Upgrading base sound system

[ChattVol]

Aiming to be economical, any recommendations on how to use polyfil and/or dynamat to help the 4" lower dash and soundbar speakers sound better? I've added the 3.5" plug and play kickers to upper dash and soundbar and am considering adding 4" kicker ks coax to lower dash and soundbar.(are there plug and play options?) If you sound deaden those 4" ports, would that be a noticeable improvement or should you also add a economical 4 channel amp? The amp is option is more expensive...so trying to avoid going that route. Thanks in advance!

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[Rmonroy1]

Aiming to be economical, any recommendations on how to use polyfil and/or dynamat to help the 4" lower dash and soundbar speakers sound better? I've added the 3.5" plug and play kickers to upper dash and soundbar and am considering adding 4" kicker ks coax to lower dash and soundbar.(are there plug and play options?) If you sound deaden those 4" ports, would that be a noticeable improvement or should you also add a economical 4 channel amp? The amp is option is more expensive...so trying to avoid going that route. Thanks in advance!

Do you have a link to those speakers?

 

[sirryan]

i'd be interested in the link as well.

 

[ChattVol]

Do you have a link to those speakers?

Just google 77KICK25AB. They are 3.5" kicker speakers that easily replace your 2.5" speakers in top of front dash and in soundbar.

 

[BVGeezer]

The upgraded factory system is good enough for me. Of course I'm old enough to be your gramps. I think it really sounds great especially the base. But after too much live Stones, gunfire and jet engines, I can't hear shit anymore. Anybody remember Learjet 8 track car stereos?

 

[Matthew/E36]

Not to derail, but I've got the upgraded stereo and just wish there was a separate sub gain setting. Would make a world of difference in the overall sound balance.

 

[Maui-1]

Just google 77KICK25AB. They are 3.5" kicker speakers that easily replace your 2.5" speakers in top of front dash and in soundbar.

Did you use the resistors on these? I installed mine yesterday replacing all 4 of the 2.5's and i lost all my low end. Kinda sounds like garbage actually. BUT! I do remember after only installing 1 I turned it on and there was tons of low end...

 

[ChattVol]

Did you use the resistors on these? I installed mine yesterday replacing all 4 of the 2.5's and i lost all my low end. Kinda sounds like garbage actually. BUT! I do remember after only installing 1 I turned it on and there was tons of low end...

No...just plug and play. How does a 3.5" speaker produce tons of low end? Mine never had low end.

 

[Maui-1]

No...just plug and play. How does a 3.5" speaker produce tons of low end? Mine never had low end.

Well... "Low end" for 3.5's.. I just put back the front two dash OEM speakers and now my rollbar 3.5's sound good again. I dont know what happened. Maybe the ohm's were off or something. Big difference for me though

 

[ChattVol]

Well... "Low end" for 3.5's.. I just put back the front two dash OEM speakers and now my rollbar 3.5's sound good again. I dont know what happened. Maybe the ohm's were off or something. Big difference for me though

Maybe @Sting_NC_USA can help

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Maybe @Sting_NC_USA can help

Grasping for straws here, but the issue described (speakers not sounding full) is likely due to one of two things:

• The Ohm load of the front speakers was different from the rear
• The phasing of the wiring could be out of sync

Having not used/seen these speakers, it could be that the Ohm load difference on the speakers was causing a strain on the stock system. Any stereo head unit (regardless of stock/aftermarket) would likely struggle if 4-Ohm speakers were running on the front channels, yet 8-Ohm speakers were run on its rear channel. The only way to test this is to install the new speakers and unplug the old. If the new speakers sound better, then replace the others with speakers having the same Ohm load.

For the record, playing the stereo and unplugging speakers while the stereo is on may not allow you to see if this is a fix. I've noticed that the UConnect systems have to "reset" before it "notices" changes. Meaning, you have to turn the Jeep off and give it a minute or two, such that you see the "disclaimer" screen when the Jeep is turned back on. ​

If it's not related to the above Ohm issue, it could be that the speaker phasing was out of sync (i.e. positive and negative wires are backwards). I realize these are plug-and-play speakers, though I can't say for sure whether or not the positive and negative wires on our vehicle match that of the vehicle these speakers were designed for. Example: The Metra plugs that were designed for other FCA vehicles, seem to fit our Jeeps yet the wires colors are inverted.

When the phasing is off, the speakers will sound muted. When phasing is corrected, they sound as they are intended. Note that some actually do this on purpose to create certain effects on higher powered systems.

The best way to test phase issues is to install the speakers, and then use the stereo's balance/fader to play one speaker at a time. If any single speaker playing sounds better than then when playing both (i.e. use the fader to play only the front speakers, then use balance to isolate the left, then right and then center) then it's a phasing issue. It's odd, though, that this is happening front to back, rather than side to side, but then again, automakers are using proprietary systems that seem to be finicky about what's installed.

Sorry I can't provide a guaranteed solution, though I hope this helps with the troubleshooting.

 

[Swanny297]

Did you use the resistors on these? I installed mine yesterday replacing all 4 of the 2.5's and i lost all my low end. Kinda sounds like garbage actually. BUT! I do remember after only installing 1 I turned it on and there was tons of low end...

You have to isolate each speaker to know if it is phased correctly - a lot of people have done this exact same thing and had a great improvement over the OEM speakers myself included, I have a 7” head unit so I am not sure how the different head units push.

 

[melendez69]

Just google 77KICK25AB. They are 3.5" kicker speakers that easily replace your 2.5" speakers in top of front dash and in soundbar.

I've been considering these for the soundbar... I'm not expecting window-shattering volume, but are you finding these to be a significant (or even somewhat of a worthy) improvement over the speakers in the "premium" package? I'm satisfied with what I have in my Rubi, but even after fiddling with the Uconnect & iPod settings, some songs tend to play at a lower volume from the iPod and I don't notice this in my other cars.

 

[Maui-1]

Grasping for straws here, but the issue described (speakers not sounding full) is likely due to one of two things:

• The Ohm load of the front speakers was different from the rear
• The phasing of the wiring could be out of sync

Having not used/seen these speakers, it could be that the Ohm load difference on the speakers was causing a strain on the stock system. Any stereo head unit (regardless of stock/aftermarket) would likely struggle if 4-Ohm speakers were running on the front channels, yet 8-Ohm speakers were run on its rear channel. The only way to test this is to install the new speakers and unplug the old. If the new speakers sound better, then replace the others with speakers having the same Ohm load.

For the record, playing the stereo and unplugging speakers while the stereo is on may not allow you to see if this is a fix. I've noticed that the UConnect systems have to "reset" before it "notices" changes. Meaning, you have to turn the Jeep off and give it a minute or two, such that you see the "disclaimer" screen when the Jeep is turned back on. ​

If it's not related to the above Ohm issue, it could be that the speaker phasing was out of sync (i.e. positive and negative wires are backwards). I realize these are plug-and-play speakers, though I can't say for sure whether or not the positive and negative wires on our vehicle match that of the vehicle these speakers were designed for. Example: The Metra plugs that were designed for other FCA vehicles, seem to fit our Jeeps yet the wires colors are inverted.

When the phasing is off, the speakers will sound muted. When phasing is corrected, they sound as they are intended. Note that some actually do this on purpose to create certain effects on higher powered systems.

The best way to test phase issues is to install the speakers, and then use the stereo's balance/fader to play one speaker at a time. If any single speaker playing sounds better than then when playing both (i.e. use the fader to play only the front speakers, then use balance to isolate the left, then right and then center) then it's a phasing issue. It's odd, though, that this is happening front to back, rather than side to side, but then again, automakers are using proprietary systems that seem to be finicky about what's installed.

Sorry I can't provide a guaranteed solution, though I hope this helps with the troubleshooting.

Thanks Sting_NC_USA, Your information has been very valuable on this forum! Thanks to you and your posts on the "Adding Aftermarket Amp(s)" thread I have purchased a JL Audio M700/5, a JL Audio Fix86, Inline resistors and all the wiring to hopefully install either Wednesday or Thursday this week. Still debating on JL Audio CS110TG-TW3 or the CS112TG-TW3 subwoofer for behind the rear seat.
So I have the 7" non-alpine radio in my rubicon JLU. I have a feeling since the stock 2.5's are 8ohm and I replaced them with 3" 4ohm kickers, it changed the ohms to 2.6 since i assume each channel is wired parallel to the two speakers. After driving in it today with only the kickers in the roll bar, it sounds louder and full. I will install the front kickers again once I get my Fix86 and amp installed and i'm sure everything will be fine. I am curious why nobody else had a negative change though. I just swapped the speakers like everyone else.

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Thanks Sting_NC_USA, Your information has been very valuable on this forum! Thanks to you and your posts on the "Adding Aftermarket Amp(s)" thread I have purchased a JL Audio M700/5, a JL Audio Fix86, Inline resistors and all the wiring to hopefully install either Wednesday or Thursday this week. Still debating on JL Audio CS110TG-TW3 or the CS112TG-TW3 subwoofer for behind the rear seat.
So I have the 7" non-alpine radio in my rubicon JLU. I have a feeling since the stock 2.5's are 8ohm and I replaced them with 3" 4ohm kickers, it changed the ohms to 2.6 since i assume each channel is wired parallel to the two speakers. After driving in it today with only the kickers in the roll bar, it sounds louder and full. I will install the front kickers again once I get my Fix86 and amp installed and i'm sure everything will be fine. I am curious why nobody else had a negative change though. I just swapped the speakers like everyone else.

Yeah, I would have thought the others swapping the stock tweeters out with the 3.5's would have run into the same thing. I'm guessing it is happening, but the sound may still be better than stock, yet not quite at their full potential. I think you're on the right track, and feel free to reach out if you hit any snags. Good luck, and thanks for the kind words!

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