Upgrading the sound system on your Jeep Wrangler TJ

Nice. Which ones did you get? Did you order from Incartec? I am more than likely going the same route here next few weeks. You guys and Chris have peer pressured me into BLAMS I guess. It was either BLAMS or Kickers or Hertz. I was going to get the kicker L7 in the shallow wedge sub box. Haven't decided on amps yet.

BLAM Relax 130RS 130mm (5.25inch) Hi-efficiency 2ohm, 2-Way Component speakers (PAIR) - (BL-130RS)
BLAM Relax 165RC 165mm (6.5inch) Hi-efficiency 2ohm, 2-Way Coaxial speakers (PAIR) - (BL-165RC)

I am running an Alpine Amp, so I am pretty sure 2ohm is ok, but actually go caught up and didn't even realize that.

I was just less than totally enthused with my other speakers/system thus far, so I am trying something else.

I live in downtown Toronto, so I am not leaving my soft top off, and I park in an underground lot (barely fit), so elements aren't really an issue for me.

P.S. yes I ordered Friday evening from In Car Tech and received confirmation of order on the Monday. Received yesterday from UK to Toronto even clearing customs.
 
Confirmed my Alpine amp (disc model MRV-V70) is rated for 2ohms, 90w x 4 @ 2ohms, + 250w x 1 @ 4ohms (my sub is 4, but it will do 350 into 2).
 
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Confirmed my Alpine amp (disc model MRV-V70) is rated for 2ohms, 90w x 4 @ 2ohms, + 250w x 1 @ 4ohms (my sub is 4, but it will do 350 into 2).

Actually a solid amplifier choice for the BLAMs. 90W RMS at 2ohms is great. The BLAM 130 RS has an inline crossover so when you wire them, you take one amplifier channel's signal wire, and before the tweeter's crossover, you splice the signal wire and send the signal directly to the 5.25" woofer while connecting the other end to the crossover and then to the tweeter. Your amplifier has a HP setting that you can utilize for channels 1/2, set HP Filter on and the crossover to around 250-300.

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The other option would be to buy the BLAM crossover from Incartec and then you have a traditional crossover and you would keep both HP filters off. There is no right or wrong way, user's preference.

https://incartec.co.uk/product/BLAM-BFR01-2-way-crossover
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I'm a bit confused by the first choice as explained. I am a former speaker/amp builder in hi-fi setting, so I understand filters. But wouldn't the amp's HP also filter the 5.25" woofer? 250hz seems a bit high for that.
I understand basically running the provided XO on the tweeter only in parallel with the woofer, but not the HP setting, or am I misunderstanding?
 
I'm a bit confused by the first choice as explained. I am a former speaker/amp builder in hi-fi setting, so I understand filters. But wouldn't the amp's HP also filter the 5.25" woofer? 250hz seems a bit high for that.
I understand basically running the provided XO on the tweeter only in parallel with the woofer, but not the HP setting, or am I misunderstanding?

The amp's HP would filter the signal for the 5.25" woofer and since you know what you are doing you can play around between 250 and 400. Your amp puts a 12db octave slope on the HP filter and per BLAM, these 5.25" will perform well into the 100hz range. BLAM says it can handle as low as 80Hz and have results to back-up that up. Some people may say not to use any filter at all, but I am more conservative and would rather have a safety on by utilizing the amp's filter.

https://www.blam-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/130RS-1.pdf
Let me know if I answered your question or not...
 
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OK, I get your advice now. Just thought I was missing something. With 2nd order HP, I would be inclined to run a 120hz HP from the amp together with the natural roll-off should be fine.

I am running a 10" Alpine sub, so I'll still likely HP the 6.5" around 80hz to take the low end demand off the woofer for cleaner output as well.

Thanks for the measurement sheet! That is the stuff I like. I might be inclined to built my own xo's if I am not lazy since I have a cabinet full of extra crossover parts from various projects and spare parts. Not hard to do. I'd like to see a LP on the 5.25" before that breakup and a steeper, maybe slightly lower HP on the tweeter.
 
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This is how I wired my Kicker 4-ohm Dual Voice Coil Sub. It’s wired in parallel. Do I just run the speaker wire from the sub to the Soundstream Picasso Nano 640D to the + and - terminals? Seems like the only option. Or do I have the wrong sub, and I need the 2-ohm version of this Kicker sub?

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Is it dual 2 or dual 4 ohm. You said 4 ohm dvc. So I'm assuming dual 4 ohm. If you wired it like that in parallel to the only + and - terminals for the 5th channel on that amp then you're running a 2 ohm load for 350w which is pretty good.
 
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Is it dual 2 or dual 4 ohm. You said 4 ohm dvc. So I'm assuming dual 4 ohm. If you wired it like that in parallel to the only + and - terminals for the 5th channel on that amp then you're running a 2 ohm load for 350w which is pretty good.

Ok, great. Yes, DVC 4-Ohm. I’m right where I want to be then. Thank you!
 
Question for the car audio guys. Say I want to run more than 4 channels not including subs. Currently I have a 5 channel amp that I run my 4 outputs to for fronts and rears. I'd like to be able to run 4 rears (2 in soundbar, 2 in wakeboard style pods). However I'd like to be able to turn the soundbar ones down maybe 1.5dbs relative to the wakeboard ones that will be a bit further away. Then I could use the rear level on the deck to control rear volume but the relative balance between the 4 speakers is already set.

There are 2 ways I can see achieving this. Get a 4 channel amp that can take two channels and turn into 4 and set the relative gain. Examples of said amp? This would mean my current rear channels in the Alpine amp go unused. Or get another 2 channel amp and use a Y connector on the output of the deck assuming it can drive parallel inputs (should be fine) and try to set the gain on the 2ch amp and alpine to get the relative gain.

Ideas?
 
Either get a 6 channel amp with a sub amp. Or add tweeters up front and another 4 channel amp. Or see if your amp can daisy chain to another one.
 
You going to have 6 speakers and a sub?
2 front
4 rear
sub

Yeah, was considering it. Thinking that with a soft top and aggressive mud tires, adding a lot of fill might be welcome as long as I can get the fade correct.
 
I’ve got a 40A fuse in my Amp, and a 60A fuse inline within 10” of the battery terminal on my power wire. Is the 60A ok? Or should I use something smaller like a 50A?
 
I used this post to upgrade my 2005 TJ this week, so I thought I'd share my experience / parts list. The sub was completely disintegrated, so that is what started it all.

Polk DB462 - as mention in first post. Use the brackets listed below
Polk DB522 - as mentioned in the first post. Grates that come with the speakers won't fit, reused the existing with a bit of bending (they don't fit just right over the new speakers)
Kicker sub for center console - didn't have to modify anything, it dropped right in. Had to cut factory wire for the spring posts but that's it

Speaker wire harness - so you don't have to hack your factory wiring. FWIW, these were cheap and super tight and hard to get on the posts.
Dash speaker plate - these were also cheap. Only 2 holes really lined up for me without trying to use washers or drilling new

All of the above was about $260 and none of it was hard to install. The center console took me maybe an hour, the other 4 took 10-15 mins each, if that. Still waiting on a Kenwood head unit from Crutchfield, but this already sounds 100 times better with just the stock head unit. I even had to take a little bass out of it.

Thanks for everyone's input on this 4 year running thread :D

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I see a lot of questions about how to get a better sound system from your Jeep Wrangler TJ. People will often dismiss the TJ as being a vehicle with poor sound dynamics to begin with, and while this is true to some degree, I can tell you that the sound system I have in my 2005 TJ Rubicon is absolutely killer, and it didn't break the bank either!

At 65+ on the highway with the doors off and the top off, I can hear the sound loud and clear without any issue at all. I have my subwoofer volume set at 6 (out of 12) and the subwoofer volume on the amp only turned to half way. Yet the bass still kicks like you wouldn't believe!

Here's what I am using for my setup:
Some of the components I bought from Crutchfield, while others I got from Amazon.

But that's it, literally. I mounted the amp underneath the front center console (it's a very tiny amp) and the subwoofer is mounted in place of the factory subwoofer (which some TJs came with). The amp powers the subwoofer alone, and the speakers are driven off the head unit.

This sound system is no joke, I mean it. I was expecting it to be a little better than stock, but I wasn't expecting it to be this good. If you crank the volume all the way up to 35 (the highest it goes), it's deafening.

I highly recommend this setup to anyone who is looking to improve the sound in their TJ without breaking the bank. This is all you'll need, I can promise you that.

So while this isn't a "how-to" guide in terms of installing it, I feel like this is a fantastic setup at a price that won't leave you broke.

I am looking to replace all 4 stock speakers with 5.25" marine rated speakers. Crutchfield recommends the $90 pod for the dash corner speakers, instead of the free mounting bracket.. Is that necessary? Do you think it makes a significant difference? TIA!
 
I am looking to replace all 4 stock speakers with 5.25" marine rated speakers. Crutchfield recommends the $90 pod for the dash corner speakers, instead of the free mounting bracket.. Is that necessary? Do you think it makes a significant difference? TIA!

You want those pods, yes. They make a big difference.
 
You want those pods, yes. They make a big difference.

For a cheaper solution, crutchfield also has foam baffles for the back of the speakers.. Would that be a good enough alternative (with a small hole for air flow/bass)? Or is it significant enough to drop the additional $90? I'm trying to be conscientious (I just took a pay cut to work for the VA), but I really want a better set-up.. Maybe I need to stop trying to cut corners on quality for $$.. 😅 But ahhhh there's so many things that I want to add to this Jeep!
 
For a cheaper solution, crutchfield also has foam baffles for the back of the speakers.. Would that be a good enough alternative (with a small hole for air flow/bass)? Or is it significant enough to drop the additional $90? I'm trying to be conscientious (I just took a pay cut to work for the VA), but I really want a better set-up.. Maybe I need to stop trying to cut corners on quality for $$.. 😅 But ahhhh there's so many things that I want to add to this Jeep!

I’ve only ever used the pods and that’s all I’d ever use personally. But anything is better than nothing 👍