Audio Upgrade - 98 TJ

Cole

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Messages
350
Location
Minnesota, USA
Looking to upgrade my speakers... Not looking to add any subs or amps... but just upgrade the dash speakers and audio bar speakers to something less.... Stock Jeep sounding. Also, when the lady rides in the jeep she likes the windscreen up (You know... hair and all) and that basically cuts any sound out from the sound bar.. So, really need something that sounds good (bonus if it has little-mild bass) for the dash...

Any suggestions?
 
Think something like these would work for the replacements in the dash?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8RBNYV/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Yes, those will work for sure. And those are very nice speakers too! You can't go wrong with Polk Audio, that's what a lot of us use.

Pair those with a decent head unit and you'll definitely get better sound than stock.

The TJ is never going to have an amazing sound system due to the nature of the vehicle, but you can definitely get it to sound a lot better than the stock setup.
 
Yes, those will work for sure. And those are very nice speakers too! You can't go wrong with Polk Audio, that's what a lot of us use.

Pair those with a decent head unit and you'll definitely get better sound than stock.

The TJ is never going to have an amazing sound system due to the nature of the vehicle, but you can definitely get it to sound a lot better than the stock setup.
I'll have to give 'er a shot! I've already got an aftermarket "CD Player" (remember those??) installed, so hopefully a speaker upgrade will do the trick!

Yeah, I love tunes while out and about in the Jeep.. I'll take any upgrade over the stock speakers right now. Not looking to relive my younger, mirror rattling sound, days.

Thanks! Love this site by the way... New to it and already vastly better than anything I've found recently!
 
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I'll have to give 'er a shot! I've already got an aftermarket "CD Player" (remember those??) installed, so hopefully a speaker upgrade will do the trick!

Yeah, I love tunes while out and about in the Jeep.. I'll take any upgrade over the stock speakers right now. Not looking to relive my younger, mirror rattling sound, days.

Thanks! Love this site by the way... New to it and already vastly better than anything I've found recently!

To really make the sound system sound as good as you can, aside from just upgrading the speakers and head unit, what you really need is an aftermarket amplifier. This is the one I plan on purchasing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UG7AZQG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

It's small, compact, it's marine grade (meaning it can get wet). With that amp running the speakers, you'll get a level of sound that you'll never, ever get from the factory amp, even with upgraded speakers.

So yes, the speakers will make a difference, but that amp paired with speakers will make a huge difference.

Glad to hear you're liking the forum, I promise it's the best TJ related forum you'll find on the internet! That's why I built it, because all the others were just so-so, and I wanted a place that was made for TJs and only TJs!
 
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To really make the sound system sound as good as you can, aside from just upgrading the speakers and head unit, what you really need is an aftermarket amplifier. This is the one I plan on purchasing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UG7AZQG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

It's small, compact, it's marine grade (meaning it can get wet). With that amp running the speakers, you'll get a level of sound that you'll never, ever get from the factory amp, even with upgraded speakers.

So yes, the speakers will make a difference, but that amp paired with speakers will make a huge difference.

Glad to hear you're liking the forum, I promise it's the best TJ related forum you'll find on the internet! That's why I built it, because all the others were just so-so, and I wanted a place that was made for TJs and only TJs!
I'm going to start with the speakers and HU, we'll see where I go from there........ Usually end up spending $$$!

Appreciate the forum! Great info!!!
 
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Think something like these would work for the replacements in the dash?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8RBNYV/?tag=wranglerorg-20

This is what I put in my 98TJ dash based on @Kathy's advice. There is a little modding to get them in, but took me less than an hour, and they are pretty nice and as @Chris said they are marine grade. On Crutchfield they included all of the installation things necessary to get them in.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB522/Polk-Audio-DB-522.html?tp=97
 
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To really make the sound system sound as good as you can, aside from just upgrading the speakers and head unit, what you really need is an aftermarket amplifier. This is the one I plan on purchasing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UG7AZQG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

It's small, compact, it's marine grade (meaning it can get wet). With that amp running the speakers, you'll get a level of sound that you'll never, ever get from the factory amp, even with upgraded speakers.

So yes, the speakers will make a difference, but that amp paired with speakers will make a huge difference.

Glad to hear you're liking the forum, I promise it's the best TJ related forum you'll find on the internet! That's why I built it, because all the others were just so-so, and I wanted a place that was made for TJs and only TJs!
Chris for that amp do you by pass the factory harness and run all new wires to each speaker?
 
Has anyone replaced the speakers on the sound bar? If so, any suggestions? I think I have a good idea for the dash speakers... But for sure need to replace the soundbar speakers as well without breaking the bank, if possible....
 
I'll have to give 'er a shot! I've already got an aftermarket "CD Player" (remember those??) installed, so hopefully a speaker upgrade will do the trick!
LOL...my 97 I just upgraded my cassette player to a, wait for it, cassette/cd player with equalizer built in.....I feel so 2002 in my 97!!! I even went to the local Goodwill and bought a couple cassettes (AC/DC, Metallica, and Guns&Roses)
 
LOL...my 97 I just upgraded my cassette player to a, wait for it, cassette/cd player with equalizer built in.....I feel so 2002 in my 97!!! I even went to the local Goodwill and bought a couple cassettes (AC/DC, Metallica, and Guns&Roses)
Oh snap, you got the equalizer built in?????? Lucky.............. ha! I drove mine around for a year after I bought it before doing much to it... I think this summer will be a summer of upgrades and add ons.
 
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Yea bro! sweet jammin from the bass! lmao....no I just wanted a cd player as I can afford crap with three kids and three jeeps. anywho, it had the original cassette player and I found this combo unit for 25 bucks on letgo. so I put the original in a safe place and have been using this thing. What I find weird is it has one of those small joysticks that you can direct to each speaker and wondered why? why put one of these things on a radio. I want ALL the speakers playing not just one. But I do use as a diagnostic tool to test my speakers from time to time.
 
Has anyone replaced the speakers on the sound bar? If so, any suggestions? I think I have a good idea for the dash speakers... But for sure need to replace the soundbar speakers as well without breaking the bank, if possible....
Go with Polks for the dash and sound bar. They are water resistant, which is nice if you get caught in the rain with the top off. Several on here have used an adapter in the dash to go to a 5.25” and modified the sound bar to fit a 6”. I highly recommend this since you will not be adding a sub. The dash speakers are poorly placed, facing slightly down, so the more you can do the merrier.
 
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Go with Polks for the dash and sound bar. They are water resistant, which is nice if you get caught in the rain with the top off. Several on here have used an adapter in the dash to go to a 5.25” and modified the sound bar to fit a 6”. I highly recommend this since you will not be adding a sub. The dash speakers are poorly placed, facing slightly down, so the more you can do the merrier.
Is the mod pretty easy to do for the sound bar? I suppose I could just search the forums, huh?
 
No modding necessary. The 6.5 mounts to the surface of the box instead of inset. I stuffed mine with poly fill, sounds much better than the hollow box.
Oh really? That would be even better.... My mod skills aren't the best in the world at times. So they just sit outside instead of in, and you'd recommend putting poly fill behind?
 
Oh really? That would be even better.... My mod skills aren't the best in the world at times. So they just sit outside instead of in, and you'd recommend putting poly fill behind?
Yeah, that’s right. And the bracket for the dash 5.25” conversion is relatively cheap too. Some like @Kathy, have also used baffles in the dash to help get more sound from that location.