Crutchfield has great tech support if you need it but if you don't, they are really (really!) expensive to buy anything from.
I'm going to suggest this: https://www.extremeterrain.com/alterum-dashpods-9706-tj.html
The PO had installed those pods with different speakers. I happened to buy and install the speakers that Extreme Terrain suggests without knowing that they sold them together. VERY happy with the sound, though I am powering them with an amplifier.
** AjRagno beat me to it.
The PO had installed those pods with different speakers. I happened to buy and install the speakers that Extreme Terrain suggests without knowing that they sold them together. VERY happy with the sound, though I am powering them with an amplifier.
** AjRagno beat me to it.
I've always found them competitive and especially with home theater items the freebies have been worth it, free sub, free outdoor speakers etc.
The thing I really like is that in my order history they link the pdf manuals for every item that I've purchased. Never have to dig anything out just log in to Crutchfield.
Thanks Jerry. Do you think it's worth swapping my current DB522's in the pods for the DB652's?
I use the foam pods, and they work just fine. Don't bother with 6.50" in the rear. Your ears are literally 6" from the speaker. You'll end up fading them down anyways. Polyfill in the pods does help.
Not sure, really. I believe I tried to use those but felt they were too flimsy.
I used the foam pods in the front as well - plus cut a 1/2" port in the back (wires go through it.) I also put foam "speaker rings" on the frontside to direct the sound through the grille and not into the inside of the dash. I can't tell you the A/B difference between the foam pods and none as I put them in at the time of speaker install - BUT - I can tell you the rings did make a difference. So much so, that I actually biased the fader control to the rear by another notch.
The plastic brackets where easier to fit for me. Easier to cut the plastic a bit than the metal behind the dash. That is my exact setup.
Brackets are required for the front, and you should go with the biggest speaker you can get in there. 6.5 vs 5.25 is a huge difference (50% more surface area) in the low end frequency you can achieve. It will NOT be louder - it will simply give you better sound. So if you can put a 6.5 in the rear, do so. If you can figure out how to put 6.5 in the front, do it there to, but expect it to be a PITA.
Easiest option is 5.25 all around - adapters are available and no modifying. 6.5 in the back is an easy mod, and well worth the upgrade - nothing to do with distance to your ear, all about frequency response - 5.25 simply don't play very low (6.5 don't either, but substantially lower than 5.25). Add a 10" powered sub in your console to fill out the music.
Pods are interesting, but not required. A pod will certainly improve the sound of the 5.25 as it will turn the speaker from a free air to a sealed box, which will make the speaker more accurate and less muddy. Foam pods will have some of the same effect, but not all as the "sealed box" is now flexible.
I like the Polks myself, but that is a matter of personal preference - go to a store and listen to different brands. They won't sound like that in your car, but the bright ones will still be brighter than the others, etc.
Lastly, get an amplifier. The factory head unit is grossly underpowered. Most amplifiers these days have high level inputs but check anyway to be sure. 4x50 is more than sufficient for most people, but if you can find the space, 4x100 or even 4x150 is better if you run with the roof off. Do NOT worry about matching the speaker rating to the amplifier - just make sure the amplifier is higher than the speaker. I know, that sounds counterintuitive, but it is all a matter of providing clean (unclipped) power to the speakers. It is highly unusual to blow a speaker by over-powering it.
d-
Easiest option is 5.25 all around - adapters are available and no modifying. 6.5 in the back is an easy mod, and well worth the upgrade - nothing to do with distance to your ear, all about frequency response - 5.25 simply don't play very low (6.5 don't either, but substantially lower than 5.25). Add a 10" powered sub in your console to fill out the music.
Pods are interesting, but not required. A pod will certainly improve the sound of the 5.25 as it will turn the speaker from a free air to a sealed box, which will make the speaker more accurate and less muddy. Foam pods will have some of the same effect, but not all as the "sealed box" is now flexible.
I like the Polks myself, but that is a matter of personal preference - go to a store and listen to different brands. They won't sound like that in your car, but the bright ones will still be brighter than the others, etc.
Lastly, get an amplifier. The factory head unit is grossly underpowered. Most amplifiers these days have high level inputs but check anyway to be sure. 4x50 is more than sufficient for most people, but if you can find the space, 4x100 or even 4x150 is better if you run with the roof off. Do NOT worry about matching the speaker rating to the amplifier - just make sure the amplifier is higher than the speaker. I know, that sounds counterintuitive, but it is all a matter of providing clean (unclipped) power to the speakers. It is highly unusual to blow a speaker by over-powering it.
d-
Photocycler
Member
Curious if anyone was able to find an adapter for the later model TJs where the 6 1/2 doesn’t screw in? I’m sure they can be made but also thinking someone may have found something off the shelf that would work.
Darsmith
TJ Enthusiast
If you have access to a 3D printer you can print the front speaker pods yourself. The .stl files are on Thingiverse. I was thinking about DB652s in the rear but realized that I'm using a system crossover frequency that would not take advantage of the lower response of the 652s. The frequency response of the 522s is already below my crossover frequency. So if you are using the active crossover function of your head unit it may not make any difference whether you install 522s or 652s.
Darsmith
TJ Enthusiast
I personally installed Polk DB522s in 3D printed pods up front, 522s in the rear with polyfill, a Kicker 6.75 in the console with a Kicker 200 watt amp, and 1" tweeters mounted on the overhead rail up front that my radios mount to. I did have to pad the tweeters with10 ohm series resistors to balance the high end to my liking. I used the active crossover settings in my head unit to get the system response I prefer.
You probably don't need them. I used Polk 6.5" in my rear.
I used a dremel to cut out the recessed portion of the pod, which then left me a flat panel into which I could mount my speakers. Since a screw into thin plastic doesn't get it done, I then used small spring nuts behind each hole to make sure I had a solid connection. I also used polyfill to cut down on some of the boominess (cut open an old foam pillow if you need to).
The front I used the mounting plates that have been linked above, but I do think they'd benefit from some sort (foam or otherwise) enclosure.
Doug
I also put a 10" Powered Sub in my center console. Had to cut the bottom of the coin tray at the top, but it is pretty darn nice to have real bass....
d-
d-
That depends on if it's the sound bar or speaker pods that came along in 2003. With 2002 and older 6.5" speakers drop right in with no modifications needed.
Nice, I had always heard this, but didn't know it was a pre-03 thing.
Looks like an easier way to do what @89grand did: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/this-is-why-your-dash-speakers-suck.21058/
It is definitely a more out of the box/plug-and-play concept. The plastic box serves to both act as a wave barrier and also as a sealed box. The foam barrier only blocks the wave, but is not rigid enough to be a sealed box.
I'll probably go with the sound deadening since it is cheaper and more useful around other parts of the vehicle as well. Good sound isn't a matter of the speakers so much as the environment in which it is operating.
Doug