A few weeks later, I decided to go against my better judgement and upgraded the audio in the Jeep. I had been saving this as I wanted to focus on making the jeep better and more reliable offroad, but the factory radio/speakers were just not going to cut it anymore. Especially with top down and half door weather coming up (whenever I get these back from paint - long story).
Did a ton of research leveraging the forum and decided with the following:
- Head-unit
Sony XAV-AX1000
Against my better judgement, I am really spoiled by having CarPlay in my car and wanted it in the jeep. This was the cheapest name brand model with CarPlay and a turn dial for volume (a must). I have concerns over security when parked but the jeep lives in the garage at home so okay with the gamble. If this gets stolen, learned my lesson and will go back to a more traditional old school single din unit.
- Speakers
Polk DB652 and DB522
I have leveraged Polks in the past and they are good speakers when underpowered. In retrospect I probably would have stuck with the 5.25 all arounds. I knew 6.5s would work in the rear pods but the diameter of the speaker was just marginally larger then the recessed part for the speaker, so I ended up using one of the adapters that came with the speaker to provide a better "seal". This looks a bit rough and I need to get just a smooth speaker ring but this cuts it for now
- Select Increment DashPods
- Sound Ordnance B-8PTD
- Accessories
Metra dash kit, wiring harness, speaker harness, amp wiring kit etc
My plan was to hold out and "see" if the power from the headunit would work for me. In a past life with car audio experience, I had never been satisfied with aftermarket speakers unless powered by a dedicated amp. Well that got the best of me, and I started out the install day by running to a couple BestBuys. At first I tried the Kenwood KAC-314 as it is more traditional amp that accepts 8-10 Gauge Power/Ground. I wanted to avoid using the micro amps as I just can't get my head around something so small that leverages the factory wiring working well. Unfortunately I just could not get this amp based on its size to work well under the steering column.
Ended up back at BestBuy and switched for the Kenwood KAC-M1814 which is smaller than your hand. I leveraged someone's creativity on this forum using a cutting board to mount to the underside of the steering column with a single bolt. It was a PITA getting the amp/mounting solution completed, all in a method you could tune the amp setting easily. Since the power circuit going to the headunit is only on a 10 amp circuit, I spliced the amp into a dedicated (more traditional) power wire running back to the battery and grounded via a more traditional method. This was worth the peace of mind, though I am not sure if it is warranted with such a small amp.
For the Sound Ordnance powered subwoofer I had plans to install to the underside of the rear seat but after trying various things and thinking about how I would need to fashion up some quick disconnect method to remove the seat, I pressed the easy button and just attached the sub to area under the seat and secured with Velcro. When I do use the LJ like a pickup truck, and remove the backseat, I can easily remove the subwoofer.
Overall impressions - this is a pretty good solution that cost between $1000-$1100 getting most of the gear through Crutchfield. It is leagues above what was in there, and gets plenty loud. I have much of the mid-bass phased out from hitting the speakers and relying on the S/O Sub for that. At first I was really displeased with the sub, the sound was quickly getting lost. I was not expecting any crazy bass or anything, but it was pretty muffled. I originally though this was because the seat was muffling the sound but it sounded pretty similar with the seat folded up. But it has been a few weeks since I did the install, and the sub is starting to sound better - I think it just needed a break-in period. I bet mounting this on the bottom of the seat and have it fire down to the floor would be an improvement as well.
Got the real seal of approval, when my wife said she didn't know what she was missing with the crap radio in there, and said it was well worth the money. I love being able to hear music with the top down, and like updating the interior of the jeep a tad with some more modern amenities. I think I also achieved the goal of having a clean and pretty factory looking setup without taking up space in the jeep.
Did a ton of research leveraging the forum and decided with the following:
- Head-unit
Sony XAV-AX1000
Against my better judgement, I am really spoiled by having CarPlay in my car and wanted it in the jeep. This was the cheapest name brand model with CarPlay and a turn dial for volume (a must). I have concerns over security when parked but the jeep lives in the garage at home so okay with the gamble. If this gets stolen, learned my lesson and will go back to a more traditional old school single din unit.
- Speakers
Polk DB652 and DB522
I have leveraged Polks in the past and they are good speakers when underpowered. In retrospect I probably would have stuck with the 5.25 all arounds. I knew 6.5s would work in the rear pods but the diameter of the speaker was just marginally larger then the recessed part for the speaker, so I ended up using one of the adapters that came with the speaker to provide a better "seal". This looks a bit rough and I need to get just a smooth speaker ring but this cuts it for now
- Select Increment DashPods
- Sound Ordnance B-8PTD
- Accessories
Metra dash kit, wiring harness, speaker harness, amp wiring kit etc
My plan was to hold out and "see" if the power from the headunit would work for me. In a past life with car audio experience, I had never been satisfied with aftermarket speakers unless powered by a dedicated amp. Well that got the best of me, and I started out the install day by running to a couple BestBuys. At first I tried the Kenwood KAC-314 as it is more traditional amp that accepts 8-10 Gauge Power/Ground. I wanted to avoid using the micro amps as I just can't get my head around something so small that leverages the factory wiring working well. Unfortunately I just could not get this amp based on its size to work well under the steering column.
Ended up back at BestBuy and switched for the Kenwood KAC-M1814 which is smaller than your hand. I leveraged someone's creativity on this forum using a cutting board to mount to the underside of the steering column with a single bolt. It was a PITA getting the amp/mounting solution completed, all in a method you could tune the amp setting easily. Since the power circuit going to the headunit is only on a 10 amp circuit, I spliced the amp into a dedicated (more traditional) power wire running back to the battery and grounded via a more traditional method. This was worth the peace of mind, though I am not sure if it is warranted with such a small amp.
For the Sound Ordnance powered subwoofer I had plans to install to the underside of the rear seat but after trying various things and thinking about how I would need to fashion up some quick disconnect method to remove the seat, I pressed the easy button and just attached the sub to area under the seat and secured with Velcro. When I do use the LJ like a pickup truck, and remove the backseat, I can easily remove the subwoofer.
Overall impressions - this is a pretty good solution that cost between $1000-$1100 getting most of the gear through Crutchfield. It is leagues above what was in there, and gets plenty loud. I have much of the mid-bass phased out from hitting the speakers and relying on the S/O Sub for that. At first I was really displeased with the sub, the sound was quickly getting lost. I was not expecting any crazy bass or anything, but it was pretty muffled. I originally though this was because the seat was muffling the sound but it sounded pretty similar with the seat folded up. But it has been a few weeks since I did the install, and the sub is starting to sound better - I think it just needed a break-in period. I bet mounting this on the bottom of the seat and have it fire down to the floor would be an improvement as well.
Got the real seal of approval, when my wife said she didn't know what she was missing with the crap radio in there, and said it was well worth the money. I love being able to hear music with the top down, and like updating the interior of the jeep a tad with some more modern amenities. I think I also achieved the goal of having a clean and pretty factory looking setup without taking up space in the jeep.
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