Speaker and license plate question

[B1Toad]

Does Crutchfield have technical assistance to help you match speakers to the head unit? Jerry I hear what you are saying about the sensitivity but I also read that you should try and get a reasonable match for the wattage output of your head unit. It's all very confusing to me and in the past I haven't been that successful at matching speakers and amps/head units. I've had cheaper factory setups that sounded OK but even swapping in "better" big name speakers resulted in poorer sound than factory. I'm looking to find a nice powerful head unit with matched speakers, no room for amps and sub woofers in my TJ.

Then there's the whole thing with the big names having two sets of quality, their high end stuff which is only one or two of their offerings then their China line which numbers into the hundreds.

 

[Zorba]

If you truly understood the end effect of a speaker's sensitivity you'd realize that those charts aren't giving the entire story. Sensitivity is a speaker's SPL (sound pressure level) at 1 meter with 1 watt driving it, not whatever that final column of numbers is saying which makes no sense.

FYI... https://support.klipsch.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025619391-Speaker-Sensitivity#:~:text=Speaker sensitivity—many times erroneously,power input from an amplifier.

Yea, that chart makes zero sense. Listen to Jerry - he's completely right. I put the Kickers in the dash of mine, they're 92db as I recall. In the sound bar I put a set of very old, but nice Jensens that I had lying about. They're good speakers, but they don't have the sensitivity the kickers do - I had to bias the fader control rearward a couple of notches. I'm going to guess they're in the 88 db range, but the speakers are so old that Jensen didn't even know the specs on them when I asked.

 

[SSTJ]

Does Crutchfield have technical assistance to help you match speakers to the head unit?

They are very helpful, from my experience, both before and after the purchase.

I've had cheaper factory setups that sounded OK but even swapping in "better" big name speakers resulted in poorer sound than factory. I'm looking to find a nice powerful head unit with matched speakers, no room for amps and sub woofers in my TJ.

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't expect any head unit to provide the power necessary for high-end speakers. But sure, some head units will provide sufficient power for mid-range speakers.

There are several threads on here about how and where others have mounted amps in TJs. Also subs. I have both.

 

[penn98tj]

Those rear speakers only have an 88 dB Sensitivity rating, Kicker makes them with a higher like 90 dB sensitivity rating that would sound better/louder with a stock radio without an aux amplifier. I'd shop on Crutchfield for things like that, Quadratec is not a good source for audio gear. Especially since their sales reps are typically clueless on the finer points of speaker selection, especially the Sensitivity rating which is very important unless you're running an external aux amplifier that puts out more power than a typical head unit does..

Something like this?

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20646CC54/Kicker-46CSC54.html?tp=105
and yes, thanks for the pointer for crutchfield. I haven't messed with car audio in about 20 years but back then I did use crutchfield and forgot about them.

 

[kincaid.0678]

Thanks for the info. SSTJ, you had some links to a lot of really great stuff with what you did with your TJ. Looking to go back to a stock radio. I'm looking at the RAZ CD/cassette (P04704383) which I believe is what you did. 1factoryradio has none in stock but there are some on ebay. Any regrets going this direction? Do you stream from your phone at all? FM transmitter gizmo?

For the speakers, I am thinking upgrading them with these:
[URL]https://www.quadratec.com/products/14133_2X0_PG.htm[/URL]
[URL]https://www.quadratec.com/products/14133_2X1_PG.htm[/URL]

Am I on the right track here? Do I need an amp with this setup? Poking around these threads, I am thinking I don't need one.

Thanks for the help on this thread. Looking to pull the trigger on this stuff.

I’ve got a factory radio from my 97 SE you could have. It’s just AM FM but it’s original and Chrysler.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

@penn98tj looks a solid choice!

 

[penn98tj]

Hey, glad those links were helpful.

Yes, I have bought off of eBay before. No regrets there. If you PM me I can also share the number of a friend who parts out XJs regularly, and sold me a stock stereo for a good price. He seems to see a lot of them.

For streaming, I just use one of those good old cassette-tape adapters. From what I've read, they're a little better than the FM transmitters. But most of my music is on CDs, which is actually better quality than most Bluetooth streaming devices, or at least was when I last read up on their comparisons. Of course if you do get an amp eventually, you can get one with Bluetooth streaming or AUX input. And as you know from sites like 1factoryradio, there are ways to put AUX input in a stock stereo. And then there are other approaches that I linked on that page of mine.

Keep in mind that the stock stereo is weak, and so Jerry's advice about sensitivity is key. I ended up installing an amp so that I could get the most out of some slightly higher-end speakers.

I don't know about those speakers in particular, but I agree with Jerry that I'd order from Crutchfield before I'd order from Quadratech. Such great customer support at Crutchfield. One call with them could put your mind at ease about which speakers to choose.

On ebay it seems like a few people are doing the aux mod on the factory radios. They are selling the setup for $275. I am tempted to do that, as I would hope the radio would be in a little better condition if they are doing this mod and then selling it at a premium price. See this for example:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1149353566...d=link&campid=5337789113&toolid=20001&mkevt=1
I was actually thinking the cassette adapter as well. Haven't seen one of those around in a few decades.

I will have to dig around your links again and see what you did with regards to adding bluetooth/aux in via the amp. Perhaps a better approach was just get a more basic stock radio (without the aux) and then down the road add the extra stuff? I am mostly a CD/radio listener so the aux isn't a big deal for me.

Seeing as you have both the amp and the stock radio, do you find yourself using the aux/bluetooth on the amp more or going with your cassette adapter?

 

[penn98tj]

I’ve got a factory radio from my 97 SE you could have. It’s just AM FM but it’s original and Chrysler.

Very nice of you, thanks! But I'll probably dig around for a CD player. Going to impress some ladies and dust off the old CD collection.

 

[SSTJ]

On ebay it seems like a few people are doing the aux mod on the factory radios. They are selling the setup for $275. I am tempted to do that, as I would hope the radio would be in a little better condition if they are doing this mod and then selling it at a premium price. See this for example:

[URL]https://www.ebay.com/itm/11493...d=link&campid=5337789113&toolid=20001&mkevt=1[/URL]

I was actually thinking the cassette adapter as well. Haven't seen one of those around in a few decades.

I will have to dig around your links again and see what you did with regards to adding bluetooth/aux in via the amp. Perhaps a better approach was just get a more basic stock radio (without the aux) and then down the road add the extra stuff? I am mostly a CD/radio listener so the aux isn't a big deal for me.

Seeing as you have both the amp and the stock radio, do you find yourself using the aux/bluetooth on the amp more or going with your cassette adapter?

I actually didn't go for the Bluetooth amp. My amp does have an aux input, but I don't even use it. I just use my CDs, radio, and occasionally plug my phone into the cassette adapter.

 

[penn98tj]

I actually didn't go for the Bluetooth amp. My amp does have an aux input, but I don't even use it. I just use my CDs, radio, and occasionally plug my phone into the cassette adapter.

I know this is buried in the various threads somewhere but when you do the amp, how do you run the aux? The radio gets set to something? I've read some setups where you lose something on the radio (i.e. CD player)

 

[kincaid.0678]

Very nice of you, thanks! But I'll probably dig around for a CD player. Going to impress some ladies and dust off the old CD collection.

Best of luck with your project! I put a cheap $30 Bluetooth head unit in mine to be able to pair my phone for music so the old radio is just sitting here in a box.

 

[SSTJ]

I know this is buried in the various threads somewhere but when you do the amp, how do you run the aux? The radio gets set to something? I've read some setups where you lose something on the radio (i.e. CD player)

So, if you want to add AUX to the head unit, then amp or no amp makes no difference. The amp 'listens' to the head unit, whether its playing a CD, a tape, the radio, or AUX input. But if you get an amp with either AUX input or Bluetooth, then there will be some way of 'toggling' whether the amp should listen to AUX, Bluetooth, or the head unit.

But yes, if you put AUX in the head unit, then something may have to be sacrificed. For instance I've seen some with the 5th radio memory button being replaced with the AUX input, and I think the input only works when you set the head unit to either CD or tape, whichever one is being sacrificed. But I'm really not sure about that because I never looked into it closely.