Installing a receiver and speakers into a 2004 Vibe 6 speaker Moon & Tune System

[spacemonkey]

Installing a Pioneer Premier receiver and Polk Audio speakers into a 2004 Vibe 6 speaker Moon & Tunes system. OK, I got all the speakers and the headunit installed. It was not as smooth as I hoped it would be, but they are in. Speakers -- Polk Audio db651 The rear speakers went in like expected, they fit under the door panels like the other tutorials outlined. I used the speaker adapters and only had to drill one hole each. I noticed that the holes in the door panels were only perforated for 5.5" speakers, so I drilled out the partial perforations to 6.5 inches. Here is an example of how I started... The front speakers were more difficult. Without using the shell of the previous speaker the front windows would not go all the way down. Others have noted this, so I took their advice and used the shell of the old front speaker. Using the shells of the old speakers led to a different problem, the speakers did not fit under the door panel. Some have noted this. To make them fit I cut out the door panels, leaving a hole for the speaker. I then used the grills from the new speakers to cover the speaker and hole. This wasn't that simple. One of the screws goes into the speaker and two of them pinch onto the door panel. I clipped them onto the panel by using a piece of plastic that cut out of an old container. I screwed into the plastic to pinch the door panel between the grill and that plastic piece. It feels like it will hold, but only time will tell. I think this covered the hole OK and will provide some protection for the speaker. The old high-mouted tweeters were still connected in this scenario and produced too much treble. Therefore I unplugged them so that I would be using the tweeters in the new speakers.Headunit -- Pioneer Premier DEH-P310UB I bought the system from Crutchfield, so they included a GM harness and antenna adapter. It did not include a line ouput converter, but based on the advice of others, I also bought a Scosche SLC4. I tested the unit with and without the adapter and found some hiss without it, so I used the adapter. I have the SLC4 maxed out for the rear and at about 3/4 for the front. This also allowed me to balance the gain of the front vs. rear, since it seems that the amplification of the rear is less with the stock amplifier. The SLC4 goes in series between the headunit and the harness adapter. I screwed in the speaker connections and soldered the power and ground connections.I also purchased the Pioneer HD Radio add-on. This unit requires a yellow and a black connection and you plug the antenna into it. It outputs its signal via an IP-Bus cable to the headunit. The headunit went in OK to the Vibe dash DIN adapter supplied by Crutchfield. All of this fit pretty snugly into the dash. Now I understand why all the connections are pesky molex connectors with clips. One has to jam everything in there, so the connectors will hopefully keep it all together. Thoughts and Questions Why did Crutchfield say that the speakers fit in the front? I don't think they do with out some pretty aggressive hacking. Perhaps I should have had someone else do the install. What would an installer do with this setup? How would they make the front speakers fit? I wonder how they would have done it. How have others done this?I haven't had much time to enjoy the system yet, but I have a drive tomorrow, so I'll use that to give it a listen. So far it seems much better than stock. While I still had some stock and some Polk speakers in the Vibe I could really tell the difference. The stock ones are louder (probably because of lower impedance), but much muddier. The Polks have so much more detailed and defined sound.ReferencesThank you to all that helped, or posted guides before. I learned a ton and would not have gotten this stereo in without your shared wisdom. This post is meant to return the favor and contribute to this shared knowledge.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id ... ead?id=785

[cptnsolo77]

The Install looks great! Thx for posting, Im planning to pickup some DB651s for the front. I would have expected just a remove & replace. Now I know what to expect & give myself more time for the swap. The Grilles look better than I expected. Really apreciate it the post. Your the first member I seen with the DB651s. How is the bass response on the Polks?

[spacemonkey]

Thanks, cptnsolo77, I am glad this is useful to you, I learned a lot here and wanted to pay back the favor.Are you looking at the "db651" or the "db651s" speakers? The latter is a slim version. I don't know how much that would gain you, or if you would still have to do the hacking I did. I got the db651 speakers when they were $45 on sale at Crutchfield.I think the bass response is good on the Polks, but I don't have anything but the stock to compare it to. I know that it is much tighter. You will really hear the difference in the midrange, it isn't all muddy like the stock setup.Best of luck and post your results!

[cptnsolo77]

Yes the DB651 I meant for the "s" to be plural LOL! Glad you were able to get the Polks at 45 bucks, they are back to $59. I have the stock speakers as well & the fronts are buzzing, so anything would be an improvemant! have not heard anything bad about the polks!

[spacemonkey]

Newegg.com has the Polk db651 on sale for $50 right now, in case you are interested. I didn't use the speaker adapter from Crutchfield with mine, I used the one that came with the Polks. I did need the +/- wire adapter, however.

[Sublimewind]

Good Job...!If the Polk db651 didn't fit without hitting the window, then the 651s (slim) is likely a better choice..

[spacemonkey]

So, what would have BestBuy done in this situation? Crutchfield says these speakers "fit" in the front and back. I certainly made them fit, but what would the pros do here?How did others of you fit your speakers in the front doors? I didn't see a way that any speaker that stuck up at all would be able to sit under the grill in the front door without rubbing on the back of it.

[zdkaiser]

I just installed the 4 exact same speakers in a base 2007 Vibe. Instead of using the stock brackets, I used the Polk Supplied brackets placed on top of the Crutchfield supplied brackets with a foam spacer (from the back of the stock speaker bracket) in between. The speaker was then far enough away from the window and I didn't have to do any cutting into the door panel.

[zdkaiser]

It was in this order: metal door frame>crutchfield bracket>foam ring>polk bracket>foam ring>speaker.It worked well, has a nice seal, and the speaker seems very tight and in place. So... I believe the polk db651 can fit in the front without cutting the door frame, so long as you have some extra brackets.