Its funny you say this
I just thought this the other day watching a guy driving in his F150 with wired earbuds in. I was like…hmmm, he didnt wanna bother upgrading his stereo
He'll keep doing that until a cop notices...
This is why your dash speakers suck
- Thread starter 89grand
- Start date
He'll keep doing that until a cop notices...
I wear earbuds while driving my jeep with no windows or doors. Helps with tinnitus and i can listen to better quality music at speed
That would defeat the purpose for me… I want everybody to hear my music!…. Crank it up!
I hate it when someone thinks everyone else wants to or even should hear what they're playing too loudly.
KennethS
TJ Enthusiast
Yeah, like some folks with their phone connected to the audio system and you can hear them talking to Aunt Edna.
Aloha Joe
TJ Enthusiast
Here’s an email response from Harman (Infinity and JBL) to my question about dash pods, saying specifically *all* of their car speakers are designed *not* to go in a sealed box. (His comment about “stuff” is in response to my question about polyfill stuffing.) I have no reason to think most other brands would be any different. The internet wisdom of “all speakers sound better in boxes” is BS.
You don’t need to be an audiophile to make the most of what’s in your Jeep. And whether or not you care about sound quality in your Jeep, I respect you just the same. We all have hobbies. My Jeep is my only 4 wheeled vehicle, and good loud music helps with 5am hour-long highway drives before Scuba diving.
At home I have hand built tube amplifiers, exotic digital audio decoders, quality studio monitors high end headphones, and high res files.
In my Jeep I have cheap, hidden, Bluetooth, loud, and distortion free with enough detail to feel like nothing major is missing.
Nobody here is saying the Jeep is a recording studio. Just that your Jeep could sound a little louder fuller and clearer with $20 tape and 20 minutes of time.
You don’t need to be an audiophile to make the most of what’s in your Jeep. And whether or not you care about sound quality in your Jeep, I respect you just the same. We all have hobbies. My Jeep is my only 4 wheeled vehicle, and good loud music helps with 5am hour-long highway drives before Scuba diving.
At home I have hand built tube amplifiers, exotic digital audio decoders, quality studio monitors high end headphones, and high res files.
In my Jeep I have cheap, hidden, Bluetooth, loud, and distortion free with enough detail to feel like nothing major is missing.
Nobody here is saying the Jeep is a recording studio. Just that your Jeep could sound a little louder fuller and clearer with $20 tape and 20 minutes of time.
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I like infinite baffle sub setups, too. Did one in my XJ and it was fantastic: tons of low-low bass and just needed enough space to mount the driver. Just have to be willing to cut some sheet metal to open up the back. Child for scale.
I've pondered doing this with the TJ but with the top and doors off the baffle is far from infinite. Plenty infinite for mids and higher but I don't know how the bass would sound and I hesitate to cut a big hole in the floor just to find out. Anyone have experience to advise?
I've pondered doing this with the TJ but with the top and doors off the baffle is far from infinite. Plenty infinite for mids and higher but I don't know how the bass would sound and I hesitate to cut a big hole in the floor just to find out. Anyone have experience to advise?
I just got a 99 TJ with no dash speakers. I tossed in the Polk DB462 4x6 inch speakers and was very disappointed to find there was no bass at all 
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
I just got a 99 TJ with no dash speakers. I tossed in the Polk DB462 4x6 inch speakers and was very disappointed to find there was no bass at all
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
Just an FYI - .HEIC files are proprietary to Apple and don't display elsewhere...
I just got a 99 TJ with no dash speakers. I tossed in the Polk DB462 4x6 inch speakers and was very disappointed to find there was no bass at all
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
Get a soundbar if you don't have one
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
Sooooo I have a question based on your assertions
Wouldnt the large oem speaker grills also cancel out the sound wave being that they block 60%-75% of the surface area just a mere inch or so from ea front woofer??
If I am understanding your assertions, then a most desirable front speaker grill SHOULD be pure mesh screen or open air flow
Just to be clear again, I'm not a pro audio guy I'm just an enthusiast, but based on the few things I do know i would say yes but it depends. I have a set of polk floorstanding speakers at home, and the grilles are soft mesh. I take them off because i like to see the woofers lol, and i can't tell the difference. But these are also in a ported cabinet, and the cabinet internally has all these folds and its tuned so that it gets down to a certain low frequency. As far as in the jeep goes, if there wasn't hard plastic there im sure people would go through speakers either smashing it with their knees or who knows what.
In my opinion, while it's nice to have a good sounding car system i don't consider it to be on the level of HiFi, mainly because theres so much other noise in the jeep. For example, now i can hear some bass, but suddenly the plastic rattles on certain bass notes. I'll go insane hunting that down. the groan of the 4.0 muddies things too. I just wanted to hear the bass is all, nothing crazy.
I know it's a jeep forum but just to expand a bit on the grille blocking the speaker idea; some speaker cabinets, either HiFi or even concert venue speakers, are designed such that part of the cabinet's architecutre actually blocks the speaker partially. Klipsch does this with their tweeters, and even some of their more expensive speakers they do it with the woofers too. It's called a horn. what it does it compress the air in front of the speaker (sound is fluctuations in air pressure, or compression and decompression), and they can use the shape of the horn in front of the speaker to change or "tune" the frequency response of the driver itself. I think horns, particularly Klipsh tweeters, are harsh to the ear but some people prefer it. I like Polk because they use soft dome tweeters without horsn and it's more pleasant.
Concerning the plastic again, I would think you'd want to compare the size of the slats to the wavelength passing through. I'm making numbers up, but supposing 10kHz wavelength is smaller than the slots, I would imagine the slots block that frequency, but it would pass through the empty space. But also, the plastic does virbate with the sound waves even the slats themselves will vibrate and transmit the soun, comapred to a cabinet built as a horn which is relatively sturdy. But this also gets into multiple slit diffraction which is a lot of math I don't remember how to do and likely doesn't matter in a jeep anyway
Thanks, sorry! Passenger side is completely covered. I was working on the Drivers side so you'll see the inside portion isn't covered yet, but I wanted to show how i shaped the metal a little and then taped over it.
That's quite a nice job of enclosing that - should really help keep the speakers from being "shorted out" acoustically.
Speaker grills can muffle sound, which is different from the canceling you get from the back being open. And while the grill is only partially open it is also a bit larger than the cone. Super easy to test, too. Just take the grill off and see if it sounds different.