Advice on new front speakers

Is everyone putting the foam things back in the front speakers grills?
Depends really. If you have the PODs that work like the JH units, or newer TJs, you can then put some dynomat and poly fill in them and get great sound. If you don't have that, then the foam will work the same. The Boom Mats that is.
 
Depends really. If you have the PODs that work like the JH units, or newer TJs, you can then put some dynomat and poly fill in them and get great sound. If you don't have that, then the foam will work the same. The Boom Mats that is.
No, I’m talking about the foam factory inserts that fit inside the front grills
 
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Question for you all, what would you budget for a decent upgrade? The 53yr old kind of upgrade not the 21yr old kind.
Just good sound, nothing obnoxious.
 
Question for you all, what would you budget for a decent upgrade? The 53yr old kind of upgrade not the 21yr old kind.
Just good sound, nothing obnoxious.
I put the infinity 5.25 reference in dash and pods. Installed self powered sub in the “trunk” area. Huge improvement.
 
I did not. I sealed up all the spaces as 89grand suggested. Helped immensely but I'm still missing some bass. I'm going to be getting a subwoofer sometime soon. Might try the Rockville sub.
I'm glad that worked for you. It's really a simple and logical improvement. You just can't get enough speaker in the dash to properly get great bass by itself. Sealing the mounting surface only gets the best out of what you can get in there, and that will still require a subwoofer. I've got the Rockville 10" and it has surprised me. It's mounted on my tailgate. I half expected poor performance with bloated upper bass only, but it isn't too bad for what it is, and what it cost, and it takes up little room, and is already powered.

I wouldn't use it in a quiet car with a great system, but it works nicely in the Jeep.
 
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An
Rather than use those pods, you can get better bass response by just sealing up all of the holes around where the dash speakers are mounted. That's the real problem. Because the mounting surface isn't sealed off, you get cancellation from the front and rear sound waves coming though the speaker grill. I have pics at home and will post them tonight of how I sealed mine off.

The pods do separate the front and rear sound waves of the speaker, so that helps, but because the internal air volume is so small, it leads to weak mid-bass and peaky bloated upper bass (two things we don't want). If one already has the pods, a good trick would be to put a hole in the back of the pods around an inch in diameter, to allow the speakers to breath better. The rear sound waves would vent through the hole and go towards the firewall, so you wouldn't get the cancellation you do when mounted with nothing blocking it.

Most car speakers are designed for infinite baffle, meaning a large area like in the rear deck of a sedan, or a large door. The pods are just way smaller than the speaker is intended for.
Any pictures of the sealing up that you can share?
 
I totally agree with you, I am not looking for a super sound system. I just want something that I can hear on the freeway when the top is down. I don't need super bass for the same reason you suggested. I don't want to install an amp either. Just some nice set of speakers that can be powered by a nice deck.


I went with the Polk 5.25 in the front and 6.5 in the sound bar. I put a Kenwood amp behind the panel below the steering wheel. The amp is 25w per corner min going to 100w per corner max. With this i can get clear undistorted music at 70mph with the windows out or top down. I am planning on an under seat powered sub in the future to boost low frequencies.
 
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I went with the Polk 5.25 in the front and 6.5 in the sound bar. I put a Kenwood amp behind the panel below the steering wheel. The amp is 25w per corner min going to 100w per corner max. With this i can get clear undistorted music at 70mph with the windows out or top down. I am planning on an under seat powered sub in the future to boost low frequencies.
What Kenwood amp did you go with?
 
I went with the Polk 5.25 in the front and 6.5 in the sound bar. I put a Kenwood amp behind the panel below the steering wheel. The amp is 25w per corner min going to 100w per corner max. With this i can get clear undistorted music at 70mph with the windows out or top down. I am planning on an under seat powered sub in the future to boost low frequencies.
How did the 6.5 fit in the rear pods? lots of modifications?My jeep is a 98 are they the same rear pods as yours?
 
I used some adapter brackets so I could run 5.25" in front. In hindsight, would have run 5.25" in the pods as well instead of the 6.5" I installed. Really, it is a matter of taste in regards to sound preferences. I prefer a front heavy "sound stage" so the larger speakers behind me hinder that. What I really need is a sub, the 5.25/6.5 combo are seriously lacking any real bass, especially with the bikini top. Unfortunately, adding bass is a compromise in a TJ. Lose precious cargo room or custom install to avoid "sticky fingers."
hey how did you mount the 6.5 in the rear
 
thanks and would you say they sound better enough to buy new ones

I'm running a sound system in mine that would cost roughly $3000, so you can damn well bet they sound good. It sounds like I have a damn symphony in my Jeep, even at highway speeds of 80 MPH with the top and doors off.

I'm an audiophile though, so a good sound system is very important to me (y)