Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

Thunder Mass, I ran into the same problem, when installing a complete sound system in my 2000 TJ.
What I did, was made a custom bracket to accommodate the original holes, and used that same bracket, for the speaker, the depth of the new bracket was enough, I did nut have to trim anything. I can send a few finished pics if you would like.
 
Musicman said:
Thunder Mass, I ran into the same problem, when installing a complete sound system in my 2000 TJ.
What I did, was made a custom bracket to accommodate the original holes, and used that same bracket, for the speaker, the depth of the new bracket was enough, I did nut have to trim anything. I can send a few finished pics if you would like.
Click to expand...

Sure, pics would be great.
 
I'm not getting the bass to work. I've been trying to wire it in directly into the back of the stereo, and I'm not getting any sound at all. Honestly thinking I might go without; my bass has been shot for so long, dunno if I'll miss it. But I still wanna try it, so any info on what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it would be great. I haven't continued working on getting it to fit in the stock location, since I'm not getting any sound.
 
Thunder Mass said:
I'm not getting the bass to work. I've been trying to wire it in directly into the back of the stereo, and I'm not getting any sound at all. Honestly thinking I might go without; my bass has been shot for so long, dunno if I'll miss it. But I still wanna try it, so any info on what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it would be great. I haven't continued working on getting it to fit in the stock location, since I'm not getting any sound.
Click to expand...

Is the speaker wired properly? Start from the beginning, what do you have:

Head unit:
Amplifier:
Speakers:

How is it all wired/connected? Did you wire yourself, it did you receive harnesses from where you bought the equipment?
 
For my sound system I upgraded the head unit, also upgraded the two dash speakers to Kickers and added a amp and a 12” Kicker subwoofer with a custom box in the rear. Amp is mounted on backside of subwoofer box in a recessed hole. I haven’t got around to upgrading the sound bar speakers yet, just because the quality they put out is enough for me. But down the line that is just another bullet point on the list of upgrades!
79A1C514-06BE-4476-9D5E-77778F05E1E4.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik
skrelnik said:
Is the speaker wired properly? Start from the beginning, what do you have:

Head unit:
Amplifier:
Speakers:

How is it all wired/connected? Did you wire yourself, it did you receive harnesses from where you bought the equipment?
Click to expand...


It had a pioneer head unit and amp before, and aftermarket speakers, as well as the factory sub. Since then, I had a local shop put in a new Sony head unit, and amp. There were issues, they put in a large 4 channel amp under the seat, but I didn't want it there. Now it's a smaller, 2 channel marine amp.

Looks like they put all 4 speakers (minus the bass) into two of the channels on the amp. Kinda weird the 4 speakers are wired from the wiring harness and 2 of the RCA connections on the head unit. I don't get it, but it works.

But, when I plug the bass in, I get nothing. I've tried attaching it via the RCA connections directly off of the head unit, tried directly off of the amp, and tried off of the old OEM amp. No sound.

amp.png


sony.png
 
Thunder Mass said:
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.
Click to expand...

I see you replied about this subject in a later post. But honestly I don't know how much of a difference it will make. Because they are so close to your ears anyway. It just seems like speakers that close to your head (less than 6 inches? IDK. I'm 6'3".) would not sound that different between a 5.25 speaker and a 6.5. But I'm no audiophile either. So don't listen to me. lol. I have heard that the 6.5's have more bass. But I don't recall where.

Hell I'm happy with four 5.25 Polks and a hundred dollar Kenwood head unit. And it sounds good enough for me. But I can see why guys try to get better sound. I love a good stereo as much as anyone. But with all the soft top and road noise it just seems like to much more is going beyond the point of diminishing returns.

Having said that. Where did you get that bitchin sub box?! That is cool as hell.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ephry73
moab said:
I see you replied about this subject in a later post. But honestly I don't know how much of a difference it will make. Because they are so close to your ears anyway. It just seems like speakers that close to your head (less than 6 inches? IDK. I'm 6'3".) would not sound that different between a 5.25 speaker and a 6.5. But I'm no audiophile either. So don't listen to me. lol. I have heard that the 6.5's have more bass. But I don't recall where.

Hell I'm happy with four 5.25 Polks and a hundred dollar Kenwood head unit. And it sounds good enough for me. But I can see why guys try to get better sound. I love a good stereo as much as anyone. But with all the soft top and road noise it just seems like to much more is going beyond the point of diminishing returns.

Having said that. Where did you get that bitchin sub box?! That is cool as hell.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm just a sucker for upgrades. I think I'll end up going back to 5.25 speakers up top, too.

I think you mean Waggs box; that ain't mine.
 
Here's how it looks at the moment. It works, except for the bass. Not sure what I should be doing different.

jeep stereo wharehouse 2.jpg
 
Last edited:
@Thunder Mass That wiring makes no sense. is your amp running off the High input or the low RCS input?
if its running off the low then why have they only plugged in the the front left and front right channel?
if its running off the high input then why have they plugged in the font rca channel at all?
 
Thunder Mass said:
I'm not getting the bass to work. I've been trying to wire it in directly into the back of the stereo, and I'm not getting any sound at all. Honestly thinking I might go without; my bass has been shot for so long, dunno if I'll miss it. But I still wanna try it, so any info on what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it would be great. I haven't continued working on getting it to fit in the stock location, since I'm not getting any sound.
Click to expand...
when you say bass are you talking about your sub woofer? do you have an active sub or passive, if its active (with its own built in amp then you can just plug it into the sub channel on your headunit. if its passive then you will need a d-class amp for it.
 
Thunder Mass said:
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.
Click to expand...
Do you have to put on 6.5" speaker back there? Some Polk Punch 5.25", or alike will sound great if driven off a small amp and are also very good weather resisting speakers.
 
Waggs said:
For my sound system I upgraded the head unit, also upgraded the two dash speakers to Kickers and added a amp and a 12” Kicker subwoofer with a custom box in the rear. Amp is mounted on backside of subwoofer box in a recessed hole. I haven’t got around to upgrading the sound bar speakers yet, just because the quality they put out is enough for me. But down the line that is just another bullet point on the list of upgrades!View attachment 149982
Click to expand...

Great upgrade there! I recently added a box as well and it really completes the sound. I sound like a broken record, but the single best upgrade I have made was relocating the tweeters to the a pillar trim, you should look into that, it's awesome.
 
Reign Mack said:
@Thunder Mass That wiring makes no sense. is your amp running off the High input or the low RCS input?
if its running off the low then why have they only plugged in the the front left and front right channel?
if its running off the high input then why have they plugged in the font rca channel at all?
Click to expand...

Agreed, this wiring is messed up. Looks like the RCA outputs from the head unit are spliced into speaker level inputs heading into the amplifier. Why? Just send the signal from the head unit to the amp via the high level outputs.

Thunder Mass said:
It had a pioneer head unit and amp before, and aftermarket speakers, as well as the factory sub. Since then, I had a local shop put in a new Sony head unit, and amp. There were issues, they put in a large 4 channel amp under the seat, but I didn't want it there. Now it's a smaller, 2 channel marine amp.

Looks like they put all 4 speakers (minus the bass) into two of the channels on the amp. Kinda weird the 4 speakers are wired from the wiring harness and 2 of the RCA connections on the head unit. I don't get it, but it works.

But, when I plug the bass in, I get nothing. I've tried attaching it via the RCA connections directly off of the head unit, tried directly off of the amp, and tried off of the old OEM amp. No sound.

View attachment 149990

View attachment 149991
Click to expand...


We really need to understand the full set-up. It sounds like you have a Frankenstein set-up and you may want to start from scratch. Maybe get a four or five channel amplifier and reconnect properly.

How are the speakers wired to the amp?
 
skrelnik said:
Great upgrade there! I recently added a box as well and it really completes the sound. I sound like a broken record, but the single best upgrade I have made was relocating the tweeters to the a pillar trim, you should look into that, it's awesome.
Click to expand...


Thats a great thought! Thanks for the input! Maybe I’ll add some A pillar mounted tweeters along with the dash ones I currently have, just to really make it sound great. And you’re right a sub with a box really does complete the sound. This is the second box and 12” sub I’ve had. However this custom fit box is way better. My first box and sub were stolen right out of my Jeep outside of a hotel. I was not too happy about that. Bought this one a week later and also installed two cross bar mounts that go above the sub to lock it in, to prevent someone from stealing this one. They aren’t shown in the picture because I don’t use them when I have my hard top on, only the soft top.
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik
Waggs said:
Thats a great thought! Thanks for the input! Maybe I’ll add some A pillar mounted tweeters along with the dash ones I currently have, just to really make it sound great. And you’re right a sub with a box really does complete the sound. This is the second box and 12” sub I’ve had. However this custom fit box is way better. My first box and sub were stolen right out of my Jeep outside of a hotel. I was not too happy about that. Bought this one a week later and also installed two cross bar mounts that go above the sub to lock it in, to prevent someone from stealing this one. They aren’t shown in the picture because I don’t use them when I have my hard top on, only the soft top.
Click to expand...

That is my fear as well, my box is loose in the back and houses two 10" woofers. There is a quick-connect harness so I can remove it at any time, so that is kind of helpful, but I do have theft concerns.

Great idea for the security cross bar mounts!

For the a-pillar, you can buy $20 in line tweeters or spend more money on a 5.25" 2 way set like these. Entry level from a high end brand.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_091RSE130/Focal-RSE-130.html
 
skrelnik said:
That is my fear as well, my box is loose in the back and houses two 10" woofers. There is a quick-connect harness so I can remove it at any time, so that is kind of helpful, but I do have theft concerns.

Great idea for the security cross bar mounts!

For the a-pillar, you can buy $20 in line tweeters or spend more money on a 5.25" 2 way set like these. Entry level from a high end brand.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_091RSE130/Focal-RSE-130.html
Click to expand...

After installing the cross bars I noticed that they also secured the box down to keep it from moving around while on trails.
Oh awesome! Thanks for the link, I’ll look into it more for sure!
 
Waggs said:
For my sound system I upgraded the head unit, also upgraded the two dash speakers to Kickers and added a amp and a 12” Kicker subwoofer with a custom box in the rear. Amp is mounted on backside of subwoofer box in a recessed hole. I haven’t got around to upgrading the sound bar speakers yet, just because the quality they put out is enough for me. But down the line that is just another bullet point on the list of upgrades!View attachment 149982
Click to expand...
where did you get the custom box? Do yo have any additional pictures?
 
Top Bottom
Back