Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

skrelnik said:
I always ask what you are looking to accomplish before making that kind of suggestion. Will you be amplifying these speakers and what do you want to budget for them.

The Kicker C and D series are fine plug and play replacement to use with the stock head unit. You can either get 5.25" all around, or get 5.25" for the front dash, and 6.5" for the overhead pods, which will fit.

Next brands up that I recommend are BLAM's Relax series and Audiotec Fischer's Match series, both are under a $100 for each pair for speakers. Then after that I would recommend Audiotec Fischer's next level up, Helix, but you would need an amplifier for that.

These are a great speaker that do not need to be amplified, can be driven off the head unit

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273557553743?campid=5337789113

https://www.ebay.com/itm/123080257637?campid=5337789113

As for components, well, you can create many awesome combinations, that will depend on the budget, but my favorite, and most bang for the buck audio upgrade for the TJ is changing the front set-up to components, and relocating the tweeters to the dash. It is great...but budget and time is needed.
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All speakers will be on amps. Budget is flexible. I'm going to replace my Kenwood KDC 258U with a better quality headunit with bluetooth not sure what yet. I will replace the sub in the center console that isn't hooked up (im guessing since PO put in the aftermarket HU). Either a 5 channel amp or a mono amp on the sub and a 4 channel on the mids. Speaker pods in the dash wrapped in sound deadening and poly fill and some poly in the sound bar.

I've seen your recommendations on the Match Helix stuff. Not 100% sold on those yet but for the price I just might try em out.

Was thinking about a midbass in the soundbar and components in the dash with the tweeters in the corners on top.

Do you know what the mounting depth for a subwoofer in the center console is?
 
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Does anybody have access to measure the mounting depth of the soundbar pods and the subwoofer location in the center console?
 
skrelnik said:
Sorry - I did not take a picture of that. Are you looking for anything specific to see? if it was June I would take it out and snap a picture for you, but it is way to cold to any Jeep work. I'm sure you know the feeling up in Minny.
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Just wanted to see what the dynamat looked like. You just press it in?

Don’t worry about the pic. Yes, I fully understand. I’m not turning on the garage heater either cause it’s just too cold out. Been assembling tires on beadlocks in my living room.

Was -23 on my drive in today.
 
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R3ID05TJ said:
All speakers will be on amps. Budget is flexible. I'm going to replace my Kenwood KDC 258U with a better quality headunit with bluetooth not sure what yet. I will replace the sub in the center console that isn't hooked up (im guessing since PO put in the aftermarket HU). Either a 5 channel amp or a mono amp on the sub and a 4 channel on the mids. Speaker pods in the dash wrapped in sound deadening and poly fill and some poly in the sound bar.

I've seen your recommendations on the Match Helix stuff. Not 100% sold on those yet but for the price I just might try em out.
Click to expand...

For that head unit, look for an upgraded Bluetooth, like 4.0, 4.2 or one with an aPTX chip for better streaming. My Kenwood has a Spotify App and Bluetooth via an aPTX chip. The difference is 100% noticeable. Stay away from Bluetooth 3.0 receivers.

Kenwood Excelon KMM-X704 has Bluetooth 4.2 if you can locate one for sale from a non-shady vendor.

I highly recommend a 5 channel over a mono amp and a 4 channel. The main reason is that wiring two amps is not the best in our TJ. It;s a lot simpler and cleaner to install a 5 channel amp under the steering column - no worries about water damage if the amp is on the floor, and theft is also controlled since the amp is out of sight.

Match is designed for Plug and Play replacements, so if you were to buy one of their amps, they have a harness that connect to the factory TJ head unit. They are just that creative and care about the consumer. Here is a picture of what I used to have in the TJ but sold on the forums.

1613411341667.png


(1) SOLD - Audio equipment - Wrangler clean out | Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum

R3ID05TJ said:
Was thinking about a midbass in the soundbar and components in the dash with the tweeters in the corners on top.

Do you know what the mounting depth for a subwoofer in the center console is?
Click to expand...

I like that idea, but I did try that out with only midbass in the soundbar. It was not as good as just using 6.5" components because that tweeter supplies some rear fill. What you want to do is turn down the overhead's volume/DB relative to the front speakers so they do not overshadow tweeters up front.

the mounting depth is not that deep, I will say to use the Kicker 6.75" as a perfect fit. I currently have an 8" Ground Zero subwoofer, but I had a custom box made for the inside of my Tuffy console. That Kicker is really good though.

R3ID05TJ said:
Does anybody have access to measure the mounting depth of the soundbar pods and the subwoofer location in the center console?
Click to expand...

This is from an older post, but these were the midwoofers I had installed in the overhead pods, so you can see the specs that actually fit.

1613411747517.png
 
Apparition said:
Just wanted to see what the dynamat looked like. You just press it in?

Don’t worry about the pic. Yes, I fully understand. I’m not turning on the garage heater either cause it’s just too cold out. Been assembling tires on beadlocks in my living room.

Was -23 on my drive in today.
Click to expand...

Holy cow, negative 23. Not that bad hear, but I did have to break out my log splitter (old school one) to crack some ice on the steps.

Yes, I just pressed in the material and used a small roller to press it. A few kitchen utensils could be used to press it in as well, or anything odd like that.

Tires on beadlocks in living room :) - My wife would go nuts if I tried that.
 
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skrelnik said:
Holy cow, negative 23. Not that bad hear, but I did have to break out my log splitter (old school one) to crack some ice on the steps.

Yes, I just pressed in the material and used a small roller to press it. A few kitchen utensils could be used to press it in as well, or anything odd like that.

Tires on beadlocks in living room :) - My wife would go nuts if I tried that.
Click to expand...
I bought the rollers just haven’t started on it.

My gf helped me when I needed a hand. ;)
 
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I did not put any of the dynamat inside the pod. I only put it between the pod and the speaker.
 
skrelnik said:
For that head unit, look for an upgraded Bluetooth, like 4.0, 4.2 or one with an aPTX chip for better streaming. My Kenwood has a Spotify App and Bluetooth via an aPTX chip. The difference is 100% noticeable. Stay away from Bluetooth 3.0 receivers.

Kenwood Excelon KMM-X704 has Bluetooth 4.2 if you can locate one for sale from a non-shady vendor.

I highly recommend a 5 channel over a mono amp and a 4 channel. The main reason is that wiring two amps is not the best in our TJ. It;s a lot simpler and cleaner to install a 5 channel amp under the steering column - no worries about water damage if the amp is on the floor, and theft is also controlled since the amp is out of sight.

Match is designed for Plug and Play replacements, so if you were to buy one of their amps, they have a harness that connect to the factory TJ head unit. They are just that creative and care about the consumer. Here is a picture of what I used to have in the TJ but sold on the forums.

View attachment 226544

(1) SOLD - Audio equipment - Wrangler clean out | Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum



I like that idea, but I did try that out with only midbass in the soundbar. It was not as good as just using 6.5" components because that tweeter supplies some rear fill. What you want to do is turn down the overhead's volume/DB relative to the front speakers so they do not overshadow tweeters up front.

the mounting depth is not that deep, I will say to use the Kicker 6.75" as a perfect fit. I currently have an 8" Ground Zero subwoofer, but I had a custom box made for the inside of my Tuffy console. That Kicker is really good though.



This is from an older post, but these were the midwoofers I had installed in the overhead pods, so you can see the specs that actually fit.

View attachment 226546
Click to expand...

Good info on the bluetooth versions. Thanks for that. Good prices on that Kenwood unit. I don't even need/want a cd player, can be a media player for all I care. But then I start asking myself, do I want android auto?

Where did you put the tweeters from the components in the soundpods? Or did you mean coax's?

2 5/8" depth on those P236's

There's gotta be other/better options than the Kicker subwoofer. I like matching audio equipment as much as possible. Trying to find the same family of 6.5's, 5.25's and a 6.5 subwoofer is difficult. Kicker has a couple 5 channel amp options as well as the full family of 5.25 and 6.5's.

The mounting depth of that Kicker CompRT 6.75 is 2 3/4"
 
AFF said:
I did not put any of the dynamat inside the pod. I only put it between the pod and the speaker.
Click to expand...

The pods are quite stout, so you can go either way for this application.
R3ID05TJ said:
Good info on the bluetooth versions. Thanks for that. Good prices on that Kenwood unit. I don't even need/want a cd player, can be a media player for all I care. But then I start asking myself, do I want android auto?

Where did you put the tweeters from the components in the soundpods? Or did you mean coax's?

2 5/8" depth on those P236's

There's gotta be other/better options than the Kicker subwoofer. I like matching audio equipment as much as possible. Trying to find the same family of 6.5's, 5.25's and a 6.5 subwoofer is difficult. Kicker has a couple 5 channel amp options as well as the full family of 5.25 and 6.5's.

The mounting depth of that Kicker CompRT 6.75 is 2 3/4"
Click to expand...

I hear you on the CD player, I rarely use mine anymore because of the streaming. With BT 3.0 I would be more inclined to play CDs.

Android Auto, it's a cool function, cost is expensive, and while I do have it in my other car, I do not use it all the time so the relative value is not there for me. Another person is another story, if I frequently used it I would pay for it. Voice to text is really cool, but again, I don't really use it. If you would, then by all means android auto could be for you.

Sorry, the sound bar speakers are coaxial. The front dash speakers are components, with the tweeters either on the dash or a-pillar trim, with their own aftermarket pods. This was easily my favorite audio upgrade. Lots of good 5.25" component sets out there. This is what that I really liked, and used to have the older version. This is an example.

https://audiointensity.com/products/helix-p52c-5-25-2-way-component-speaker-system
You can go for Kicker speakers all around, they do make them. Personally I would stick with the Kicker sub, grab a 5 channel amp, and some inexpensive 6.5" and more expensive 5.25" component with the proper dash pods.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20647KSS50/Kicker-47KSS504.html
High quality custom made dash pods from this company. They also sell through eBay, but you can sort/filter to see options.

https://www.pods-tweeters-midrange.com/
 
R3ID05TJ said:
(2) KICKER CSC65 (43CSC65) 6.5" Car Speakers+ (2) 43CSC54 5.25" Car Speakers

$143.92​


Kicker CXA600.5 Amplifier (43CXA6005) Ships as 46CXA6605

$309.96​


Kicker CompRT CWRT672​

Click to expand...

I like that setup. All good. The only issues I see is the subwoofer and physical size of amp. You would want the 1 ohm version subwoofer (CWRT671) then wire in series, to draw 2 ohms. The amp you posted is rated 2 ohms and 300 watts.

The amp is 14" long, so that could be a tight fit. The Cerwin Vega B55 is about 4" shorter, same price range and power. Just a thought.

Don't forget an amplifier install kit.
 
You're looking at the Kicker 660.5.

the 600.5 • Dimensions: 7-3/16"W x 12-7/16"L x 2-3/8"H



Skar Audio also has the full family of sizes for the TJ.
 
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I really like that Kenwood Excelon KMM-X704 you mentioned. Packed with tons of features. Excelon quality. Amazon Alexa. BT 4.2. 5v preouts. HD tuner. Way more audio controls than a normal person needs. $130 seems like a smokin good price.
 
R3ID05TJ said:
I really like that Kenwood Excelon KMM-X704 you mentioned. Packed with tons of features. Excelon quality. Amazon Alexa. BT 4.2. 5v preouts. HD tuner. Way more audio controls than a normal person needs. $130 seems like a smokin good price.
Click to expand...

Agreed - see if you can find one online. Kenwood's Excelon 700 series is damn good.
 
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