db6501

by Armando Vega, April 8, 2007

Strengths:

Tweeter seems much brighter than last years but is still balanced with the system. Crossover has tweeter adjustment.

Weaknesses:

Ill get back to you guys on that.

Review:

WoW. Superb midrange response and clarity,add to that these speakers are crystal clear at even the highest frequencies. The bass was very smooth with plenty of mid bass kick. Best money Ive spent in a long time.

by Screamin, June 6, 2007

Strengths:

Soft highs and deep, clear, powerful bass without external amplification!

Weaknesses:

Wish you guys still made the 6 3/4, but the adapter ring works pretty well.

Review:

Fantastic from top to bottom. Smooth midrange, deep, clear bass and pleasing high-end. I auditioned Focal's at twice the price and was unhappy with the piercing high-end from the metal tweeters. The silk dome makes all the difference.

by Eric Cheung, June 25, 2007

Strengths:

crip highs, firm vocal, powerful bass, adjustable output level for tweeters (+3db, 0, -3db)

Weaknesses:

Crossover a little too big

Review:

I previously replaced the stock front door speakers with 6.5" JBL coaxial speakers, but was not too happy with the sound quality. It sounded hollow. After I read so many good comments about Polk speakers, I decided to buy the db6501 component speakers. I took me over 6 hours to fix them to my Lexus ES300 front doors due to the non-standard mounting of my car. After the installation was complete, I was very pleased with the sound quality of these Polk speakers. It is superb! It is worth all the time and sweat in installation. I would definitely recommend these speakers. BTW, I am driving them with the Alpine F250 amp.

by Dustin Fortenberry, July 7, 2007

Strengths:

Overall excellent quality.

Weaknesses:

Really none to speak of.

Review:

These things are awesome. I was expecting brilliant highs and they delivered. I was not, however, expecting the powerful bass these comps delivered. I initially amplified then with the MRP-F250 (40x4) but swapped for the JL A4300. Much better! Stepping up from 40 to 70 watts gave them an even fuller sound.

by Keith , August 8, 2007

Strengths:

You can crank these bad boys up and have absolutely no distortion whatsoever. They deliver good bass although i couldnt really tell since i had my sub in the back delivering all the bass. I custom tuned my speakers to drive full treble and mid bass range and they are amazing. I'm hoping to get two sets of these things for my Mazda 3.

Weaknesses:

Absolutely none, Polk has great quality!!! Totally Unbelievable.

Review:

Overall Excellent Quality. Awesome bang for the buck. Trust me if you are looking for some awesome components that won't burn a hole through your wallet then go with these. They will deliver everything you expect and more. I turned down the kickers that were 100 dollars more and i can say i am extremely satisfied with my decision. Polk rocks for crystal clear sound.

by Kyle Finn, August 25, 2007

Strengths:

The tweeters are perfect.Perfect balance. Dont distort.

Weaknesses:

install took a while.had to drill holes in the platic bracket to make them fit.

Review:

The best componenets i have heard that werent $600 or more. I push these and a pair of DB651 wihta kicker 350.4. It sounds amazing.

by Rob, September 4, 2007

Strengths:

The crossover makes the tweeters sing, however they do seem to drown out the mid/bass when the volume is turned up.

Weaknesses:

Bass gets hollow when volume is turned up to almost half way. For $200.00 I guess I was expecting more.

Review:

The speakers seem average. For the sound that I received from these, I feel that my stock speakers sounded just as good. I replaced my speakers with these in hopes that the 6 1/2 would put out decent bass since it is almost impossible to put a subwoofer in my vehicle. However, the bass was very hollow when playing R&B or Rap. Luckily I listen to Alternative and Rock where bass is not needed as much.

by Cammie, October 23, 2007

Strengths:

Good looking set of components. Sound really good for the money too.

Weaknesses:

The passive crossovers really limit the tweeters from there protential. It's really difficult to listen to rock music at higher levels without tripping the tweeter protection circuit. I'm not a fan of this at all. The passive crossovers are built cheap.

Review:

These speakers sound pretty nice for the money. Pretty good Midbass also. The tweeters are a little bright but are clear and free of distortion.

by maxxmodified, November 1, 2007

Strengths:

much improved x-over with db reduction and stand alone terminals

Weaknesses:

x-over cover is still tough to get off bigger terminals on speaker

Review:

I have a 2007 nissan frontier pick-up four door, Iput a set in the front with the tweet in the dash and a set in the rear door with the tweet right above it aiming to the center of the middle console they are hooked up to a sony , yes a sony 4 channel amp and with Son;s low THD and approx 120 watts rms crossed at 100 hz these things sound like a concert symphony, acurate , clear , smooth and pound on demand. the only thing Polk needs to do is put better connections on the basket terminals I have 12gauge wire on them and the clips don't hold well so I had to solder them but, small issue

by Tim D., November 10, 2007

Strengths:

Great price for great sounding speakers.

Weaknesses:

None

Review:

These speakers are great!! THey are cheap and sound awesome. I put them in my Grand Am 95 2-door, I had to do some custom work to make the 6-1/2 speakers fit in the doors but besides that they're a great value. I don't have much money but I didn't need much for these.

by chris, January 8, 2008

Strengths:

great sound hold a lot of power.

Weaknesses:

none

Review:

i have a 02 tahoe and they sound great. people can here me down the street and i mean every word on the song. they ask me what do i have in my car all the time.

by ralph brewster, January 17, 2008

Strengths:

I listen to heavy metal and I dont have to blow my eardrums to get clear quality sound.

Weaknesses:

none found.

Review:

2 sets instaled in my 1999 ranger extra cab with 4 doors and a 400w 4 chanel pioneer amp and an alpine cda-9884 cd receiver that lets me use my ipod.set tweeter switch at +3db and the sound quality is the best ive ever heard.

by Allan Reyes, February 25, 2008

Strengths:

Good sound for the price.

Weaknesses:

You will need a spacer in your door and deadening to fully maximize your mid bass.

Review:

I installed the Polk Audio db6501 last November 2007 in my car and I was amazed how it sounds. I used to have a Pioneer 5750 HU and a RF Punch 450.4. I was able to hear the details of the songs that I like. Now that I have upgraded to a full active system with 2 RF (4 channel and 2 channel amps), Alpine 9887 HU and a Hertz MLK 165 separates. I still believe that the 6501 is still the best for its value. No other speakers in the market can match it if you talk about the price and its performance. If you are just starting to setup audio for your car, this is a good investment.

by Chris Carpenter, March 6, 2008

Strengths:

like the realistic sound ,punchy mids. The design and look are killer

Weaknesses:

need an amp(not polk's fault)

Review:

Great look and excellent sound for the price. highs are crisp yet realistic and the mids really fill it out even w/ no sub. Would recommend amp to bring out the best, but even w/ HU @17watts they sound excellent. It took a little trial and error to set tweeters correctly for my truck(-3db). Now I can't wait to drive somewhere, just to listen to the stereo

by Pringle, March 6, 2008

Strengths:

EVERYTHING! CLEAR SOUND, CRISP HIGHS.

Weaknesses:

NONE.

Review:

EXCELLENT COMPONENT SPEAKERS!!!

by Frank Seper, April 8, 2008

Strengths:

Very clear highs and midrange, and discent base. No distortion at all.

Weaknesses:

The crossover cover is tough to get off and at times the tweeters can over power.

Review:

I have bought Polk speakers in the past, for the home and cars and have never been disapointed. I just bought two sets of these for my 02 mustang and I have to say, I am very empressed. Ran them off the the hu at first and they sounded good but they sound even better hooked up to an amp. For the money you can't beat them.

by Sonny, June 5, 2008

Strengths:

Great overall sound. Crossovers actually impressed me. Installation went great.

Weaknesses:

Speaker covers and customer service. While I realize these covers would look great in some specific vehicles they are not very compatible with a great many others.

Review:

Just installed these in my new/old van and they sound great. I have the speakers hooked to an Alpine HU and an old school Carver M-240, the amp has been with me since new and I can’t/won’t get rid of it, amp driving the db6501’s. I have built a few crossovers in my time and found the crossovers that come with the db6501’s to do a good job. I almost didn’t buy these speakers based on the appearance of the 6.5” speaker, yuck, covers but when I did a side by side sound demo of other manufactures I decided these were the speakers and I would deal with the cover issue later. I contacted Polk customer service later regarding the covers and was offered no help and a canned response to my inquiry. My over all impression of the db 6501’s, speaker covers and customer service aside, is that they are a great buy. I am very happy I purchased them.

by adalric, July 20, 2008

Strengths:

LOUD AND CLEAR... MINE IS LOUDER THAN YOURS

Weaknesses:

I CANT FIND ANY WEAKNESS

Review:

Honestly at first i don't know what to expect about the db6501 'cz i didn't audi this product before i bought it... when i bought this seps i was excited to put it on my system.... the first thing i notice when i install it on my system i was really surprise because of the price i payed and the quality... i hear something that i didn't hear from my other speakers before.... when you close your eyes the first thing that will come into your mind is "IS THIS A LIVE CONCERT?!" it feels like you are in a dome... i am proud that i bought this seps... thanks polkaudio!!! tom i'll buy a db651 so that i could get what we call a LOUD AND CLEAR set up hehehe

by David, November 22, 2008

Strengths:

- Excellent sound quality and volume in factory positions without extra amplification - good quality components in the crossovers - came with plastic adaptors - shallow mounting depth

Weaknesses:

Review:

I replaced the factory speakers in my Prius with the db6501 (front) and db651 (rear). I run them from my head unit (14W RMS x 4). At first I thought they sounded pretty good, especially the tweeters. Months later I realized my head unit was set to filter everything below 80Hz. I turned the filter off and now I'm blown away by the lows these can produce. I can clearly hear the difference even when the filter is set to remove 50Hz and below.

by The Nut, December 20, 2008

Strengths:

Great smooth sound amplified or not. Esp. smooth high freq sound curve through the tweeters. 4 yrs in my car and still sound like they were put in yesterday.

Weaknesses:

None

Review:

Have had 2 pairs of these in my '01 Saturn L200 for a few years now. I had decided on Polk Audio as replacements for the component speakers (both front and back) that came with the vehicle due to Polks reputation for quality natural sounding high frequency reproduction. So many other (and often times far more costly) tweeters have a very tinny ear scratching sound curve to them. These provide a much smoother and more natural sound. My original set up had them running directly off my old Sony head unit. I was immediately impressed with the sound. I later added a crappy bazooka 4 channel amp, still very impressive sound. When I connected my new Alpine PDA X100 H.U., Holy Crap!! Now I have just purchased an Alpine PDX 4.100 and I can't wait to hear what they sound like with one of the cleanest amps available. I am in fact currently rebuilding my entire system right now, and I have no intention of changing out my Polk DB Series Components. The only problem I've had is that Circuit City (where I purchased the product for a steal of a price) installed the mid-bass drivers poorly and they vibrate if I set the crossover to allow them to play frequencies below 120Hz, (not the speakers fault). A prob I intend to have fixed when I have my new amps installed. Way to go Polk! You've earned a customer for life. I can't imagine what your higher end ones must sound like!?!

by Shedric, January 12, 2009

Strengths:

Clarity of the mid bass and up is outstanding.

Weaknesses:

Tweeter will sometimes get too sharp at high volumes

Review:

This is the first time I have tried Polk for a system, and I wish I hadn't wasted time with those infinity ones. These comps sound awesome, but you DEFINITELY have to feed them. The only thing I had to really tweak was the tweeter at higher volumes. Not a big problem with my head unit.

by rocgalant, February 26, 2009

Strengths:

Loud and clear with the amp. Clear and moderately loud with no amp.

Weaknesses:

A little disappointed in the highs.

Review:

Running these in my front doors with mmc690 in the rear deck. These speakers sounded really clear before I installed my amp. They are even still clear with the amp now installed. I am a bit disappointed in the really high freq range but I do have them installed in the front doors, which is around where my feet are. Maybe that has something to do with it.Decent highs, great high/mid, great mid, not much lows (as you might expect from 6.5" speakers).

by Chris, March 9, 2009

Strengths:

Great bass for the size, good vocals, and excellent highs.

Weaknesses:

none really,

Review:

Great speakers with stock radio or so much better with amp. At first i replaced my stock speakers in my 06 monte carlo with these in the front doors. They sounded really good, better than stock because of high sensitivity rating. Now they are running with 70 Watts each with a MTX Thunder 704x. The crossover is really effective as the speakers never distort even with high power - only problem is my doors rattle occasionally so I will be adding dynamat in the coming months. Great balance of lows, mids, and highs. Impressed with bass response - don't expect to blow you away though, thats what my 6x9's in the rear deck are for. For a system with no sub, the sound is very balanced and clear with all the bass that I need. Also, distorted guitar is amazing out of these speakers.

by jack, March 16, 2009

Strengths:

good highs, well made

Weaknesses:

little dissapointed in the bass

Review:

overall these are really good speakers. something that i suggest is mounting the tweaters higher then the speakers if the speakers are down towards the bottom of the car door. i did this and now they sound perfect!

by jeff, May 5, 2009

Strengths:

Good

Weaknesses:

None

Review:

I love my 3 12inch polk audio sub's I got them and my 2000 monte carlo my quarter panel flexing ever time the bass hit my sub's r 1 ohm I have power accust amp 2200 watts bangin

by Sanjay Stuart, May 11, 2009

Strengths:

Tweeter, also has switches on the cross-over. Easy mounting options

Weaknesses:

none yet!

Review:

Excellent speakers, great detail running from my alpine ida x305 head unit... Going to invest in an alpine amp soon can't wait to hear the quality. Nice mounting extras aswell in box and great screws stainless steel... Worth the extra cash mate!

by Vic P, August 12, 2009

Strengths:

Great highs and bass as well

Weaknesses:

None at all

Review:

These speakers add a whole lot of sound to my wife's minivan, it rocks!!! The factory Infinity speakers and the OEM deck in her 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan did not produce good acoustics it lacked bass, treble and volume basically everything. These db6501 component speakers which I installed on the doors and dash now provide what was missing. The woofers have good bass response and the tweeters are crisp. I installed it with a Pioneer deck and no amplifiers heck I even had to run new speaker wire to each speaker (6 total) in order to overcome the so called infinity amplifier. It took some work, but it can be done in order to make a minivan rock with great sound. Great quality for a small investment

by David Sheets, August 24, 2009

Strengths:

no matter how loud I push them they dont distort!

Weaknesses:

none!!!

Review:

I have had these in my Chevy Silverado for little over a year now (from JUNE 13, 2008) I have an alpine deck and a sound stream xta 600.2

by Gerard Lee, September 17, 2009

Strengths:

great bass and highs! sweet sounding, perfect for SQ

Weaknesses:

none so far....

Review:

My friend asked me to listen to his system without telling me what speakers he is using. i thought it was a european speaker at first but when he told me that it was a this polk audio model i was so surprised!! He was running it with a powerbass asa 400.4x and a polk audio amp. it sounded high end with an entry level price. i thank him for letting me hear his audio system, at least i won't have to spend a fortune for my system... i'm definitely buying this!!!!!

by Tony, November 15, 2009

Strengths:

Easy install in stock locations, convenient tweeter mounts, included wires are good quality, freakin beautiful, sound great even without an amp

Weaknesses:

These things are very likely to contribute to my eventual hearing loss - fortunately, I'm nowhere near their capabilities yet so I should just be able to crank the nob a bit further and enjoy it just the same.

Review:

Picked up a pair of these on sale.. Come to find out, they are beyond worth the full price! SQ (even un-amped) is easily as good as anything I've come across. Highs are crisp without being piercing, midrange is full and rich, and midbass is where this set seems to REALLY shine. I couldn't be happier with these speakers, especially at this price. Fit right into my stock doors for an (almost) complete sleeper system. I did have to mount the tweeters on the door panels, but they look great there anyway. The 651s are a very decent set, but the 6501s are honestly worth the extra money. You CAN NOT go wrong with these components!

by Venkatesh Hegde, November 28, 2009

Strengths:

Aesthetic design on the tweeters, great materials used and marine certified usage goes a long way on those wet days.

Weaknesses:

The lengthy installation (took us about 4 hours), but then its totally worth it !

Review:

I just bought the DB 6501 today and the sound that emanated form them was simply superb ! Even the guy who sold the speakers to me,was earlier a die hard infinity fan was exhilarated and completely changed his mind about Polk Audio! Bottom line, DB6501 rocks ! The bass is terrific. The tweeters effects are crisp. Treble is not too much on your ears. The sub woofer effects are felt even without an extra sub woofer. I am using a Pioneer 6050 UB double din head unit and a 2 Way JBL amp and the combination is magnificent.

by Balaji Jayaraman, December 24, 2009

Strengths:

Crystal Clear Sound Clarity Worth the premium it commands over other brands. Experience it and you will fall in love with it.

Weaknesses:

Nothing to complaint as yet. No weakness seen.

Review:

Phenomenal. I had initially selected PolkAudio based on Friends Word of Mouth & then upon really listening to Polk Audio DB Series - I just neglected all other brands & straight away purchased it without second thought. This product absolutely has no match. Everyone getting into my car & listening to the music if amazed, thrilled and expressed WOW. I am a happy User & would definitely recommend to everyone.

by Eric, December 31, 2009

Strengths:

Good sound. Tweeters great, midbass great, bass ok.

Weaknesses:

Lengthy install, had to use supplied spacer plates, plus another set of spacers from Crutchfield to get speakers to fit.

Review:

Great speakers. Tweeters sound great, woofers sound great. Crossovers are a bit big especially for my car, but I found room in the doors. Crisper highs, better midrange than stock. Bass ok. But I have 2 10" Subs, so thats no problem. Install took 4 hours for the front doors (and I'm a technician). I matched the DB651s in the rear doors and they took about 1 hour for both sides. Installed in a 2008 Honda Fit Sport.(Factory 6 speaker system)

by Rodney, January 19, 2010

Strengths:

good looks with great sound

Weaknesses:

directions too simplified

Review:

installed two sets of these in a 2004 trailblazer. sound is 10 times better then stock. now its time to amp them. these are some of the best middle of the road speakers i have heard in a long time. would recommend them to anyone who wants better sound from stock.

by Trevor, March 13, 2010

Strengths:

MID AND LOW bass. Very shallow!

Weaknesses:

Need Dynamat in the doors, or everyone will here you from a mile away!

Review:

Kick ass speakers. Not sure why people say there is no low bass. I have my eq set to 63hz and my jl e4300 amp on full pass and these things rock. I cant even give them enough power to run full out. Dont care if its rap, r&b, hard rock or pop music these will do and all with out any trouble. THE only thing I can say bad is that you will need to put dynamat in your doors. MAKES are large improvement!!! Best speakers going for the money! Went from Energy components to The DB's and wow! WAY TO GO POLK!! hmmmmmm how good are the sr's? HMMMMM

by LARRY, March 24, 2010

Strengths:

OPEN, BALANCED SOUND. GREAT HIGHS WITH TWEETERS MOUNTED ABOVE LEGS. EVERYTHING WAS SUPPLIED FOR FAIRLY EASY INSTALLATION. SHALLOW MOUNTING DEPTHS ALLOWED INSTALLATION IN SOME TIGHT SPOTS.

Weaknesses:

NO MAJOR WEAKNESSES. NOT FULLY INSULATED CONNECTORS FOR TWEETERS ON SUPPLIED WIRE. (ELECRICAL TAPE TOOK CARE OF THAT)

Review:

GREAT SOUNDING SPEAKERS. I WILL HAVE TO SAVE MY CRITICAL REVIEW FOR WHEN I GET THE WHOLE SYSTEM INSTALLED. (AMP AND HEAD UNIT) THE CLARITY AND EFFIENCY OF THESE WITH THE FACTORY HEAD UNIT FAR SURPASSED MY EXPECTATIONS. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE INSTALLED POLKS IN MY CAR. I HAD A PAIR OF THEIR MM SERIES COMPONENT SPEAKERS WHICH I ENJOYED FOR MANY YEARS. THIS IS A (CAR) AUDIOPHILE BARGAIN.

by will, June 27, 2010

Strengths:

Hit hard, and sounded good. I think the box really the only good thing about it all.

Weaknesses:

Gave out way to fast. I had mine for about 5 months or so, but then there was poor some wiring in the box that took out one speaker and the other one blew right after.

Review:

Sounded good for awhile, but then eventually gave out.

by Faisal Ansari, August 9, 2010

Strengths:

- easy install - sounds better than most high end comp sets

Weaknesses:

- one of the woofers in the original set i bought was defective (loose voice coil). this would be reason to drop my review to 4 stars but polk audio was incredibly cooperative in sending me a replacement woofer, no charge, no questions asked, just a 5 minute phone call. so they are forgiven. BUY THESE

Review:

these speakers are incredible. i've listened to a fair share of higher end component sets and these speakers, if powered properly can EASILY sound just as good, if not better than some 300, 400 dollar component sets. when i first bought these, i had them powered only by a alpine head unit and wow they already sounded impressive. like really impressive. the highs were clear without being too harsh, the bass was powerful. but without the amp, the bass would distort more easily and the tweeters would start sounding a bit nasty when turned up too high. after i installed a diamond audio amp putting out 125 rms x 2... i was blown away. honestly the difference it made was unreal. i parked my car in an empty parking lot, played a song with good vocals while having the doors opened and just kept walking backwards to see how far away i could hear them from. and i had to stop cuz i realized i was so far away that someone could just hop in my car and leave before i had a chance at getting back to it lol. but seriously i was like 75 feet back and could still hear every hat, every snare, every word. and not only is it loud, but its clean. so at high volumes it doesnt hurt your ears (over time it does get overbearing) but it sounds CLEAN. and the bass doesnt distort anymore, its just insane. i highly recommend these speakers, do NOT waste your money on overpriced component sets just for their brand name. these are everything you need and more. and they were easy to install. win win.

by Bob Holthaus, October 29, 2011

Strengths:

Sound great, even at full volume.

Weaknesses:

No weaknesses in my opinion.

Review:

I put four of these in our party school bus (full sized school bus). Fed 75 watts rms 150 watts max from a cheap Sony Amp. These things blow the doors off. Adding a sub soon, but at full range and volume turned all the wy up, these speakers do an incredible job. Would highly recommend them.

by mark e mullenix, February 1, 2012

Strengths:

Well made

Weaknesses:

If install right they last forever Not enough people by them

Review:

I have always been a big fan of polk audio I have been in the car audio install service for over 20 years I have seen may brands come and go all promise to be better then the rest. Polk audio has always deliverd what they say there speakers will do. Iam doing a nissan titian with 4 db840 subs in a dual band pass enclosures And I know for sure it will be loud mainly because of the subs iam installing in it. You can not beat the quality of there product and the standards in wich its made after 20 years in this field there is no better product out there thank you for your support and your diehard way of building the equipment that your compony makes. Thank you again. Mark E Mullenix. BEATS AUDIO. TULSA OKLA

by Dusty, June 3, 2012

Strengths:

Turn it up and listen to the music as it should be heard. Strengths ? It's Polk

Weaknesses:

No weaknesses found to date.

Review:

I first experienced "Polk" was after having them installed in my Chevy 2500 van. Did not run power, strictly stock Kenwood deck. I blew away alot of my friends after showing them how incredible the system sounded. The combination tweeter, and door panel kit along with the in the door crossovers made the reproduction of playback as good as the " Virgin " music I experienced in the recording studios I've worked. I blew out one door panel speaker ( my fault ) I went to a shop and asked for the replacement polk speakers and they told me Polk was out of business and sold me something they said was comparable. I DON"T THINK SO . After having them speakers installed I realized one thing, I will not stray from Polk again. If you truly want music as it should be heard, go with polk you will thank me and all the others that have written these great reviews....Rock your music in your world