PAW

Hey! Soundbound.

First, thanks for all the detailed info. I'm getting dizzy reading it. Any way, a few question if you don't mind.

Will the Polk DX6 fit in the rear doors? The kids might want some good sound also.

Any cons with having four DX6s?

How would the DX6s sound with an aftermarket amp driving them?

How about the DX6s with the Kicker mid bass sub replacement? I'm definitely not into boom, boom. Just decent SQ. Sorry I don't have that thread handily.

Thanks

Southbound

Yeah, I'm sure the Polk DX-6s would fit into the back doors as well as the fronts. THEY DO MOUNT THE EASIEST AND SOUND THE BEST of any speaker that I could find that didn't require either modifications to the door frame and/or door panel or require the fabrication of a custom spacer...

With the factory EQ in circuit, all speakers with real tweeters tend to sound overly pre-emphasized at the high-end, especially speakers with titanium or metal tweeters. They definitely sound really bright and harsh. The Polks have a silk dome tweeter that have a nice crisp high end that isn't too bright with the stock head unit/EQ. But would still have plenty of edge when the EQ was removed and the response flattened with an aftermarket amp.

I can't think of any cons to having four DX-6s except for the possible problem that you might incur by replacing all four speakers with ANY high quality tweeter equipped speaker. That could be that you might end up with TOO much high frequency response in the car without bypassing the factory EQ. I have purchased a second pair for my rear, but haven't put them in yet. I find that the stock speakers are really efficient in the midrange and provide a good rear fill. I get my clarity from the front Polks. I'm afraid that if I replaced all four, I might find myself wanting to or needing to bypass the EQ and then while I was at it adding an additional amp. The mod process could become habit forming. You will always want more. To each his own... Know when to say when...

The POLK DX-6s would sound just great with an aftermarket amp to punch them a bit more. If you REALLY want competition type sound with a gigantic aftermarket amp, though, then you might want to go the separate component route up front and coaxials in the rear.

The ONLY problem with the POLK DX-6s is that they have been discontinued in the coaxial model. They are now only being made in component form. So if you're serious, you'd better try to snap them up asap. A lot of internet sites that had them in stock last week are sold out this week

TLluver, The FEDEX man will visit you Thursday...

TLluver

Southbound, Thanks!!

heyrandy

Southbound -

That's interesting about it sounding different with the moonroof shade open or closed - I'll have to try that.

I've also noted that the highs don't seem quite as bright now with the treble centered. Maybe the Polk's require a break-in period to mellow out a little. Mine were new (still sealed in the plastic bags) when I bought them.

I have the fader set to favor the front by 2 notches since they don't seem quite as loud. I haven't tried moving the passenger seat up but that would make it worse.

I listen to classic rock and modern rock, but my favorite CD's are live Dead concerts. The Polk's do much better on the keyboards, piano, and especially Jerry's high-pitched guitar solos.

I found my speakers on ebay. I searched on past autions to research prices and found that a guy in my town had a new pair for sale and the high bid was only $75 + shipping (which didn't meet his reserve). I emailed him and we hooked up for $90 even.

He has another pair but I am waiting for others to comment on how the DX6's sound in the rear first. My worry is that I will lose volume.

Ebay seems to have a continuous stream of demos and new ones. Just search "polk dx6" on ebay.

Southbound

I think it's more like our ears and brain have a break in period. It's kind of like how we get used to volume. First it sounds loud, then our ears adjust, and we need to turn it up again to keep rockin'. We haven't been used to any highs in the stock system, and our ears/brain don't know how to process them for awhile.

I am exactly like you in that I don't know whether or not to replace the rears without having to then also bypass the EQ and add another amp. I have gone ahead and purchased a second pair, though, because I'm afraid that they are selling out fast. I want them available when I get some spare time to at least try four of them out. I bought a temporary spacer that I "taped" to my door frame cutout. I used it to take around to car audio shops and temporarily place various speakers into the door frame to audition them. Most of them either wouldn't fit without further mods, or sounded waaaaaay too low in volume or else waaaaaay to sibilant in the highs. These Polks seem to have just the right characteristics for a simple changeout while leaving the stock system alone. I'll get around one of these days to trying them in the rears. They will either complement the rest of the system, or they will, as you say, suffer from a further loss in volume and require another amp to boost them. At least with my temp setup, I can still keep the stock connector and basket intact while I am deciding what to do. If I find that they end up making the stock system electronics sound worse rather than better, I can easily go back to the stock speakers without having destroyed anything. OR I CAN END UP GOING A STEP FURTHER AND BUY AN AFTERMARKET AMP... I got mine for $80bucks at www.stereoworld.com but they're sold out now. I figure that for $80 bucks, if I use them, great. If I don't, what's $80 bucks in the scheme of things considering my time, etc. They listed for $169.00 and I would have paid that for what I have now gained in sound quality. So it's like I got them on a two for one sale. Worse case, I'll have a backup set in case I blow a speaker or water or sun damage does somehow ruin them someday.

Like you say, the POLKS do drop the volume slightly, but they do so across the entire spectrum. The BOSE are very efficient, but only in the mids. Like I say, if you want more volume, try moving the passenger seat up and you will hear more midrange rear fill coming from the back. You will then be turning the treble back up a bit to hear the crisper highs from the POLKS as they compete with the louder BOSE. It's all very subjective, but it would only take you a few seconds to try.

Unfortunately, there is no complete satisfaction that can be achieved without spending $3K on a complete system wide changeout. Gotta keep things in perspective. These POLKS are a good step forward for the $100 expenditure and are an easy project to complete.

They're not a perfect solution. But I used to find myself unable to even listen to the stereo. NOW, I find that I do crank it up between 20-25 clicks and drive around the block to finish a song before pulling into the driveway. It is at least a listenable system now... BUT yeah, what would four sound like???? I've just got toooo much work at work to find the time to try the rear install. I guess that in itself says a lot. I was BENT on getting the fronts replaced with something... now I feel that I can wait awhile to improve the rear.

heyrandy

I called up Polk today (800-377-7655) and asked about the rainshield. He (Jason I think) said it really didn't matter much either way.

He said that the speakers are weather protected but having a rainshield would keep drips of water out. He didn't think that it would affect sound much either way. So I don't plan to remove them.

He said that the important thing was to have a good seal between the speaker flange and the door which I think we do. I added duct tape around the entire perimeter of the sheet metal cutout on the door so that the plastic spacer basket would hopefully seal better and not be prone to rattle. I also tightened the screws pretty good but was careful not to strip them.

Anyone else have comments about these speakers?

TLluver

I just wanted to let everyone know what a great and honest guy Southbound is...he has been helping me out on the install of the Polk DX6 speakers and if it wasn't for him, none of us would have known about them in the first place...I had asked him if I could buy the connectors from him, so I didn't have to go searching for them since I am "car audio challenged"....so anyways he not only sent me the connectors, but also used his own wires and crimped the connectors on for me so it's basically plug and play, also went out and bought me insulating tape, electrical tape,screws from Home Depot that fit better, ties, and like six boxes of new misc. connectors for if I ever need them in the future and sent them FEDEX 2day so I would receive the package before the weekend...to top it all off he didn't even charge me one penny!...Oh did I mention he also typed up step-by-step instructions for me that is 5 pages long and very detailed...I mean he is unbeleiveable...I don't even think my mom would have done something like that...needless to say he did not want me to mention this, cuz it was a one time favor and I don't think he wants alot of people to ask him to do the same, but I just could not help it...he deserves alot of credit here on this thread and topic...just wanted to share my experience with him and say thank you to Southbound publicly here on the forum!!

heyrandy

I agree fully -

Thanks Southbound!

I was getting ready to pull some fairly bright (read - cheap) Kenwood speakers from my old Integra and put them in my TLS. After reading Southbound's saga, I know now that they would have sounded pretty crappy if I could have even made them fit.

I probably would have lived with it or wasted alot of time and $ to get something better. I now am completely satisfied with my system. I know it's not perfect but the sound has improved considerably.

I got a chuckle reading how Southbound drove around to different stereo stores with his door panels off and talked them into trying their various makes. My wife thinks he's a nut but she says the same thing about me!

Anyway, thanks Southbound for all of the time you spent to help all of us out!

TLluver - let us know how it goes.

Southbound

Thanks guys... It's my pleaure. Randy, your wife would be right to call me nuts... Mine does the same! I wouldn't want to mention how many "Honey-Do" projects have been put on the back burner in favor of this speaker project. Thanks for the rainshield report. It's good to hear from the source as opposed to just the shops who told me that they NEVER use any shields in their installs. I'm sure that a custom shield could be fabricated for those who find it a problem.

I'm just one of those "GOOD NEIGHBORS" to have around. I'm not only an engineer, but I'm also just one of those all around handy man types. I am always going down to help build some shelves in the neighbors garage or install their opener for them, or help changeout their water heater, or wire in some ceiling fan, or home stereo, DIRECTV system, etc. etc. etc.

Therefore, being a "hands on" guy and knowing what I know, I can't stand to let somebody else touch my stuff and mess it up. Knowing what I did about the stock system (I read some BOSE info on line and some other VERY helpful posts on this board) I just had to do the research for myself. I listened to a LOT of systems in car audio stores... THEY ALL SOUNDED GOOD THERE... BUT , I knew they wouldn't sound the same with the TL-S stock system inside the car. SOME audio store "KIDS" (not flaming kids here, I used to be one... just those that are full of it) actually kept challenging me on my knowledge, even though they couldn't tell me what SPL stood for or how effeciencey was measured, etc. It was pathetic. A lot of them actually told me that there was NOTHING that could be done without stripping out the entire BOSE system. While I may fundamentally agree with that in order to achieve the optimum system, it certainly wasn't the truth.

I realize that the car will never sound as good as a home theatre system, without gutting the entire car and swapping out all of the stock electronics, including the alternator... but it ought to sound decent enough to not want to turn it off while driving a $33K car. My desire and goal (at this point) was to just try and find a way to improve the sound WITHOUT gutting and destroying the interior of my two week old luxury car. I just wanted to achieve a level of improvement that made it fun enough to drive and play air guitar on the steering wheel. I think that I ended up achieving that goal. It was not without a LOT of research and trial and error. I'm sure that from the insane length of some of my posts, that you all believe me when I say that what I have posted here online, is only the tip of the iceberg of what I have researched.

I'm not trying to be condescending or arrogant here, but I'm an engineer who has built TV stations and designed professional power amps for Altec Lansing for a living. I knew what I was talking about when I walked into these car audio shops, and most of them didn't! The upgrade path is a continual spiral. I will admit that there will be those that are not satisfied with this level of improvement. I may find myself in that group down the road as well. I would love to snap my fingers and have a super system designed and installed, but I don't trust half of the installers out there, and I don't have the time to take on that level of project myself right now. Perhaps when my car gets a year old, and has developed its own rattles and scratches, I'll be more inclined to redo the entire system...(or heaven forbid) let somebody else put their screwddriver in their pocket and then through my leather seats... Right now, I'm able to live with the POLK DX6 upgrade. It's like an un-invasive surgury that has revived the system to where I can at least live with it for awhile.

I REALLY need to thank all of you who have actually read all of my ramblings. I swear that everytime I start, I'm just going to write a paragragh, and EVERYTIME I end up writing a freaking journal... Somebody stop me!

Thanks for the thanks, it makes all the efforts worth it. Those who have upgraded their entire systems might make light of this upgrade, but for $100 bucks and a Saturday, you can put a renewed thrill back into driving the TL-S!

TLluver, glad to hear that you are ready for the project. Read the "Auto up/down" thread on this forum just in case it ends up happening to you. I didn't encounter it, but I guess some have. GOOD LUCK and keep us posted!

I know I'm nuts... But I hope it's in a good way.

I promise, that I'll try to keep the length of my posts down... so that people with lives can have the time to actually read them...
Southbound

TLluver

Southbound and all, I have successfully completed the speaker project and it sounds amazing...I mean I listen to all types of music, mostly hip-hop and hard rok and these speakers give so much depth, bass and just all around better sound...I would have never thought that these two speakers would make such a difference, anybody that is skeptical, don't be...I was and I was proved wrong...get em while you still can....the hardest part of the install was getting the door panel back on properly, I must have spent more time on that then the actual removal and install of the actual speakers...Thanks again for all your help!! ...Hummm should I do the rears?

Iggy

Southbound,

You are truly a gentleman AND a scholar!

Southbound

No Prob...

TLluver, Glad it went well for you. Did you run into the window auto up/down reset routine? Just curious...

As long as you know that you have all of the wiring insulated and tucked out of the way of the window, etc. You should be good to ROCK! Yeah, the door can be a bit tricky to get lined up, that's why I suggested marking the snap spots with some tape or something, so that way you could know where to push and where to feel for something to snap back in place. You are kind of blind when you put it back together, because the gap keeps getting smaller. When you are taking it apart, looking up from the bottom, you just keep pulling it further apart, making it easier and easier to see what your're doing.

Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS!

Yeah, I snagged up a spare pair for my rears, even though I may not get around to it for awhile, or even if they don't quite sound right without removing the stock EQ and adding an amp. They just go in too easily and make such a difference not to have a spare pair around, knowing that they are disappearing from the market place...

Thanks, guys... Just don't call me SIR... lol

Southbound

dian1511

Southbound and company:

Thanks for all the info. I have decided to jump on and install the DX6's. Bought a pair from Ebay for $99.00.

Have read about the potential for rain damage and bought a pair of foam baffles for 6.5 inchers. But I don't know how to attach them? Can anyone help me please? I'm nervous as is to take the door off. I'm not sure whether I'll screw it up. My 2002 TL is only 2 months old and the dealer just got rid of all the dash noises and I now love the car, except the stereo could stand upgrading.

Anyone help?

Thanks,

Ian

Southbound

I really don't think that the rainshield should be an issue. If it were, the speakers would come shipped with them just like they do grills, etc. They know that people are going to be putting them into car doors... That is what they are made for...

HeyRandy even went so far as to call POLK up and talk to their service people. They indicated that it shouldn't be a concern either. The car audio installers that I talked to said that they NEVER use any shields on the modern speakers these days. MAYBE StreeEffectz CAN CORRECT ME ON THIS? If so, then maybe we should all re-visit this issue, but for now... I'm not concerned about it. It USED to be a big concern back when all speaker cones were made of cardboard like the stock BOSE. But the newer materials are not supposed to be suseptable to water damage. That's not to say that I'd play them underwater...

The POLK DX-6s really do install VERY easily. BUT JUST TO BE EXTRA careful if you are really nervous, just cut the back "louvers" out of the factory basket and leave the extra 1-1/2 inch deep shroud surrounding the top and sides of the speaker intact. This is what HeyRandy did. You will have to cut a bit of the bottom basket away as well in order for the POLK terminal strip to fit inside the stock basket.

I don't know what the foam shields that you bought look like or how they install. All I could tell you with respect to them would be to take the door panel and speaker out and see for yourself how you might be able to make them fit. You may need to cut some of the material away, or drill some holes, or perhaps they won't fit into the small 4 inch door cutout anyway. In any case, you DON'T WANT them to protrude more than 1-3/4 inches into the door frame cutout or they will hang up on the window when it comes down! If you can't find an easy way to mount these, I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said, you can just cut part of the factory basket away and still leave a shield around the top and sides of the new speaker.

Hope this helps... GOOD LUCK! The door does come off and back on without causing any rattles if done carefully. The snaps are fairly indestructable and go back together securely with the stock 3/4 inch spacer. If you go with a BIGGER speaker that requires a deeper spacer, then you might have some trouble with some of the snaps wanting to pop back out on you... Again, that is why I went with these POLK DX-6s.

GO FOR IT! Southbound

jmai

Wow what a post!...i'm overwhelmed...dumbfounded w/ all this info from Southbound. So useful if i can digest or regurgitate it.
Anyways....it's so hard to find the Polk dx6. Man...it sucks to be the last one to scrounge around for it. So I went to polk audio's website and looked at the specs of the dx6 and compared it to any other speakers that are similiar to the dx6. How about the new GXR6? Would that be close to the dx6 performance? It's cheaper!

dian1511

Southbound, thanks for the info. My speakers arrive tomorrow and I will say a prayer and take the plunge to take the doors off and install the speakers.

Do the speaker wire connections simply come off the Bose and install easily into the Polks? I'm trying to purchase the supplies I'll need for the install before I actually do it. I've already noted the need for the different sized sheet metal screws, but do I need any speaker wire connectors, etc. In one post I read, the installer applied silicone sealant between the speakers, the spacers, and the door frame to prevent future rattles.

Getting excited and anxious.

Cheers,

Ian

heyrandy

No, the stock connector does not fit. Here's one way to splice the wires if you don't plan to reinstall the Blows.

Repost:

Splice Advice

I put in a pair of Polk DX6's on Friday night and things sound quite a bit better. I'll post some installation details later when I have more time. But for now I'll share the wiring splice technique that I used:

I cut the Acura speaker connector off and spliced the wires to a 6-7" piece of the Polk wire (end that includes the gold connectors).

First, I pushed in the white wiring harness holder clip directly below the speaker to give more slack to work with. Then I striped about a half inch of insulation from each wire end, twisted them together and soldered them. Next I trimmed each splice to about 3/8" and placed a 1" piece of narrow diameter shrink tubing (Radio Shack should have) over each splice. Next I used a heat gun to shrink (a lighter will work if careful - practice first). Then I placed a 1.5" piece of bigger diameter shrink tubing over the pair of splices and applied heat again. I then placed the splice down along the wiring harness and wrapped electrical tape around everthing to hold it secure. Then I popped the harness holder clip back in the hole.

The end result is a short piece of wire (with gold contacts) with about the same slack as the stock connector had.

After you see the POS Blows speakers, you won't worry about saving the stock connectors!

One other thing, instead of going to HD to buy new screws, I just used my grinder to reduce the head diameter of the stock screws. I didn't feel like going any further than my beer fridge for the project.

Anyway, thanks to Southbound, I now have a much better sounding ride!

dian1511

TLluver or anyone who knows:

Can you please tell me what kind of connectors would work with the Polk DX6s. I'm shying away from the splicing method, although, it sounds good, because I might want to take the DX 6's with me should I sell the TL. I'm sure I could get them from Radio Shack.

Thanks

Ian

Southbound

Dian,
There are really two easy ways to connect these new POLK DX-6 speakers.

First you need to realize that the factory BOSE speakers use a standard .187" (3/16") female terminal to connect to them. They just have these terminal connectors cleverly hidden inside of a factory snap in assembly shroud for easy install purposes.

The only difference between the BOSE speaker and the POLK speaker is that the BOSE requires TWO .187 inch female connectors, and the POLKS (as do most other speakers) use ONE .187" female connector for the POSITIVE terminal and one .110" female connector for the NEGATIVE terminal.

Therefore, here are the best two ways to go about connecting the BOSE DX-6 speakers.

Option #1. Simply cut the factory speaker connector off near the connector and then crimp two new insulated connectors onto these wires and push them onto the new POLK speaker terminals. This is what I did, it keeps the wiring harness tight. In this case, if you ever wanted to put the BOSE speakers back in, all you would have to do would be to replace the .110 inch female connector with a .187 inch female connector and push the wires back on the original Bose. (minus the fancy lock-in shroud)

Option #2. Cut the factory speaker wiring harness back about 6 inches from the connector. You can then save if for later if you wish. Cut the same length of wire from the speaker end of the wire that is provided with the POLK speakers. The wire from POLK will have the proper insulated .187 inch and .110 inch female connectors already crimped on one end of the RED and BLACK zipcord speaker wire. Then buy some inline Butt style crimp connectors and crimp splice the POLK wires onto the existing factory wires. Then you can simply push the POLK wire extension onto the POLK speakers. Again, if you ever want to go back to the BOSE, you can cut this splice out and recrimp the old factory connector with its old wires back in place with another inline crimp splice. This is exactly what HeyRandy did except that it doesn't require the use of a soldering iron and heat gun.

The color code is provided below again for your reference. THIS IS CRITICAL!

Driver's side front door speaker
+ RED/GRN
- BRN/BLK

Passenger's side front door speaker
+ BLU/GRN
- GRY/BLK

All of the parts that you would require for either option are available from Radio Shack. I've listed them below. These are all regular shelf items stocked at all Radio Shack stores... although I had to go to two stores, because one of them was out of stock on one of the items.

1. RADIO SHACK CRIMP TOOL
CATALOG #64-404 $5.99

2. RADIO SHACK INSULATED FEMALE QUICK DISCONNECTS
(FOR 22-18GA WIRE)
CATALOG #64-3058 $1.49

3. RADIO SHACK INSULATED CRIMP BUTT CONNECTORS
(FOR INLINE SPLICING OF 22-18GA WIRE)
CATALOG #64-3108 $1.49

4. RADIO SHACK WIRE TIES (OR EQUIVALENT)
CATALOG #278-1632 $1.59

WHATEVER YOU DO, BUY THE CRIMP TOOL TO DO IT RIGHT! Don't just go the hobby route and try to crimp these connectors with a pair of pliers. You may end up just smashing the insulation and probably not making a gas-tight crimp. $5.99 is a cheap price to do this right... you don't want intermittent connections here!

Also remember to insulate the bottom of the door frame cutout and bend back ALL of the POLK speaker terminal lugs so that nothing can short out on the door frame. Keep the wiring harness snapped back in place and the wires tied back close to the inside door frame so that they are out of the way of the window. You can pop out the wiring harness hold down snap located in the door frame just below the speaker to allow you more slack in order to do your work. Just make sure you pop it back in place and that any excess wiring is bundled and tied up against the harness when you are finished.

If you need any extra help with instructions on removing the door panel, perform a search on the subject or use my name. I'm sure that I outlined a detailed procedure in one of these threads, as has a lot of other nice people. Just remember that there are really ONLY TWO screws per door that need to be removed. The rest of the panel is secured down by pop in door snaps, connecting rods with swivel locking snaps, slotted door frame cutouts and sliding plastic tabs for removing the chrome door handle assy. and electrical harness connectors ALL with some form of strain relief locking snap. The top of the panel just snaps over the top lip of the door frame. Be advised that the little cover over the screw in the chrome door handle opener assy is a "hinged" cover. It will NOT pop completely straight out. So take a small jewelers screwdriver and gently pry on the side which will open it. Gently try both sides... If you pry too hard on the wrong side, you'll just end up marring it and it will not open. As another tip put some protective tape on the sail panels before you remove and replace the door panel. This will protect it from scratches as you giggle the door panel back and forth to remove it. Also once you have the door panel removed, mark with some tape the spots where the door frame POP INSERTS are located. This way when you go to put things back together, you know where to apply presssure and where to expect to feel and hear things snap back together. It would be easy to forget one of these , especially the one right near the actual speaker if you don't have all of them marked.

The rainshield issue is obviously an individual choice. You could probably make the best rainshield out of just cutting out the back louvers of the stock plastic basket and then carefully cutting out the bottom third of the basket. This would leave you with a spacer with a 1-1/2" shield around the top and sides of the speaker. HeyRandy probably came up with the best solution for making a rainshield that fits this speaker without buying extra parts and or cutting out the door frame hole larger. In retrospect, I would probably go this route with my install, although I'm just not that worried about the water damage issue. BUT do what makes you feel the most comfortable. I don't know much about the XTC foam baffle routine, so you'll have to get your input elsewhere on that product. I started a rainshield thread for your benefit and for other people thinking about future speaker upgrades. It will be interesting to see what peoples serious opinins are along those lines.


Hope all of this helps. You will be happy with the results. It's really not that difficult. You will see, and you will also see that it wouldn't be that difficult to put the stock BOSE back together if you really wanted to. SO HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE RESULTS!
SOUTHBOUND

dian1511

Southbound:

Thanks for all your help and assistance. Got the DX6s installed last night. Used option #2 with the butt crimps and I used a little more wire than you had mentioned to make it a little easier to work and clipped of the stock wire right at the terminal. I did tie the wires together through the hole at the bottom of the speaker hole frame. Worked well.

Rainshield: I believe Southbound is right about just using the stock shiled. It fits well with minor alterations. I simply cut out the louvres to make a flush cylinder and also cut out about 0.5 inches on either side at the base of the opening for the terminals. Then the Polks fit well.

After installing the drivers side, I closed the door and tried to compare the stock passenger's side with the driver's side. Don't do this. The Polks sounded soft and worse than the stocks. HOWEVER, after the complete install, the Polks rock. The spectrum is better with lots of base and treble to spare. Separation is better, and the sound, especially, is more defined and tighter.

The trickiest parts of the install, IMHO, are taking off and putting some of the akwardly placed wires in the door and also putting the door back initially. You have to angle the front top end of the door just right so it will slide into place.

Very much worth the effort.

Ian

Southbound

Ian,
Glad you had success!
Yeah, the POLKS are a little bit less efficient which is why they sounded softer than the BOSE. YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD SOME OF THE OTHER SPEAKERS THAT I AUDITIONED... They were really down in the mud with the stock amp. Even though the POLKS were softer, it should have been evident that they had a much better frequency range. The BOSE are ALL midrange. For a given power, you can have a lot of energy over a narrow band of frequencies, or you can have lesser energy over a broader band of frequencies. It's just Physics...

The soundstaging would be totally off when centered using different speakers as well. Like you said, it should have all come together when you got both of them installed. Hope you weren't freaked out and discouraged at the halfway point?

I can't say that mine was THAT noticeably softer though, I wonder if the confinement of the plastic basket had anything to do with acoustically loading them from the back and reducing their efficiency even further? hmmm... At least you maintained a rainshield out of the stock basket... Other larger speakers would require a custom fabrication to provide for that. And other smaller speakers wouldn't provide enough desired impovement. These POlKS are the best overall option for a coaxial swapout with minimal modifications and use of the stock amp/EQ.

I'm sure you'll have some further comments after you get a fresh listen to them. Keep us posted... What kind of music do you listen to?

ANOTHER SUCESSFUL UPGRADE... that's cool

dian1511

Southbound:

Again, thanks for all your help. I've reread all the posts in this thread and see that I missed the insulating portion and the leaving enough room for the Polks to resonate without vibrating against the stock spacer basket. My windows go up and down with no problem. I'm only wondering how much more sound I could get out of these if I altered the basket. Also, I felt a need to crimp the male female connectors as they slid out too easily.

I listen to jazz, classical, and old pop types like Billy Joel, James Taylor etc. I'm an "older guy" at 42. I'm sure ancient on this list.

Hey, why don't you lead the charge and show us how to ad amplification next. I'm sure that the polks will really shine with a nice clean 25 RMS per channel.

Ian

Southbound

Ian,
It's hard to say how much sound you would gain by cutting the rest of your basket off? IF ANY?

All I can say is that I took the approach of making my speakers sound their best "in theory". SOMETIMES a lot of the extra steps are neglibible and who knows if mine sounds better or not?

Since The POLKS wanted a 5 inch mounting hole cutout. I sure wasn't going to take a buzz saw to the door frame, but I did cut away all of the basket to provide me with the most possible free air space behind the speaker so that it could port fully into the door frame. I also applied a sheet of dynamat to the door frame because it sounded like a good thing to do to help tighten up the bass and avoid door vibration rattles. I also used a piece of peel and stick foam weather stripping on both sides of the spacer just ot make sure that I had a good seal. I HATE SPEAKER RATTLES AND BUZZES! I may have gone overboard... But I know that nothing I did hurt the sound. YET, I have no reference, because I don't know what it would have sounded like with the enclosed basket/rainshield like you have. At least you do have a form of a rainshield...

The insulation on the bottom of the doorframe was strickly to prevent the terminal strip and terminals from shorting out on the metal. I noticed that the clearance was really close, even with the terminals bent up. 03TLTYPES had a problem with this shorting out by not insulating his terminals, so I feel it is a worthwhile precaution. You were in there, you know how things fit and/or didn't fit in your particular installaton. You know whether there is a risk of the terminal shorting out on the doorframe. If you think you have sufficient clearance, I wouldn't worry about it. But if you're not sure, you might want to go back in. It will be a lot easier the second time, now that you know how the door panel comes off and on. Maybe your basket is insulating things? REMEMBER, I had the entire back of the basket cut off so that I was just left with a 3/4" spacer, and the terminals were only like a 1/16th inch away from the hole cutout.

As far as the speaker basket resonating against the spacer basket... That was just a precaution as well. If you don't have any buzzes or rattles, or vibrations, then it may not be an issue. I admit that you have me thinking about the possible need for a rainshield, but sound was my primary concern during my install. And I've got to say that I'M PRETTY HAPPY WITH MY UPGRADE! There is very little drop in sound from the front speakers. If you have a REALLY significant drop, then perhaps the enclosed basket does decrease the sound output?

If you're dissatisfied with the sound output, then something is definitely wrong. You should still be able to crank these up to very close to the same level as the stock speakers before distortion. It may just be a bit higher on the volume knob.

You could do like I did with my audition gag... That's to go get a 1" spacer and securely tape it to the door frame with duct tape. Then tape the speaker in it with the rear end of it completely open inside of the door frame. You could listen to the open air differnce this way BEFORE destroying your current rainshield configuration. Just make sure to securely tape everything in place so that you have a seal or else the volume and bass response will definitely not be right. Be careful not to get any duct tape on the speaker cone or suspension itself though!!!! This could be hard to remove and pull some of the speaker material off with it!!! I used "gaffers" tape instead because it is easier to remove. It is less gooey and sticky. Not sure where you would find any though... I happen to have an inside connection for it. I bought a pair of the METRA 82-4300 UNIVERSAL SPEAKER SPACERS when I was shopping around. It was too big to permanently mount the speakers on, but it gave me a way to audition things. I've seen them at various speaker shops and FRYS, but I got mine online from partsexpress.com Come to think of it, I think that the POLKS screw hole pattern might just fit one of the hole patterns on this spacer. Just put some weather stripping on top of the spacer so that you have a good acoustical seal to the door cutout. YOU CAN'T really pemanently mount the speakers with this spacer because it is too large of diameter and too thick to let the door panel fit back on easilly. It also is too large of diameter to really fit flush against the door frame indentations. But it does make for a good test jig...

I don't know which terminals you had to crimp harder???? The POLK female terminals were definitely a tight fit to the speakers in the ones that I received. And that's the way I thought you had things hooked up. The Radio Shack quick disconnects seem to fit really hard also??? You might explain your splicing and connection method to me again. But SURE, sometimes you have to take a pair of needle nose and squeeze down on the female contacts so that they bite harder. Is this what you had to do? IF so, where again?

Last BUT NOT LEAST.... We are talking about POLK DX-6 speakers, 6-1/2 inch coaxials, right? You didn't somehow get some other model shipped did you?

In any case, if you decide to go back in... READ MY LATEST CRAZY THREAD ON SPEAKER WIRE TERMINATION in the "Door speaker wires, should I replace em" thread started by IGGY. You might find some interesting new information in that thread that will have you possibly doing another cheap mod to the speakers before you close things back up again. From the music that you listen to, you sound like someone who would notice subtle improvments. BTW... I just turned 50! and this TL-S was my Fiftieth Birthday Present... So You are not ancient... and NEITHER AM I! I was just cranking AC/DC tonight and was amazed at the tight bass response of these new POLK DX-6s But James Taylor is in my collection as well... I grew up in his era...

Keep in touch...
Southbound

dian1511

Southbound:

Thanks for all the help. I have lots to think about. Will respond when I have had time. Trying to find good stocks to invest in for now. My email is ian@new.rr.com if you ever want to send me email.

Ian

hemoglobin23

Hey southbound, I've keeping track of this thread for some time now, and have found very helpful tips on replacing the speakers. However, I have posted this before, and I hope you can help me.

Question:

I have Focal 165Ks for the front and rear, and was wondering what size spacer I would need. I have estimated 3/4", but wanted to confirm this with you. Oh, I am also going to be using the stock baffle, as well, to place the speaker in. Thanx.

sundial2k

Southbound -

I have never seen anyone spend as much time to do anything for people unknown to him as you have with the Polk DX6 upgrade.



I just picked up an Anthracite TL-S last week, and the stock audio system is really bad. I used to sell car audio many years ago, but have been satisfied with the stock systems in my past 2 cars, and the system in my wife's Base-MDX is fantastic.

I know I can physically mount the speakers, but am very unsure about my ability to do the crossover modification myself. I have done some soldering about 10 - 15 years ago, but am very nervous about doing the amount of work on the Polks as is needed.

From your experience, and feedback from other members, is this something a soldering novice like me can do?

I ordered a set of DX-6's online for $109 shipped. I didn't find them in stock at very many stores, so I am somewhat thankful I was able to get a set at all.

Any recommendations about where I should shop for the crossover upgrades?

Thanks,
sundial2k
sundial2k@hotmail.com