Adding an Aftermarket Amp(s)

[ironworker]

Yeah, you're right - this thread is incredible, just a wealth of knowledge and experience. Started following last year when I picked up my JL in Jan and learned a lot from the likes of carstereochick, Sting_NC and many others although at the time couldn't decide if I was going to re-use my old system that I pulled out of my 99 Sahara or get involved with the new tech, DSP, etc.

So finally decided I was going to retire my legacy audio equip after 21 years of use.... ADS PQ20's, ADS 320is Nakamichi EC200 and SP1010s made the 99 sahara a joy to drive for 20yrs.

My new system is very similar to your setup and curious to see how your install has turned out. I have yet to decide on the sub option.... I'm in a 2DR Rubicon and still weighing options on some custom fit in back but I had originally ordered the Morel Hybrid 62s but then cancelled my order because I had read that they do not fit in the Metra pods with their large magnet and curious if you have installed them up front yet or had any issues with their fit and the pods? I just happened to order 2 sets of Focals in their replacement this morning but still curious about the type of fit with the Hybrids and the pods.

Also curious if the JL VX1000/5i has any problem fitting under front seat in a 2 DR JL? I have tried scouring through this thread looking for other posts regarding the VX1000 but last time I was here the thread wasn't 66 pages long and I could sit here the the rest of the day gathering excellent information but just thought I would ask.

Greatly appreciate all that I have learned so far from so many peeps in these threads.

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[Platdaddy]

Hi,
First time posting. First many thanks for this thread. I have the non premium JLU. Doing amp and sub only install. Thanks to Sting I realize I need an LOC. I chose the cheapest passive one first and still don’t have sound to the sub. I plan on swapping out for the LC2i and I have a question about wiring it. As I understand it I can just wire the loc ground and 12v and it will “smart” turn on. Can I tap into a b pillar wire for that 12v constant? If so, can some confirm the wire color? Many thanks

 

[jimquill]

hands free echo?

I finally completed my upgrade with Kicker 6 1/2's in the knee and soundbar with Kicker 3-1/2 in the dash with the Pac Amp Pro and a Clarion 4 channel amp. Stereo sounds great but now my callers are hearing an echo on their end. Did anyone else have this problem after a speaker/amp upgrade?

 

[Platdaddy]

Just sharing what I learned in case someone else finds it helpful. The kicker KX series of amplifiers (likely most or all of kickers new amps) work with our head units without adding an LOC. I just finished installing the KX 400.1 amp via tapping into the rear speakers in the b column. As a handy side note, the KX amps come with a wireless gain remote.

I have 2019 JLU with a non premium system.

Thanks again for all who’ve contributed to this thread. Very very helpful!

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Hi,
First time posting. First many thanks for this thread. I have the non premium JLU. Doing amp and sub only install. Thanks to Sting I realize I need an LOC. I chose the cheapest passive one first and still don’t have sound to the sub. I plan on swapping out for the LC2i and I have a question about wiring it. As I understand it I can just wire the loc ground and 12v and it will “smart” turn on. Can I tap into a b pillar wire for that 12v constant? If so, can some confirm the wire color? Many thanks

Haven't had much luck using the auto turn-on feature, but do recommend using the cigarette lighter/12V outlet. Or, you can use the same wire as your Amp's remote-on if it's close/available.

When you use auto-on via signal, there's often a delay in the LOC actually turning on.

 

[jimquill]

This thread has been incredibly helpful. Thank you to all who have contributed.

My upgrade was as follows:

Kept my 5” head unit
PAC Amp Pro AP4-CH41
Clarion XC2410 4 channel amp
Kicker KSC670 6-1/2 coax in sound bar and knee panel
Kicker KSC350 coax in dash
Kenwood KSC-SW11 powered sub under passenger seat

I learned a few things I’d like to share:

Got everything from Crutchfield. Have to give them a shout out because every person I spoke to was incredibly helpful and patient.

Stereo sounds awesome. Super loud. Can’t turn it up past 25 on volume and the gain on the amp is only at about 30%.

My PAC Amp Pro was back ordered, so I put in the speakers and amp with out it and my stereo worked - as long as you didn’t turn it up past 15. If I turned it up past 15 it went silent. Once the amp pro was installed there were no issues.

For the sound bar I wanted the factory look so I ordered sheets of ABS plastic (Metra part #89-00-9030) and cut them so that they fit in the sound bar see pic). Then I drilled holes in every part of the grill mesh so that the sound could get through. (This was a pita and the problem is heat. If I did it again I would put the grill in a shallow baking pan filled with cold water and drill it out under the water). I covered the inside of the soundbar with Dynamat and filled it with poly fill. It came out great and sounds awesome.

For the knee panel I got the metra boxes and gave them the same treatment as the sound bar.

I put the amp under the steering wheel on a leftover piece of the ABS plastic covered in Dynamat. I put the Pac Amp Pro behind the glove box. Power to the amp and sub came through the firewall at the hole for the clutch just below the master cylinder.

There is one issue unfortunately.... for some reason my Bluetooth gives a brutal echo to whomever is calling me and nobody seams to be able to fix it. I’ll get some headphones lol.

Thanks again for everyone’s help on this thread. I could not have done this without all of the great advice found here.

 

[Aunt Minnie]

My new system is very similar to your setup and curious to see how your install has turned out. I have yet to decide on the sub option.... I'm in a 2DR Rubicon and still weighing options on some custom fit in back but I had originally ordered the Morel Hybrid 62s but then cancelled my order because I had read that they do not fit in the Metra pods with their large magnet and curious if you have installed them up front yet or had any issues with their fit and the pods? I just happened to order 2 sets of Focals in their replacement this morning but still curious about the type of fit with the Hybrids and the pods.

Also curious if the JL VX1000/5i has any problem fitting under front seat in a 2 DR JL? I have tried scouring through this thread looking for other posts regarding the VX1000 but last time I was here the thread wasn't 66 pages long and I could sit here the the rest of the day gathering excellent information but just thought I would ask.

I just installed the Morel Hybrid 62s in the front speaker pods. The magnets and basket will fit into the Metra pod with room to spare. The fitment problem lies in the fact that Morel uses a weird screw mounting pattern that does not match any of the screw holes provided by the Metra pod. I had to make a custom baffle out of HDPE (...could also use MDF or similar) that I mounted to the face of the pod. I then mounted the woofer to this baffle. The baffle does double duty to improve SQ by stiffening the pod walls (...decreased resonance) and increasing pod volume. I did NOT plug the pod's rear wire hole. I covered the outside of the pod with Dynamat and stuffed 2 oz. of Polyfil within the pod.

I too have the JL VX1000/5i. I am using this amp to power the front Morel Hybrid 62s active and a single 12" Phoenix Gold sub ported. I have a JLU so cannot comment on fitment of the JL VX1000/5i under the front seat of a 2-dr JL, but I cannot imagine it wouldn't work.

 

[cmb396]

To y’all audio files, I need some help and this thread is overwhelming to someone that doesn’t know that much about stereos! It’s like reading Latin!

So my current set up is JL c2 3.5 coax in the dash, have c2 4” coax in the knee, but waiting on Metra pod to upgrade those to C5 6.5 coax and I have JL C5 650 coax.
Right now, knee panel and sound bar are being ran by mx280/4, and I have a seperate powered 8” JL sub.
I also have the 7” Uconnect that comes on non alpine JLUR.
After adding the 650s to the knee panel, can I run all 6 with a VXI 600/6? Or should I let head unit run the 3.5 and run the 4 650s with a 400/4 vxi?
The only local stereo shop has gone to shit the last few years, and they are who set the current system up.
I’ve never been overly happy with the set up, it’s loud, but doesn’t have a lot of warmth. The 8” sub is plenty of bass for our likes as well. Just looking for a more complete and quality sound from the other speakers.
help me out if y’all don’t mind!!Appreciate y’all.

 

[FinnCustomKnives]

New speaker wire is totally your call. I stuck with factory due to ease of install with Pac-Amp and using a small amp (Kicker Key 200.4). If using the crossovers, probably best to run new wire. Personally, I wouldn't spend much on soundbar, seems to be more filler than anything. I just replaced with like sized speakers. Biggest improvement came from 6 1/2 in knee and decent speakers on dash. This really brought the sound stage up and in front like you want.

You enjoying the key? Been debating using that to fix the abysmal sound in our rubicon, along with 6.5" knee pods and the kicker cs 3.5's.

I thought with the Key no LOC was required? Or am I just misunderstanding Kicker?

 

[Daffydnbugs]

Using the PAC-Amp with the Kicker Key. With the upgraded speakers and the Key, all sounds great.

 

[FinnCustomKnives]

Using the PAC-Amp with the Kicker Key. With the upgraded speakers and the Key, all sounds great.

Why did you run the PAC-amp? I thought the key was designed to be standalone without a LOC type device.

 

[Daffydnbugs]

Why did you run the PAC-amp? I thought the key was designed to be standalone without a LOC type device.

The Key was not the way I was going to begin with but it was gifted to me. The little amp sounded great so I kept it. By using the PAC-Amp, installation is a breeze plus this also provided me clean lines out to a subwoofer which does not have loc.

 

[Clackalack]

I feel somewhat in over my head, I wonder if someone could provide me some guidance.

I watched a video on replacing the dash corner and soundbar speakers and it all seemed pretty straight forward, except the presenter started talking about checking polarity and then I got lost. There was also some question in the comments about mismatched impedance that was left unanswered.
So I started trying to figure it out and ended up in this thread, and now I am more confused than ever.

I would just like to install 4 Kenwood KFC X3c. Maybe later on I would think about replacing the knee panel ones. Is this going to be a problem? Do I need an amp? Does this thread even apply to me? How big of a deal is polarity really?

For what it's worth I have a 7in screen and do not have the Alpine speaker package.

 

[OldManKnees]

There are a few of us that are limping the factory system along with decent results, but we have used JBL, Infinity, or Kicker speakers as they are low ohm, efficient speakers.

I also plan to limp the factory system along to get a modest improvement in sound out of the 7" without adding an amp and all the goodies that go with it. I've seen several references to "efficient speakers" in this thread as a way to do that... but can anyone share some guidance on what what specs to look for, or even any specific products that fit that description? I'm guessing impedance, wattage, and size are key, but I'd be grateful if anyone can provide some parameters to guide me.

 

[jeepingib]

I also plan to limp the factory system along to get a modest improvement in sound out of the 7" without adding an amp and all the goodies that go with it. I've seen several references to "efficient speakers" in this thread as a way to do that... but can anyone share some guidance on what what specs to look for, or even any specific products that fit that description? I'm guessing impedance, wattage, and size are key, but I'd be grateful if anyone can provide some parameters to guide me.

Sure. Look for lower resistance (ohm) speakers. With a higher sensitivity (db @2.83v/1m). I have put JBL GX328 in my dash, and in a friend of mine as well. But there are other speakers that can be used. I just found the specs to be to my liking, and I think that they made it sound a lot better. I plan on doing some mid range drivers in the dash later, but the 3.5s are sufficient for now. Also both of our Jeeps that I installed these in had the Alpine premium with the factory amp. So I can't speak with experience as to how it works with the other radios.

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