New Speakers - Polk DB6501?
 

Hi,

So Im looking to install some door speakers. Now from what I have read I am going to go with a set of component speakers rather than coaxial because it will sound better. (In about a month I will put a sub in the back too)

Everyone seems to rave about the Polk DB6501

Amazon.com : Polk Audio DB6501 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component System (Pair, Silver) : Component Vehicle Speaker Systems : Car Electronics

What do you guys think? In the description it says it comes with adapter rings. Will this be sufficient or do I need to head over to Zenclosure to purchase their spacers?

I have also read that I need to run new speaker wire? Why is that? Why cant I just remove the old speaker in the door and use the existing wires for my new speaker? And does this rule apply for the tweeters too?

I'm in the middle of my component install and realize the the following:

1) The Polk adapter rings are thin, therefore your mid-bass will be recessed in the door panel approx 3/4" more than the factory speaker. This may create a depth issue in relation to your mid-bass magnet and the window. I bought some thick plastic spacers on Fleabay for $15 and they seem to do the trick. I would avoid the MDF for worry of moisture issues here in Florida(at least for me).

6½" Speaker Mount Spacer Plates Adapters Brackets Ring Fits Nissan Inifinti | eBay

http://img.techpowerup.org/140819/Capture373.jpg

2) Tweeter mounting- I don't know if the Polk's come with the adapter that recesses into the stock tweeter opening, but Infinity's do. This eliminates the need to make a adapter from scratch. Pretty sweet if I must say.

http://img.techpowerup.org/140819/Capture372.jpg

I've had Polk, MB Quart, Kenwood, Pioneer, and Infinity components over the years. I have to say that I am most happy with Infinity, namely the 6030cs components. Great bang for the buck. Amazon has them for as little as $104/pr.

Good luck with the install!

Adapter rings: Not sure if the included ones will work... The zenclosure ones cost $25 which is around the price of a cheap jigsaw and a 2x4 sheet of MDF. Make your own, enjoy jigsawing more things in the future.

New wiring: If you're not adding an amp, the stock wiring to the doors should be fine. Just keep in mind the factory components have crossovers built onto the speakers and your new speakers will use a provided crossover box, so there will be some wiring modification either way.

I can speak to this since I just installed the same set. The adapter plate provided fits 95%, there's one hole in the adapter you have to extend a little - super easy if you have a dremel. You can use existing wiring if you're not pushing extra power to them. I'm running 90W RMS to each of mine so I upgraded the wiring; stock is very very thin.

I can tell you these speakers sound absolutely awesome with 90 watts, they were not too impressive with stock power though. If you're looking for an amp without the need to run a separate power wire through your car, check out the one I have - Alpine Power Pack KTP-445u This fits neatly behind the headunit and only took me an additional 15 minutes or so to install.

Alpine KTP-445U 4-channel Power Pack Amplifier $112.00
Polk Audio DB6501 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component System (Pair, Silver) $120.00

So is this a good upgrade while keeping the stock base model head unit and without adding rear speakers or a subwoofer? I would just like to be able to turn up the volume more while driving with the windows down without getting the crappy sound that the stock speakers have at higher volumes.

Yes. My sound is sooo much clearer and is especially noticeable on the highway with the windows down. You will not be disappointed.

I have the base model head unit as well.

I had them. Didn't like them. No mid bass. I went with the Hertz 165XL's. They're perfect

I appreciate all the feedback!

I forgot to mention that I already have a Kenwood DNX8120 installed. Not sure if this will help out in the power department for the door speakers?

I mean for now I guess I would just like to use the stock wiring as it is already there. I'll be honest, I am a little intimated about snaking wire through the hose of the door. If I can get away with stock wiring I would definitely like to go that route. Opinions on this please?
But I am a little confused on this issue because if I am not adding an amp why would I run new wiring? Add new wiring from the harness to the new set speakers...for what?

In the future I will be installing an amp to power a sub. Can someone clarify for me how I would power the door speakers in addition to the sub. Do I just add speaker wire to the amp in addition to the speaker wire going to the sub? In other words place the wire in the same "port/under screw" on the amp? I might just not power the speakers with an amp if there really is no advantage in doing so. Maybe the DNX8120 will give them enough power?

Im going to try the install with the spacers coming with the Polk unit. Hopefully I will be good to go without any issues.

As far as the tweeters go I have read I can just make a bracket pretty easily out of ABS or even cardboard.

I made my tweeter bracket out of cardboard. No ragrets.

Alright heres an update,

I tried the install yesterday and heres what happened...

Removing the door panels was pretty easy. The spacers that came with the speakers worked fine, just had to open up one of the holes in spacer just a tad. I decided to go ahead and hook up an amp so that I could get better sound out of the components.
This was my first time dealing with a crossover and it sounded pretty straight forward but I could not get sound to come out of the speakers. (It just sounded like bass, no lyrics) Here is how I wired it...

Attachment 93257

Any ideas? What could I be doing wrong??

Did you wire the tweeter too? The point of the crossover is to separate frequencies so the door speakers handles low end and tweeter handles only high end.

Check your amplifier settings to make sure if there are any crossover settings on it you have it set to through, let the Polk crossovers handle bass blocking and frequency handling. Check the radio too to make sure your RCAs aren't plugged into the sub out jacks. I know that seems obvious, but I've seen that mistake made.

Which amp did you end up getting? Just make sure your crossover is set correctly on the amp. Since you're running passive crossover, you can just disable the crossover on the amp and let the passive crossover deal with it.

It sounds like you might have your high crossover set pretty low, that's why you're only hearing bass and no mid or high.

Diagram shows correct wiring, provided all pos. and neg. are proper. Like others have said, check your rcas and your amps crossovers. It always comes back to something simple.

Thanks for all the replies!

I actually do have the RCA's going to the sub out jacks. Where am I suppose to put them? What if I want to add a sub in the future?

I have a kenwood kac729s amp if that helps.

do you have front audio out jacks or is it just two rca sub outs on your radio? if that's the case you're not completely doomed, you just need a LOC to get RCA outs from the regular white-white/black and gray-gray/black front speaker wires coming from your HU.

I have a Kendwood DNX8120 head unit. There are no front audio jacks. But there is a plethora of outputs behind the unit. Are they no other alternatives other than getting a line out converter as you suggested?

Here is a stock photo of one of the preouts

Attachment 93277

When he says front, he means the set of RCAs labeled "Front" in the photo you attached. Front is not referring to their location on the head unit - the connection is going to be in the back.

JARblue thanks for the clarification. So I suppose I can just take them out of the sub out and put them in the "front" then I should be good to go? No need for line out converter correct?

Yes, depending on how you have the internal crossover set-up, the front pre-outs should be full range. This should solve your issue.

Bingo :tup:

Assuming everything else is set up properly, as mentioned.

Thanks guys! You have been extremely helpful.

But I have to ask...what if I want to hook up a sub. How would I go about doing that since there is only one "line in" on the Kenwood amp. Seeing how that is already going to be occupied by the "front" output from behind the head unit for the component speakers.

I'm no expert here, but I'm not sure you can with that amp. I think you'll need an additional amp or you can upgrade the one you have.

If you are married to that amp, see if it can operate in Tri-mode. Have not seen this application in many years(all x-over's are active nowadays). If you can replace the amp, go for a 4 channel and bridge channel 3 & 4 for the sub. This is the method I used with the MTX 704x I just installed.

Edit: Looks like the KAC 729s is Tri-Way capable. Now you need a Tri-way Crossover. Might be a tough find.

http://img.techpowerup.org/140825/942.jpg

I'm not married to it lol it's just what I've had.

Can you recommend an amp that would fit my needs so I know what options to look for so I can upgrade it?

On a side note, make sure you swap the RCA cables when the unit is turned OFF......
As 370z_roadster mentioned above, a tri-way crossover may not be easy to locate. You are better off getting a dedicated sub amp, or a 4 channel that is capable of bridging 2 channels (most are nowadays)

You'll need a solid four or 5 channel amp. I'm running an Alpine pdx-v9.

Okay so I think I will just run two amps. I will keep the Kenwood kac729s I currently have and save that for when I get the sub.

So I need to find a two channel amp that can power the component speakers.

The Alpine looks nice but that is more than I would like to spend.

I cut up the stock speakers to make a metal basket for my tweeters. I was thinking of cardboard but thought it would be too flimsy- glad to know it would have worked though. I don't know why it's hard to cut into those stock speakers, but they did fit the DB6501 tweeters perfectly and the stock covers fit right over top. How did you end up mounting your tweeters? By the way after you get the DB6501 setup, your going to need more bass. I have a great subwoofer setup to show when I get the chance to take a pic. You use the spare tire/wheel itself as the enclosure- no fiberglassing required. Just seal the bottom with foam weatherstripping where the wheel makes contact. the rubber tire will seal the top (peace of thick plywood). Cut a hole for the woofer. Crank it down with nylon straps/ratcheting mechanisms. I threw the carpet right on top. The ratchet mechanisms propped it up so it wouldn't touch the speaker.

The cardboard tweeter mounts are flimsy, but they're just tweeters and don't move :tup:

Also, pics of your sub setup?

non-fiberglass spare tire/wheel sub
 

Use the spare tire/wheel itself as the enclosure- no fiberglassing required. Just seal the bottom with foam weatherstripping where the wheel makes contact. the rubber tire will seal the top (peace of thick plywood). Cut a hole for the woofer. Crank it down with nylon straps/ratcheting mechanisms. I threw the carpet right on top. The ratchet mechanisms propped it up so it wouldn't touch the speaker.

I got a set of Polk audio db6501 and two amps. One for the components and one for my 10 in. Sub.

When the amp is off I can hear a high frequency sound coming from the tweeters. (Only when the car is started, if it's just on the ON position there is no high frequency sound) It's really annoying.

When I disconnect the tweeters from the crossovers there's no frequency sound anymore. I just find it strange that it's making this sound even when I have both the radio and amp off. It may be worth while mentioning that my sub was getting some engine feedback so I checked my ground location and there was some paint so I scrapped it off and that solved it. (I just checked my ground for my component amp and it's also on metal with no paint)

I used a set of $10 RCA's from Amazon to connect the radio to my subwoofer amp and everything sounds good, so I don't think I can contribute the high frequency sound to cheap RCA's for my components amp. (The brand of RCA is Tsunami)

Does anyone know what is causing this and how I can fix it??

Its a ground issue, for sure. Your amps ground wire should be the same gauge as your power wire. It also needs to be very secure, and paint free. Sometimes its as simple as moving it an inch from where you have it to get better contact. Seatbelt anchors are typically what I shoot for. Heavy, and secure.

I appreciate the response.

I tried two more different locations in hope that it would solve this issue but was unsuccessful in doing so. (Both the ground and power wire are the same gauge)

Any other thoughts?

I would check your rca cables, be sure they are not damaged at all, and try to keep them away from your power wire. Are your amps contacting metal anywhere? they should not.
Be sure your power wire is tight as well. If all looks good, last thing I would check is your input gains may be cranked too high. How did you set them?
If all else fails, try grounding the Outer leads of your rcas to the chassis as well. (not the most likely cause, but it is possible.....

:wtf2:You cant be serious......... What is the volume of your "enclosure"? Does it match your subwoofers T/S Parameters?

I'm reminded by his post of all the awful DIY jobs I get coming into the shop for me to fix.

I've got a pair of DB6501s in my car and now I'm looking to upgrade by getting an amp and a sub.

Which do you guys recommend for a complete system? I'm not too crazy on bass or anything, I would just like a bit. I'm also hoping not to spend more than about $300 for the amp and sub.

you should look into a powered sub

RonRizz,

I just bought these RCA cables Monster MPC I202 2C-4M Low Noise 2-Channel Car Stereo RCA Cables (4 meters):Amazon:Car Electronics
In hopes that I can get rid of that high pitch sound. My current set of RCA's that are going to the amp for my component speakers is running on the passenger side which is also where my power wire is. (Maybe this is where it's picking up all that "junk")

I'm going to run these new monsters along the drivers side which also currently has my RCA's for my sub amp. Hopefully this will work. Only concern is that I don't know how I'm going to squeeze another set of cables through the "side skirt" by the seat. From what I can remember it was awfully tight.