Relatively new owner here and my 2001 had a really old aftermarket head unit that barely powered the speakers - it was a Clarion unit from 2009 with only 14w x4 RMS.
I thought it was possible an upgrade of the four OEM speakers to Kicker CS for not much money would give me the volume I needed. Nope. (I run only with top and doors off.)
I knew I needed more RMS wattage and that Clarion unit didn’t have any way to stream from my phone without an external transmitter so I went on hunt for head units with more RMS wattage - most head units have no more than 22w RMS x4. I wasn’t sure this would be enough, and I didn’t want to run a dedicated amplifier, and I got lucky to find a couple options with a lot more power in the built-in amplifier.
The DS18 SDX-P200 has 60w RMS x4 and the Sony DSX M80 has 45w x4.
They both retail at $360 but I found a used DS18 for cheap so I went with it.
Reading reviews for both I learned the extra power requires more power to feed it, so I had to learn about how to modify the wiring process - searched here for forum members who have one of these units and found one with the Sony unit and he helped me.
Too long story short, the DS18 deck has all the power needed to run aftermarket dash and soundbar speakers at MUCH more volume than I will ever need, even running wide open at speed. No extra amp necessary, just a heavier gauge power wire coming straight from the battery. I bypassed the TJ’s power wire from the stereo harness with a wire nut and tape.
Yes, I could’ve bought a more standard head unit and a cheap amp, but wanted an all in one solution. The DS18 freaking rips!
I thought it was possible an upgrade of the four OEM speakers to Kicker CS for not much money would give me the volume I needed. Nope. (I run only with top and doors off.)
I knew I needed more RMS wattage and that Clarion unit didn’t have any way to stream from my phone without an external transmitter so I went on hunt for head units with more RMS wattage - most head units have no more than 22w RMS x4. I wasn’t sure this would be enough, and I didn’t want to run a dedicated amplifier, and I got lucky to find a couple options with a lot more power in the built-in amplifier.
The DS18 SDX-P200 has 60w RMS x4 and the Sony DSX M80 has 45w x4.
They both retail at $360 but I found a used DS18 for cheap so I went with it.
Reading reviews for both I learned the extra power requires more power to feed it, so I had to learn about how to modify the wiring process - searched here for forum members who have one of these units and found one with the Sony unit and he helped me.
Too long story short, the DS18 deck has all the power needed to run aftermarket dash and soundbar speakers at MUCH more volume than I will ever need, even running wide open at speed. No extra amp necessary, just a heavier gauge power wire coming straight from the battery. I bypassed the TJ’s power wire from the stereo harness with a wire nut and tape.
Yes, I could’ve bought a more standard head unit and a cheap amp, but wanted an all in one solution. The DS18 freaking rips!
