Based on all the collective wisdom in these forums I am thinking of augmenting or full out replacing my stock (non hi-fi) system speakers with some combination of Polks, which match the price/performance range I am looking for. Two choices are the db6501's and the db651's, the latter being the coxial combo units. It seems most people install the 651's in the back, with a set of db6501's in the front. I am thinking about installing db651's in the front lower locations and leaving the stock 3.5" upper speakers, either connected or disconnected, depending on how they sound when mated with the Polk's.

One of the reasons I'm considering the 651's over the 6501's is to avoid having to fit the tweeters in the 4" upper pods. They are rather small for that location and I'm not thrilled about having to search for or craft my own adapter plate if a pre-made one doesn't exist. I believe one owner simply glued the tweeters to the old speakers, but I am wondering what other 6501 owners did. Let me know if you installed these in the upper 3.5" pods and if so, where you got your mounting plate at. If you surface mounted or put these in the pillars, I'm interested in knowing how hard a job that is if you did it yourself.

I am guessing that simply replacing the lowers with db651's is the easiest route and likely will be good enough for my needs, but I'm open to suggestions. My wallet has final say.

 

I placed mine where the 4" speakers were. After pulling the 4" out, I traced the outline of the speaker on a sheet of 1/4" plywood I had laying around. I used a saw to rough cut it in, then used a dremel to sand it to size. For the tweeter itself, I used a holesaw I had from a door **** installation kit which was an 1/8" larger than recommended. The tweeter clipped on after flaring the legs a little bit. I originally mounted the tweeter on top of the adapter plate, but the 4" cover wouldn't fit back on.

If you have the basic tools laying around: drill, saw, sandpaper, jigsaw, you will be fine. Making the plate does not require a large degree of precision or good looks, as it is hidden by the cover. The only thing i will do eventually is apply some black marker or paint, as you can see the wood under direct sunlight.