Upgrades to 2002 Jeep Wrangler Stereo System ???? / Post followup

My preferences are for clean audio. If you want loud audio the choices may be different.

33 Engineering makes some brackets to mount 5.25s in the dash. it is absolutely necessary that you use polyfill behind them. Infinity 552i is a good choice. The soundbar should be upgraded with 6 1/2" speakers. again I like the Infinitys. if you dont have the center console with a sub in it consider at a minimum one of the tube types in the back. In addition there are tweeter brackets that mount beside the doors that locate two tweeters in the corners of the windshield that dramatically improve the audio imaging. Take all of this, coat lightly in mud and enjoy. jeff

Thank you Jeff for your comments. In my 1997 Wrangler that was just totalled, I put Polk Audio DB DB5250's in the front. I got the brackets to allow the 5.25 size. I used polyfill to fill in behind the speakers. Although the Polks were rated very very highly, the sound out of those things was just terrible. They sounded tinny/ and absolutely NO bass. I do mean NONE. I have heard better sound from ten dollar radios. This was baffling to me. I posted questions on this and some of the audio forums, but no one could offer an explanation as to why I would get such bad sound out of those speakers. Perhaps it was because I didn't put in the Polyfill just right........maybe too much, or maybe too little. I tried it with and without the Polyfill, and the sound was about 10% better with the Polyfill.

I have heard that you can buy speaker baffles for dash installations......... I wonder if that would help ?? Any experience with them Jeff ?

For stronger and tighter bass, I do plan to put a bazooka subwoofer, or perhaps the Infinity Basslink. But before I do that, I want to hear

**decent** ( not loud) sound come from my dash, and rollbars.

Any further comments/ advice from anyone would be appreciated.

James

The size of the space in the baffle determines it's resonant frequency. If you had no space behind the speaker, your resonance is much higher, like 1 K and above.

If I want some SOUND from my TJ, I have an 8 inch truck speaker box with a 25 WPC amp. Hooks to the line out from my JVC. Otherwise, just having a cheap soundbar above my head makes it easier to hears sounds from it.

BTW, a Jeep is not a car. A Honda is a car. ;) My registration says JEEP TK.

with the Polyfill.

Thing you have to remember is bass is directionless. In other words it doesn't matter if it's coming from front, beneath, or behind. (unless your moving so much air you can actually feel it.) :)

The kicker solobaric 10" and even 8" speakers can put out some incredible sound in real tiny boxes. Be aware they take a good amp to drive them though. Some mount them cone down under the seat. If you do this keep at least 1" of gap for air movement and research "band pass" or "sencond order" boxes because that's what you are essentially making.

You should be able to get good sound from speakers with seperate tweeters. The tweets should be mounted low on the A pillars pointing and at the opposite backseat passenger.

They make baffles, used to call them blowout preventers. When you put 6x9s in the rear of older cars and slammed the trunk some vehicles could actually blow the speaker out. The baffles helped stop that. :)

I think your best off trying to not use one speaker to fit all. As for baffle material, go get fiberfill from your local fabric store. Same stuff that packs pillows. And a pair of your wifes pany hose that she won't kill you for cutting in half. Simply stuff each leg with a good amount of fill (not packed solid, about the fill of a fluffy pillow) then snake it in to fill around behind the speaker. Usually it will stay put, but sometimes a bit of hotmelt glue is needed.

Suggest you go by a local sterio store (one of the professional ones) and have them give you some ideas. Ask to see the brag-book.

Just beware. I started out looking for a bit more bass and wound up spending 5k+ and four years competing in car audio. :) To be honest there were "perks". ;)

I am REALLY glad to see this thread. I have bass issues too. When I bought my Jeep (not a CAR James - a rig, a Jeep even a truck... but not a car, it's an insult ;¬D ) My rig has the sub in the center console and the six disc premium system.

My original unit came out of my Liberty with the premium sound, a swap when I traded it in. It sounded fine. It popped a cork from the dust up at Coon Creek last February and ate my CDs. They replaced it and since then it has not been the same. They replaced it TWICE even.

I have NO bass, well, a little but only when I adjust the treble all the way down and the bass all the way up. Then it's muddy and tinny. I am unwilling to replace my factory system and have been looking for a way to increase the bass without putting in a big box in the back.

I like ZZ Top, and I like it loud.... but the high notes are tortureous to my ears.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've had the stereo shop guys look at it and they are bumfuzzled too. Everything works, all of the speakers seem to be working fine, just the bass is about 1/4 of what it once was.

K.

06 Rubi, with a moderate list of mods.

*snip* They sounded tinny/ and absolutely NO bass. I do mean NONE. I have heard better sound from ten dollar radios. This was baffling to me. I posted questions on this and some of the audio forums, but no one could offer an explanation as to why I would get such bad sound out of those speakers. James

That can be an indication of a dying amp.

???

If one speaker is out of phase, it cancels the bass from the other speaker.

If there is a lot of DC resistance in the circuit, or thin wire feeding the speakers, you lose bass. Try 10 feet of #20 on your home system, then replace that wire with #16. Prepare for amazement. The same thing happens with coax cable. RG-58 or RG-59 squeezes your signal. RG-8x or RG-6 makes a big difference to the signals you're trying to pass.

Solid state outputs either work or they don't. They don't get soft like tubes. An output coupling capacitor can lose capacitance.

Only if the wavefronts are in ideal conditions, which is not the inside of a vehicle. There are instances where phase shifting actually increases system performance, although the only real reason to go 180 out of phase is push-pull speaker arangements.

Ohms/foot, but make sure you use the correct impedance. 75ohm cable is not the same as 50ohm and can cause damage to the amplifiers.

RG6/U is your basic cheap cable TV cable. 50Ohm, and best used to decorate a trash can. RG8/U is marginally better. RG58/U is nominally 50Ohms or 52Ohms RG59/U is nominally 75Ohms

If you use RG59 on a system built for 50Ohm impeadance you will get reflected power and eventually burn the amplifier out.

Not exactly.

Amps rely on banks of transistors in order to switch the current required to drive the output. These transistors can fail and the result is a lower power output for the amplifier.

Any competent shop with a signal analizer can tell if they amp is failing or if there is another issue such as speaker impedence (coil shorts or burnouts).

I have a decent set-up in my 1986 Jeep CJ-7. When I restored the Jeep in

2006 I sealed off the drivers side rear quarter panel and I mounted a 10" JBL Marine sub in the chamber. Great place for a sub as it's just dead space. I have pictures if anyone wants to see the project. My amp is mounted under the rear seat and it drives the sub, two 5 1/4 rear speakers mounted under the roll bar on the wheel well (Wedge design so it conforms to the shape of the roll bar) and two polk audio tweeters mounted high on the windshield (wires run inside the windshield so it looks nice)

Truth in lending... It sounds awesome when parked. I love to show it off to my friends when it's parked in the driveway. However, with a Chevy 350 w/ headers, dual exhaust, 33" BFG tires, and driving anything above 40 mph, there's not much you can do to drown out all the road noise. I don't care how much power your amp is, it wont drown out all that noise.

When I drive my rig on the hi-way, I use earplugs because the road noise is deafening.

Other than that, it's a great audio system...when parked.

It will be easy for me to install a decent sub, my query is how to get good sound from the dash.

James

Sorry James, I cant help you there. I've never heard good sound come from the dash speakers on any Jeep. However, you will be real surprised at how nice a couple of tweeters mounted on the inside windshield (or dash) really round out the sound in a Jeep.