carstereochick
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Annie
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2019
- Threads
- 0
- Messages
- 56
- Reaction score
- 93
- Location
- Brookfield, CT
- Vehicle(s)
- 2019 Wrangler MOAB and 2014 Wrangler 2-door Freedom Edition
Hi there - I highly recommend you read Mike's post on his upgrade where he explains the need for resistors to be in line on the factory speaker lines otherwise there is no output from the radio. At our shop so far we've only seen and done upgrades on the JL's with the premium Alpine which can use Pac's AP4-CH41 easy pre-amp adapter for a full system upgrade. It is my understanding based on comments here and install guides read on the Metra AX-DSP that the stock head unit needs to see resistors in line. I'm guessing based on your experience the resistor is on the stock speaker connector and when you removed it, you lost output on those channels.Hi! I have a JL with 7” Uconnect. Tried to have Focal ICU100 speakers put in without an amp/additional modifications however when they were connected, no sound came out.
Do you have any recommendation on how to get them to work? I would want them to work but if I have to add an amp and line output converter it may not be worth it for such a seemingly minor upgrade. Are there any plug and play options? And if not, what are the complete requirements for your recommended setup above?
PS: I have two JBL Basspro SL8s under each of the front seats and they add a nice amount of fullness to the sound, however the stock speakers are awful. I would be happy with a slight improvement if it means not having to add any more equipment.
Thanks in advance!
Additionally it appears based on another user's RTA test on the stock basic head unit, the output of the factory radio is lacking in mid range and bass appears boomy. So even if you put better speakers in on the stock head unit, you will probably notice a minimal improvement due to the output of the factory radio. Which is why we're all talking about DSP processors especially for the non amplified models.
If it was my vehicle I would do the following for parts:
- JL Audio Fix-86
- JL Audio DRC-205 (master volume control knob, bass knob, EQ preset selector and clipping indicator)
- JL Audio VX1005/i 5 channel amp with internal Twk-88 DSP processor (gives us the fine tuning control, EQ, time alignment, crossover points, software to control via laptop)
- Morel Hybrid 402 components in front
- Can do same in rear or save a few bucks and do the point source coaxial Hybrid 402 Integra
- JL Audio stealth box (I'd probably do both sides if budget not a concern )
- I like JL's under seat amp rack and fuse holder too
For a bare minimum, you could do a regular 4 channel amp, the same Morel speakers, the Fix-86 and DRC-205 and forgo the fine tune control of the Twk-88 processor built into the Vxi amps from JL. The Fix-86 will at least clean up the output similar to what a base line output would be on an aftermarket head unit with everything set flat (bass, treble, mid etc). The Twk-88 and their Vxi amps is what gives us the fine tune EQ control to perfect, but we have done a fair amount of upgrades with just the Fix-86 in many vehicles for our more budget conscious customers.
If all that seems too much and you really need a plug and play set up, wait till Alpine comes out with something better than the PSS-23WRA. I don't know that they're working on anything specifically, but I imagine since they are so Jeep focused, they may and if not them, hopefully someone comes out with an easy upgrade for do-it-yourselfers.
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