Still hear the stereo on the highway with the top off

[TSB8C]

I was asked about my stereo setup in my '84 CJ7. Maybe others will also get some inspiration or ideas from my experience. I installed a Sony "mechless" stereo ("mechless" meaning no moving parts like a CD player, etc). It has bluetooth for my phone, Sirius XM, a front USB for a thumb drive, and other features. But the speakers are the real story as it was hard to hear at highway speeds with the top off (which is most of the time). I don't have any speakers in the stock locations in my dash. I have a Select Instruments "Centra-Pod" enclosure on the tranny hump right under the dash. This houses two 5.25" dual-cone speakers. I then have two VDP "Sound Wedges" that house 6x9 3-way speakers and mount to the roll bar right behind the front seats, and also supply cup holders for the rear passengers. Now my stereo only has 4 speaker outputs, so these are taken. But it also has two pre-amp outputs (RCA connectors) as well. I have always wanted a pair of wakeboard tower speakers (like on a boat) mounted to the rollbar. Since I replaced my rollbar with a YJ "family style" bar (to get rear shoulder belts) I now had the perfect place to mount them. I purchased a pair of Clarion CM7123T tower speakers. These came with 8x12 speakers already installed, are designed for wet environments (and even salt water resistance) and have a swivel type mount so you can adjust the angle of the mounting. The clamps fit the Jeep rollbar perfectly, but do have rubber inserts if needed for other diameter bars. I also purchased a Boss R1002 2-channel power amp to drive the speakers. The amp connects to the stereo's pre-amp outputs, now giving me 6 total speakers - 4 directly driven by the stereo and 2 driven by the power amp. Now I didn't want the amp exposed to weather by mounting it in the rear or on the back of the rear seat, etc. I wanted a clean install without visible wiring as well. I made a small bracket that mounts to one side of the amp using existing screws holding on the case. I then used the studs on the rear of the dash where the passenger side speaker would normally be mounted to mount this homemade bracket on the amp. The amp fit perfectly in that space right above the heater assembly and right next to the stereo. So some short wires connecting the power, the signal wire from the stereo, and the audio cables. Then it was just a case of running wires to the speakers on the rollbar. I ran the wires inside the roll bar padding. The YJ rollbar is already angled, so mounting the speakers with the swivel mounts straight has the two speakers angled right at the driver and passenger seats. Night Ranger and Twisted Sister are now loud and clear even at 75mph on the freeway with no top or doors.

 

[CJ]

Looks and I bet sounds good...

I like your choice of music. I'm rocking some Red Barchetta right now. Man how I hate the "Motor Law"

 

[TSB8C]

Looks and I bet sounds good...

I like your choice of music. I'm rocking some Red Barchetta right now. Man how I hate the "Motor Law"

Thanks and I agree completely on the "Motor Law".

 

[Patrick]

Thanks for the tip, TSB8C. I am an audiophile myself and I gotta have great sounding sound in my CJ. Many years ago I built my stereo (left/right channel) box for my CJ using commercial grade components. To this day, I use it regularly. It has gotten rained on and is exposed to sun light and has been recarpeted once and still sounds great. As for the amp, I am using a Rockford that I bought in the nineties which by design channels water away from the electronics and connection points. The problem is that the box is heavy and takes up the room for the rear seat. I might consider your setup. Turn it up!

 

[TSB8C]

Thanks for the tip, TSB8C. I am an audiophile myself and I gotta have great sounding sound in my CJ. Many years ago I built my stereo (left/right channel) box for my CJ using commercial grade components. To this day, I use it regularly. It has gotten rained on and is exposed to sun light and has been recarpeted once and still sounds great. As for the amp, I am using a Rockford that I bought in the nineties which by design channels water away from the electronics and connection points. The problem is that the box is heavy and takes up the room for the rear seat. I might consider your setup. Turn it up!

Sounds like a great setup. I have grandkids and need that backseat available, so for me, that was a real decision point on what to design.

 

[CJ]

Thanks for the tip, TSB8C. I am an audiophile myself and I gotta have great sounding sound in my CJ. Many years ago I built my stereo (left/right channel) box for my CJ using commercial grade components. To this day, I use it regularly. It has gotten rained on and is exposed to sun light and has been recarpeted once and still sounds great. As for the amp, I am using a Rockford that I bought in the nineties which by design channels water away from the electronics and connection points. The problem is that the box is heavy and takes up the room for the rear seat. I might consider your setup. Turn it up!

I miss my sound competition days. I'm partial to the older Soundstream reference series amps, Focal and MB Quart mains and Earth Quake subs. Here are a couple of my spare amps laying around.

 

[Masscj7]

Those are some awesome amps! Too bad they were bought by Epsilon who makes for the most part flea market grade stuff. Unfortunately PPI went the same direction.

Focal though has continued to be a leader in quality and performance. I did a set of their 3 way ES line speakers for a customer with a marginal amp and good lord! Unreal, of course with a $2k price tag, they should give you a tickle. Their flax cone material is so good.


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