DIY Speaker Pods

FultonD33

FultonD33

TJ Enthusiast
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Location
Tuscaloosa AL
What’s your guys thoughts on this idea?

DIY speaker pods, even better than than the real thing? We all know that sealed enclosures this small don’t do well, including the pre made dash pods. You lose a lot of bass due to the small volume inside. This is alleviated by the “port” in the back on these. The reason you need these is so the sound doesn’t get lost behind the dash and is projected outward. To further enhance this, you might add a 5.25” foam ring as I may in the future.

Went with higher end infinity reference speakers due to high sensitivity rating which will be perfect for the Jeep. Will update with a sound clip once they’re all in tomorrow. Plug and play with wiring kits from crutchfield. Speakers are currently on sale as well, been waiting on them for a while so I snagged them while I could.

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Zorba said:
That is exactly how I did mine, FWIW. No idea how good/bad it may be vs "real" pods or open speakers. The foam rings on the frontside however, gave me a real volume increase.

As for the fingernails, paint them the color of your choice - then you won't bite them! ;)
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I know it’s better than open speakers, but not sure vs actual pods. I believe these are a bit larger than the pods and plus they now have the hole in the back. I may test by covering the hole on one and see which performs better.

Maybe I should start a thread about my fingernails 😂
 
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I'm curious about how those speakers work out. I've kicked around the idea of new speakers and I'm unsure if the juice is worth the squeeze for me.

I do know that listening and comparing them via Crutchfield they seem better than the typical replacements (Polks & Kickers); at least to my ears & headphones.

How it would play out in real life might be entirely something else.

Hopefully they do the trick for you.
 
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FultonD33 said:
I know it’s better than open speakers, but not sure vs actual pods. I believe these are a bit larger than the pods and plus they now have the hole in the back. I may test by covering the hole on one and see which performs better.

Maybe I should start a thread about my fingernails 😂
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I did a similar test with the ports I installed in the soundbar speaker enclosures. Definitely sounded better with the ports uncovered.
 
Zorba said:
I did a similar test with the ports I installed in the soundbar speaker enclosures. Definitely sounded better with the ports uncovered.
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Got them installed today. Did one side of the dash ported and one not.

Ported: more richness to the sound, more full sound. Piano sounded 100%

Sealed: very punchy, some sound gets lost in translation, mainly certain piano sounds are nonexistent anymore

Made both sealed and called it a day. I’m curious about your roll bar pod porting?
 
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Fulton_Hogan said:
I'm curious about how those speakers work out. I've kicked around the idea of new speakers and I'm unsure if the juice is worth the squeeze for me.

I do know that listening and comparing them via Crutchfield they seem better than the typical replacements (Polks & Kickers); at least to my ears & headphones.

How it would play out in real life might be entirely something else.

Hopefully they do the trick for you.
Click to expand...
They’re great, got them installed today. I too checked them out on crutchfield with headphones and they sounded better than the rest by far. They’ve got a VERY clear sound picture when tuned right. I can’t wait to get them on an amp to really see what they can do, but honestly they’re really loud without it and can almost handle full volume from my radio.
 
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Fulton_Hogan said:
I'm curious about how those speakers work out. I've kicked around the idea of new speakers and I'm unsure if the juice is worth the squeeze for me.

I do know that listening and comparing them via Crutchfield they seem better than the typical replacements (Polks & Kickers); at least to my ears & headphones.

How it would play out in real life might be entirely something else.

Hopefully they do the trick for you.
Click to expand...

If you are looking for something other than Polk or Kicker, start looking at BLAM, Jehnert, Micro Precision, Ground Zero or Helix.

BLAM have 2 ohm speakers with high sensitivity ratings. Just look for their mid or high end speaker, Live or Signature series.

Also, depending on how you use your Jeep will determine if it is practical to relocate the tweeters to the lower A-pillar, or on top of the dash where it connects to the A-pillar.
 
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FultonD33 said:
They’re great, got them installed today. I too checked them out on crutchfield with headphones and they sounded better than the rest by far. They’ve got a VERY clear sound picture when tuned right. I can’t wait to get them on an amp to really see what they can do, but honestly they’re really loud without it and can almost handle full volume from my radio.
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At this point, you are using just the stock radio, yes?
 
skrelnik said:
If you are looking for something other than Polk or Kicker, start looking at BLAM, Jehnert, Micro Precision, Ground Zero or Helix.

BLAM have 2 ohm speakers with high sensitivity ratings. Just look for their mid or high end speaker, Live or Signature series.

Also, depending on how you use your Jeep will determine if it is practical to relocate the tweeters to the lower A-pillar, or on top of the dash where it connects to the A-pillar.
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Thanks for those recommendations. Once you started talking about relocating speaker parts, my eyes glazed over. That's not my thing, so speaker relocations (and for that matter new head units, amps, subs, and the like) are not going to happen.

Like I said in my initial post above, I question how much I really want to even do a simple speaker upgrade. But if I do, I want just speakers and they need to have a better sound than 17 year-old speakers. I've taken a liking to the sound from of a couple of Hertz speakers I've seen on Crutchfield; the X 130 and DCX 130.3. They seem to give a fuller sound my ears like, but I don't know how they'd do on the stock head unit. Then I'm right back questioning if it's worth it.
 
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Fulton_Hogan said:
Thanks for those recommendations. Once you started talking about relocating speaker parts, my eyes glazed over. That's not my thing, so speaker relocations (and for that matter new head units, amps, subs, and the like) are not going to happen.

Like I said in my initial post above, I question how much I really want to even do a simple speaker upgrade. But if I do, I want just speakers and they need to have a better sound than 17 year-old speakers. I've taken a liking to the sound from of a couple of Hertz speakers I've seen on Crutchfield; the X 130 and DCX 130.3. They seem to give a fuller sound my ears like, but I don't know how they'd do on the stock head unit. Then I'm right back questioning if it's worth it.
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That's why I would default to the Kicker D Series for what you are seeking, and from Crutchfield so you get the installation gear, pigtails and brackets. D Series is great for anyone that wants a stock plug and play. Score some $8 boom mat baffles as well.

Kicker's are half the price of the Hertz speakers, and if you are not amping up your system, stick with the D series Kicker - just my opinion, but do what makes you happy - no right or wrong here.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-l0BjDtaQQBC/p_206DSC504/Kicker-43DSC504.html
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_696B0...-Speaker-Baffles-Slim-line-2-11-16-depth.html
 
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All the research I've done has me knowing I'm looking for speakers with higher sensitivity ratings. I'm just hoping to hit it a home run the first time at bat.

I've looked into the Kickers but they sound very tinny to me; almost like old-school AM radio.

The other speakers normally recommended here, the Polk 522s, sound very dirty to me; like they give better bass, but at the cost of just being an overall muddy noise.

The Infinity set @FultonD33 went here with are close to what I'm looking for, having a rating of 92. Those are a little more bass heavy to my ear, but better than the previous two.

Listening to the Hertz models, they give a more pronounced middle, and are more balanced and clear to my ear. If that's what a sensitivity of 93 gets me, I might be ok with the cost.
 
Fulton_Hogan said:
All the research I've done has me knowing I'm looking for speakers with higher sensitivity ratings. I'm just hoping to hit it a home run the first time at bat.

I've looked into the Kickers but they sound very tinny to me; almost like old-school AM radio.

The other speakers normally recommended here, the Polk 522s, sound very dirty to me; like they give better bass, but at the cost of just being an overall muddy noise.

The Infinity set @FultonD33 went here with are close to what I'm looking for, having a rating of 92. Those are a little more bass heavy to my ear, but better than the previous two.

Listening to the Hertz models, they give a more pronounced middle, and are more balanced and clear to my ear. If that's what a sensitivity of 93 gets me, I might be ok with the cost.
Click to expand...

How are you listening to these? Just curious as you may be the only person to say that Polks are more bass heavy than Kicker.

Go with the Hertz, you heard them and liked them, don't second guess yourself here else you will always say I wish I got Hertz. I think you sold yourself on them.

By the way, sensitivity is one of many metrics to be used when selecting a speaker. Sort of like saying the car with the most HP will win the race without considering factors like weight or gearing. Speakers are made from different materials, tweeter may be a different size (1/2", 3/4" or 1"):which can impact how it plays certain frequencies.

Lots of variables but you have selected a few good options to choose from.
 
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TheBoogieman said:
I can't hear any bass in my dash speakers. Maybe I need some pods. :unsure:
View attachment 318532
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The way audio should be played! Boogie knows a lot about audio (not how to keep a wife) so any advice he gives you should take.

Boogie - what 5.25" would you go with if keeping the stock set-up?
 
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skrelnik said:
How are you listening to these? Just curious as you may be the only person to say that Polks are more bass heavy than Kicker.

Go with the Hertz, you heard them and liked them, don't second guess yourself here else you will always say I wish I got Hertz. I think you sold yourself on them.

By the way, sensitivity is one of many metrics to be used when selecting a speaker. Sort of like saying the car with the most HP will win the race without considering factors like weight or gearing. Speakers are made from different materials, tweeter may be a different size (1/2", 3/4" or 1"):which can impact how it plays certain frequencies.

Lots of variables but you have selected a few good options to choose from.
Click to expand...

The Crutchfield compare sound feature on their webpage. It gives me 4 speakers, and I set them to "Equal Power" not "Equal Volume". Then I pick various genres of music I have on the PC, stuff I've heard 100s of times, clicking between the speakers as the music plays to hear the differences. I'm wearing a set of Sony headphones plugged directly into the PC.
 
Trust me, with a little EQ tuning these are not bass heavy at all. If you get the Boom Mat baffles get the 4" deep ones not 2". Highly recommend these for a nice full sound range
 
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