first jeep...need some speaker advice

[jumpinbean23 1]

Bought a 2013 jeep wrangler 2 dr a few weeks back, and it definitely needs some audio upgrades. have been looking at components, but still pretty new to them and looking for any advice or guidance on what to look for before I waste my money. So far i have been looking at the following.

 

Around $200

 

Jbl ms62- seems to have pretty good feedback

id ctx, cxs- mixed reviews

sundown 6.5cs-  not alot of feedback but seems positive other than a few "lacking tweeter" comments

massive ck6x - Haven't seen much on these

crescendo mezzo- not out yet, look good, but tweeter may not work with stock location on dash?

 

Around $100

pioneer d series- mostly positve some negative tweeter comments

ia 6.5- not much, but positive from what i've seen

 

I'm no audiophile so I probably will be fine with anything, but I would rather ask then go down the wrong road and be mad at myself later.  The top will be off in the summer so I need something that will sound decent at higher volumes with any music. Along with midbass in case my subs are removed due to hauling stuff, people. Maybe that's alot to ask,  I'm not sure, but thats why I'm here.

 

Any ideas or advice are more than welcome,  if any more info is needed just let me know. Thanks for reading

[lithium 358]

i wouldn't spend 200 on speaker without deadening the doors, is that in the budget? already have an amp as well? 

 

what are some speakers you've heard and enjoyed in other rides? if you havent listen to anything than head to a local shop or even BB and figure out what kind of sound you after, if they are mounted on a display board make sure to stand off axis. also pay attention to the characteristics of the tweeter, bright vs soft/laid back.

 

they're a pretty nice sale on bravox stuff at partsexpress right now, http://www.parts-express.com/cat/component-speaker-systems/394

unfortunately no 6.5s left, though if you could fit 5x7s that would be good. the 5.25 might still be a good buy but will lack midbass, especially without a sub to help fill in the lows. then again a jeep with no top wont have the same benefit of cabin gain with the top removed so you cant expect much  midbass/bass from any setup. 

 

the question is whether they'll  get loud enough for you. i'm willing to guess they will if you do some deadening on the doors and power them appropriately. 

Edited March 17, 2013 by lithium

[jumpinbean23 1]

Thanks lithium. I forgot to mention the 6.5s are in the dash around knee level in little  pods. Not sure if that will help or hurt the sound, I've always had door speakers, and this is new to me.

the only components I previously had were polk db's, but to me they were decent, I'm sure with a better install they could have been better. I have also had some pioneers in the past that I enjoyed, although they were not components.  I would like to have a more laid back tweeter., nothing too "bright"  I am more of a mellow kind of guy. I actually looked at those bravox speakers previously. I could probably do the 5.25s without much effort. I haven't decided on an amp, but have been looking at the jbl ez amps as well as the alpine mrx series. Something with a smaller footprint with some headroom should i decide to get brave and go active one day.  The budget is not that big of a concern at this point, as I am still planning. If it costs a little more to get what I want, I'll just save a little longer!  I'm gonna listen to some sets today although I'm not sure best buy will have a whole lot to check out.

[lithium 358]

are the pods sealed or vented outside?

 

i would get a little sound deadening to tame an resonances in the pod/panels. Talk to don at sounddeadenershowdown.com he'll take care of you. a few cld tiles and maybe some ccf to prevent panel rattle should be all you really need.


plenty of cheaper amps out there, but i agree with getting a 4 channel if you interested in active later

you can probably tuck something small like this rf under a seat if you limited on space. http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_34761_Rockford-Fosgate-R400-4D.html#tabs

alittle bigger but a ton more power, really popular amp design right now. http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38338_Precision-Power-PPI-P900.4.html

Edited March 18, 2013 by lithium

[Randal Johnson 544]

I'd like to see pics of your Jeep and it's system you have in it now ...

[KyleBrown 121]

I didn't do much EQing but I played with my IA6.5 comp set, for the money. I think they're pretty damn good. 

[gprestonmoto 89]

I know I'm still a rookie here, but I've been playing with car audio for awhile and if it was me, with a $200 budget, I'd invest in a pair of the Incriminator Audio Components and sound deadener. Comps are VERY reasonably priced and you can use the rest of your budget on deadening the doors. KEEP IN MIND (I've seen a lot of complaints on this), they IA's really like being amplified. I wouldn't waste money on "for right now" speakers. Buy the IA's, rock em ampless for a little while and snag a good quality amp for them. With their IA6.4 they sound really good, you can tell they were designed to get hammered by that amplifier, but a GTO-804EZ sounds pretty good as well. Just my 2 cents.

 

P.S. - Another great amp choice is Earthquake's PH2200W/4. I'll post the links to these all below

 

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38081_Earthquake-Sound-PH2200W-4.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43363_JBL-GTO-804EZ.html

http://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/incriminator-audio-i-series-6-5-components.html

http://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/incriminator-audio-6-4-4-channel-amplifier100wx4.html

Edited March 18, 2013 by gprestonmoto

[jumpinbean23 1]

@ lithium

the pods are sealed. I thought about deading the inside but wasn't sure if it would be a good or bad idea.  I've been going back and forth on the 900.4. I don't really need that much power, and it is a little larger than some of the others I'm looking at, but if I can find  a place to  hide it I'll probably go that route as it seems to be a great bang for your buck amp with plenty of headroom to spare

 

@ cableguy

It is complletly bone stock right now so nothing exciting to see yet I'm afraid, but it is gecko green to match my bright and colorful personality

 

@  armykyle1 & gprestonmoto thanks for the input. Haven't ruled out the IA's yet

                
        

Edited March 19, 2013 by jumpinbean23

[lithium 358]

could run the rear channels of 900.4 to a sub in the future. if that's not going to happen then go with something smaller and save some cash. i'm surprised you think its too large when its smaller or roughly the same size as the amps you mentioned earlier. i'm only pointing this out because the first time i saw the amp and read the power spec's i assumed it would be muuchhh larger

 

i would definitely deadening the pods with cld tiles or even reinforce them with fiberglass if they are only made from some thin plastic. should only take a few tiles tops. i'm not sure on how they're constructed but some ccf between any panels that touch would prevent them from vibrating together and rattling. send an email to don at sds, he'll have better advice than anyone on the interwebs. 

Edited March 19, 2013 by lithium

[lithium 358]

I know I'm still a rookie here, but I've been playing with car audio for awhile and if it was me, with a $200 budget, I'd invest in a pair of the Incriminator Audio Components and sound deadener. Comps are VERY reasonably priced and you can use the rest of your budget on deadening the doors. KEEP IN MIND (I've seen a lot of complaints on this), they IA's really like being amplified. I wouldn't waste money on "for right now" speakers. Buy the IA's, rock em ampless for a little while and snag a good quality amp for them. With their IA6.4 they sound really good, you can tell they were designed to get hammered by that amplifier, but a GTO-804EZ sounds pretty good as well. Just my 2 cents.

 

P.S. - Another great amp choice is Earthquake's PH2200W/4. I'll post the links to these all below

 

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38081_Earthquake-Sound-PH2200W-4.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43363_JBL-GTO-804EZ.html

http://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/incriminator-audio-i-series-6-5-components.html

http://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/products/incriminator-audio-6-4-4-channel-amplifier100wx4.html

the comps are probably an ok deal but the IA amp would be a waste of money, imo. just too expensive compared to cheaper offerings and used items. same for the jbl and alpine op was looking at if he's buying new. the earthquake amp looks like shit, and its probably too big OP to use anyways. 

[jumpinbean23 1]

I think i must have confused the ppi size with something else i looked at, not that big at all so I'm going with that. Im sure the ia amp is good i just can't see myself dropping the cash for it. With the money i would save my components could be covered. I'll hit up don about the deadening and see what he suggests

[SS Teacher 177]

OP, any updates?  I just traded in my beloved Challenger and bought a Wrangler.  My shop plans to put CLD tiles on/in the speaker pods, but wondered if it would be better to reinforce the pods with fiberglass.  They told me the pods are in there snug and adding baffles on anything on the outside would be really tough (i.e. expensive).  I'm thinking about those IA comps as I've found one out of the 7 shops I went to had a working soundboard.  I was going to just join the Zombie masses and get Alpine type r's, but would rather spend more on instal.  I've got $500 budgeted for an instal of comps in front, Audio Control EQL on a custom bracket mounted under the seat, Arc Audio 4 channel amp bridged to a bedliner coated sub in the cargo area.