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What did you do to your ZJ today?

4M views 55K replies 2K participants last post by  98ZJ 
#1 ·
This thread is to serve as an inspiration to others modifying their ZJ's. Pretty simple, just post what you did to your ZJ today!


Today I shamefully took my Jeep to get the oil changed because it was to hot to change it myself.
 
#40,261 ·
If we're going to talk about nice head units, I'll be forced to mention my DEH-P800PRS with its black brushed aluminum face, simple two knob design, Cu plated chassis, 16 band L/R GEQ, 9 channel TA, phasing for each individual driver, 3 way network capabilities, etc. I love that head unit.
Fancy head units are unnecessary gains shouldn't be set via h/u they should be set via amp. To avoid clipping and distortion.
 
#40,263 ·
If we're going to talk about nice head units, I'll be forced to mention my DEH-P800PRS with its black brushed aluminum face, simple two knob design, Cu plated chassis, 16 band L/R GEQ, 9 channel TA, phasing for each individual driver, 3 way network capabilities, etc. I love that head unit.
The DEX-P99RS was the DEH-800PRS's successor. All of that stuff with a few more modern features (like USB), plus the crossover network is 4-way. $1100 MSRP. Only available for retail sale from Pioneer Select retailers. (So basically, just Crutchfield)

Gorgeous, beautiful-sounding unit that puts out sound quality better than I can take advantage of with my budget for eliminating SQ issues in the car. When a deck has no internal amplification, you know it's serious kit. I can't justify one. I've got 99% of my sound needs handled by the Kenwood stuff I have currently, and the remaining 1% may well be filled with a small Kenwood subwoofer.

Might have to put that on hold a bit longer though. I think I've found my new daily driver. More on that later.
 
#40,267 ·
It's a grand cherokee, not a tin can like the xj.
 
#40,271 ·
That moment when you see JF peoples talking about active headunits. 0.o
It's been so long since I've ran passive crossovers in a vehicle. My 800 is in my Caprice, which I set up years ago for MECA stock class SQ competition. I run an Alpine 9855 in the ZJ. I run that active with no amp. I've got to be the only person in existence with an active setup on head unit power. Lol. I used to run a couple of old Alpine V12 amps in there, but I pulled the system completely with the exception of the speakers and the 9855.
 
#40,273 ·
The only clipping you can get is from adjusting the EQ improperly. The 800PRS, and the older 880 for that matter, are world reknowned sound quality head units.
Besides, my amp doesn't even have equalizer settings, just a LPF and an HPF setting, plus 3-channel voltage sensitivity. And this isn't some willy-nilly amp either, it's a Kenwood 5-channel with 500W RMS at 2ohm. (And 1200W maximum output)

Just set your equalizer properly and you won't get clipping. I don't. I can, if I set the lowest 3 bands too high. The other 6 can be set to max and still won't clip on my setup.

Of course, as nice as my Kenwood is, it can't compete with a Pioneer SQ deck. Those things are so SQ-focused, they don't have onboard amplification at all. And a copper chassis, for Faraday's sake. I'll never build a system that justifies the capabilities of Pioneer's Stage 4 equipment.
 
#40,276 ·
Sundown, digital designs, fi, crossfire, ect. Have you ever heard of these brands? They blow pioneer and kenwood out of the waterr when it comes to speakers
Speakers are fair enough, but it doesn't matter what speakers you've got when your head unit isn't putting out clean signals. The biggest improvement I got in sound quality wasn't when I replaced my blown speakers, but when I upgraded from the factory deck to a high quality head unit.
 
#40,277 ·
well, talked to one of my body shop guys at work today, gonna paint the zj next weekend. got the OK from the boss to use the shop all weekend so i went ahead and bought some summit racing paint kit etc etc (rebranded kirker ive been reading) for about 160 shipped. gonna use some 80g and get all the rust off and go to town. now worried about how it holds up, its a offroad toy/dd and not meant to be pretty. went with black cherry color though, ill post pics next weekend
 
#40,278 ·
Sundown, digital designs, fi, crossfire, ect. Have you ever heard of these brands? They blow pioneer and kenwood out of the waterr when it comes to speakers
I run Fi in my Caprice. My front stage in there, however, is a set of Pioneer Premier TS-C720PRS components. They were the one of their flagship component speaker sets from back in the day and will easily hold their own against most brands. My buddy has a set of Hertz Milli mids, Rainbow tweeters, and the new Stereo Integrity slim sub (designed specifically for SQ) in his GTO off a ZED amp. He spent a lot more money on his than I did on mine. Of course his sounds better, but not to the tune of $2500 better. Diminishing returns... I've been around in the car audio game for a while now. I'm pretty versed on the quality of different brands and the lineups within the brands.
 
#40,279 ·
Speakers are fair enough, but it doesn't matter what speakers you've got when your head unit isn't putting out clean signals. The biggest improvement I got in sound quality wasn't when I replaced my blown speakers, but when I upgraded from the factory deck to a high quality head unit.
And yes. This is 100% true. Your sound is only going to be as clear (or as clipped and distorted) as your source.
 
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