Soundbar speaker options

Spaceghost33

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Thinking of upgrading the rear sound bar (pods) to 6.5" speakers (recently purchased an Alpine iLX650 head unit). Jeep is a 2004 LJ with factory sub. I'm replacing the sub as well since the current one isn't working (original). My question is this. Is it worth going to 6.5" speakers if using the factory sub? Or, would 5.25" speakers be just as good (and require no modifying of the pods)?

Probably going to do 5.25" up front.

Thanks!
 
Keep in mind your Alpine only puts out 16 RMS watts per channel and needs speakers sensitive enough to put out a decent sound volume. The speaker specification you need to focus on is its Sensitivity rating which must be no lower than 90 dB (decibel). Speakers from Polk and Kicker are available with that high of a Sensitivity rating.

Speakers with even an 87 dB Sensitivity rating will require exactly twice the wattage to produce the sound level a speaker with a 90 dB Sensitivity rating. 90-92 dB ratings are out there if you look at the right brands like Polk and Kicker.

Pay no attention to the speaker's max power capability, that's a useless specification for a head unit putting out 16 RMS watts per channel.

Ignoring the speaker's Sensitivity rating with a low power (16 RMS watts/channel) head unit will very likely produce entirely inadequate sound levels.
 
Understood Jerry. The speakers I'm looking at are 92 dB. My question has more to do with whether or not it's worth going to 6.5" speakers instead of the standard 5.25" considering I already have a factory sub. I'm looking at JBL GTO speakers (3 oHM) vs. Polk DB series (4 ohm).
 
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Understood Jerry. The speakers I'm looking at are 92 dB. My question has more to do with whether or not it's worth going to 6.5" speakers instead of the standard 5.25" considering I already have a factory sub. I'm looking at JBL GTO speakers (3 oHM) vs. Polk DB series (4 ohm).

I don’t think it’s worth the effort to go up to 6.5”. The late model TJ sound bar can’t accommodate a 6.5” speaker without some work to seal the gap(s). Would it be better? Yes. Is it worth the work? Not to me. Can you make it work without filling the gaps? Yes, but it’s at that point that you’re saying to yourself, “I really need to make this right.”
 
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I am actually in this same exact boat. I got some JBL GTO 629 speakers this Christmas and want to see how i can stuff them up onto the LJ sound bar. I hadn't started looking into it yet but now that I see this thread... lol

Edit: Not excited to remove the hardtop to remove the speaker pods, nor doing all of that work overhead. Sounds like a summer project!
 
I don’t think it’s worth the effort to go up to 6.5”. The late model TJ sound bar can’t accommodate a 6.5” speaker without some work to seal the gap(s).

What years?
Rubi speakers1.jpg
 
Thinking of upgrading the rear sound bar (pods) to 6.5" speakers (recently purchased an Alpine iLX650 head unit). Jeep is a 2004 LJ with factory sub. I'm replacing the sub as well since the current one isn't working (original). My question is this. Is it worth going to 6.5" speakers if using the factory sub? Or, would 5.25" speakers be just as good (and require no modifying of the pods)?

Probably going to do 5.25" up front.

Thanks!

So many different variables on 5.25 vs. 6.5 speakers. Honestly between the speakers you are looking at I don’t think you will be able to tell a huge difference. The 6.5 will theoretically play lower frequencies louder but also may not be able to move as fast as a 5.25 speaker would. That’s very dependent on the volume of free air in the sound bar pods. If it were me, I would do the 5.25’s but upgrade to a higher quality speaker. I have an active four way setup with DSP in my LJ. Night and day difference.
 
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Thinking of upgrading the rear sound bar (pods) to 6.5" speakers (recently purchased an Alpine iLX650 head unit). Jeep is a 2004 LJ with factory sub. I'm replacing the sub as well since the current one isn't working (original). My question is this. Is it worth going to 6.5" speakers if using the factory sub? Or, would 5.25" speakers be just as good (and require no modifying of the pods)?

Probably going to do 5.25" up front.

Thanks!

I'd recommend that you take a few minutes to read the actual measurements of any 6.5s that you want to try. I learned the hard way that size varies from brand to brand. The Polk Audios that are popular on this forum run small, and fit into the factory 5.25 holes just fine. But of course this also means that they are not actually much larger than a standard 5.25" speaker. Rockford Fosgates run large and their 6.5s do not fit.

I put the measurements of a few speakers near the bottom of this post, for example (scroll down).

Edit: My experience was with a 97, which had the one-piece overhead sound bar, not the 'pods' of later models.
 
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2005-2006 I know. I can't recall when the soundbar underwent a change. The pic you are showing of a 6.5" bolted to the soundbar is definitely nowhere close to what mine looks like. The 6.5" on mine will not crest the edges of the stock soundbar. It must be mounted recessed or you must build a ring (see 3-D print rings above) to fill the recess and mount it flush with the stock soundbar. However, there will still be a recess visible around the edges of the speaker grille. I don't have a 3-D printer or a friend that has one. I can make one out of MDF, but I haven't got around to it. It definitely needs attention even though I have a nice system built around the Soundstream Nano 640D 5-channel amp. So, all my speakers are crystal clear up to maximum volume on the head unit. I run Polk DB 4x6's in the dash and 6.5's in the pods, with a LT7 8" 4-ohm Kicker sub wired to 2-ohm in a box under the rear seat.
 
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If you can fit a 6.5", then I would do so. This will make more of a difference if spending more on the speakers and running an amp and dedicated sub. If you are going with less expensive speakers and no amp, you probably won't notice much of a difference.

In a 'normal' car, the front is mostly what matters and the rear is just for fill because they're usually behind the back seat. Many will do nice separates up front, 6X9 full range in the rear.

However, in a TJ, the soundbar is practically right above your ears, so matters more. I still don't see the need to go larger than the front in the sound bar. If the 6.5" will fit, then why not. If it's more work to get them to fit, I would try to equal the size of the front.
 
If you can fit a 6.5", then I would do so. This will make more of a difference if spending more on the speakers and running an amp and dedicated sub. If you are going with less expensive speakers and no amp, you probably won't notice much of a difference.

In a 'normal' car, the front is mostly what matters and the rear is just for fill because they're usually behind the back seat. Many will do nice separates up front, 6X9 full range in the rear.

However, in a TJ, the soundbar is practically right above your ears, so matters more. I still don't see the need to go larger than the front in the sound bar. If the 6.5" will fit, then why not. If it's more work to get them to fit, I would try to equal the size of the front.

Thank you. This is helpful.
 
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I ended up going with 5.25" Infinity Reference for front/ 6.5" Infinity Reference for rears. Still need to find a direct replacement for the factory sub. I'll likely add the add-on amp Alpine makes for the iLXW650.
 
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I was fairly satisfied with my system, UNTIL I replaced my speakers. A MASSIVE difference. It was one of those "Why didn't I do this YEARS ago" moments. Resistance is futile.

Oh I know. I used to be an audiophile in the 80's and 90's. I had a $3500 sound system in my car in the late 80's and used to go to car audio competitions. I just haven't done much with my audio since I started throwing all my money in my rock crawler Jeep. I have a new to me DD Jeep that I might upgrade. It gets parked outside, but at least has a hard top and full doors.