My daughter is giving her old, tired 89 XJ to charity, she'll probably get more in tax breaks than she could sell it for. She pulled a bunch of stuff out that she wanted to keep, including her aftermarket media receiver, an inexpensive Boss 616UAB unit. Since she has just bought a 2012 JKU she asked if I wanted the receiver and a couple of 5.25" speakers that came with it, to replace my OE RBK radio/CD player. I figured it couldn't possibly be worse than the OE unit, although I'm not sure if I could even tell since I have moderate hearing loss and tinnitus, courtesy of 40+ years of helicopter flying. Reminds me of the Eagles song Desperado: "You're losing all your highs and lows, ain't it funny how the feeling goes away...". I generally have just left the radio off since I can't hear much while driving with the soft top down (or up, for that matter), and if I turn it up enough to hear anything the sound is so distorted as to be unlistenable (that's probably not even a word, but it fits).
Installing the head unit was a piece of cake. I picked up a 1.5 DIN adapter and a connector that hooks up to the 22-pin plug on the Jeep's wiring harness. I researched the adapters on the Crutchfield website but ordered them from Best Buy. They had them in stock locally and the higher price was offset by the lack of shipping costs and the fact that I could pick them up on the way home from work. Ten minutes of splicing the adapter to the two connectors that plug into the head unit and I was ready to shove the whole thing into the, um, hole. Yeah, I know the crimps are sloppy looking, but they're tight.
The head unit slid into the adapter and the whole thing went into the dash with no problems. I'm going to need to adjust the adapter a bit so it sits in the center dash cover properly, it's just a bit cockeyed. I also need to pick up an antenna adapter in order to hook up the AM/FM receiver, but the unit has aux and USB inputs as well as Bluetooth connectivity, so that can wait. Also, the unit is not too flashy, so maybe thieves will pass on ripping it out of there.
I'll probably install the speakers (Boss CH5530's) in the sound bar this weekend, maybe throw some polyfill in there as well. I don't know if that will do anything for the overall sound quality but at least they are newer than the OEM stuff and visibly in better condition. I'm leaving the front speakers alone for now, I'm still saving up for Polk DB's front and back, but that's something else that will have to wait a while. Right now I have about 35 bucks invested in this upgrade, the Polks are going to bump that up quite a bit.
So here's the thing: The audio quality is noticeably improved, even though I am still using the OEM speakers and subwoofer. I didn't think an old deaf guy like me would notice much of a change, but I can actually hear (and, more importantly, understand) the music as I'm driving down the road now. I have to turn the volume up to 30-35 (it goes to 43 - why would anyone make a volume control that goes to 43 and stops there? Spinal Tap junkies, maybe?) but the sound is pretty darn good, bass and treble are both much clearer than before, with only a little distortion at higher volume levels. There is enough power going to the subwoofer that it makes the Tuffy center console vibrate. Didn't get any of that with the OEM unit. Bottom line: I didn't expect much from this upgrade but I am unexpectedly pleased with the results so far and being able to finally hear the music as I drive makes me a happy Jeeper.
Installing the head unit was a piece of cake. I picked up a 1.5 DIN adapter and a connector that hooks up to the 22-pin plug on the Jeep's wiring harness. I researched the adapters on the Crutchfield website but ordered them from Best Buy. They had them in stock locally and the higher price was offset by the lack of shipping costs and the fact that I could pick them up on the way home from work. Ten minutes of splicing the adapter to the two connectors that plug into the head unit and I was ready to shove the whole thing into the, um, hole. Yeah, I know the crimps are sloppy looking, but they're tight.
The head unit slid into the adapter and the whole thing went into the dash with no problems. I'm going to need to adjust the adapter a bit so it sits in the center dash cover properly, it's just a bit cockeyed. I also need to pick up an antenna adapter in order to hook up the AM/FM receiver, but the unit has aux and USB inputs as well as Bluetooth connectivity, so that can wait. Also, the unit is not too flashy, so maybe thieves will pass on ripping it out of there.
I'll probably install the speakers (Boss CH5530's) in the sound bar this weekend, maybe throw some polyfill in there as well. I don't know if that will do anything for the overall sound quality but at least they are newer than the OEM stuff and visibly in better condition. I'm leaving the front speakers alone for now, I'm still saving up for Polk DB's front and back, but that's something else that will have to wait a while. Right now I have about 35 bucks invested in this upgrade, the Polks are going to bump that up quite a bit.
So here's the thing: The audio quality is noticeably improved, even though I am still using the OEM speakers and subwoofer. I didn't think an old deaf guy like me would notice much of a change, but I can actually hear (and, more importantly, understand) the music as I'm driving down the road now. I have to turn the volume up to 30-35 (it goes to 43 - why would anyone make a volume control that goes to 43 and stops there? Spinal Tap junkies, maybe?) but the sound is pretty darn good, bass and treble are both much clearer than before, with only a little distortion at higher volume levels. There is enough power going to the subwoofer that it makes the Tuffy center console vibrate. Didn't get any of that with the OEM unit. Bottom line: I didn't expect much from this upgrade but I am unexpectedly pleased with the results so far and being able to finally hear the music as I drive makes me a happy Jeeper.
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