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Speaker upgrade report

2K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  deliverator 
#1 ·
I've just upgraded my speakers in the dash and the soundbar, so I thought I would give a brief report for the benefit of anyone considering the same thing. I'm sure this is old news to many of you; if so, just ignore this and move on to another thread.

First, the dash speakers.

I bought the 5 1/4 inch adaptors from the Off Road Toy Store, and replaced the factory 4x6 speakers with Sony 5 1/4 inch speakers. Everything went fairly smoothly. It was close quarters to cut the factory support bracket to make room for the 5 1/4 inch speakers, but otherwise it was an easy fit. BTW, I bought speaker connector adaptors from Best Buy so as to avoid cutting the factory speaker wires (both here and for the sound bar.)

Sound bar.

I bought a pair of Pioneer 6 1/2 inch speakers to replace the factory 5 1/4s. They fit right in - even used the same mounting screw holes. No drilling, no cutting, no adaptors (except for the wiring). I could've even used the 5 1/4 factory grills, except an edge of the 6 1/2 inch mounting plate would have been visible.

Anyhow - easy and cheap upgrade for your factory sound system.

If you're hesitating - go for it.
 
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#5 ·
Bryan_16 said:
what type of speakes did you put int he sound bar? 6 1/2 two ways or three ways?
I put 5 1/4 inch three ways in the front and 6 1/2 two ways in the sound bar. I wanted the tweeters to be up front, so I was looking for the sound bar speakers to be mostly midrange and bass.

I just bought the off-the-shelf Sony and Pioneers from Wal Mart. $50 per pair, each. I wasn't trying to create a audiophile class sound - just clear up the muddy highs, mushy midrange, and get some decent lows.

ldogg said:
do you still have the stock head unit??
on a scale of 1-10 where did you rate the stock system, and what would you rate it now that you've changed the speakers?
No. I bought the Jeep used, and the stock head unit had already been replaced by a JVC 4x40 watt unit. It's not the best (struggles to play CD-Rs, skips if you come within 10 yards of a bump in the road, the backlight in the display is dead, etc), but replacing the speakers was higher priority.

Before changing the speakers, the sound would rate a "2"; even worse with the top down / off since you have to crank the volume up so much. After the change, I'd rate it a "6", but most of the improvement is in sound clarity - I can actually hear all the instruments, etc. If you're looking for ear-bleed booming bass, this won't do it, although the bass is 300% improved over before. You won't get booming bass from a 5 1/4 3-way: 6 1/2 2-way set up mounted in plastic. I did put polyfill in both the dash and the sound bar, but I don't know how much good that did.

If you're on a budget, want to make a noticeable improvement in your sound quality with a total spend of under $150, and doable without a lot of cutting and drilling, this is it. If you want NO cutting and drilling, then replace the front speakers with after-market 4x6 inchers - you can get those at Wal Mart, too. This would also reduce the cost by the cost of the 5 1/4 inch brackets.
 
#6 ·
Dakota said:


If you're on a budget, want to make a noticeable improvement in your sound quality with a total spend of under $150, and doable without a lot of cutting and drilling, this is it. If you want NO cutting and drilling, then replace the front speakers with after-market 4x6 inchers - you can get those at Wal Mart, too. This would also reduce the cost by the cost of the 5 1/4 inch brackets.
Don't do this... It was the first thing I ever did to my jeep, BARELY any change and a waste of money!
 
#8 ·
I have a 01 and I just finished that project. I can tell a big difference in mine. I put Infinity's 6.5's in the sound bar and Infinity 5.75 in the dash. The instructions said it would require cutting of the brace. My stock 01 didn't have the brace to cut out. The head unit it the factory CD that plays CDR's great. If you are looking to get some bass out of this project I am sorry to say that it isn't going to give much more. But if you are wanting it to be louder and better quality then this project is right for you.
 
#9 ·
Dakota said:


By "don't do this" what "this" are you talking about? Replacing the factory 4x6s with aftermarket 4x6s?
Yes... sound improvement with aftermarket 4x6s is so low that it's almost indistinguishable. Plus, they aren't cheap,unless you buy cheap ones, and either way the factory 4x6s aren't that much worse than aftermarket ones. If you want more, better, fuller sound... do the actual mod AND build a subwoofer system. But it's a jeep, it's not made of "great" sound... really the only thing you can do is go louder and perhaps a little more clearer. I'm not saying the sound isn't important, but there are alot of other things that that money can go towards :D
 
#10 ·
2001TJsport said:
I have a 01 and I just finished that project. I can tell a big difference in mine. I put Infinity's 6.5's in the sound bar and Infinity 5.75 in the dash. The instructions said it would require cutting of the brace. My stock 01 didn't have the brace to cut out. The head unit it the factory CD that plays CDR's great. If you are looking to get some bass out of this project I am sorry to say that it isn't going to give much more. But if you are wanting it to be louder and better quality then this project is right for you.
yeah.. when I get my Jeep i plan on doing some audio mods...

does it appear to be possible to drop 6 1/2" components into the sound bar?? I realize that you'd have to cut a hole out for the tweeter.... but just wondering if there is room for the crossover etc...

I'll probably put components in the dash as well... shouldn't be hard to mount a tweeter in the top of the dash..
 
#11 ·
ldogg said:

does it appear to be possible to drop 6 1/2" components into the sound bar?? I realize that you'd have to cut a hole out for the tweeter.... but just wondering if there is room for the crossover etc...

I'll probably put components in the dash as well... shouldn't be hard to mount a tweeter in the top of the dash..
The issue with mounting 6 1/2" speakers will be the mounting depth. I didn't measure it when I had the factory speakers out, but I do know that the Pioneers fit without a spacer.

Component woofers, OTOH, will probably have a much larger magnet than the 50-buck Pioneer 2 ways I bought, so it will require more depth. You'll probably need to fabricate a spacer. I have seen posts on one of the Jeep board from a person who made the spacer out of plywood and painted it black.
 
#12 ·
If you're not sure about the mounting depth and don't want to screw around with it, a pair of nice aftermarket 5.25" speakers in the soundbar will do you just as good. Especially when you have the soft top off, bass up in the rollcage isn't going to have much to shake...

However, I added a pair of 6.5" Pioneers with a set of Mod Pod speaker enclosures (you can get them through www.jcwhitney.com), which go in the front footwells just ahead of the doors. Not quite a kickpanel speaker, but pretty close. The Mod Pods are built to hold 5.25"s but can take a bigger speaker with the aid of an exacto knife. Keeping the bassy speakers down low in the vehicle helps alot.

The instructions that ship with the enclosures show how to splice them into the dash speaker wires. The sound quality improvement is actually pretty negligible with the stock head unit. I upgraded to a JVC deck that sent a lot more wattage to the speakers and the difference was amazing. I mean, on the freeway with the top down I still heard nothing but music.

Still, I added a 5-channel amp anyway; it runs an 8" Bazooka tube (the best compromise I could make between bass and space) in the back as well as the soundbar and kickpanels.
 
#13 ·
I was thinking of getting a bass tube. How do you like it? How much bass?
 
#14 ·
I'm not sure how best to describe the sound. This is the first aftermarket car audio I've ever dealt with.

I guess I'd call it "tight." The rearview mirror will vibrate a bit, and under certain conditions I can watch the back windows of my softtop moving along with the bass. It will hit all the low notes but they won't hang there in the air forever. It's not droning or boomy -- bass tubes just aren't right for hiphop. It's not going to impress the kids at 7-11 on a friday night... basically, it will sound huge and menacing to you but less so to anybody outside the vehicle, which I think is a plus.

I have the Bazooka EL-804. If you don't have the add-a-trunk you can fit the 10" versionn behind the seat, but the 8" is all that will go in the trunk.
 
#15 ·
I can tell you that I had an 8" Kicker bass tube when I was in HS... pesonally the quality of the Kicker was much better than the Bazookas... Bazooka has built their reputation on being the first and having a very marketable name.. and that works for them..

but a bass tube is no different than any other sub enclosure... it's all about the quality of the speaker and amp... and also the air space available... shop around before buying any old bass tube...

and I can attest to most of his description of the sound.. it's an 8" sub.. it will hit a lot of the lowest lows.. gives a good rumble in the vehicle... with a properly tuned system you can get some great sound even for hip-hop... but it won't be that ground shaking head turning bass... it's just enough to put a good low end fill into your music IN your car... a quality amp and good speaker will make all the difference.. I had a 100 watt mono amp running mine.. VERY efficient..

--deliverator--
can you put components into those kick panel pods?? or are 2-3 way speakers necessary??
 
#16 ·
ldogg said:
--deliverator--
can you put components into those kick panel pods?? or are 2-3 way speakers necessary??
I think there might be just enough room to have a seperate tweeter, but they'd pretty much be pointed at your ankles. Also, I wouldn't recommend putting mega-expensive speakers in the kickpanels because, uh, they'll get kicked. I picked 6.5 Pioneers at Best Buy for about $50 after listening to every set they had, and the Pioneers had the best low end.
 
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