Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

I’m
How are you feeling about your audio? There are other options for speakers as well. Kickers are solid but there are a few others out there - Crutchfield is a very helpful site to search and review and price out. Then use Google to further price out.
I think I want to go with the kickers because they are very good speakers but they are a little more expensive and I’m going to get the kicker sub Chris got and the amp he recommended.
 
I’m

I think I want to go with the kickers because they are very good speakers but they are a little more expensive and I’m going to get the kicker sub Chris got and the amp he recommended.

Just remember you are spending $150 on an amplifier to power one speaker, instead of $199 on all five speakers.

The kicker speakers are also going to want a lot of power at 100 watts RMS and 300 watts peak, and your head unit is not spitting out all that just power, probably 18 watts RMS and 50 watts peak, and once you turn up the volume that could introduce clipping and distortion to the four speakers, while your subwoofer will be fine since it is amplified.

Something to think about. Crutchfield has a Q&A that you should look over.

https://www.crutchfield.com/learn/car-speakers-faq.html
 
Okay so I upgraded the audio on my '99 TJ. Went the route of Chris' upgrade, Kenwood KMM-BT328U Digital Media Receiver, Polk Audio DB522s and DB462s. Upgrade made quite a profound difference. However I am missing the bass that the subwoofer would provide.

Chris put the Kicker CompRT 6.75" sub into the factory center console location. My TJ does/did not have the factory sub. I can't seem to find any center console with the factory sub. My Jeep used parts guy says they are really hard to come by. When they get one in it's sold quickly. Told him to keep an eye out for one.

So what would be an alternative sub and where can I put it? Under the passenger front seat? Under my rear seat (even thought it may be out of the jeep more than it's in)? And what about amps? I guess I could still get the Kicker PXA200 Amp.

Thanks for any advice you may have.

Chris
I put the same Polks in used the stock head unit and used the Rockville SS8P 8" powered sub mounted under the drivers seat. It fits if you pull the seat all the forward and slide it in from the back. Make sure you put the adjustments and plugs facing out so you can reach them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079PSSD6N/?tag=wranglerorg-20
20191217_192239.jpg
 
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Thanks for posting!

Does your seat still slide back and forth, tilt up, etc.? Are you happy with the sound?
Yes the seat still works and it sounds pretty good for its price and size. If you want to rattle the car this isn't for you try a bazooka tube, if you just want to fill in the missing bass tones with a nice punch this is adequate.
 
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T
Just remember you are spending $150 on an amplifier to power one speaker, instead of $199 on all five speakers.

The kicker speakers are also going to want a lot of power at 100 watts RMS and 300 watts peak, and your head unit is not spitting out all that just power, probably 18 watts RMS and 50 watts peak, and once you turn up the volume that could introduce clipping and distortion to the four speakers, while your subwoofer will be fine since it is amplified.

Something to think about. Crutchfield has a Q&A that you should look over.

https://www.crutchfield.com/learn/car-speakers-faq.html
Thats true can you send the link to the amp your suggesting? it seems smarter to use the one your talking about.
 
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Thats true can you send the link to the amp your suggesting? it seems smarter to use the one your talking about.
I’ve had really good luck with Crutchfield.com. Informative site and great customer service/support. You can easily filter down to just 5 channel amps... I think the soundstream might be the one referenced.
 
I’ve had really good luck with Crutchfield.com. Informative site and great customer service/support. You can easily filter down to just 5 channel amps... I think the soundstream might be the one referenced.
Alright I’ll have to check it out
 
Ok I will definitely be checking it out. I would rather like you said send power to all five pods than just the amp.
I've installed several car stereo systems with multiple amps over my lifetime.
Due to the lack of space in a TJ, I went a little different route this time. I installed a high powered head unit, the Sony MEX-M100BT. It has 40 watts RMS per channel (100 peak), as compared to most head units that are around 18-22 watts RMS per channel. The Sony unit is marine rated and it eliminated the need for an amp for the four regular speakers.

Eliminating the need for an amp for the regular speakers let me use the existing factory wires going to the speakers. Installing a 5 channel amp as suggested above will require either running new speaker wires all the way, or splicing in wires from the amp to the existing speaker wires. The speakers I am using are Polk DB462s in the front, and Polk DB525s in the rear.

I mounted a Kicker 200.1 amp under the steering column and Kicker 6.75 sub upgrade to the factory sub box between the seats.

20200125_140033.jpg

The volume scale goes from 1 to 50. Driving highway speed with the top off, I can hear the radio clearly & feel the bass with the volume at 30 - 35.
 
I've installed several car stereo systems with multiple amps over my lifetime.
Due to the lack of space in a TJ, I went a little different route this time. I installed a high powered head unit, the Sony MEX-M100BT. It has 40 watts RMS per channel (100 peak), as compared to most head units that are around 18-22 watts RMS per channel. The Sony unit is marine rated and it eliminated the need for an amp for the four regular speakers.

Eliminating the need for an amp for the regular speakers let me use the existing factory wires going to the speakers. Installing a 5 channel amp as suggested above will require either running new speaker wires all the way, or splicing in wires from the amp to the existing speaker wires. The speakers I am using are Polk DB462s in the front, and Polk DB525s in the rear.

I mounted a Kicker 200.1 amp under the steering column and Kicker 6.75 sub upgrade to the factory sub box between the seats.

View attachment 140151

The volume scale goes from 1 to 50. Driving highway speed with the top off, I can hear the radio clearly & feel the bass with the volume at 30 - 35.

This is a great option for a person trying to learn audio. @Tzerambo this could be a better option for you, much less wiring to deal with, but, you could still go for the 5 channel amplifier in case you change your mind, and in the future you can build-up your audio in stages, and learn as you build.
 
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This is a great option for a person trying to learn audio. @Tzerambo this could be a better option for you, much less wiring to deal with, but, you could still go for the 5 channel amplifier in case you change your mind, and in the future you can build-up your audio in stages, and learn as you build.
Yeah I think that would be a better option for me currently because I’m very inexperienced with electronics. The only problem with this route is the fact that my dad has gifted me this head unit. But I’m sure that he would understand that I want to get a head unit with a little more power.
 
I've installed several car stereo systems with multiple amps over my lifetime.
Due to the lack of space in a TJ, I went a little different route this time. I installed a high powered head unit, the Sony MEX-M100BT. It has 40 watts RMS per channel (100 peak), as compared to most head units that are around 18-22 watts RMS per channel. The Sony unit is marine rated and it eliminated the need for an amp for the four regular speakers.

Eliminating the need for an amp for the regular speakers let me use the existing factory wires going to the speakers. Installing a 5 channel amp as suggested above will require either running new speaker wires all the way, or splicing in wires from the amp to the existing speaker wires. The speakers I am using are Polk DB462s in the front, and Polk DB525s in the rear.

I mounted a Kicker 200.1 amp under the steering column and Kicker 6.75 sub upgrade to the factory sub box between the seats.

View attachment 140151

The volume scale goes from 1 to 50. Driving highway speed with the top off, I can hear the radio clearly & feel the bass with the volume at 30 - 35.
Where did you purchase your head unit at?
 
I've installed several car stereo systems with multiple amps over my lifetime.
Due to the lack of space in a TJ, I went a little different route this time. I installed a high powered head unit, the Sony MEX-M100BT. It has 40 watts RMS per channel (100 peak), as compared to most head units that are around 18-22 watts RMS per channel. The Sony unit is marine rated and it eliminated the need for an amp for the four regular speakers.

Eliminating the need for an amp for the regular speakers let me use the existing factory wires going to the speakers. Installing a 5 channel amp as suggested above will require either running new speaker wires all the way, or splicing in wires from the amp to the existing speaker wires. The speakers I am using are Polk DB462s in the front, and Polk DB525s in the rear.

I mounted a Kicker 200.1 amp under the steering column and Kicker 6.75 sub upgrade to the factory sub box between the seats.

View attachment 140151

The volume scale goes from 1 to 50. Driving highway speed with the top off, I can hear the radio clearly & feel the bass with the volume at 30 - 35.
Also how does the amp work do you just wire it up and turn it on and leave it alone or is there like a remote controller that connects to it?
 
Also how does the amp work do you just wire it up and turn it on and leave it alone or is there like a remote controller that connects to it?
Also how does the amp work do you just wire it up and turn it on and leave it alone or is there like a remote controller that connects to it?
I purchased the head unit from Crutchfield's. If you are starting out in car audio, I would recommend them. They aren't the cheapest, but they will provide the instructions, wiring harness, and mounting plates you need for free with your purchase. They also have excellent customer support if you have questions during the installation.

The amplifier has a power and ground connection like most electrical things. There is also a "remote" connection. Usually people use a blue wire for it. It is just a wire that connects from the head unit to the amplifier. When the head unit is on, it puts a 12 volt signal to the remote wire. When the amplifier gets 12 volts on the remote input, it turns the amplifier on. When the head unit is off, it cuts the power to the remote wire. When the remote signal goes away from the amplifier, it shuts down.
 
Also how does the amp work do you just wire it up and turn it on and leave it alone or is there like a remote controller that connects to it?

Crutchfield will provide you a harness and instructions. If I had mine I would post them but if you can follow instructions you can do it. You also have this forum to help you along the way, as well as Crutchfield if you order through them.
 
Crutchfield will provide you a harness and instructions. If I had mine I would post them but if you can follow instructions you can do it. You also have this forum to help you along the way, as well as Crutchfield if you order through them.
I purchased the head unit from Crutchfield's. If you are starting out in car audio, I would recommend them. They aren't the cheapest, but they will provide the instructions, wiring harness, and mounting plates you need for free with your purchase. They also have excellent customer support if you have questions during the installation.

The amplifier has a power and ground connection like most electrical things. There is also a "remote" connection. Usually people use a blue wire for it. It is just a wire that connects from the head unit to the amplifier. When the head unit is on, it puts a 12 volt signal to the remote wire. When the amplifier gets 12 volts on the remote input, it turns the amplifier on. When the head unit is off, it cuts the power to the remote wire. When the remote signal goes away from the amplifier, it shuts down.
Awesome i think that’s what I plan to do. It will definitely be a great start for me get into audio systems and how they work. I will ask you guys if I have any questions. I should be doing this in the next month.
 
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Anyone ditched the head unit and just use a bluetooth reciever and amp?
I want to free up the space and put a compartment/tray where the radio goes and use like a wet sounds receiver and small marine amp. I'd also like to have hands free calling for use while stopped. I go topless most the time during the summer so the hands free thing isn't a requirement but would be nice. Anyone done something like this? got a pics? shopping list? Thanks