Replaced center speaker...now my bass from the doors is better?

FreedomPenguin

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How does it sound tho yuma? I am sorry I cannot answer your question. I am actually kind of thinking of not installing it. I am worried having a 2 way in it might make the highs too harsh. worried about changing the sound stage that much.

how do you like it?

I dont have a PP car, are you saying it doesn't fit for a non PP under dash? is it because PP cars have clusters and not a pipe or something for a vent I assuming.
 

catchthecarp

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You guys installing the DB351 polk as center, I bought one off a member. How are you modifying the grille? im installing it in a few days. Do you have to cut a circle out for the tweeter center? or grind it down somehow? just wanting to know before I dig in.

will I have quality sound crimping vs soldering? I dont have or know how to solder. lol so crimping is preferred.
I have a non PP car with 3 vents and was able to bottom mount the DB351. I used a pair of tin snips to widen and lengthen the slot where the wire bundle dips under the dash next to the speaker - see Boston23's second pic above. I snipped off enough material until I could slide one of the DB351's mounting ears under the dash, tilting the speaker at a downward angle. Once one ear is below the dash work/rotate the speaker counter clockwise until the entire speaker is below the dash. It's a tight fit and takes some effort but it will go. Line up ears with holes in the dash and bolt it in. If I had to do it again I would top mount and dremel the grill.... probably easier.

I never soldered before. After watching several soldering for dummies YT videos I bought a cheap soldering kit, practiced on the factory speaker and gave it a go. It took several tries but eventually I got it. Only burned myself twice!
 

YumaStang

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How does it sound tho yuma? I am sorry I cannot answer your question. I am actually kind of thinking of not installing it. I am worried having a 2 way in it might make the highs too harsh. worried about changing the sound stage that much.

how do you like it?

I dont have a PP car, are you saying it doesn't fit for a non PP under dash? is it because PP cars have clusters and not a pipe or something for a vent I assuming.
I was able to undermount the speaker. It was a pain in the ass and took some modification to the panel as @catchthecarp stated- but it will fit. I used the factory nut clips on the Polk speaker in order to use the factory screws for mounting. When I did this, the speaker would not fully center in the hole but the grille will cover this. No modification to the grille needed when undermounting. Honestly, after doing this- I would say its not worth it. I was not impressed by the sound. Does it sound better than stock? Yes it does, but the risk, in my opinion out weighs the reward. Modifying the panel to fit the speaker has risk. Pulling the dash trim to get to the panel has the risk of breaking tabs or the blue/yellow retainers. By the way- the retainers are not cheap for what they are. They cost $19 for a bag of 4 at the dealership. They also had to be ordered.
 

FreedomPenguin

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I was able to undermount the speaker. It was a pain in the ass and took some modification to the panel as @catchthecarp stated- but it will fit. I used the factory nut clips on the Polk speaker in order to use the factory screws for mounting. When I did this, the speaker would not fully center in the hole but the grille will cover this. No modification to the grille needed when undermounting. Honestly, after doing this- I would say its not worth it. I was not impressed by the sound. Does it sound better than stock? Yes it does, but the risk, in my opinion out weighs the reward. Modifying the panel to fit the speaker has risk. Pulling the dash trim to get to the panel has the risk of breaking tabs or the blue/yellow retainers. By the way- the retainers are not cheap for what they are. They cost $19 for a bag of 4 at the dealership. They also had to be ordered.

Convinced me, im skipping this mod. If anyone in Dayton Ohio wants it, let me know you can have it. I got sucked into the mod everything hype when I bought car. Honestly, I enjoy the speakers except for the rears as of now. I bought a JL stealthbox, and 3ohm coaxial's for the rear once I have it all together. I should be pretty happy.

Using a Hextall harness to wire sub in and everything, should be much nicer than what I have.
 

YumaStang

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Upgrading my fronts and rears are next on my list along with installing an amp to power them. Currently I am running a stock setup for fronts and rears with a JL 12” W3 powered by a JL 500 Slash. All boom and not very balanced.
 

catchthecarp

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Replacing the stock center was worth the effort to my ears, a very noticeable overall improvement but especially with vocal clarity. My stock center sounded muffled and muddy as if there was a towel stuffed over it. As for replacing the stock center with a coaxial, we all hear differently so the addition of another tweet is dependent on your sensitivity to the upper end of the audio spectrum. In my case no ill effects, I'm getting old. With that said I still swapped out the pillar tweets, another improvement but more subtle than with the center.
 

Live n Mizery

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Thanks to the extra speaker sale and write up from Boston23 I'm going to install my Polk center speaker today. One of the main disappointments I have with my stang is the sound system so this should clean it up a bit.
 

pike1346

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Replacing the stock center was worth the effort to my ears, a very noticeable overall improvement but especially with vocal clarity. My stock center sounded muffled and muddy as if there was a towel stuffed over it. As for replacing the stock center with a coaxial, we all hear differently so the addition of another tweet is dependent on your sensitivity to the upper end of the audio spectrum. In my case no ill effects, I'm getting old. With that said I still swapped out the pillar tweets, another improvement but more subtle than with the center.
which pillar tweeters did you buy to replace the stock set?
 

catchthecarp

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Captdistraction

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I went back and pulled my polk DB351 and put in a Dayton Audio PS95-8 3-1/2" Point Source Full Range Driver 8 Ohm driver in my GT350. The original was a 8ohm speaker, and the 4ohm DB351 was too forward. The Dayton doesn't have the best sensitivity, but it blends in much better than either the stock or dB351 options. Initially I was pretty disappointed in how it sounded with the polk, now both driver/all modes sound much improved. (pictures include a ford 2ohm center from my previous S550 401A GT)

IMG_2295.jpg
IMG_2296.jpg
IMG_2297.jpg
IMG_2300.jpg
 
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jdm0926

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I went back and pulled my polk DB351 and put in a Dayton Audio PS95-8 3-1/2" Point Source Full Range Driver 8 Ohm driver in my GT350. The original was a 8ohm speaker, and the 4ohm DB351 was too forward. The Dayton doesn't have the best sensitivity, but it blends in much better than either the stock or dB351 options. Initially I was pretty disappointed in how it sounded, now both driver/all modes sound much improved. (pictures include a ford 2ohm center from my previous S550 401A GT)

IMG_2295.jpg
IMG_2296.jpg
IMG_2297.jpg
IMG_2300.jpg
I went back and pulled my polk DB351 and put in a Dayton Audio PS95-8 3-1/2" Point Source Full Range Driver 8 Ohm driver in my GT350. The original was a 8ohm speaker, and the 4ohm DB351 was too forward. The Dayton doesn't have the best sensitivity, but it blends in much better than either the stock or dB351 options. Initially I was pretty disappointed in how it sounded, now both driver/all modes sound much improved. (pictures include a ford 2ohm center from my previous S550 401A GT)

IMG_2295.jpg
IMG_2296.jpg
IMG_2297.jpg
IMG_2300.jpg
Thanks for posting this. Is the Dayton speaker plug and play?
 

Captdistraction

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Mostly, you need the connector from the oem speaker (or a $10 metra ford speaker adapter for the female terminal), and I just drilled two new holes with a bit by hand (really easy) and moved the J clips there. Otherwise it clears just fine on performance pack or GT350 cars, and I'm sure on non-PP cars it would clear fine as well (since I had the DB351 on an under mount, and this over mounts).
 
 
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