I bought A Pioneer that was reasonably priced for the out put. I've been buying Pioneer products since the early 70's.
Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
But isn't that mandatory, if you own a Jeep ? I'm constantly upgrading stuff on my 2000 TJ
capnbackflip
Member
I have a set of polk audio dxi 461s in my LJ from the previous owner. I went to check out if the factory speakers were blown because it sounded so bad to me and I was surprised to see an aftermarket replacement already in. Seems like people really like Polk here, are they worth keeping and throwing in the front channel of my amplifier? Maybe they're older and partially blown, but I'm considering just upgrading to some infinity kappa 5.25s. Any thoughts?
Also brand new here! Hope I don't mess anything up too much and glad to meet you all.
Also brand new here! Hope I don't mess anything up too much and glad to meet you all.
Kappas are awesome!! That said, make sure the adapter brackets are not rubbing inside the dash panel. When I got the jeep I had the same feeling, and ordered the Polk DB461 in 4x6 for the front. Part of the metal frame was rubbing on the 5.25" Polks that the Po installed ages ago. Some of the rubber was not in the greatest condition, but the speakers looked great other than tons of dust caked on them. Once I trimmed the areas that were touching and added boom mat cups behind the speakers, the sound was night and day. No rubbing from the dash frame or padding and almost seems like I gained another 20db in sound
Welcome capnbackflip !! I've been happy with the Kicker speakers I have in both of my Jeeps, 5 1/2" to 12"
capnbackflip
Member
Good call! I figured some polyfill or another product behind the speakers would be my first move regardless. I have a pair of kappas I've been using in my home stereo for years and I love their sound so I'd love to put the same stuff in the jeep too.
capnbackflip
Member
Everything I've seen seems like 5 1/2" is a substantial difference from 4x6s and I think the transition might be smart.
Polyfill and some dynamat around the dash frame is my next call. The sound just gets lost in there.
Come back, audio upgrades are fun! What do you need, what's your fix, I got it all...Bass, treble, tweeters?
Polks are loved mainly because they fit with ease, and they are of good quality, and even have marine versions available. Like their 6.5" speakers run a little smaller than a typical 6.5" so they fit with ease into the overhead speaker pod.
Kappas are good, but what is driving them, the head unit or an amplifier? If just the head unit, you can also look into the Kicker 5.25"s.
capnbackflip
Member
I have a pioneer deh-x6600bt (also PO install) aftermarket head unit, and I have two front channels open on a US acoustics amplifier I could choose to run them through.
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I'm now thinking 5 channel amp to run the dash/pods, and sub. Follow that up with some matching speakers that are better than the Polks and match the increased horsepower. My HU is only driving them at 22 watts RMS, which for a 91db polk is about right.
I've used JL Audio in the past, but it's been years, so I'm not sure if that would be an upgrade or not.
I had the PS-8 in my car for a few years. I found it to be disappointing and I’ve been a Rockford fan for 25 years or so. More power will always be better and unless you get carried away it’s hard to have too much power as long as you set the gains right.
I’ve only had 1 kicker product -it’s the 6.75 sub I upgraded to in the factory console and I’m really impressed. Much more output than the ps-8 but I’m hitting it with more power.
As far as comparing sound, depth and distortion, the previous owner had Polk db401 units in the dash, and the sound is comparable to my current Polk DB461 units, not as rich though, if that makes sense. Better mid range for my listening. I will try a set of Reference 5.25" Infinitis I have to compare just to see what sounds better for me. Solid installation and base, while cancelling out any vibrations in the dash is one of the things I can highly recommend. With the Sony XA AVX3000 unit I have the 55w x 4 output is pretty decent all considering
capnbackflip
Member
Interesting, maybe it's my head unit or a bad install or something I'm not hearing right but I'm just really not enjoying the sound of the 461s. They seem very weak and there is too much distortion when the volume is above 70%. On the phone the other day I had to max out the volume to even hear the callers voice and it still sounded very rough.
Great! Now I'm on Crutchfield's website drooling over speakers! Thanks a lot @skrelnik, you enabler! Lol!
Instead I may just piggy back my sub amp with another 4 channel amp @ 50 watts RMS power output and pair up some speakers. Suggestions on 5.25" speakers that are better than the Polks? Want to steer clear of components just for simplicity.
Instead I may just piggy back my sub amp with another 4 channel amp @ 50 watts RMS power output and pair up some speakers. Suggestions on 5.25" speakers that are better than the Polks? Want to steer clear of components just for simplicity.
capnbackflip
Member
Decided if I was throwing polyfill in the front I might as well get some in the back, didn't see this coming.
capnbackflip
Member
It is a much better option to go 5 channel, less wiring and smaller footprint. Polks are great, and I don't think JL Audio would be an upgrade, closer to parallel, and in the Jeep, you can go more, but if you do you should plan it out, and build accordingly and not just buy parts...
The DIYMA classifieds are a great resource for used audio, obviously buyer beware.