Info Overload: Audio Upgrade Questions

[pitsqrd]

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas and holiday season.

First, thanks to all members who have contributed to the information about Audio and upgrade on this forum. I've read most post from 62 page thread "Adding an Aftermarket Amp(s) " and 31 page thread "Speaker replacement upgrade," and have reached info overload and unfortunately some confusion.

Second, I'm a relatively new Jeep JL owner (since July) and I apologize for another thread on Audio upgrades. There's a lot of great info in this forum but sometimes details about impedance of speakers, needing resistors in parallel or LOC, DAC, DSP, etc. hard to keep straight as the various posts jump between Premium system (which I interpret as the Alpine option) or standard 7" and or 8.4" basic Uconnect system.

Anyway here is my situation and questions I hope you can help with:
- I have a 2020 Sahara with 7" Uconnect radio system and want to improve the "sound quality." The "loudness" of the stock system is not the issue for me, it's my perceived quality of the audio at all ranges of volume that is the issue.
- I will proceed in incremental steps to see if the improvements I make meets my expectations for "sound quality" (in a Jeep, it's not my living room after all ) and stop, or move on to the next step. Hope this makes sense.

My approach: Keep 7" OEM Uconnect system and
1) replace speakers in upper dash and kick panels to focus on front stage and imaging
2) add aftermarket amp and sub if step 1) is "lacking" my expectation for "sound quality" at various volumes

Questions:
a) Does the non-premium 7" Uconnect system that comes standard in the 2020 Sahara have a factory amp?
The wiring diagram from Sting's "Adding an Aftermarket Amp" post for the basic system does not show one. It just shows the speaker outputs coming directly from the radio head unit (HU). Just called Crutchfield and they said the factory non-premium system has an amp. Not sure they are correct.
b) What impedance is the factory non-premium 7" radio head unit (HU) expecting on front right and left channels, i.e. what Ohm range/rating do I need to stay within for the replacement 3.5" upper dash speaker and the replacement speaker (i'll probably go with 6.5") in the kick panels?
The wiring diagram from Sting's "Adding an Aftermarket Amp" post and other posts indicate the dash and kick panel speakers are wired in parallel on LF and RT side, and non-premium 7" HU is expecting a certain load/impedance on the front left and right channels. I believe I read the non-premium dash and kick panels speaker are both 4 ohms, so HU is expecting 2 ohm load for front left and right channels, is my assumption correct?

That's it for now. I'll leave questions about adding an amp for later, if and when I decide I need to go to step 2.

Thanks in advance and Happy and healthy New Year to you and your families,

G

Sponsored

 

[Krawdiggity]

Answer A: I have the same model. 7" Screen in a Sahara. I have no factory amp.
Answer B: I am not sure about the impedance of the factory head unit. I added an amp so I was not as concerned with what it was. Sorry.

As far as the upgrade is concerned, I bought the speaker pods for the under dash speakers to change those to the 6.5". I also bought the adapters to change the speakers in the sound bar to 6.5". What I found was that with the factory head unit I was not getting enough wattage to drive the speakers to produce a full sound. These speakers are rated at 80 watts RMS so nothing crazy. I did not get good sound quality until I got the amp finished up and I didn't get great sound until I added a 10" sub in a sealed enclosure.

My issues with the stock system were two fold. It was not great sound quality and if I had the windows down or the top off I couldn't hear anything. In fairness I drive 23 miles each day on the highway and when the weather is good I want the top and doors off. With the system the way it is now it is loud enough for me to hear driving 80 mph with the doors and top off.

 

[pitsqrd]

Thanks for the feedback Sean.
So I replaced my 3.5" Dash speakers yesterday with JBL Club 322F that I had in the garage from another build. They sound better than the OEM upper dash speakers and the front speakers sound louder than OEM at same volume settings. The dash speakers are brighter, provide more high freq detail, but something is not quite right.

I also discovered that the OEM dash speakers were 8 ohms and wired in "reverse" polarity, where as the replacement 3.5 dash speakers from Crutchfield and other online sources that say they "fit" the Wrangler JLs are typically 4 ohms or less, e.g. the 322F are 3 ohms. I also switched the positions of the quick connect spade terminals on the Metra 72-7902 adapter so the + and - wires from the radio harness went to the + and - terminals of the 322F speakers (that I confirmed with a 9V battery) via the 72-7902 wiring adapter.

When you replaced your OEM kick panel speakers did you happen to notice what impedance the 4" speakers were?

There is info in the Adding an Aftermarket App thread on page 48 about reverse polarity issue.

I can't remember the plug going into the stock tweeter but I am pretty sure the purple wire went into the capacitor side which would make it the positive side.

Not 100% sure but whatever side has the purple wire is positive.

I checked the wiring diagrams and tested the OEM speakers with a 9 volt battery and confirmed the capacitor on the OEM 3.5" speaker is on the neg terminal and the OEM wiring harness clip, puts the positive wires 46 DG/VT and 47 Gy/VT shown in the wiring diagram below, on the neg terminals of the OEM 3.5" dash speaker.

I not saying the wiring diagrams are wrong, they are what they are. However, with the positive output from the radio going into the negative terminal of the speaker, the speaker moves inward instead of outward when the radio sends a signal from + Front speaker outputs. If the kick panel speakers are in the same configuration as the upper dash then the upper dash and kick panel speakers are actually in phase, but connected in reverse polarity.

Once I get some time, I will access the kick panel speakers and replace with 6.5s and do the same check reverse polarity and impedance check on the kick panel speakers.

The wiring diagram indicates the upper dash and kick panel speakers are wired in parallel, so if the kick panel speak impedance is 8 ohms, then the non-premium head units want to see a 4 ohm load on the front left and right channels.

I'm just guessing, but that might be what is "not right" with my current set up. If anyone knows for sure what the impedance of the OEM kick panel speaker from the non-premium system, it would help me connect some dots for what I'm thinking is "not right" about my current set up.

Thanks in advance

 

[KevinD]

I checked the wiring diagrams and tested the OEM speakers with a 9 volt battery and confirmed the capacitor on the OEM 3.5" speaker is on the neg terminal and the OEM wiring harness clip, puts the positive wires 46 DG/VT and 47 Gy/VT shown in the wiring diagram below, on the neg terminals of the OEM 3.5" dash speaker.

I not saying the wiring diagrams are wrong, they are what they are. However, with the positive output from the radio going into the negative terminal of the speaker, the speaker moves inward instead of outward when the radio sends a signal from + Front speaker outputs. If the kick panel speakers are in the same configuration as the upper dash then the upper dash and kick panel speakers are actually in phase, but connected in reverse polarity.

Once I get some time, I will access the kick panel speakers and replace with 6.5s and do the same check reverse polarity and impedance check on the kick panel speakers.

The wiring diagram indicates the upper dash and kick panel speakers are wired in parallel, so if the kick panel speak impedance is 8 ohms, then the non-premium head units want to see a 4 ohm load on the front left and right channels.

I'm just guessing, but that might be what is "not right" with my current set up. If anyone knows for sure what the impedance of the OEM kick panel speaker from the non-premium system, it would help me connect some dots for what I'm thinking is "not right" about my current set up.

Thanks in advance

So I was adding full-range 3½" speakers in place of the 3½" tweeters in my JT today, and tested the polarity of the tweeters vs. the full-range speakers (JBLs, in my case.)

A word of caution: a 9V battery puts a lot of current through your speakers, and could damage them. A 1½V battery will work just fine, and much less chance of damage.

Anyway, I also found that the tweeters were the opposite polarity of the JBLs. However, the Metra 72-7902 adapters are also reversed! The black wire on the Metra goes to the positive wire (as per the above drawing) of the amplifier.
So, in this case, if you just plug in the adapters, and plug the adapters onto the full-range speakers, everything works out.
Other than having to really change the equalizer (WAY too much midrange,) it sounds pretty good, and the speakers appear to be in phase (based on my ears, at least.)

Note: the JBL GX328 will not fit in the soundbar.

Kevin

Sponsored