Collector grade Jeep Wrangler TJs for sale

Which head unit?

To be honest I think at this point Stereo Head units are pretty much commoditized unless you are going for something new like CarPlay.

I would personally take Alpine over Sony but this is largely personal preference.

Both of those have a similar feature set so either one would be fine.
 
The alpine has 4 pre amp outputs and the sony has 6. Not a big deal, but later if you wanted to expand the sony has more options. The sony also has more equalization channels to fine tune your sound. Both have detachable faces which is good for top down days. Both have front usb and aux inputs.

I've always chose Alpine over sony, but nowadays, until you get into the high end of head units, they all are very similar.
 
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After having a few Sonys, two currently, I pick the Sony. Trouble free, easy to use, great features for the price.
 
Sony has a new head unit with an honest 40 RMS watts per channel plus Bluetooth that I'm jonesing to replace my current Sony head unit with. It is powerful enough that it even requires a separate power lead that connects directly to the battery.

Its amplifier provides pretty much double the wattage power of other head units which can make a dramatic improvement in sound, especially when you have the top off. I want one!

This one... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SCS26KE/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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I currently have a Sony...although I'm not impressed with having to re-pair the Bluetooth everytime for some reason.

I personally do not like the buttons for radio stations on my Sony. They are aligned and feel the same as the "menu" type buttons, which gets annoying when trying to switch radio stations while it's in my Tuffy arm console. I'm somewhat getting used to having to "count" the buttons before pressing. A minor issue...but thought I'd mention it. The one you've listed at least has the "menu" button a little larger than the "1", but still could be a minor annoyance.

I'd pick the Alpine. I have no idea if the Bluetooth would work better on the Alpine (or if mine is model specific), but you'll also get 1W more power, lol. But you really can't go wrong either way. I'd lean towards getting the most RMS Wattage, unless you plan on having an amp as well.

EDIT: Jerry added his comment above before I hit submit. I agree on his 40 RMS Watt suggestion - especially since our Jeeps don't exactly have a ton of extra room for amps.
 
Last edited:
Jerry Bransford said:
Sony has a new head unit with an honest 40 RMS watts per channel plus Bluetooth that I'm jonesing to replace my current Sony head unit with. It is powerful enough that it even requires a separate power lead that connects directly to the battery.

Its amplifier provides pretty much double the wattage power of other head units which can make a dramatic improvement in sound, especially when you have the top off. I want one!

This one... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SCS26KE/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Click to expand...

I considered that one. I've never opened up the dash before, so is there a way to run the cable from the head unit to the battery?
 
Jerry Bransford said:
You can route the wire through the hole the hydraulic clutch linkage would have passed through since you don't have a clutch.
Click to expand...

I'll have to rethink this now...

Also, I was told that the sound quality of Alpine was better than any other brand out there. Is this even true?
 
lovemachine said:
I'll have to rethink this now...

Also, I was told that the sound quality of Alpine was better than any other brand out there. Is this even true?
Click to expand...

Sound is highly subjective. And in a TJ with all of the extraneous noises this is not hi fidelity listening. Alpine is highly regarded, but there is nothing wrong with Sony, Denon, Pioneer or Kenwood.

Upgrading the Stereo in my TJ was one of the first projects I tackled and it is very simple. I did just what @Jerry Bransford noted to route the power lead from the battery into the Jeep via one of the pre existing firewall holes for my Sub Amplifier.
 
I like the looks of the Alpine vs. the Sony. I got 15 years out of my old Alpine unit before the CD mechanism started acting up. I 've had Sony too, but way back in the day Sony when they had pull out units. Wanted to try out Kenwood, so that's my latest purchase. So far I'm pleased with it. The Sony Jerry mentioned has some serious balls. 40 watts RMS is kicking!


https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113BT365U/Kenwood-KDC-BT365U.html
 
At the same power, with the same speakers, with the tone and loudness controls, etc. set the same, no human could hear the difference between the Alpine and Sony.
 
So I'm trying to figure out what the 40 rms watts means. Does that mean louder and better sound quality?
 
FTI76 said:
Sound is highly subjective. And in a TJ with all of the extraneous noises this is not hi fidelity listening. Alpine is highly regarded, but there is nothing wrong with Sony, Denon, Pioneer or Kenwood.

Upgrading the Stereo in my TJ was one of the first projects I tackled and it is very simple. I did just what @Jerry Bransford noted to route the power lead from the battery into the Jeep via one of the pre existing firewall holes for my Sub Amplifier.
Click to expand...

Was there enough length to reach the battery? Or was any splicing needed?
 
RMS is root means square. A measurement of wattage sent to speakers depending on the impedance of them. 2 ohm, 4ohm, etc...

Basically 40 watts rms is around 16-18 watts per speaker on a 4 speaker system.
 
Shwane that 40 RMS watts on the Sony is per channel, not total. Each of its four channels puts out 40 RMS watts for 160 RMS watts total.

Lovemachine, RMS is the best and only honest consistent method of giving an amplifier's power rating. Some manufacturers or dealers give very misleading power ratings in efforts to make their products appear more powerful than they really are. Like "peak power" "music power", "dynamic power", etc.

You would need to splice a little more length onto its main power lead due to the longer run required to the TJ's battery.
 

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