I have 2002 TL-S with navi. I replaced the HU with my old Kenwood excelon HU and added Sirius and an aux for my mp3 player. Bypassed the bose eq and kept the stock sub. Everything is working great!!

However, I'm thinking the sound can be improved with new speakers. But the budget is small, so I have to make the most with the least..

I could get some Alpine type S 5.25's for about $200 and install them without an amp.

Or I could get some Polk components (either 5.25 or 6.5) and amp them. I've been told that if I get components I should definitely amp them.

I'm willing to look for a used amp to power the Polks. What is the best bank for the buck on an amp I can find used (either here, CL, or Ebay) that would work with the Polks? Since I don't have a green thumb with this stuff, I'd probably have to pay for the install.

And is the difference between spending $200 on the Alpine S and the components with amp that noticeable? I mainly listen to rock and blues; not hip hop.

I appreciate your help!!
goMO

 

Check out www.caraudioclassifieds.org. It's a great site, classifieds based so there's a lot of stuff for sale, very good sellers there, and a lot of helpful info. Most of what I've learned has been from that site. My username's 98AckCL23 over there... You should be able to find most if not everything you need there...

 

Thanks Matt - you've been very helpful!

One speaker I was looking at is the Polk DB651's. They are 6.5 but I've seen them mentioned with TL's. But Crutchfield says they won't fit. Is that true?

 

Anything will fit with enough time and money. That being said, it's pretty easy to make oversized speakers fit in doors. For example, I'm running some beefy 6.5" speakers in my doors, when the factory 1st gen came with 5.25's. All I needed was a spacer. When Crutchfield says a speaker won't fit, it's because they don't have something to make them drop in. If you have a jig saw and a little creativity, you can pretty much make any speaker fit your doors. It shouldn't be too terribly hard to make the db651's fit. All you'll likely need to do is to pull your facytory baffle out, trace it onto an appropriate material (I used 3/4" MDF) and then cut with the jig saw...

 

if I wanted the Polks, should I get the DB651S, which is the shallow mount, or just the regular DB651?
thx!

 

I'm ready to order the Polks - I just need to know if I'm better off with the shallow mounts or the regular db651s.

Also, if I wanted to do this quicker and cheaper, would the Polk 5.25's be a significant downgrade from the 6.5?

thx!

 

i'm not sure which polk components i have, but get the 6.5"

 

morel tempo 6 + sundown 125.2= sexxxxxxxxx

 

The 125.2's are on sale right now for $200... That's a deal right there....

 

I did something like that but now my door panels dont quite close all the way I dont care cause the speakers are fine but thats in my tl with infinity comps. my

 

well, I'm ordering the Polk 6.5 comps for the front (not the shallow mounts since that could impact the mid-bass freq) and regular 5.25 coax for the back. I just picked up a used (but in great cond.)Kenwood Excelon 4 channel amp for $75.

Can't wait! Hope the 6.5 comps aren't too big a pain to get in there!

 

I'm gonna be replacing my fronts with comps soon as well. I have some spare 3/4" mdf lying around that I'm going to use for a spacer, so let me know how it goes for you. I'm going leave the stockers in the back doors probably and just let them run off the headunit. Right now I have a 2-channel for the comps, but I plan on getting a nice 4-channel amp and running the comps active when I get more money. Front stage is the most important btw.