Speakers / Audio - Creative ways to keep stock look

[truk820]

Hi all,

I'm getting ahead of myself here but on another phenomenally grey winter day I thought I'd look on the bright side: the speaker/audio setup on the CJ.

I'm a bit of an audiophile and want a step up from the stock speakers while maintaining as much of a stock look as I can (ex. no 'Centrapod' enclosures or hanging speakers from the roll bar).

I might be wanting it all here, but any great ideas out there on upgraded systems that keep things hidden, or at least minimally invasive? I found a thread on installing a slim-profile subwoofer under the rear seat which I'm considering, but what about speakers?

 

[Hedgehog]

Get an I-pod of some sort, plug in the head phones or ear bugs and play your music as loud as you can stand. This way you won't have to cut up your Jeep and everybody around you won't be subjected to a concert they don't especially want to hear and you get your music.

 

[Torxhead]

I'm sure you could install some quality speakers in the oem locations and turn them up loud enough so you can hear them while the soft top is flapping.

 

[billyballer]

Mazda Miata's have speakers in the head rest of the seats. It's an interesting idea that would be pretty easy to replicate on other seats. You only need tiny speakers because of the proximity to your ears. But it is completely hidden. Of course they don't handle low end at all. I have a steel horse center console and I mounted to 6" speakers on the sides of it. They are out of sight because the seats sit high enough to block them, but they put out good sound and the console acts like a speaker box. (I have a divided console so there is still a rear compartment I can use for storage).

 

[IOPort51]

I have a couple of pretty heavy 5"(or maybe 4") speakers in the dash, whatever is the stock size. I upgraded the dash to hold 2 speakers. The cheapest FM,SD card radio I could find and it really works pretty well. I am sure it could get better but I am actually quite happy with the results.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

i know you said no centra pod but I like the combo of Mod pod and sound wedges works great.
Select Increments TJ 11472 - Select Increments Mod-Pod Speaker Enclosures for 76-06 Jeep® CJ-5, CJ-7, CJ-8 Scrambler & Wrangler YJ, TJ, Unlimited - Quadratec
Vertically Driven Products 53101 - VDP Sound Wedges without Speakers for 80-95 Jeep CJ5, CJ7 & Wrangler YJ - Quadratec

They both use space that you wouldnt need for anything else and neither stands out like a sore thumb and fits with the looks of the jeep pretty well.

 

[truk820]

I haven't stumbled upon the sound wedges! Those actually look quite reasonable (at least through the google searches of people who've installed them). I'm thinking the 2 in dash and wedges might do the trick - thanks! I'll post pics when they come through

 

[wm69]

2 speakers in dash, 5 1/4. You'll need some with no tweeter protrusion if you want to bottom mount them, or you can use spacers on the dash studs and space them back a bit. Get some baffles to cover the back of the speakers. I have Pioneer component speakers in my green CJ and they sound better than anything else I've used over the years in the dashes of my CJ's (Infinity, Sony, Kenwood, Polk, JBL). Previous owner installed them and put the tweeters above the volt/oil gauges. When I paint the Jeep I'm going to recess the tweeters in the rollbar pad pointed down at the front seats or maybe put them in the upper corners on the inside of the windshield frame. Speakers with no tweeter in the center sound MUCH MUCH better in the dash of a Jeep. The tweeters keep your bass response to a minimum, and with a 5 1/4 speaker you don't have much bass to begin with, so you end up with high end only from your front speakers unless you can get some 5 1/4" speakers with no tweeter. A lot of people use the factory speakers from a TJ soundbar.

Sound wedges in the back. Only way to go.

For Bass I used to have an amplified bazooka behind my back seat. I wired it through a 4 prong trailer light plug (+, -, speaker inputs) so it could easily be removed. I forgot to remove it one night and someone else removed it for me.

I have Kenwood headunits in the dash (cassette, and yes I still use my tapes), and a Sony FM modulated single CD player in a tuffy console, along with a Scoche FM modulated Aux hookup for my ipod, but my Jeeps were slowly modified over the last 20 years.

Were I doing one from scratch now I would do a stock AMC AM/FM headunit through an amp, component speakers in the dash (would probably just leave out the tweeters), CD Player and Ipod hookup in the Tuffy, soundwedges, and some kind of powered subwoofer.

That would give you a 100% stock look in the dash, CD and Aux imputs through your OEM radio, and good sound.