Component Set in Jeep Speaker Pods

[Betelgeuse]

Hey. Is this the old SoundDomain forum? If so, I haven't been here since the early 2000's and it's good to see that it's still kickin.

I have a Jeep Wrangler and I'm looking to upgrade the stereo a little bit. I've added a Kicker 6.75" CompRT sub in the console powered by a Kicker px200.1 running 200 watts at .5 ohm. I need more. Later down the road, I'll ditch the console sub and get some bigger subs for the rear cargo area. The first thing I would like to add a component set. I used to have a single cab Toyota that didn't have any door speakers so I dynamated the doors and added Apline TypeR 6.5" mids. I powered that component set with about 75~100 watts and was blown away at the sound. I'd like to have something similar in the Jeep.



My question is about the speaker pods. Here are some random pics of the pods and their location in the Jeep.

This is a view from the back seat. There is a pod behind the driver and passenger seats:

These are some pics for size reference. They hold 5 1/4" speakers, but I can make up some adapters to fit 6.5" speakers.

My question's are:

1) Is there enough air space in there for a 6.5" mid-bass speaker from a component set?

2) Is that a suitable place to put the speakers? I ride with the top back and the doors off when the weather permits. Would those be too close to my head? I want to have good midbass and be able to hear it over wind/road noise.

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[Betelgeuse]

And just to clarify, tweeters would go on the dash. This would just be for the 6.5s.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Does that pod look like it has enough air space for the 6.5" to preform well on the low end? I think I'm going to go with the Polk DB+ component set.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Decided on a different component set. Made an offer on Ebay and won a brand new set of the Polk MM 6.5"s for $200.

I'll have to make something to fit the 6.5's in the pod as it fits a 5.25" in a recessed portion of the pod.

Hopefully there is enough air space in there and I didn't screw up.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Hopefully there is enough air space in there and I didn't screw up.

The bigger question is will that extra inch of diameter make any difference whatsoever for the amount of trouble of modifying the factory mounts. If you have or are planning to run a sub anyway just don't attempt to run your mids full range and the airspace should be a non-issue.

 

[Betelgeuse]

The bigger question is will that extra inch of diameter make any difference whatsoever for the amount of trouble of modifying the factory mounts. If you have or are planning to run a sub anyway just don't attempt to run your mids full range and the airspace should be a non-issue.

Thanks for the reply. I'm undecided on the subs, and if I do go that route, it will be further down the road. I'm going to be piecing this together over time. As far as adapting up to the 6.5's, I don't mind. I like projects. Generally, I want good sound while I decide whether or not I'll add subs down the road.

If I do add sub(s), I planned on getting a Kenwood Excelon x802-5 5 channel amp and mounting it behind the dash under the steering column. I've read on Jeep forums of folks doing this and retaining the tilt feature on the steering wheel/column. I would bridge the 4 channels to 2, running this comp set at 150 watts per set, and having a sub channel running 500 watts @ 2 ohms. This is basically a little project that I will add to as I get money. The alternate route is getting a dual amp wiring kit, and only running one amp for now for the component set. If I decide to add a sub later, I'll just need to pick up a class D amp and sub(s) and the majority of my amp wiring will already be done.

Does all that make sense or do I have something wrong somewhere?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Does all that make sense or do I have something wrong somewhere?

Well apart from have reasonable expectations of bass in a soft top/removable top type vehicle I'd suggest you shop elsewhere for amps. There's a number of ultra tiny options these days that you could stash just about anywhere. I haven't known Kenwood to ever make a really worthwhile amp in the last 30 years and I doubt they're really doing much in that department now.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Well apart from have reasonable expectations of bass in a soft top/removable top type vehicle I'd suggest you shop elsewhere for amps. There's a number of ultra tiny options these days that you could stash just about anywhere. I haven't known Kenwood to ever make a really worthwhile amp in the last 30 years and I doubt they're really doing much in that department now.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks! I was open to the x802-5 because it was smaller than a lot of the 5 channel amps and it tested out pretty well on the amp dyno on the Quality Mobile Video YouTube channel. The Excelon line is supposed to have better components inside. I'll keep my mind open on the amp(s), though.

As rainy as it is in the summer here, I have the soft top all the way on 80% of the time. I do ride with the windows down fairly often, though. When I do ride with the doors off and the top folded back, It's very difficult to hear anything over the wind, road noise, and tire drone. Anything is better than the 2 set's of 5.25" coax's running off the head unit. One set is in the the dash basically running free air. It *****!

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Anything is better than the 2 set's of 5.25" coax's running off the head unit.

This is true.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Just read that most manufacturers recommend placing the tweet within 12" of the woofer. Dang. That is definitely not the setup I had in mind.

Here's a random jeep. I had planned on putting the woofer in the sound pods seen behind the front seats, and the tweeter on the dash/A pillar somehwere. That's not even close!

I found this pic on Google Images. I just don't think this would be a good idea with the tweeter being literally less than a foot from your ear, plus I imagine the sound stage would be awful.

A guy makes tweeter mounts, but its down around your knee. They are, however, points up and towards the passengers. People who have bought them say they like 'em, I'm just not so sure.

I don't really want to go with the woofer in kick panels as it's already cramped enough down there anyways. Any thoughts or suggestions on speaker/tweeter placement?

 

[Betelgeuse]

Decided to build this out one half at a time. I may or may not add a sub in the future, probably will, but not guaranteed. I'm going to wire it up with a dual amp kit just to be safe.

Ordered an amp for the MM1's. Wanted to get something small, Class D, and something that wouldn't hurt my feelings as much if it were to get jacked. I got the Taramps TS 400x4. It does 200x2 and the Polk's are rated at 125 watts. I'm going to mount it behind the dash since it's tiny. After seeing Taramps referenced on the amp board, seeing Williston put a couple of their amps on the dyno, and it being a class D, it seemed like a good buy for $80.

For tweeter placement, I'm going to wire everything up, and get some 2 sided tape and just move them around until they sound the best. No use in worrying about where to put them until they are ready to be listened to. As far as them not being 12" from the mids, I noticed that I sit up when I drive, so I'm thinking they will be about equidistant from my ears. Hopefully it doesn't sound super weird.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Does anyone see any reason to put any Dynamat in these pods? I was thinking about just adding a lil polyfill.

I also think I'm going to go with 14ga OFC KnuKonceptz wiring for the component set. Does that sound right? It will be getting 200w per set, and the wiring runs shouldn't be all that long with the amp and crossovers mounted behind the dash.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Does anyone see any reason to put any Dynamat in these pods? I was thinking about just adding a lil polyfill.

I also think I'm going to go with 14ga OFC KnuKonceptz wiring for the component set. Does that sound right? It will be getting 200w per set, and the wiring runs shouldn't be all that long with the amp and crossovers mounted behind the dash.

I'd definitely deaden ABS type pods for midrange or full range drivers. Not like you need more than a square foot of it so it's hardly a big cost in the grand scheme of things.

14 gauge wire is more than adequate.

As far as tweeter placement, yes, ideally they want to be on the same plane as the mids (coils should be equal distance to you and as close as possible)... this may or may not make an audible difference but it guarantees you avoid phasing issues. If you were really trying to win SQ competitions you would try absolutely everything either way so don't get too hung up on that. More importantly most "car audio" marketed tweeters are designed to perform best off-axis (listening from about 45 degrees to the side of where they're pointing) and may get harsh if you point them directly at you. Home theater type tweeters are designed for on-axis (pointing directly at you). Again, you'll just have to test everything to see what you like especially if you can't see published on and off-axis response curves on whatever you've bought.

All that said, in a vehicle in general and particularly a soft top all this stuff will probably not amount to much audible difference and you'll probably just be happy enough with loud enough to hear it over road noise while driving.

 

[Betelgeuse]

I'd definitely deaden ABS type pods for midrange or full range drivers. Not like you need more than a square foot of it so it's hardly a big cost in the grand scheme of things.

14 gauge wire is more than adequate.

As far as tweeter placement, yes, ideally they want to be on the same plane as the mids (coils should be equal distance to you and as close as possible)... this may or may not make an audible difference but it guarantees you avoid phasing issues. If you were really trying to win SQ competitions you would try absolutely everything either way so don't get too hung up on that. More importantly most "car audio" marketed tweeters are designed to perform best off-axis (listening from about 45 degrees to the side of where they're pointing) and may get harsh if you point them directly at you. Home theater type tweeters are designed for on-axis (pointing directly at you). Again, you'll just have to test everything to see what you like especially if you can't see published on and off-axis response curves on whatever you've bought.

All that said, in a vehicle in general and particularly a soft top all this stuff will probably not amount to much audible difference and you'll probably just be happy enough with loud enough to hear it over road noise while driving.

You da man, thank you for the reply! Especially the off-axis comment, that really helps. I'll update this thread for reference when I get everything installed, which may be a couple weeks. Most of the stuff I find out about jeeps/audio is from years old message board posts. They've helped a lot, so maybe someone can gain some info from this one.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

You da man, thank you for the reply! Especially the off-axis comment, that really helps. I'll update this thread for reference when I get everything installed, which may be a couple weeks. Most of the stuff I find out about jeeps/audio is from years old message board posts. They've helped a lot, so maybe someone can gain some info from this one.

Most of the Jeep guys just do "sound bar" stuff for the wranglers and leave it at that. On the bright side there's some decent off the shelf options if you opted to go that way, nothing we'd consider great in serious car audio circles but stuff that'll integrate easily and won't require much work on your end in install.