Plug-and-play speaker upgrade?

toximus

I live in my Jeep
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Right now I have the stock radio and speaker setup. I may later go to a double din to gain a backup camera and Bluetooth. I do not have any extra room at all for an amp, speaker boxes etc.

Are there any plug and play speakers for either the dash or rollbar that will be a good improvement over stock?

Bonus points if you can recommend a double din unit that will lower music volume while somebody is talking on the cb radio (mic out to radio).

I'd love the be jamming more than I already am!
 
The speakers I mention in this thread are what I used:
Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

Part of the huge improvement is likely due to the aftermarket head unit (it's cheap), but the speakers are plug-and-play, cheap enough, and man does my sound system sound killer!

Going down the highway at 70 mph with no top and doors, I can hear the music loud and clear!
 
I like Alpine products for receivers. This is the newer version of what I installed in mine. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500CDE172B/Alpine-CDE-172BT.html

They have inline amplifiers that connect directly to their head units providing more RMS to upgraded speakers using factory speaker cables. Worth taking a look if you upgrade your speakers https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500KTP445A/Alpine-KTP-445A-Power-Pack.html

I like single dins for the faceplate removal options but I know you have a garage. Mine sits outside with the doors unlocked w/o a faceplate most days.
 
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Hit up Crutchfield and get the Polk DB 522 for the front speakers and the Polk DB 622 for the speaker pods. Crutchfield will send you the pigtails (connection harness) and front brackets so it is plug n play. They are going for $59.99 each including the pigtails and brackets, so $120 for a simple and awesome upgrade.

Screenshot_20190110-191900_Chrome.jpg


Screenshot_20190110-191848_Chrome.jpg
 
x2 on the Polk DB522

Also another vote for Crutchfield, as they send adapter plates (front dash location) and factory harness adapters for free
 
This may not work for you toximus, but I'll toss it out there in case it is useful.

Here are the JBL speakers I am running with a Kenwood single DIN.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/mots-2005-x-rocky-mountain-edition-oem-build.12446/#post-201734

Sensitivity is rated at 92 dB, one point higher than the often recommended Polks. They are 3 ohm super efficient speakers for when you don't have an amplifier and are using the stock speaker wiring harness. These things sound amazing for what they cost and having no amplifier (other than the stock sub amp). I was going to add a small amp for the other 4 speakers at some point, but now I don't even find the need.

The whole system (5 speakers + head unit + all adapters/harnesses) only cost me $300 to install myself. Only problem, they are not marine grade like the Polks :(. If someone needs marine grade plug and play because they expect the inside of the tub to get wet early and often, I would go with the 91 dB Polks. For street use and minor off-roading where you expect to stay dry, I'd recommend checking out the JBL's for a powerful economical upgrade.
 
This may not work for you toximus, but I'll toss it out there in case it is useful.

Here are the JBL speakers I am running with a Kenwood single DIN.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/mots-2005-x-rocky-mountain-edition-oem-build.12446/#post-201734

Sensitivity is rated at 92 dB, one point higher than the often recommended Polks. They are 3 ohm super efficient speakers for when you don't have an amplifier and are using the stock speaker wiring harness. These things sound amazing for what they cost and having no amplifier (other than the stock sub amp). I was going to add a small amp for the other 4 speakers at some point, but now I don't even find the need.

The whole system (5 speakers + head unit + all adapters/harnesses) only cost me $300 to install myself. Only problem, they are not marine grade like the Polks :(. If someone needs marine grade plug and play because they expect the inside of the tub to get wet early and often, I would go with the 91 dB Polks. For street use and minor off-roading where you expect to stay dry, I'd recommend checking out the JBL's for a powerful economical upgrade.

To steer you in a different direction, instead of marine grade specific speakers you can get some boom mat for like 8 bucks. I use these in my front dash speakers because I have non-marine grade speakers.

Polk speakers are great for the money.

[EtURL]https://www.crutchfield.com/S-NVuSw...ch-Speaker-Baffles-Slim-line-2-1-2-depth.html[/URL]
 
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X3 to the Polk recommendations. They have a Mylar speaker cone so they are already waterproof/marine grade. Most automotive speaker cones are either Mylar or polypropylene which is waterproof. It's paper speaker cones that aren't a good idea in Jeeps that might be exposed to water/moisture.
 
X3 to the Polk recommendations. They have a Mylar speaker cone so they are already waterproof/marine grade. Most automotive speaker cones are either Mylar or polypropylene which is waterproof. It's paper speaker cones that aren't a good idea in Jeeps that might be exposed to water/moisture.

Marine grade is worth a quality hit for me.
 
How much better than stock are the ~$50 options you guys are mentioning? My stock speakers work so I'm not looking to replace, I'm looking to upgrade.
 
Hit up Crutchfield and get the Polk DB 522 for the front speakers and the Polk DB 622 for the speaker pods. Crutchfield will send you the pigtails (connection harness) and front brackets so it is plug n play. They are going for $59.99 each including the pigtails and brackets, so $120 for a simple and awesome upgrade.

View attachment 71708

View attachment 71709

To run these you will need (at least) a factory sub. I have this setup and with just the speakers it was incredibly anemic. Once I swapped in a low-end sub in the center console the system balanced out and is pretty great now (though I have some rattle reduction to do sometime).
 
How much better than stock are the ~$50 options you guys are mentioning? My stock speakers work so I'm not looking to replace, I'm looking to upgrade.
There's a night and day sound quality improvement by upgrading to something like those Polk DB speakers. The component in a stereo system that has the greatest effect on sound quality is the speaker.

To run these you will need (at least) a factory sub. I have this setup and with just the speakers it was incredibly anemic. Once I swapped in a low-end sub in the center console the system balanced out and is pretty great now (though I have some rattle reduction to do sometime).
A sub is not required to see the benefit of upgrading the four main speakers. I upgraded to just the Polk DB speakers in my previous TJ with an aux amplifier and the improvement in sound quality was startling. My previous TJ did not have a subwoofer. Adding a subwoofer is a nice thing to do, I have one now, but to say it's required isn't really true... unless you're into playing your music loud enough to irritate those in cars surrounding you.
 
To steer you in a different direction, instead of marine grade specific speakers you can get some boom mat for like 8 bucks. I use these in my front dash speakers because I have non-marine grade speakers.

Polk speakers are great for the money.

[URL]https://www.crutchfield.com/S-NVuSwUKVgq2/p_696B050321/Boom-Mat-5-1-4-inch-Speaker-Baffles-Slim-line-2-1-2-depth.html[/URL]

Those are cool. I don't really have a need now, but if I do!

I know someone who has the Polks in his Jeep and they are great. Only problem, he said didn't get any louder than stock until he added an amp. Clearer, but not louder. That is why I mentioned the JBL GTO series, since the OP didn't think he wanted an amp. These are much louder than stock without an amp because they are designed to be. I am only pushing 22W per channel (50W x 4 max) from my Kenwood and these things are simply amazing. They definitely don't have a cheap paper cone, so I bet they would do fine like Jerry said.
https://www.jbl.com/car-audio/GTO529_.html
 
Those are cool. I don't really have a need now, but if I do!

I know someone who has the Polks in his Jeep and they are great. Only problem, he said didn't get any louder than stock until he added an amp. Clearer, but not louder. That is why I mentioned the JBL GTO series, since the OP didn't think he wanted an amp. These are much louder than stock without an amp because they are designed to be. I am only pushing 22W per channel (50W x 4 max) from my Kenwood and these things are simply amazing. They definitely don't have a cheap paper cone, so I bet they would do fine like Jerry said.
https://www.jbl.com/car-audio/GTO529_.html
 
...I know someone who has the Polks in his Jeep and they are great. Only problem, he said didn't get any louder than stock until he added an amp. Clearer, but not louder. That is why I mentioned the JBL GTO series, since the OP didn't think he wanted an amp. These are much louder than stock without an amp because they are designed to be
https://www.jbl.com/car-audio/GTO529_.html
If you look at the speaker specifications from JBL and Polk, you'd see that the JBL GTO actually puts out very slightly less sound volume than the Polk DB series do when driven by the exact same wattage.

A speaker's Sensitivity specification is how much sound volume it produces with a given power level input.

The JBL GTOs put out a 91 dB sound pressure level when driven by a 1 watt input.
The Polk DBs put out a 92 dB sound pressure level when driven by a 1 watt input.

That 1 dB sound pressure level difference between the Polk DB and JB GTO is certainly not enough to be able to hear, our ears can only tell a 3 dB sound pressure level difference, but the Polks are definitely very (!) slightly louder at the same power wattage input.

Both of those speakers are considered high sensitivity which means neither requires a lot of power to put out a lot of sound.

https://www.jbl.com/gt7-gto9/GTO329...r_GTO329___color=Black-GLOBAL-Current#start=1

https://www.polkaudio.com/products/db6502