Its funny you say this
I just thought this the other day watching a guy driving in his F150 with wired earbuds in. I was like…hmmm, he didnt wanna bother upgrading his stereo
He'll keep doing that until a cop notices...
This is why your dash speakers suck
- Thread starter 89grand
- Start date
He'll keep doing that until a cop notices...
I wear earbuds while driving my jeep with no windows or doors. Helps with tinnitus and i can listen to better quality music at speed
That would defeat the purpose for me… I want everybody to hear my music!…. Crank it up!
I hate it when someone thinks everyone else wants to or even should hear what they're playing too loudly.
KennethS
TJ Addict
Yeah, like some folks with their phone connected to the audio system and you can hear them talking to Aunt Edna.
Aloha Joe
TJ Enthusiast
Here’s an email response from Harman (Infinity and JBL) to my question about dash pods, saying specifically *all* of their car speakers are designed *not* to go in a sealed box. (His comment about “stuff” is in response to my question about polyfill stuffing.) I have no reason to think most other brands would be any different. The internet wisdom of “all speakers sound better in boxes” is BS.
You don’t need to be an audiophile to make the most of what’s in your Jeep. And whether or not you care about sound quality in your Jeep, I respect you just the same. We all have hobbies. My Jeep is my only 4 wheeled vehicle, and good loud music helps with 5am hour-long highway drives before Scuba diving.
At home I have hand built tube amplifiers, exotic digital audio decoders, quality studio monitors high end headphones, and high res files.
In my Jeep I have cheap, hidden, Bluetooth, loud, and distortion free with enough detail to feel like nothing major is missing.
Nobody here is saying the Jeep is a recording studio. Just that your Jeep could sound a little louder fuller and clearer with $20 tape and 20 minutes of time.
You don’t need to be an audiophile to make the most of what’s in your Jeep. And whether or not you care about sound quality in your Jeep, I respect you just the same. We all have hobbies. My Jeep is my only 4 wheeled vehicle, and good loud music helps with 5am hour-long highway drives before Scuba diving.
At home I have hand built tube amplifiers, exotic digital audio decoders, quality studio monitors high end headphones, and high res files.
In my Jeep I have cheap, hidden, Bluetooth, loud, and distortion free with enough detail to feel like nothing major is missing.
Nobody here is saying the Jeep is a recording studio. Just that your Jeep could sound a little louder fuller and clearer with $20 tape and 20 minutes of time.
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I like infinite baffle sub setups, too. Did one in my XJ and it was fantastic: tons of low-low bass and just needed enough space to mount the driver. Just have to be willing to cut some sheet metal to open up the back. Child for scale.
I've pondered doing this with the TJ but with the top and doors off the baffle is far from infinite. Plenty infinite for mids and higher but I don't know how the bass would sound and I hesitate to cut a big hole in the floor just to find out. Anyone have experience to advise?
I've pondered doing this with the TJ but with the top and doors off the baffle is far from infinite. Plenty infinite for mids and higher but I don't know how the bass would sound and I hesitate to cut a big hole in the floor just to find out. Anyone have experience to advise?
I just got a 99 TJ with no dash speakers. I tossed in the Polk DB462 4x6 inch speakers and was very disappointed to find there was no bass at all 
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
I just got a 99 TJ with no dash speakers. I tossed in the Polk DB462 4x6 inch speakers and was very disappointed to find there was no bass at all
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
Just an FYI - .HEIC files are proprietary to Apple and don't display elsewhere...
I just got a 99 TJ with no dash speakers. I tossed in the Polk DB462 4x6 inch speakers and was very disappointed to find there was no bass at all
I just finished the DIY baffles as OP describes and it made a HUGE difference in my opinion. see attached images for how I did it. My aluminum flashing material wasn't sticky like OPs, but I was able to bend and cut it to fit it into place and then duct tape it to hold it, and then i used layers of duct tape to fill in the gaps/holes i couldn't fit the aluminum into.
I was debating the DB525 5.25 inch speakers, but looking at Polk's wbesite, they state the db462s reach 50Hz while the db522s only reach 55Hz. While the 522s can handle double the power, so long as I am using the head unit as an amplifier going for the 5.25" polks is a fruitless effort.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db462/112447.html
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/car-and-marine-speakers/db522/112448.html
I read a lot of these posts where people disagree with the DIY baffle. I don't have pro audio or pro car audio experience like other's have mentioned they do here to prove their expertise, but I do have an understanding of physics and how phase cancellation works. The wave fronts in front of the speaker are out of phase with the wave fronts behind the speaker due to the fact the cone moves on direction. Another to way to look at it: when the speaker moves forward, it creates high pressure in front of it and consequently there is low pressure behind it. Since there is nothing blocking the air in front of the speaker from filling the space left by the displaced speaker, it simply fills that area cancelling the difference in air pressure. No air pressure fluctuations means no sound. It's just physics.
Aside from saying the speakers need a baffle because I just did it and it worked, I have another anecdote to offer. In a past life I was a YJ guy. I swapped the stock YJ speakers for the same polk 4x6 speakers i used in this scenario. The YJ speakers mount flush to the back of the dash, and the db462's coaxial tweeter isn't flush. So i used spacers to mount the speakers, leaving a gap around the edge of the speaker basket and the flat dash. I had no bass response at all. Suddenly it occurred to me that it sounded just like speakers that have no baffle or that aren't mounted to anything. The YJ dash being a solid flat piece of metal that stretches across the entire front of the jeep with speakers mounted directly to it acts as a very large baffle. The TJ has no such piece of metal so the speakers have no baffle to bolt to. Jeep used the foam pieces that are placed in front of the speakers to act as baffles but they didn't work very well for me.
I panic ordered a subwoofer thinking that was the only solution, but the DIY baffles actually work very well, and now the sub will be an enhancement rather than the only way to get decent bass. It's not anything astounding, but i can hear the low end perfectly fine even on the highway now. It's tedious to do but its worth it, and I didn't even need to chop out the bracket to make space for 5.25" speakers.
Get a soundbar if you don't have one
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
Sooooo I have a question based on your assertions
Wouldnt the large oem speaker grills also cancel out the sound wave being that they block 60%-75% of the surface area just a mere inch or so from ea front woofer??
If I am understanding your assertions, then a most desirable front speaker grill SHOULD be pure mesh screen or open air flow
Just to be clear again, I'm not a pro audio guy I'm just an enthusiast, but based on the few things I do know i would say yes but it depends. I have a set of polk floorstanding speakers at home, and the grilles are soft mesh. I take them off because i like to see the woofers lol, and i can't tell the difference. But these are also in a ported cabinet, and the cabinet internally has all these folds and its tuned so that it gets down to a certain low frequency. As far as in the jeep goes, if there wasn't hard plastic there im sure people would go through speakers either smashing it with their knees or who knows what.
In my opinion, while it's nice to have a good sounding car system i don't consider it to be on the level of HiFi, mainly because theres so much other noise in the jeep. For example, now i can hear some bass, but suddenly the plastic rattles on certain bass notes. I'll go insane hunting that down. the groan of the 4.0 muddies things too. I just wanted to hear the bass is all, nothing crazy.
I know it's a jeep forum but just to expand a bit on the grille blocking the speaker idea; some speaker cabinets, either HiFi or even concert venue speakers, are designed such that part of the cabinet's architecutre actually blocks the speaker partially. Klipsch does this with their tweeters, and even some of their more expensive speakers they do it with the woofers too. It's called a horn. what it does it compress the air in front of the speaker (sound is fluctuations in air pressure, or compression and decompression), and they can use the shape of the horn in front of the speaker to change or "tune" the frequency response of the driver itself. I think horns, particularly Klipsh tweeters, are harsh to the ear but some people prefer it. I like Polk because they use soft dome tweeters without horsn and it's more pleasant.
Concerning the plastic again, I would think you'd want to compare the size of the slats to the wavelength passing through. I'm making numbers up, but supposing 10kHz wavelength is smaller than the slots, I would imagine the slots block that frequency, but it would pass through the empty space. But also, the plastic does virbate with the sound waves even the slats themselves will vibrate and transmit the soun, comapred to a cabinet built as a horn which is relatively sturdy. But this also gets into multiple slit diffraction which is a lot of math I don't remember how to do and likely doesn't matter in a jeep anyway
Thanks, sorry! Passenger side is completely covered. I was working on the Drivers side so you'll see the inside portion isn't covered yet, but I wanted to show how i shaped the metal a little and then taped over it.
That's quite a nice job of enclosing that - should really help keep the speakers from being "shorted out" acoustically.
Speaker grills can muffle sound, which is different from the canceling you get from the back being open. And while the grill is only partially open it is also a bit larger than the cone. Super easy to test, too. Just take the grill off and see if it sounds different.
Great discussion on options to get better audio. Since the last posting there have been a few "new" options released as well as some older ones not mentioned that may also help get better speaker location/imaging. Would be curious to hear from those who have experience with any of these solutions or if there are any other ones I missed (besides custom built enclosures) let me know.
DASH SPEAKERS:
Select Increments Dash-Pods - Closed for 5.25" 2-Way Speakers (already mentioned)
Electroplated Front Speaker Adapter (alternate 3D printable version) - Open for 5.25" 2-Way Speakers (already mentioned)
3D Printed Component Speaker Adapter - Closed or Open for 4" Components (tweeter angled toward occupants)
Kick Panel Speakers:
Select Increments Mod-Pods - Closed for 5.25" 2-Way Speakers
Q-Logic Q-Forms Kick Panel Enclosures - Open for 6.5" or 5.25" Components (cut driver hole yourself so can install smaller driver if necessary)
SSV Works Front Speaker Pods - Closed for 6.5" 2-Way Speakers (Discontinued so somewhat rare)
OVERHEAD SPEAKERS:
3D Printed Adapter ring to Change OEM Sound Bar to 6.5" Speakers - Closed for 6.5" 2-way Speakers (note that many 6.5" speakers may not require an adapter ring at all but this requires no modification to the OEM sound bar)
Vertically Driven Products 6 Speaker Overhead Soundbar (alternate 2-way version) - Closed for 6" Components plus two 2" mid range Speakers. Also available in a dual 6" 2-way speaker version (similar to OEM)
Vertically Driven Products Overhead Sound Pods (alternate 2-way version) - Closed in both 6.5" 2-Way Variant or 6" Components Variants
DS18 Overhead Bar System - Closed for four 6.5" 2-way and 2 4" speakers (probably overkill for a sound bar)
TJ American SoundBar - Closed for Four 8" Drivers and up to Four Tweeters (probably a bit overkill for a sound bar)
3d Printed Overhead Pods - Closed for 6.5" 2-Way Speakers (Model could be modified for other speaker sizes before printing)
TAG Overhead Sound Vault - Open for one 6.5" speaker two 2.5" speakers and two 1" tweeters (Includes lockable storage but discontinued and rare)
Bestop Overhead Console - 2 Tweeters at front of Console (Discontinued and very rare, may have only been made with their glass top kit limited info available)
REAR SPEAKERS:
Vertically Drive Products Sound Wedge (alternate 2-way version)- Closed in both 6.5" 2-Way Variant or 6" Components Variant
Select Increments Opti-Pods - Closed for 6.5" or 6.75" 2-Way speakers (includes rear cup holders)
Tuffy Lockbox Speaker & Storage Set - Open for ""4 to 5 inch speaker" (includes lockable storage)
SUBWOOFER(S):
Select Increments Stealth-Pod - Closed for 10" Rear Firing Subwoofer (can easily be removed)
Select Increments Sono-Pod - Closed for 10" Down Firing Subwoofer (can easily be removed)
Q-Logic Q Customs Subwoofer Enclosure - Closed for 10" Rear Firing Subwoofer (can easily be removed)
MTX Thunder from Sub Box - Closed for Dual 10" Down Firing Subwoofers (can easily be removed)
DS18 Tailgate Loudspeaker Enclosure (alternate version with only two 10" subwoofers) - Closed for Two 10" forward firing Subwoofers and two 3" speakers/tweeters
Mopar Sound Deck - Closed for 8" Front Firing Subwoofer and 2 1" Tweeters (easily removable and doubles as lockable storage but somewhat rare)
Custom Enclosure in Rear Bench Seat - Closed or Open, Single 10"/12" or Dual 8" Down Firing Subwoofers (can be customized to your liking)
Other Pods:
Select Increments Versa Pods - Closed for 4" 2-Way Speakers and can be mounted in multiple different locations (A-pillar, Roll Bar, Rear Fender Well, Under Rear Seat, etc.)
DASH SPEAKERS:
Select Increments Dash-Pods - Closed for 5.25" 2-Way Speakers (already mentioned)
Electroplated Front Speaker Adapter (alternate 3D printable version) - Open for 5.25" 2-Way Speakers (already mentioned)
3D Printed Component Speaker Adapter - Closed or Open for 4" Components (tweeter angled toward occupants)
Kick Panel Speakers:
Select Increments Mod-Pods - Closed for 5.25" 2-Way Speakers
Q-Logic Q-Forms Kick Panel Enclosures - Open for 6.5" or 5.25" Components (cut driver hole yourself so can install smaller driver if necessary)
SSV Works Front Speaker Pods - Closed for 6.5" 2-Way Speakers (Discontinued so somewhat rare)
OVERHEAD SPEAKERS:
3D Printed Adapter ring to Change OEM Sound Bar to 6.5" Speakers - Closed for 6.5" 2-way Speakers (note that many 6.5" speakers may not require an adapter ring at all but this requires no modification to the OEM sound bar)
Vertically Driven Products 6 Speaker Overhead Soundbar (alternate 2-way version) - Closed for 6" Components plus two 2" mid range Speakers. Also available in a dual 6" 2-way speaker version (similar to OEM)
Vertically Driven Products Overhead Sound Pods (alternate 2-way version) - Closed in both 6.5" 2-Way Variant or 6" Components Variants
DS18 Overhead Bar System - Closed for four 6.5" 2-way and 2 4" speakers (probably overkill for a sound bar)
TJ American SoundBar - Closed for Four 8" Drivers and up to Four Tweeters (probably a bit overkill for a sound bar)
3d Printed Overhead Pods - Closed for 6.5" 2-Way Speakers (Model could be modified for other speaker sizes before printing)
TAG Overhead Sound Vault - Open for one 6.5" speaker two 2.5" speakers and two 1" tweeters (Includes lockable storage but discontinued and rare)
Bestop Overhead Console - 2 Tweeters at front of Console (Discontinued and very rare, may have only been made with their glass top kit limited info available)
REAR SPEAKERS:
Vertically Drive Products Sound Wedge (alternate 2-way version)- Closed in both 6.5" 2-Way Variant or 6" Components Variant
Select Increments Opti-Pods - Closed for 6.5" or 6.75" 2-Way speakers (includes rear cup holders)
Tuffy Lockbox Speaker & Storage Set - Open for ""4 to 5 inch speaker" (includes lockable storage)
SUBWOOFER(S):
Select Increments Stealth-Pod - Closed for 10" Rear Firing Subwoofer (can easily be removed)
Select Increments Sono-Pod - Closed for 10" Down Firing Subwoofer (can easily be removed)
Q-Logic Q Customs Subwoofer Enclosure - Closed for 10" Rear Firing Subwoofer (can easily be removed)
MTX Thunder from Sub Box - Closed for Dual 10" Down Firing Subwoofers (can easily be removed)
DS18 Tailgate Loudspeaker Enclosure (alternate version with only two 10" subwoofers) - Closed for Two 10" forward firing Subwoofers and two 3" speakers/tweeters
Mopar Sound Deck - Closed for 8" Front Firing Subwoofer and 2 1" Tweeters (easily removable and doubles as lockable storage but somewhat rare)
Custom Enclosure in Rear Bench Seat - Closed or Open, Single 10"/12" or Dual 8" Down Firing Subwoofers (can be customized to your liking)
Other Pods:
Select Increments Versa Pods - Closed for 4" 2-Way Speakers and can be mounted in multiple different locations (A-pillar, Roll Bar, Rear Fender Well, Under Rear Seat, etc.)
Nice list of options there!
I wouldn't go with the options that place speakers in the front kick panels. At least for me, they would get too much abuse. Plus figure mids and highs are best when there closest to your ears. So putting them on the bottom wouldn't be ideal, but something is better than nothing.
Also don't like anything that mounts to the tailgate door. Might be ok for someone running small tires. If you're running 35" plus and keeping the spare on the tailgate, you're already pushing your limit for what it can hold. I had to change my tire carrier recently because the Exo Gate wasn't strong enough for 37".
I ended up using the Crutchfield plastic adapters to put 5.25" up front. I have 6.5" Alpine pods mounted to the rear cage. Mostly because I have a custom cage and lost the OEM sound bar. Also have a powered 10" Pioneer in back of the drivers seat because I no longer use the rear seat. Not ideal, but cheap!
Awesome list! This is a great job and @Chris should somehow extract your post and sticky as audio housing options.
One item you left off are the Valicar custom tweeter pods one could place on their dash or a-pillar.
https://www.pods-tweeters-midrange.com/pods-for-tweeters
Thanks will add to the list. Created a separate thread with the same info and some updates to make it easier to find.
Will continue to update the separate thread as I receive any additional info.
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