Soundbar Speaker Upgrade

Slaverson

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Feb 23, 2021
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Location
Park City, Utah
I have a 2005 wrangler unlimited and I have already upgraded my 2 front speakers and the stereo.

I’m looking to upgrade my soundbar speakers but I have seen people fitting 5.25” and 6.5” speakers in there.

I want to put in the 6.5” speakers but I’m not sure how they will fit in there.

Do I have to do any trimming? Any extra wiring harnesses? Any speaker suggestions?

Anything helps.
 
Depending on the 6 1/2" speaker design you may have some slight fitment issues. That's all I've heard of. A bit of clearance here or there. Nothing major. The sound improvement should more than make up for any inconvenience installing them.
 
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No trimming, just drill new mounting screw holes for 6.5" speakers. Buy your speakers at Crutchfield and they're all plug and play with harnesses included free.
p.s. MTX terminator speakers put out the best bass without a high quality amp. I used them in my XJ and up front on my TJ. They didn't have them in stock when I bought my sound bar speakers and I got Kickers. I'm impatient and couldn't wait a week. Not nearly as good IMO and I worked for Crutchfield and tested all their stuff for years.
RUBI speakers.jpg


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No trimming, just drill new mounting screw holes for 6.5" speakers. Buy your speakers at Crutchfield and they're all plug and play with harnesses included free.
p.s. MTX terminator speakers put out the best bass without a high quality amp. I used them in my XJ and up front on my TJ. They didn't have them in stock when I bought my sound bar speakers and I got Kickers. I'm impatient and couldn't wait a week. Not nearly as good IMO and I worked for Crutchfield and tested all their stuff for years.View attachment 228839

View attachment 228835
I am able to get a fantastic discount on some speakers off a different website, but obviously wiring harness is not included with that.

I was going to get these wiring adapters, those should work correct?

sorry I’m a bit new to the whole sound system thing

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120726515/Metra-72-6515-Speaker-Wiring-Adapters.html
 
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Also good to note that tweeters in the overhead bar are always a plus. The PO of my jeep had upgraded to four speakers and two tweeters (don't know what brand bar it is, but looks stock) and the sound is great with two 5 inchers and two 4 inchers as well as the tweeters. I keep it lower than my front speakers just to balance things out.
 
The above advice is good, just keep one thing in mind when choosing your speakers... look for the Sensitivity rating in the specifications and MAKE SURE the Sensitivity rating is 90 dB or higher. The higher the dB (decibel) Sensitivity rating the less power the speaker requires to play at a given level.

To illustrate that, a speaker rated to 87 dB requires twice as much power from the amplifier to produce the same volume that one with a 90 dB Sensitivity rating does. Every 3 dB change is either doubling or halving the power required.
 
If I can, let me halfway hijack this thread. If i need to start a new one, Mods just let me know...

2006 LJ. Sony Xplod unit (52wx4), connected to some cracked speakers (front and sound bar). No factory sub. I read through most of the "How to upgrade your stereo" thread but it seemed dated. So i thought i would ask here: If I change all the speakers to something modern (two-way, 3-way, good quality speakers, etc) without an amp, what are your opinions? Seems the go-to is amp install but i'm wondering if speaker technology has progressed so that an amp isn't necessarily required. And, if so, what are your speaker choices. I'm not looking to vibrate the windows, just end up with decent sound. Thx.
 
If I can, let me halfway hijack this thread. If i need to start a new one, Mods just let me know...

2006 LJ. Sony Xplod unit (52wx4), connected to some cracked speakers (front and sound bar). No factory sub. I read through most of the "How to upgrade your stereo" thread but it seemed dated. So i thought i would ask here: If I change all the speakers to something modern (two-way, 3-way, good quality speakers, etc) without an amp, what are your opinions? Seems the go-to is amp install but i'm wondering if speaker technology has progressed so that an amp isn't necessarily required. And, if so, what are your speaker choices. I'm not looking to vibrate the windows, just end up with decent sound. Thx.
get an amp.. old or new speakers need power and the head unit is seldom sufficient.

i run BLAM everything and it's phenomenal sound.
 
get an amp.. old or new speakers need power and the head unit is seldom sufficient.

i run BLAM everything and it's phenomenal sound.
I've taken in the same info and looking to do BLAM all around. Still looking for a good place to find the BLAM at a reasonable price that will mail to USA. :)
 
Sounds out on both the 130RS for the fronts and 165RC for the sound bar.

165RC went sold out first. I waited for that to come back in stock and then the 130RS went sold out. I'm hoping it's pandemic stock issues and not the company stopping production. It's down on my list (I have a bunch of the ancillary parts ((head unit, wiring, amps, etc)) but I have plenty of other parts sitting around them in my basement so I'm willing to wait to see if incartec gets them back in stock.

Agreed incartec had BY FAR the best prices and shipping costs!
 
Call me old school...which i am (currently looking to get the old KC Daylighters without LED cause i like that look), but i prefer to own a brand that has more US exposure. Not a knock against BLAM or any other, but I like products that are readily available from the well known distributors. Crutchfield, Amazon, the other box stores. Where, if i have a bad product, there is quick refund or exchange. I understand i MIGHT give up some sound quality for convenience, but its a jeep. I'm not looking for a speaker system for my Bentley.

So, I've read Polk is a good replacement (upgrade hopefully) speaker. And Kicker. Then you've got the old school reps: Alpine, JBL, JVC, Pioneer, Kenwood, you know the list. Out of that list or others, what y'all have experience with and enjoy? I would really like to try replacing all 4 speakers and then see where i'm at. If i don't like the sound - or have enough sound - then purchase the amp (5 chan?) to fire everything (including a new sub). Maybe that is backwards thinking but its up for debate. Thx for the help folks.
 
Call me old school...which i am (currently looking to get the old KC Daylighters without LED cause i like that look), but i prefer to own a brand that has more US exposure. Not a knock against BLAM or any other, but I like products that are readily available from the well known distributors. Crutchfield, Amazon, the other box stores. Where, if i have a bad product, there is quick refund or exchange. I understand i MIGHT give up some sound quality for convenience, but its a jeep. I'm not looking for a speaker system for my Bentley.

So, I've read Polk is a good replacement (upgrade hopefully) speaker. And Kicker. Then you've got the old school reps: Alpine, JBL, JVC, Pioneer, Kenwood, you know the list. Out of that list or others, what y'all have experience with and enjoy? I would really like to try replacing all 4 speakers and then see where i'm at. If i don't like the sound - or have enough sound - then purchase the amp (5 chan?) to fire everything (including a new sub). Maybe that is backwards thinking but its up for debate. Thx for the help folks.
JL Audio are some of the best speakers on the market, especially for a sub. Polk is really good though.
 
Call me old school...which i am (currently looking to get the old KC Daylighters without LED cause i like that look), but i prefer to own a brand that has more US exposure. Not a knock against BLAM or any other, but I like products that are readily available from the well known distributors. Crutchfield, Amazon, the other box stores. Where, if i have a bad product, there is quick refund or exchange. I understand i MIGHT give up some sound quality for convenience, but its a jeep. I'm not looking for a speaker system for my Bentley.

So, I've read Polk is a good replacement (upgrade hopefully) speaker. And Kicker. Then you've got the old school reps: Alpine, JBL, JVC, Pioneer, Kenwood, you know the list. Out of that list or others, what y'all have experience with and enjoy? I would really like to try replacing all 4 speakers and then see where i'm at. If i don't like the sound - or have enough sound - then purchase the amp (5 chan?) to fire everything (including a new sub). Maybe that is backwards thinking but its up for debate. Thx for the help folks.

I am old school as well, but time to move on with the times. BLAM speakers are made by Guy Bonneville (Bonneville Laboratory and More - aka BLAM) - a real enthusiast who left Focal after 25+ years to bring quality speakers at regular prices, so you do not need to overpay for the Focal name. He has entry level speakers and high end speakers, so you can buy a budget speaker or his high end speakers that are competition level.

These Euro speakers are readily available from the best well known distributers. Just because you think Amazon is a well known audio distributer, that is not accurate at all. Crutchfield sells some really nice stuff at great pries, but a lot of the Euro brands do not want to utilize Crutchfield because of their lack of audio knowledge. The majority of their employees do not understand the new technology that has taken the audio world over, but you can go there and overpay for some Audiofrog speakers, or go to Amazon for some used or returned goods, if you consider that quality. Now if you buy these Euro speakers, and anything is damaged, the distributers will send you a replacement. You need help with the install, you going to all Amazon or the Geek squad, instead of an installer that works with this equipment and can walk you through the install if help is needed.

Now, go check out MSC America in Arizona, they basically took some Euro brands away from Crutchfield, they sell BLAM and Audiotec Fisher, and point you to the local installer to purchase directly from.

https://www.msc-america.com/who-is-msc/
Polk is okay, Kicker is better. I've had them all in the Jeep, and Polk has no soul, just plays loud without any sound depth. Kicker sounds better, and is a little cheaper, and I would always go Kicker for the simple inexpensive plug and play upgrade. Next level up for cost, you want to look into these euro brands as you can get better quality speakers at a great price. It all adds up once you add in a amp, so a simple upgrade is a 5 channel amp, add five kicker speakers all around (incl the sub).

If you want old school, call Don. He is the owner of this shop, and an old school audio guy. He has an entire room, wall to wall, with 1970s, 80's and 90's head units. This is a guy who sells gear, at reasonable prices, and will provide support after the sale. I've been dealing with him for about 7 years now.

https://unexpectedcreations.com/
 
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@skrelnik, thanks. Good info to track down. Took a minute to see what speakers I actually have. Polk in both dash and sound bar. Looks like 4”(?) in the front. I’m going to credit the diminishing sound to the age of the speakers. So it seems several sizes will fit in the dash and possibly in the sound bar, is there a benefit to having a certain size speaker provided the speakers in question are the same type? And materials...is one cone material far better than another?
 
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@skrelnik, thanks. Good info to track down. Took a minute to see what speakers I actually have. Polk in both dash and sound bar. Looks like 4”(?) in the front. I’m going to credit the diminishing sound to the age of the speakers. So it seems several sizes will fit in the dash and possibly in the sound bar, is there a benefit to having a certain size speaker provided the speakers in question are the same type? And materials...is one cone material far better than another?

Anytime...your questions are good ones, and simply said each situation, budget and audio build, will want a different speaker, including material. Material is not that important with a simple budget friendly TJ audio build, the quality of the brand is more important and why I recommend Kicker here.

With that said, the easiest, budget friendly, and will produce a sound quality that the majority of TJ owners will enjoy, is five Kicker speakers and a five channel amp.

Front dash: 5.25"
Overhead pods: 6.5"
Subwoofer: 6.75"
Amplifier: five channel.
Amp install kit.

Kicker has D, C and K series for this build, with the D being good for a typical head unit (no external amplifier) and then the C and K series want a little more juice from an amplifier. Also, the K series has a larger tweeter, .75" vs .5" in the C and D series.

If you need more specifics ask away, and I'm sure others will chime in.

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If looking for an amp I support the Blaupunkt 1804BT. It’s great on size and can be mounted under the steering wheel on my TJ. Here is a pic or the size. It’s class D so runs cooler than an A or A/B amp (matters in Arizona) and the audio degradation is minimal. Also it has BT so if you lose your head unit for some reason you can BT right to the amp and still play music! Oh and less than $100 from Amazon.
E41DCDB3-BE34-4384-AB95-6863E2665890.jpeg
 
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