Speaker pods in lieu of dash speakers

[5.3L 98 TJ]

Hi everyone.

I have upgraded the headunit, amp all that. Issue now is I can't hear the front speakers while driving on the interstate...

Looking for a way to move the speakers up to top of dash or center of the windshield.

I found a universal speaker pod, but it is a flat mount. Anything you have done that works? I have 5.25 kicker speakers...but game to go to 6.5 if needed

 

[KennethS]

How much environmental noise? Hard top or soft top? Mud tires? I found hard top greatly reduced road noise, and turning on the vent or Normal AC puffs up the soft top to stop flapping at speed. Tire choice also makes a difference as ATs are quieter than MTs.
I run a hard top on my TJ with 6.5s in the sound bar and `4x6 in the dash with foam baffles and the sound quality is good.

 

[5.3L 98 TJ]

I have ATs soft top...

Issue is the front dash speakers are useless at highway speed ... aimmed wrong direction...

 

[WestCoastDan]

I added these to bring some depth to the front channel

It was no small task.

 

[ChasUGC]

Hi everyone.

I have upgraded the headunit, amp all that. Issue now is I can't hear the front speakers while driving on the interstate...

Looking for a way to move the speakers up to top of dash or center of the windshield.

I found a universal speaker pod, but it is a flat mount. Anything you have done that works? I have 5.25 kicker speakers...but game to go to 6.5 if needed

If you have 5.25 in the sound bar, it is really easy. All you have to do is put 5.25 in the front dash speakers, and add polyfil in the rear of the front speakers. That will stop the volume loss out the back of the front speakers.

 

[macleanflood]

-Mac

 

[TheBoogieman]

 

[5.3L 98 TJ]

View attachment 593412

What size are those?

 

[JMT]

What size are those?

I believe there are some good threads on here that discuss pods on the A-pillar. If that’s desirable for you I would consider some tweeters there to resolve your problem. BLAM speakers are highly recommended and especially in that position. Search for them on the forum.

I resolved my front dash speaker problem with the Fader controls. I believe I’m at F3 or F4 so I can hear them.

 

[JMT]

Hi everyone.

I have upgraded the headunit, amp all that. Issue now is I can't hear the front speakers while driving on the interstate...

Looking for a way to move the speakers up to top of dash or center of the windshield.

I found a universal speaker pod, but it is a flat mount. Anything you have done that works? I have 5.25 kicker speakers...but game to go to 6.5 if needed

I think select increments may have a workable solution.

https://selectincrements.com/

 

[TheBoogieman]

What size are those?

5.25".

 

[5.3L 98 TJ]

5.25".

Link?

 

[Wildman]

Link?

https://selectincrements.com/2019/04/versa-pods/

 

[5.3L 98 TJ]

https://selectincrements.com/2019/04/versa-pods/

Bummer. They have gone down to 4 inch

 

[Zorba]

If this should help, my experience:

https://www.doubleveil.net/jeep/fourteen.htm

Its a bit long winded, and starts with the rear speakers, so scroll down around halfway for the fronts. BE SURE to read/look all the way to the bottom of the page, as there's an update that made a difference.

In my particular case, I actually have the fader biased slightly rearward as my rear speakers aren't as sensitive as the fronts.

YMMV and all that - I'm not an audiophile, and don't play one on the Internet.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Link?

https://rocky-road.com/shop/tj-dash-speakers/

 

[ChasUGC]

I can guarantee you that if you have 5.25 in the sound bar and put 5.25 in the dash, and then you add polyfil to the back of the front speakers, you will hear the front speakers. I know because it worked for me. If you put conspicuous speaker pods, it will just attract the wrong attention. I have a Alpine PDX-V9 1000 watt amp and 4-160 RMS 5.25 speakers with a 500 watt subwoofer and I can hear my front speakers perfectly. It is really cheap and quick fix to try. I actually discovered it here on this forum ages ago when I first encountered the issue.

 

[TheBoogieman]

I can guarantee you that if you have 5.25 in the sound bar and put 5.25 in the dash, and then you add polyfil to the back of the front speakers, you will hear the front speakers. I know because it worked for me. If you put conspicuous speaker pods, it will just attract the wrong attention. I have a Alpine PDX-V9 1000 watt amp and 4-160 RMS 5.25 speakers with a 500 watt subwoofer and I can hear my front speakers perfectly. It is really cheap and quick fix to try. I actually discovered it here on this forum ages ago when I first encountered the issue.

Off to Walmart I go, to get some polyfil and see for myself. I bought some foam enclosures that were recommended on here and they did absolutely nothing for my front speakers. I have 6.5" speakers in my sound bar.

 

[ChasUGC]

Yeah, it may not help much if you put 6.5 in the sound bar because it's another level of magnitude over the smaller 5.25. This is why I suggest that people don't do it, if they want a great sound stage in their TJ. Bose is one of the best in entertainment speaker systems, and they have all their satellite speakers the same size for this reason.

There is a totally different quality of sound, between 5.25 and 6.5 speakers. Just Google "frequency response between 5.25 and 6.5 speakers". 5.25 speakers tend to give crisper high and midrange frequency response, while 6.5 tend to give better lower frequency response. Even fading, you still lose the lower frequency response from the 5.25 speakers. So, it is like mixing apples and oranges. I prefer to keep the better highs and midrange from the 5.25 speakers all around, and use a subwoofer box for the lows, which is way better than a 6.5 speaker, like in two 10" subwoofers. This creates a better sound stage and overall better balanced system. IMHO.

 

[Mogul345]

So does the polyfill go into the foam enclosure?