Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

[Moab]

Looking to finally getting around to upgrade my system. I did already replace the speakers in the sound bar and now my sub is blown so now is the time. Just wondering the difference between these two speaker pods, one is $8.00 the other is $80.00. I am no speaker guy by any means so bear with me, one looks a little more of a complete kit


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N4C34JG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T1AB28Y/?tag=wranglerorg-20

The $8 one is fine IMHO. I'm no audiophile. But I and many others have used the $8 ones. I doubt you would get 80 dollars worth of improvement using the other ones.

 

[112dB]

Looking to finally getting around to upgrade my system. I did already replace the speakers in the sound bar and now my sub is blown so now is the time. Just wondering the difference between these two speaker pods, one is $8.00 the other is $80.00. I am no speaker guy by any means so bear with me, one looks a little more of a complete kit


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N4C34JG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T1AB28Y/?tag=wranglerorg-20

the cheaper one is just a foam ‘hat’. The more expensive one is an actual pod made of hard ABS-like material.

the pods are actual enclosures (although mine leak a bit through the screw holes).
The hats are used to protect the back of speakers from the rain that may leak in around a window when speakers are mounted in a door.

neither of these is ideal for our application.

most car audio speakers are designed to be mounted in car doors. The door acts as the enclosure. But most doors are so leaky that they work like an infinite baffle (you may want to google that term). Speakers need enclosures to separate the sound waves that come off the front of the speaker from being interfered with by the sound waves that are coming off the back of the speaker. This is why when you put power to a speaker that isn’t mounted to anything, it sounds ‘tinny’. The waves of the lower frequencies are cancelling each other out.
So, car doors are used to act as an enclosure of sorts. But we don’t mount our speakers in the doors of our jeeps and that’s the problem.
I have a Sahara model. It came with small pods with small speakers in them. These pods are necessary because the dash of the Jeep is open to the passenger compartment. There’s no ‘real’ separation between the front and rear sound waves when speakers are mounted in the stock locations on speaker adapters.
Some people have had a but of success by trying to seal off the stock speaker locations to create an enclosure of sorts. I’ve heard of others having success with stuffing polyfill in behind the back of the dash speakers.
The expensive pods act as true enclosures. The problem being that most speakers are designed to perform optimally in larger, leaky enclosures about the size of a car door. The cheaper hats will also act as an enclosure. In a car door application this is not good, as you are not giving the speakers all the volume they need. ( If you are putting speskers in a car and want to protect them from the elements, cut the bottom half of the ‘hat’ away, leaving the ‘brim’. This will keep water from dripping on them but still give them access to all the air they need.)
But do these cheap hats work better than no enclosure at all? I suspect they do. I am using the plastic pods, but considered using the hats instead. You may want to start with the hats and see if you get the performance you want. Unfortunately, the TJ is a very challenging audio environment.

 

[Tzerambo]

Hey

I've installed several car stereo systems with multiple amps over my lifetime.
Due to the lack of space in a TJ, I went a little different route this time. I installed a high powered head unit, the Sony MEX-M100BT. It has 40 watts RMS per channel (100 peak), as compared to most head units that are around 18-22 watts RMS per channel. The Sony unit is marine rated and it eliminated the need for an amp for the four regular speakers.

Eliminating the need for an amp for the regular speakers let me use the existing factory wires going to the speakers. Installing a 5 channel amp as suggested above will require either running new speaker wires all the way, or splicing in wires from the amp to the existing speaker wires. The speakers I am using are Polk DB462s in the front, and Polk DB525s in the rear.

I mounted a Kicker 200.1 amp under the steering column and Kicker 6.75 sub upgrade to the factory sub box between the seats.

View attachment 140151

The volume scale goes from 1 to 50. Driving highway speed with the top off, I can hear the radio clearly & feel the bass with the volume at 30 - 35.

I was wondering what els did you buy with the head unit to make it fit? Does the Sony mex m100bt fit in the tj? Because right now I have an adapter for my current alpine head unit but I’m thinking about getting the more power Sony one that you recommended. I already have a adapter for my current head that I connect the wires to the head unit from the speaker factory wires. I guess I can just undo what I have connected to my current head unit and just hook the adapter up to the Sony. How did you get your Sony unit to work?

 

[gdwindowpane]

So I wired up the Rockville SS8P tonight. Roughed it in to make sure it works and nothing. No power. I have it grounded to the rear seat belt mount in the middle of the floor. Cleaned up the bolt real well but maybe that's the problem, it's just not a good spot for a ground. Where else would be a good ground? I have it temporarily installed under the rear seat as I couldn't get it to fit under the driver's seat. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[GaTechTJ]

Hey

I was wondering what els did you buy with the head unit to make it fit? Does the Sony mex m100bt fit in the tj? Because right now I have an adapter for my current alpine head unit but I’m thinking about getting the more power Sony one that you recommended. I already have a adapter for my current head that I connect the wires to the head unit from the speaker factory wires. I guess I can just undo what I have connected to my current head unit and just hook the adapter up to the Sony. How did you get your Sony unit to work?

I would think your current adapter would work for mounting the Sony. The only thing that was a little different on it compared to other head units is that it needs a power wire that provides at least 15 amps. (This is because the amplifier is built in to the head unit, so it will need more power than a regular head unit.) I ran this directly from the battery. That should be the only difference from your Alpine unit. Here is the wiring diagram.

 

[Tzerambo]

I would think your current adapter would work for mounting the Sony. The only thing that was a little different on it compared to other head units is that it needs a power wire that provides at least 15 amps. (This is because the amplifier is built in to the head unit, so it will need more power than a regular head unit.) I ran this directly from the battery. That should be the only difference from your Alpine unit. Here is the wiring diagram.
View attachment 141344View attachment 141343

Yeah I’ve been watching videos on it that I will need to run that wire to the battery because of the built in amp. Where did you run the wire through at to get to the battery?

 

[Ephry73]

If you get the enclosure, please, please make sure to use some type of dynomat material and polyfill. You will definitely get the most of the investment.

E

 

[GaTechTJ]

Yeah I’ve been watching videos on it that I will need to run that wire to the battery because of the built in amp. Where did you run the wire through at to get to the battery?

PO had run a wire through one of the grommets in the firewall. I just reused the hole he had already made. This is on the driver's side to the left of the clutch peddle, in the corner.

 

[skrelnik]

Looking to finally getting around to upgrade my system. I did already replace the speakers in the sound bar and now my sub is blown so now is the time. Just wondering the difference between these two speaker pods, one is $8.00 the other is $80.00. I am no speaker guy by any means so bear with me, one looks a little more of a complete kit


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N4C34JG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T1AB28Y/?tag=wranglerorg-20

While I have not,

The $8 one is fine IMHO. I'm no audiophile. But I and many others have used the $8 ones. I doubt you would get 80 dollars worth of improvement using the other ones.

Agreed. The $8 boom mat will serve the purpose. There is no reason to drop $80 on the weakest link/speaker in the system. That speaker is pointing towards your knee. The best upgrade is to relocate the tweeter to the a-pillars, or to the top of the dash, so it points at your face/ears.

I would rather spend that $80 on a decent set of 5.25" and 1" component speakers with a crossover. Buy some tweeter pods and the sound quality will drastically improve.

A speaker set like this, not the cheapest, but an entry level speaker system from a great brand.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_45418_Morel-Maximo-5.html
Then a tweeter pod like mine or dash mounted. You can even find people to make 3D printed tweeter pods.

 

[Ephry73]

While I have not,

Agreed. The $8 boom mat will serve the purpose. There is no reason to drop $80 on the weakest link/speaker in the system. That speaker is pointing towards your knee. The best upgrade is to relocate the tweeter to the a-pillars, or to the top of the dash, so it points at your face/ears.

I would rather spend that $80 on a decent set of 5.25" and 1" component speakers with a crossover. Buy some tweeter pods and the sound quality will drastically improve.

A speaker set like this, not the cheapest, but an entry level speaker system from a great brand.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_45418_Morel-Maximo-5.html
Then a tweeter pod like mine or dash mounted. You can even find people to make 3D printed tweeter pods.

View attachment 142336View attachment 142337

That's how the JKU had the speakers routed. I upgraded both my factory tweeters and dash speakers and added a crossover and the sound difference was amazing. The factory pods were filled with polyfill and dynomatted as well as the overhead enclosure and upgraded speakers. The clarity of sound coming from the better tweeters was a great improvement, as well as the fact that they sit right in front of you. That is key.

In my current setup the PO mounted tweeters on the overhead bar as well as some decent mids (overhead bar has four speakers and two tweeters as I bought the vehicle) and this is not bad the way the system is routed. I hear nice crisp and clear sound coming from above(as clear as a soft top going 75 mph down the HWY will let me that is), but ideally these will reside in front at head level or close to that.

 

[skrelnik]

That's how the JKU had the speakers routed. I upgraded both my factory tweeters and dash speakers and added a crossover and the sound difference was amazing. The factory pods were filled with polyfill and dynomatted as well as the overhead enclosure and upgraded speakers. The clarity of sound coming from the better tweeters was a great improvement, as well as the fact that they sit right in front of you. That is key.

In my current setup the PO mounted tweeters on the overhead bar as well as some decent mids (overhead bar has four speakers and two tweeters as I bought the vehicle) and this is not bad the way the system is routed. I hear nice crisp and clear sound coming from above(as clear as a soft top going 75 mph down the HWY will let me that is), but ideally these will reside in front at head level or close to that.

Yes, it is a great improvement that anyone asking how to upgrade your audio should do. It is the single best improvement you can make.

I also had tweeters mounted in my overhead pods but I since removed them and just using the a-pillars mounted ones. My audio is relatively nearly perfect, for our Jeep of course.

 

[Tzerambo]

PO had run a wire through one of the grommets in the firewall. I just reused the hole he had already made. This is on the driver's side to the left of the clutch peddle, in the corner.
View attachment 141980

Ok cool.

 

[Thunder Mass]

It is indeed. It just requires some minor trimming with a dremel tool, which will be very obvious once you look at it.

Could you give me a little more info on the required trimming? It looks like the sub will fit in the opening, even measuring it it's the right size. But dropping it in, it kinda wobbles a bit. Not too worried, since I feel I can just drill it on place. But, I'd rather not. Just dremel the opening of the box a little, and it fits? Or something else?

Then I gotta tear out my radio, and see about wiring it in. I thought I could use the harness; guess not.

Been trying to get the 6.5" speakers to work in the back, but it's not going well. Nothing that looks good, or instills confidence it'll hold without vibrating. Might need to go back to 5.25" speakers in the rear as well.

 

[Chris]

Could you give me a little more info on the required trimming? It looks like the sub will fit in the opening, even measuring it it's the right size. But dropping it in, it kinda wobbles a bit. Not too worried, since I feel I can just drill it on place. But, I'd rather not. Just dremel the opening of the box a little, and it fits? Or something else?

Then I gotta tear out my radio, and see about wiring it in. I thought I could use the harness; guess not.

Been trying to get the 6.5" speakers to work in the back, but it's not going well. Nothing that looks good, or instills confidence it'll hold without vibrating. Might need to go back to 5.25" speakers in the rear as well.

Honestly, I was a bit sloppy with the trimming. Even after the trimming it didn't fit perfect, but it fit close enough, sounded excellent, and didn't give me any issues.

I had to dremel what was inside of the box to get the sub to sit in there. I can't remember since it's been so long, but I believe it's almost like a honeycomb of plastic inside of there.

 

[Thunder Mass]

Honestly, I was a bit sloppy with the trimming. Even after the trimming it didn't fit perfect, but it fit close enough, sounded excellent, and didn't give me any issues.

I had to dremel what was inside of the box to get the sub to sit in there. I can't remember since it's been so long, but I believe it's almost like a honeycomb of plastic inside of there.

So, it wasn't as much that the hole wasn't big enough, more that there's all that extra plastic inside? And just dremel it out so the bass can drop all the way in? I'd rather do that than make the hole wider; that's harder to stay consistent. Thanks.

 

[Chris]

So, it wasn't as much that the hole wasn't big enough, more that there's all that extra plastic inside? And just dremel it out so the bass can drop all the way in? I'd rather do that than make the hole wider; that's harder to stay consistent. Thanks.

Yes, that's exactly what it is. The sub won't fit all the way in depth wise because there's a bunch of plastic bullcrap inside of there that has to be removed. All you have to do is dremel it out and the sub will fit in almost perfectly. It's probably one of the easiest things you'll do, I promise.

You don't have to make the hole wider.

 

[Thunder Mass]

Yes, that's exactly what it is. The sub won't fit all the way in depth wise because there's a bunch of plastic bullcrap inside of there that has to be removed. All you have to do is dremel it out and the sub will fit in almost perfectly. It's probably one of the easiest things you'll do, I promise.

You don't have to make the hole wider.

Excellent, that makes this part a lot easier. Thanks.

 

[Chris]

Excellent, that makes this part a lot easier. Thanks.

No problem

 

[Willys LJ]

Been trying to get the 6.5" speakers to work in the back, but it's not going well. Nothing that looks good, or instills confidence it'll hold without vibrating. Might need to go back to 5.25" speakers in the rear as well.

When I put the 6.5" speakers in the rear pods in my '05, the Sony ones had holes in the outer ring that matched up with the original factory ones. But as the larger speakers wouldn't fit into the recess the old ones sat in, I used longer screws and the larger speakers fit on top of the recesses quite nicely. I used the grills that came with the new speakers.

 

[Thunder Mass]

When I put the 6.5" speakers in the rear pods in my '05, the Sony ones had holes in the outer ring that matched up with the original factory ones. But as the larger speakers wouldn't fit into the recess the old ones sat in, I used longer screws and the larger speakers fit on top of the recesses quite nicely. I used the grills that came with the new speakers.

Unfortunately, none of the holes in the new speaker are fitting with any of the already existing holes in my pods. All I have are the grills, which are just too narrow, and some holes are ending up on the outside of the pod, some inside the recess. It's not going all that well.