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What is a sound bar?

Think of it as a deck that goes in at the ceiling, just inboard of the rear hatch. It was an option (or was it standard?) on later XJ's - and it got the speakers up out of the way.

I'd not think it was strictly necessary (although I'm planning on putting a deck up there - for other reasons...) and it's easy enough to fit up to a 6x9 in the rear hatch on 1984-1996 XJ (with the fibreglas hatch.) Doing it on a 97-up would be somewhat more difficult - but not impossible.

5-90
 
Yes, BUT I thought I saw the Soundbar only mounts the 5.25" round speakers, like all the other spots on the vehicle.

The rear deck lid on the '84-'96 can easily handle 6"X9", while the soundbar cannot.

I would think 6"X9", even though they may be occassionally blocked by cargo, would give better sound than 5.25" speakers mounted up a little higher.
 
Concur. I'm running Sony Xplod 5.25" up front, and Sony Xplod 6x9" in back. I regularly drive around with a lot of gear, and half of the time, my Fosgate 10" driver is also blocked (just the one, tube-mounted and quickly removable.)

The setup sounded good before I added the driver, and now I've got good low-end "fill" from the driver as well (no, I don't do "thump" - or whatever they're calling it this week. A sub to me is a filler, not a major component. I don't need the thing, but a well-selected and -fed subwoofer does help, just for the sake of completion...)

I'd think you'd get a lot of "rattle" and some flutter from the soudbar, since I'd not think it would be well-mounted. Am I wrong? Does anyone have one they can go look at? Seems to me the forward edge of the thing would be "flying," and how well-mounted can the rear edge be? Or, does it have more mounting points than at the ends?

5-90
 
Rick Anderson said:
Yes, BUT I thought I saw the Soundbar only mounts the 5.25" round speakers, like all the other spots on the vehicle.

The rear deck lid on the '84-'96 can easily handle 6"X9", while the soundbar cannot.

I would think 6"X9", even though they may be occassionally blocked by cargo, would give better sound than 5.25" speakers mounted up a little higher.
I've already bought some new Eclipse 5.25" speakers. High-end, 3-way speakers and they sound great. So the size isn't an issue for me.
 
a popular swap is the 98up headliner in the older bodystyle. it all fits, but you've gotta get crafty mounting the rear dome light.
newheadlinerinoldxj6ps.jpg

98 and up (some 97s i've heard as well) have a headliner with an integrated sound bar, not a seprate unit like older XJs had.
 
all 98 ups and possibly some 97s have that headliner. the reason that headliner has 2 holes in it (where the headliner meets up with the rear side windows) is because that's where the cutouts are for the rear seat belts. if you have rear shoulder belts (not just lap belts) you won't have to worry about those holes.
 
For years I've had 5.25" speakers in the hatch, but like many, tools and other crap get in the way and I always found myself boosting the back to add fill but that degrades the front speakers.

This past summer I installed a sound bar in my '89. I think the sound bar was for a '91 or so but fit perfectly.

The sound bar is held up by the two ends and also the dome light. It's pretty secure and sealed well.

I replaced the factory Jenson's in the bar with my 5.25" CDTs from the hatch. The sound quality has improved much with better position and the fact that I don't have to turn down my front speakers to add a little fill.

Look at image 0697 at bottom of the page:

http://homepage.mac.com/johnvito/PhotoAlbum37.html

That’s the sound bar before the dome light was installed.
 
good pic! Thanks for posting that, and the speckle paint on the headliner looks good too.

Where did you get that sound bar? How did you attach it? Are there already some attachment points, or did you have to drill some holes?

Thanks.
 
I got the sound bar from one of the Jeep sellers on eBay. Cost about $70.+- new in box. This was a couple years ago.

I just found this sound bar for $70.00 just check the year first:

http://www.jeepsareus.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=JAU&Product_Code=jcsb&Category_Code=CHEROKEE


The ends hook over the plastic trim of the headliner. If I remember correctly there were two screws that were in the way of the sound bar ends...so I just cut a "v" on each end to go around the screws. But as I look back now I should have screwed right through the ends for extra strength...but it's still plenty strong.

Also with the sound bar came an extended post for the dome light. That really secured it.

The wire runs behind the headliner trim and down behind the corner trim.
 
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I have one in my '85 XJ. I picked it up from a junkyard. I've seen plenty of them. Just grab one....really easy......and they are EXTREMELY secure. I have two infinity speakers up there....and the sound is NICE. Just check the junk yard and get it for maybe $5-$10.
 
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