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Sound....

uvaldetxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Uvalde, Texas
Well, i'm fixing to replace my speakers. I'm not looking to win any sound competitions or anything, but i'd like for it to sound good. I plan on replacing the small speakers that fit inside the hatch on a 87 (no sound bar). Any of you know of a good maker of a speaker in the 5-6" flavour? I want something with a nice clean sound, that can also give a small thump. Some of you might think i'm joking, but i'm not. I have no clue about stereo equipment. The reason I don't want any kind of high performance audio is that it attracts thieves. I'd like to keep everything in it's stock location. BTW my budget is +-$100

Another question I have deals with my hatch speakers. The drivers side one carries more of the song while the passenger side carries more of the low end bass. Is this characteristic in all XJ's? Is there anyway to correct this?
 
Most likely any speakers you put in will be better than anything in there already. I usually go through Crutchfield to order my speakers. If you are looking for thump though i doubt if you get it too much. I went through 2 sets of rear speakers in my cherokee before i decideded to add a sub. I added a JL Vantage box and a JL 10 dvc sub. Pricey, but sounds good. I believe Qaudratec just offered a 8 in sub box for the cherokee that is stealthy.
 
As for the speakers that you currently have in the hatch, one of them may be damage. If you have a fansy head-unit, it might be an EQ/balance thing.

Unless you already have good speakers in the front, I would move the fronts to the back, and install the new ones in the front.
 
An amp will probably do more for sound qaulity than speakers. You can have the most expensive speakers in the world, but if you power them with a puny/crappy amp, you'll either blow your new speakers and/or it will sound like crap.

I'm sure some of you audiophiles will chime in......

K
 
I worked at a car audio shop for a summer doing installs...

Your best bet is to take it to a shop, leave it for the day, and have them put in an inexpensive 4ch amp (spend $200ish) and some nice speakers (spend $60-80ish per pair). Pioneer speakers, Blaupunkt speakers, big name speakes are the big names for a reason. As for amps, I run Eclipse, and I love it, go with their 5ch and you can run 4 speakers and a sub all off one amp.

I garentee you will love what you hear. It's hard to explain it but it's so worth the money, and unless you've done a lot of stereos, leave it to the pro's. You'd be surprised how many people think they know what they're doing and have no idea, I've seen power wires run over the valce cover, fuses at the amp end of the wire, ground wires held down with plastic clips, just the worst crap.

PM me if you have any questions, good sound is a wounderful thing
 
I would suggest ebay, you should have 5.25" in your hatch, I went with a cheap (39.00) pair of 2 way Pioneers,they work just fine. I replaced my front pair with a pair of 4 way pioneer 6"x9" ,WOW I dont need subs at all. You would have to cut into the door but I assure you there is plenty of room for this mod, and it was well worth it. I also added a amp under my back seat.I spent maybe 300 on everything and It sounds awesome.
 
i like the cherokee because it is very easy to wire and to work on for audio. the sound in the cherokee is great and if you have a sound bar in the rear i suggest like the previous post run a 4 channel and some 2 ways. i have a audiobahn 4 channel for my 6.5 alpine 2 ways and alone i get great mid range and high trebles. for low range i had a polk/momo 12 and an alpine 600x1 and thats a great amount of bass for one sub plus you get all your trunkspace back that even two 12's can take up. if you want to go the component route you can run them oof a headunit but for best quality and performance run them off a speperate amp. again mountaining the woofer in the stock locations is easy and throwing the tweeter somehwere should be even easier. i have done a few newer cherokees 98, 99 and i love the ease of instalation. so depending on the sound you are looking for it is very obtainable. for any 2 ways, i have had bad expereicne with the sony xplodes and very good expereience with alpine especially type r, infinite kappas, and kenwood 6.5 2 ways. all have strong magnet structure and handle up to around 140 watts. and you can get them even at walmart (kenwood) sometimes for under 50 bucks a pair. also, changing out the stock speaker wiring (kinda a task if never done ) for the rear is well worth it. the fronts are easy and i runa 14 gauge rca home digital theatre wire which is overkill from my amp to my fronts. the rears i have some car audi rockford fosgate thats easier to work with. make sure if you are going for quility that you do not skimp on the connections as far as wire and terminals (like the ignition system i guess). also i run for any amp below that is less than 1000 watts a 1.2-1.4 farad cap. having a constant 13 - 14 volts is very important in my mind and it helps the overall electrical system. as for subs and the amp for the subs i run one for that as well. they are all built the same and i have had a 1.4 digital readout power akoustics cheapo for over 1.5 years with no problems. even the monster is under 80 bucks now at my local circuit city. anyways i could keep going i guess and any woofer in the xj is going to be a presence becasue of the bench seat and the smaller cab and even two 8's can be felt. depending on what you are going for even off a good headunit amp run quality midranges and you will notice a world of differnce in clarity. sorry for the tangents
 
Well...

In my 88, I've got Sony Xplod all the way around (5.25" up front, 6x9" round back) and I like the sound.

In my 89 Limited, I put in a set of Jensen poly-cones - same sizes. She's happy.

When we got the other 89, it didn't have speakers. I happened to have a set of Polk 5.25" for up front, and Rockford 6x9" that went nicely in the back - very nice.

I'd go with any of those - with strong consideration for Kenwood or Pioneer as well. The reason I used these brands? I got them on sale somewhere, or were "donated to the cause."

The rear hatch is fibreglas, and can be "adapted" to take a larger speaker fairly easily with a Dremel - I think I needed about a half-hour to cut out both of the larger holes for the 6x9's in all cases. They also left room to add an amp later if I want to fill-in or split duty - which gives me options for later.

I also added a 10" tube in my 88 (I like some fill-in for the bass riffs) - I don't thump, but there is a noticeable difference when I cut in the tube and when I don't - even at low volumes. I used the tube because I could rig it to be removable (since I'm always carrying stuff around.) The 10" tubes uses a Rockford driver that I got cheap, fed by a Kenwood amp I got free.

All up, I'd say I've spent a max of about $300 on the stereo setup in any particular one of my XJ's - and we're quite happy with the sound we get. Not bad...

Watch stores for sales - that's what I do.

5-90
 
Alright, I ended up buying a pair of Pioneer 5.25"s. They're 2 Ways, 130 watts. I put them in the hatch. I moved the old JBL's to the front. After reading all these posts I think i'm going to switch them around. I'll probably also change out my speaker wires. I'm also thinking about an amp now. That's going to make me have to think where I could put it. I carry so much stuff in my XJ on a daily basis it's not even funny. motor and trans oil/fluid, brake fluid, p/s fluid, pb blaster, small shovel, hi-lift, small hatchet, tools, more tools, belts, electrical kit, lights, first aid, spare parts, change of clothes, the list goes on.... Maybe there'd be a way to fit an amp in the center console. That's about the only place where I don't have spares. Thanks for all the comments guys and or gals.
 
i have 2 amps stuffed under my rear seat . i went with a good pioneer deck , a 5,1/4 in component set(sony) . i put the woofer in the door in the stock spot and installed the tweeter on the windshield pillar . if you love bass like i do get a box.depending on the bass you want . i went with a box i had from another car it has 2 12 in earthquakes . it is sealed so the bass is clean and not super thumpy like the hondas all running around . with my setup there is no need for rear fill , so i dont have any rear speakers . i get a great sound stage with awsome bass . i still carry a stupid amount of thing with me (hi lift , cloths ,tools ect).and i have loads of room still . if you want to forgo the box get a really good set of 2 way 6x9 and shove them into the hatch . they will produce a good amount of bass and allow you to keep all the cargo area for all your junk ..
 
5-90 said:
Well...

In my 88, I've got Sony Xplod all the way around (5.25" up front, 6x9" round back) and I like the sound.

In my 89 Limited, I put in a set of Jensen poly-cones - same sizes. She's happy.

When we got the other 89, it didn't have speakers. I happened to have a set of Polk 5.25" for up front, and Rockford 6x9" that went nicely in the back - very nice.

I'd go with any of those - with strong consideration for Kenwood or Pioneer as well. The reason I used these brands? I got them on sale somewhere, or were "donated to the cause."

The rear hatch is fibreglas, and can be "adapted" to take a larger speaker fairly easily with a Dremel - I think I needed about a half-hour to cut out both of the larger holes for the 6x9's in all cases. They also left room to add an amp later if I want to fill-in or split duty - which gives me options for later.

I also added a 10" tube in my 88 (I like some fill-in for the bass riffs) - I don't thump, but there is a noticeable difference when I cut in the tube and when I don't - even at low volumes. I used the tube because I could rig it to be removable (since I'm always carrying stuff around.) The 10" tubes uses a Rockford driver that I got cheap, fed by a Kenwood amp I got free.

All up, I'd say I've spent a max of about $300 on the stereo setup in any particular one of my XJ's - and we're quite happy with the sound we get. Not bad...

Watch stores for sales - that's what I do.

5-90
Do you have any pictures of how your mounted the 6x9's in the deck?
 
Well, I fixed the problem that has plagued me since I bought my Jeep. The door panels. I've been desperately looking for maroon 2 dr. interior door panels. Here it's hard enough to find a 2 dr, much less a maroon interior'd one. I went to junkyards, dealerships, nothing.

I decided to just look for a big speaker grille to cover the ugly hole the previous owner cut out. I went to a car audio place and asked if they sold the grilles, the guy ended up telling me he could redo my panel. I listened to everything he had to say, and he gave me some free grilles, not to mention ideas. He told me he would charge me 150 to redo both panels, I thought it was kind of pricey.

I went to wal-mart and bought some fabric, like 4 dollars. I started doing my own work, took off my panels and took off my map pocket, etc. I cut my fabric appropriately and ghettofied it by stapling it onto my panel (normal staples). It worked, it really worked. Just to make sure it doesn't look so ghetto, I sharpie'd the staples, you can't even tell they're there. I got it on there nicely. I put my new grilles on, and the map pocket. Now I have two tone panels that match perfectly with the interior of my Jeep!

Before I put the panels on, I took those cheap JBL's out and bought another new pair of pioneer 5.25"s. Installed them, and my God. The sound is amazing. The money I spent was well worth it.

Now i'm thinking of adding an amp and looking for a small sub, 6". I'm thinking of mounting the sub on my overhead console, I think that would be the perfect touch. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. I think you guys will like my work.
 
NEVER buy Sony car audio.

Stick with Alpine (my preference for any audio component they make) or Eclipse (which owns/operates Alpine, and is of similar quality).

Get a head unit with at least 20-25 watts RMS (they all list max output - ask somebody about RMS power, or divide the max output in half - that would be close enough to continuous output). (yes I know that's not technically RMS, but it's a good rule-of-thumb for head units, ie, my Alpine is rated 40Wx4, but RMS is closer to 18W)

Thump for what? Some rap/hip-hop doesn't sound too good on my Alpine CD w/front Alpine/stock rears, but the combo has more than enough for a John Bonham kick drum.

If you want low profile and kick, get the 8". Smaller speakers = MUCH tighter repsonse (esp. with a closed enclosure), but doesn't hit quite as low. You may be SOL if you want deep bass and a low pro install.

If you decide to get an amp, again, Alpine and Eclipse are good names. Look at the THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) rating - distortion causes extra heat in speakers, causing them to blow. I've never blown a speaker from too much power - rather, too little, with WAY too much THD (c.10+ subwoofers alone in my life).
 
hey another thing i did which greatly increased sound quality and base response and cost damn near nothing is
2 6.5 inch speakers and a sheet of plywood bout 1/th inch thick
take the plastic panel off the hatch and use paper to trace the outline of the plastic cover.. make marks for the plastic clips that hold the plastic cover on and then mark the center spot for the stock speakers
cut it all out and put black rtv on the plywood then install on the hatch with short drywall screws or self tapping metal screws. then install the plastic cover on. the factory clips will go through the holes you already drilled in the plywood and into the factory holes and the plywood fits perfectly inbetween the fiberglass hatch and the plastic cover. remobe the speaker grills from the plastic cover. insert new speaker. you may need to enlarge the holes in the plastic cover and use the new speaker grills... with a little more cutting you can fit almost any size speaker you want!! ontop of that it acts like a large ported box dramatically increasing bass response. if you want to amp it remove the driver side rear plastic cover where the spare tire sits. thats where youll find the wiring for the rear speakers and there connectors. makes it easy to put the amp in. unfortunatly this doesnt work for 95 and later i think xjs cause they use the sound bar... i use both took a headliner outta 96 xj with the sound bar and put it in my jeep. solved the falling headliner. email me for more details if ya want and possibly pics dont have any yet!!
 
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