What subwoofer setups do you guys have?

Cooper Smith

Cooper Smith

Waiting for my 4.0...
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I get the TJ is a really bad vehicle to spend a lot of money on audio. Especially with a soft top, like I do. It’d be nice to have some nice speakers at a stop light though 🤷🏼

That said, what subs do you guys run? My head unit already has RCA and REM. So I only really have to mess with the power wire, which I’ll likely just run to the battery anyways. Ground I’ll just use a seat bolt and a terminal or something similar.

Also, how do you guys run a wire to the battery from the tub? I haven’t checked for any grommets or anything yet. On my VW I cut a hole in the grommet for the clutch because I had a DSG. My wrangler is a manual so I can’t go that route. Hole saw? Drill bit?
 
cooper32 said:
I get the TJ is a really bad vehicle to spend a lot of money on audio. Especially with a soft top, like I do. It’d be nice to have some nice speakers at a stop light though 🤷🏼

That said, what subs do you guys run? My head unit already has RCA and REM. So I only really have to mess with the power wire, which I’ll likely just run to the battery anyways. Ground I’ll just use a seat bolt and a terminal or something similar.

Also, how do you guys run a wire to the battery from the tub? I haven’t checked for any grommets or anything yet. On my VW I cut a hole in the grommet for the clutch because I had a DSG. My wrangler is a manual so I can’t go that route. Hole saw? Drill bit?
Click to expand...

I went with an 8” sub in the center console. As for the power wire, there is a rubber grommet in the fire wall that you can punch through.
 
I have the Sound Ordance B8PTD powered sub, polk 5.25" speakers in the dash with nalin brackets and pods, 6.5" polk speakers in the overhead speakers, a kenwood head unit and a kenwood something amp. I am able to hear mine well with a soft top and volume under 20. I bought all my stuff (minus the pods) from Crutchfield's scratch and dent site. Saved quite a bit of money that way. The pods I found on ebay as a scratch and dent also.
 
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I have a JBL Basspro Nano under the drivers seat. I have the fold and tumble seats and had to add 1 inch seat risers under the seat frame so a bar running across it didn't hit the sub.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...wrangler-unlimited.14995/page-23#post-1399862

As far as getting power from the battery to the sub, I drilled a hole in this general area, used a grommet that fit the hole and was snug on the power wire. See the dimple? There are a couple there. You can see that area easily from under the dash and determine where you need to drill without hitting anything.

IMG_5068.jpeg
 
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I think you'll find that most forum members have put their subs in either the center console, or under one of the seats, or (for larger subs) behind the back seat. I have a Rockford Fosgate PS-8 under the driver's seat.

If you choose to go with a powered enclosure under one of the front seats, keep in mind that seats with fold-and-tumble feature have less room underneath.
 
I fit a 8" Compact Kicker sub in my console and still was able to put the storage tray back in, sounds and feels great. My amp was under the steering wheel but craped out and I up-graded and it's right behind the console.
 
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8" something in the Tuffy center console. Not sure the brand but it sounds good. Separate power amp mounted to the back of the center console.
 
I like a NICE sounding audio system.
My original intentions were to install a powered subwoofer, but I chose not to and instead install something that could be heard with or without the top, in various situations.

Powered Subwoofers are great if your intended purpose is to have a little bit of bass, but the output gets rather slim with the top off at 60mph.
There's just not enough airspace/power in the powered woofers to create any substantial bass output for those situations.

The flip side of that coin is the fact that any other subwoofer setup is going to waste what little amount of cargo space available in the TJ.
So it's a double edge sword, and you'll have to decide which is most important to you.

I chose to install two 10" Kicker Subwoofers instead, in a BassWorx SW210B Box.
This was the only box I found that would house dual 10" subwoofers, and fit behind the rear seat.

They're powered by an Alpine MRP-M1000 Class D Monoblock amplifier that I've got mounted underneath the rear seat.
All wiring is routed along the edge of the tub, underneath the carpet, and then I pulled them through the rear-seatbelt holes.

As far as speakers are concerned, I've got 2 Kicker 5.25" Speakers in the Roll Bar, as well as 2 Kicker 5.25" Speakers in the Dash.

With this setup, I've got consistent sounding bass and crystal clear audio at any speed, top on or off.

(here are some photos of my TJ after install)
1709239434008.png


1709239449898.png


1709239461942.png
 
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zachpeakee said:
I like a NICE sounding audio system.
My original intentions were to install a powered subwoofer, but I chose not to and instead install something that could be heard with or without the top, in various situations.

Powered Subwoofers are great if your intended purpose is to have a little bit of bass, but the output gets rather slim with the top off at 60mph.
There's just not enough airspace/power in the powered woofers to create any substantial bass output for those situations.

The flip side of that coin is the fact that any other subwoofer setup is going to waste what little amount of cargo space available in the TJ.
So it's a double edge sword, and you'll have to decide which is most important to you.

I chose to install two 10" Kicker Subwoofers instead, in a BassWorx SW210B Box.
This was the only box I found that would house dual 10" subwoofers, and fit behind the rear seat.

They're powered by an Alpine MRP-M1000 Class D Monoblock amplifier that I've got mounted underneath the rear seat.
All wiring is routed along the edge of the tub, underneath the carpet, and then I pulled them through the rear-seatbelt holes.

As far as speakers are concerned, I've got 2 Kicker 5.25" Speakers in the Roll Bar, as well as 2 Kicker 5.25" Speakers in the Dash.

With this setup, I've got consistent sounding bass and crystal clear audio at any speed, top on or off.

(here are some photos of my TJ after install)
View attachment 505497

View attachment 505498

View attachment 505499
Click to expand...

While I'm sure this setup sounds better than my little 8" powered sub (along w/ improved sound bar, footwell, & dash speakers), I can't justify losing that much of our already limited space for speakers that others hear as well or better than I would.
 
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WestCoastDan said:
While I'm sure this setup sounds better than my little 8" powered sub (along w/ improved sound bar, footwell, & dash speakers), I can't justify losing that much of our already limited space for speakers that others hear as well or better than I would.
Click to expand...

Sure, It definitely takes up majority of the space available.
When I still had the TJ, I would regularly remove the subwoofers if I needed the space.
That in itself was somewhat irritating.

In my current LJ, it's not as much of an issue.
 
cooper32 said:
I get the TJ is a really bad vehicle to spend a lot of money on audio. Especially with a soft top, like I do. It’d be nice to have some nice speakers at a stop light though 🤷🏼

That said, what subs do you guys run? My head unit already has RCA and REM. So I only really have to mess with the power wire, which I’ll likely just run to the battery anyways. Ground I’ll just use a seat bolt and a terminal or something similar.

Also, how do you guys run a wire to the battery from the tub? I haven’t checked for any grommets or anything yet. On my VW I cut a hole in the grommet for the clutch because I had a DSG. My wrangler is a manual so I can’t go that route. Hole saw? Drill bit?
Click to expand...
I’ve had several setups. I currently have a Soundstream Nano 5-channel mounted under the steering column, Polk DB’s in the four stock locations, and I built a custom box that fits under the rear seat that houses a Kicker Slimline 8” square sub. It is delectable. No loss of valuable storage space. Having every speaker amped makes for so much more clarity. You can turn the head unit volume all the way up without distortion.

You can run a power wire through the grommet above and to the right of your accelerator pedal.
 
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I am running:

- Jensen VX7021 Navigation receiver, in the dash. Runs the rear camera, as well.
- 6.5” Infinity Kappas, in my sound bar.
- 5.25” Infinity Kappas, in the dash, using aftermarket angled brackets.
- 10” Kicker CompRT shallow mount subwoofer, in a down firing box. Mounted on the front edge of the rear floor where the rear seat would be located. I never run a backseat.
- 8” Pioneer TS-A2000LD2 shallow mount subwoofer, in a down firing box. Mounted on the front edge of the rear floor where the rear seat would be located. I never run a backseat.
- Rockford Fosgate R2-1200X1 amp, in the center console. This runs the 10” sub.
- Rockford Fosgate R2-250X1 amp, in the center console. This runs the 8” sub.
- Small USB fan, in the center console. To keep the amps cool. Turns on with the ignition key.

You could drill a hole and use a wire grommet in the area below the master cylinder. Or drill a bigger hole and use a pass-through with a stud on either side. That is what I did for my power, as it lined up better for me. There is room to get it done, albeit not a huge amount…

Soft top here as well. My system will go as loud as needed. Never an issue hearing it…
 
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