94zj318

So I have a 2002 WJ GC Laredo that has the standard (NON-Infinity) sound system from the factory, and recently, the front driver's door factory speaker (I'd ordered a used factory speaker last year to replace a nonworking factory speaker) blew. It would still play, but it was unbearrable with the rattling and "thumping" of the speaker. The front passenger's door factory speaker was still working, but I can't imagine that it would've been that long before it blew as well... I'm running a Kenwood KDC-BT758HD aftermarket head unit that powers all six factory speakers.

A few days ago I started researching possible aftermarket replacement speakers. Since it's my daily driver, I wanted good sound quality, yet didn't want to spend that much on aftermarket speakers. Two days ago, I purchased a pair of Alpine 6X9" speakers at Best Buy that Sonic Electronix (the usual site I use, Crutchfield, didn't sell these speakers) said would fit. I didn't want to do any cutting or install any mounting adapters. They're the SPE-6090 6X9" 2-way speakers, and let me say, they're great! I haven't yet replaced the rear door speakers (I will with Alpines in the future), and don't plan on replacing the front dashboard speakers/tweeters. They actually fit pretty well, and don't sit right up against the front door speaker grilles (that's why many aftermarket 6x9" speakers won't fit the doors of the WJ) and are rated at 75 watts RMS, or 300 watts peak power. The voice match seems pretty close to the factory speakers in the rear. The cost? $89.99 at Best Buy, plus $14.99 (overpriced) for the Metra 72-6514 wiring harness adapters so you don't have to cut your factory wires, it plugs right into the factory wiring harnesses, then crimps onto the aftermarket speaker terminals. So in total, with a $10.00 Geek Squad 2-year protection plan, I spent $110.00, which is a great price for great speakers. (:

Just thought I'd share my recommendation as to replacing the factory front door speakers in your WJ. (:

Turbo_Bonko

Thanks for your advice. 99 Laredo without infinity here. I was looking what to use in my front doors and I love the quality sound of alpine speakers. So if these spe-6090 fit flawlessly, they are the ones to go for me too.

94zj318

For the time it takes to install them (30 mins. for me) it's worth it. Be sure you get the speaker harnesses at Best Buy for them too, they're worth the $14.99 you have to pay for the pair of harnesses, so you don't have to splice into the factory wires, just plug-'n'-play. (: Plus you can use the factory screw holes and screws, even though the speakers come with their own screws. After a week of having them in, they sound great... keep in mind I'm using only the internal amplifier in the aftermarket Kenwood HU (Head Unit) I have installed to power all six speakers, no external amplifier. You can leave the factory rear speakers intact and they still sound great with one pair of aftermarket speakers and one pair of factory speakers. You can leave the factory dashboard "tweeters" in, too. (:

Also, I'd recommend spending the extra $10 in order to get the Geek Squad 2-Year Protection Plan. So all in all, you'll be spending about $115 but it's worth it for the better sound quality with the Alpines. I was gonna get the Kicker KSC-693's that the people over at Crutchfield recommended, but the Best Buy closest to me (and even the stores a short distance from me) didn't have them in stock, so I decided to try the Alpines, and I'm sure glad I did... after all Jeep does use Alpine as their OEM speakers in the premium sound Jeep models, and no wonder they chose Alpine. (:

And when you take the door panel off, carefully unsnap the yellow connectors holding the interior door handle and power door lock actuator rods in place (they swing out from the rods) and disconnect the rods BEFORE lowering the door panel... I thought I could get around this and ended up snapping off plastic around the hole the rod goes into when the rods slipped out... (if this occurs, you WON'T be able to open the door from the inside OR unlock/lock the door)... I had to go to the local Pick 'N' Pull to get a new interior door handle assembly since there was no repairing the broken plastic. Also, be sure the wiring harnesses aren't pushed too far back into the door where the window can knock the connectors out of place off the speaker terminals... I pushed the harness back into the door too far and when I used the "auto down" function on the front driver's window, the connectors slipped off of the speaker terminals and I had to reconnect the connectors to the speaker terminals. Take time to carefully pry the door panel from the door in order to not break those yellow retaining clips holding the door panel to the door... the screws alone WON'T hold the door panel in place by themselves. If the clips get stuck in the doors themselves, carefully use something like a flathead screwdriver to gently pry them out of the holes in order to keep them intact, as they do break easily.

Good luck to you replacing your speakers, and let me know how they turn out (: