Anyone tried this speaker setup?

MudfrogK5

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Roanoke VA
I don't need a ton of bass but would like a little. I don't think a standard 6.5" speaker will provide that.

My cherokee does not utilize the 3.5" dash speaker location so what I'm thinking is doing this.

Dash: 3.5" 2 way's undecided on brand.
Door: Kicker CompVT 6.5" Subs
Tailgate: 6.5" 2 way speakers undecided on brand

The standard speakers would get a small amp around 50w per channel (4 ch) while the subs would get their own amp.

Now my main question is do you think the 3.5" speakers would produce enough mids and highs to sound decent with the subs being up front?
 
with your subs up front you won't get much from the 6x9's.
your 3.5" performance will depend on their wattage.
I have 5.25" infinity reference splits up front and they pump plenty bass once I ditched the factory amp and went 4x75W RMS infinity reference.
 
couple things that may not work well with your set up.

Unless you can create a box inside the door the 6.5" subs wont have very good responce and are not going to give you bass you are looking for. Those subs require .2 cubic feet of air space which is pretty small, without the box the subs are going to be very, very muddy.

There are several good 3.5's that can really scream, Eclipse come to mind, the issue here is going to be the crossover point for a 3.5 is pretty high (1k to 500 hz or so), to filter out the sound range the 3" driver can't handle. This is going to leave a pretty big gap in your music.

The 6.5 rears don't need to be amped and can be ran off deck in the type of set up your talking about, they are just for Rear fill and should be at a much lower volume. If you bring the volume up to high on your rears you pull the sound stage behind you.

I would change your set up by putting the 6.5 kickers in the rear and glass in a box. I assum your talking about the tailgate. It's kinda of a PITA to glass in the box but well worth it but much easier then glassing a box in the door.

Then up front get a good set of componets, put the 6.5 driver in the door and tweeters in the stock 3.5 location, you will need to build a mount for the tweeters and angle then up, thats pretty easy. Just trace the outline of a stock speaker on any 1/8th inch thick board and cut out, from there you can cut a hole for the tweeter bracket and the screw hole locations.

I have had pretty good luck doing this on several jeeps.

good luck
 
Hmm.. I read that the 6.5" kickers were open air subs so they did not require a box. This was the whole benefit of going with this setup. If this is not the case then I will not use these.
 
I am also in the process of attempting to install a stereo in the XJ. I don't really care to install a full tilt bolt rattling system. My 97 has the usual door mounts but nothing in the rear. I have seen the subwoofer install kit for the rear quarter panels but nothing that will place the speakers higher out of the load area. Is there a kit that would place the speakers higher or will I just be better off looking in a wrecking yard for the headliner style setup?
 
Um.. would be better off with a nice set of 6.5 component speakers (with tweeter) up front. And just some plain jane nothing special 5.25 or 6.5s in the rear. If you are getting a 4 channel amp anyways, then I guess go ahead and run it to the rear speakers as well. OR, you could bridge the rear 2 channels for a sub.
 
Never heard of a kit like that, best bet is a late model headliner from the JY.
Earthquake do a nice line of SWS subs (incl 6.5") - they are designed for shallow depth mounting and push outward more to compensate. You could put those into the headliner and use component system (mid/tweeter) up front. Decent 4 channel amp with built-in crossovers.
 
Hmm.. I read that the 6.5" kickers were open air subs so they did not require a box. This was the whole benefit of going with this setup. If this is not the case then I will not use these.

I thought I read they were sealed, Even if they are open air Infinite baffle subs I would not recommend them to anyone. They all suck and have horrible response, you just can't get a good response in a sub without a box of some sort.
 
What about a sub in the rear cargo area? I have a 10" sony mounted there powered by an 800w peak infinity amp, and its perfect! Look around on here, you will see boxes that people have built and put in the passenger side rear cargo. I did this, and it was actually really simple to do. I couldn't be more happy with the way it sounds. Good tight punch, but not over powering. Just a thought. Here is my system: Good luck!

SubInstalled.jpg
 
I picked up an Alpine IDA-X303 yesterday so I'm ready to get moving on the speakers.

I'm really considering using the 5.25"s front and rear and just adding an 8" sub. I just need to see if the 5.25" are going to distort much with the new head unit.

So I think my current choices are:

Plan 1:
5.25" front and rear with a single 8" sub ( I really don't need a ton of bass)

Plan 2:
6.5" front and rear with 50w 4 ch amp

I guess both have their advantages but Plan 1 would be easier. I already have after market Pioneer 5.25"s up front even though they are not the best. Kind of wanting to do the best bang for the buck here as I'm not wanting to spend a ton, this is a rough jeep.
 
Well a guy I work with is giving me a small mono amp which should be sufficient for a single 8" sub. So I think what I'll do is pick up a sub and box and a set of 6.5" for the front. I can move my pioneer 5.25's to the back.
 
Ordered some Kenwood 6.5" 3 ways for the rear and some Kenwood 5.25" 3 ways for the front. After looking I just think it will be to tight of a fit for the 6.5" and the window crank.

The speakers are 91 & 92 DB so they should sound fairly good on the alpine HU. Gonna try to get by like this and see how it sounds :)
 
What kind of wattage can your new speakers handle? I have an mtx 4-channel amp I may sell...
 
I have 2 kicker 6x9s in the doors and then 2 kicker 6x9s in boxes in the back, with 2 6.5s in the sound bar, all powered with a 400w 4ch amp, and it sounds great.. its still super clear at 100% volume
 
I purchased some Kenwood 3 way 6.5" for the tail gate and they are defective (I'm assuming) because any bass coming from it sounds like a bongo drum popping.

I'm looking at the Rockford Fosgate Punch P1653 (6.5 for tail gate) and P152 (5.25 for doors). Anyone have any feedback about these?
 
I dunno if you bought speakers yet or not, but I've had good experiences with the Infinity's I've used. For you, the Reference series would be good. I've also ran a Kappa setup with a pretty powerful 4ch amp and it was awesome. I think RF would be a better choice than the Kenwoods though.
 
I ended up buying some Alpine Type S 6.5's. I was going to put them in the front door but they will not fit with my window crank. They are going in the tailgate now. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to use the Alpine Type S 5.25's up front or if I want to run a different brand 5.25 component set.
 
You can get the alpines in a component set. Or, if you already have them.. I think i have a set of x-over's and tweeters that I'm not using.
 
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