I posted the question below six days ago, and didn't receive many comments,
so I guess not many of you have done much stereo upgrades to you Jeep
Wranglers. That's ok........

The very weakest link in getting even near-decent sound from this car is the
front speakers. Even if you buy the adapters and install 5 1/4 speakers
in the front grills, my experience from a prior Jeep was that I could not
get even reasonably good sound from the front. I guess the main problem is
that there is no "sound chamber" in the front, and the speakers just make
everything else rattle underneath the dash.

Possible Alternate?? I have found those "Pods" that you can buy, and put
them in the front floorboard area, left and right. I guess the benefit of
that is that you get some sort of baffle or sound chamber, and you can use a
5 1/4 inch speaker,and some pods even allow for 6 inch speakers. You can
buy the pods with or without speakers, but I prefer to choose my own.

So, I want to choose the very best 5 1/4 or 6 inch speakers, with
separate tweeters and crossover. I would install the drivers in the pods,
and the tweeters on my dash.

Have any of you guys used these Pods for front speaker placement ??

What brands of speakers would you guys recommend please ??

MB Quart ? Polk ? JL Audio ? Others ??

Please give me some input here, and please read my original post below !!

Thanks !!

James

--------------------------------


I just bought a 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, MINT, and I have some
questions about upgrading the stereo system.


This Jeep Wrangler has front grill speakers, plus
rollbar speakers. I would like to start by upgrading the speakers, and
then later put in an aftermarket radio deck and external amp of perhaps
50-75 watts per channel.

I don't want a super-powered system, just something that sounds real
nice. I am over 60, so I listen to jazz, new age, some country, and
other types
of music , but not rap or hard rock. Once I get a very basic, decent
sounding system,
I plan to add a powered subwoofer, something like the Infinity Basslink or
perhaps
the Bazooka subwoofer, for some tighter, stronger bass.

The biggest limitation is that the front speakers are stock with 4 x 6
speakers, and
I can't use bigger speakers without mods, but I am willing to buy some
special brackets
that will allow me to use a 5 1/4 in the front as well. The rollbar
systems also uses
5 1/4 sizes. Yet, these are not large speakers, but I need the best
speaker I can buy
in this size.

Can I hear from some of you guys that have upgraded your Wrangler stereos,
and what you have and liked ??


Thanks !!!!!!!!


--James--

James wrote:
My preferences are for clean audio. If you want loud audio the choices
may be different.
33 Engineering makes some brackets to mount 5.25s in the dash. it is
absolutely necessary that you use polyfill behind them. Infinity 552i is
a good choice. The soundbar should be upgraded with 6 1/2" speakers.
again I like the Infinitys. if you dont have the center console with a
sub in it consider at a minimum one of the tube types in the back. In
addition there are tweeter brackets that mount beside the doors that
locate two tweeters in the corners of the windshield that dramatically
improve the audio imaging. Take all of this, coat lightly in mud and enjoy.
jeff

Thank you Jeff for your comments. In my 1997 Wrangler that was just
totalled, I put Polk Audio DB DB5250's in the front. I got the brackets to
allow the 5.25 size. I used polyfill to fill in behind the speakers.
Although the Polks were rated very very highly, the sound out of those
things was just terrible. They sounded tinny/ and absolutely NO bass. I
do mean NONE. I have heard better sound from ten dollar radios. This was
baffling to me. I posted questions on this and some of the audio forums,
but no one could offer an explanation as to why I would get such bad sound
out of those speakers. Perhaps it was because I didn't put in the Polyfill
just right........maybe too much, or maybe too little. I tried it with and
without the Polyfill, and the sound was about 10% better with the Polyfill.

I have heard that you can buy speaker baffles for dash
installations......... I wonder if that would help ?? Any experience with
them Jeff ?

For stronger and tighter bass, I do plan to put a bazooka subwoofer, or
perhaps the Infinity Basslink. But before I do that, I want to hear
**decent** ( not loud) sound come from my dash, and rollbars.

Any further comments/ advice from anyone would be appreciated.

James

The size of the space in the baffle determines it's resonant frequency.
If you had no space behind the speaker, your resonance is much higher,
like 1 K and above.

If I want some SOUND from my TJ, I have an 8 inch truck speaker box with
a 25 WPC amp. Hooks to the line out from my JVC. Otherwise, just having
a cheap soundbar above my head makes it easier to hears sounds from it.

BTW, a Jeep is not a car. A Honda is a car. My registration says JEEP TK.

I am REALLY glad to see this thread.
I have bass issues too.
When I bought my Jeep (not a CAR James - a rig, a Jeep even a truck... but
not a car, it's an insult ;¬D )
My rig has the sub in the center console and the six disc premium system.

My original unit came out of my Liberty with the premium sound, a swap when
I traded it in. It sounded fine. It popped a cork from the dust up at Coon
Creek last February and ate my CDs. They replaced it and since then it has
not been the same. They replaced it TWICE even.

I have NO bass, well, a little but only when I adjust the treble all the way
down and the bass all the way up. Then it's muddy and tinny.
I am unwilling to replace my factory system and have been looking for a way
to increase the bass without putting in a big box in the back.

I like ZZ Top, and I like it loud....
but the high notes are tortureous to my ears.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've had the stereo shop guys look at
it and they are bumfuzzled too. Everything works, all of the speakers seem
to be working fine, just the bass is about 1/4 of what it once was.

K.

06 Rubi, with a moderate list of mods.

"James" <jnipperxxx (AT) nospamfdn (DOT) com> wrote


*snip*
They sounded tinny/ and absolutely NO bass. I
do mean NONE. I have heard better sound from ten dollar radios. This was
baffling to me. I posted questions on this and some of the audio forums,
but no one could offer an explanation as to why I would get such bad sound
out of those speakers.
James

DougW wrote:
???

If one speaker is out of phase, it cancels the bass from the other speaker.

If there is a lot of DC resistance in the circuit, or thin wire feeding
the speakers, you lose bass. Try 10 feet of #20 on your home system, then
replace that wire with #16. Prepare for amazement. The same thing happens
with coax cable. RG-58 or RG-59 squeezes your signal. RG-8x or RG-6 makes
a big difference to the signals you're trying to pass.

Solid state outputs either work or they don't. They don't get soft like tubes.
An output coupling capacitor can lose capacitance.

"James" <jnipperxxx (AT) nospamfdn (DOT) com> wrote

I have a decent set-up in my 1986 Jeep CJ-7. When I restored the Jeep in
2006 I sealed off the drivers side rear quarter panel and I mounted a 10"
JBL Marine sub in the chamber. Great place for a sub as it's just dead
space. I have pictures if anyone wants to see the project. My amp is
mounted under the rear seat and it drives the sub, two 5 1/4 rear speakers
mounted under the roll bar on the wheel well (Wedge design so it conforms to
the shape of the roll bar) and two polk audio tweeters mounted high on the
windshield (wires run inside the windshield so it looks nice)

Truth in lending... It sounds awesome when parked. I love to show it off to
my friends when it's parked in the driveway. However, with a Chevy 350 w/
headers, dual exhaust, 33" BFG tires, and driving anything above 40 mph,
there's not much you can do to drown out all the road noise. I don't care
how much power your amp is, it wont drown out all that noise.

When I drive my rig on the hi-way, I use earplugs because the road noise is
deafening.

Other than that, it's a great audio system...when parked.

It will be easy for me to install a decent sub, my query is how to get good
sound from the dash.

James

"James" <jnipperxxx (AT) nospamfdn (DOT) com> wrote

Sorry James,
I cant help you there. I've never heard good sound come from the dash
speakers on any Jeep. However, you will be real surprised at how nice a
couple of tweeters mounted on the inside windshield (or dash) really round
out the sound in a Jeep.