "more true"

========== TO EACH HIS OWN ==============

I also added Type S emblems to each side of the car, behind the wheels up front ON the door strip, looks great !!!! Got em at my dealer -20 bucks each