tuxfan212

I know this has been covered in the past and I did do a little searching and research before hand. However, I am soon going to upgrading my audio system in my jeep.

Current System
Low end Sony head unit. Plays Fine but has bad radio reception. Might be my antenna.
Aftermarket 6.5s from the JY. The front ones are of decent quality and the back ones are total garbage.
Dual XPE2700 400 watt 2 channel amp. I used 8 gauge to wire this thing up.

Future System:
Decent head unit preferably with HD radio
5x7s or 6x9s in the rear hatch. New 6.5s in the front.
Same amp.
Probably no Sub. I listen almost exclusively to country and dont want to haul around a sub box.

Heres what I want to know. First of all what speakers do you recommend. Specifically, I dont really want a brand war just suggestions. Would I see a BIG difference in 6x9s over 5x7s? Can they be mounted vertically? Is there really a huge reason to switch to 12 or 10 gauge wire if I already wired it up with 14. I mean is it really going to effect much I am not a crazy audio freak? Also what do you guys think of HD radio. I listen to radio more than CDs and like the idea of it. Thats all really.

no rdplz

The Sony Xplod CDX-GT700HD is a good head unit. You can get it for about $180 and it has HD radio, iPod hookups (rear, front USB, and front AUX). You could spend more on others, but for what it sounds like you're looking for, I'd go with this.definitely check your antenna for better reception.

6x9 3-ways sound MUCH better than 5x7's. I've got Pioneers all around in mine (yeah, they're overpriced) and they sound great. 14g wire will work fine.

As for low end, you can get away with just using the 4 mains, but even with country some bass is nice. If you're concerned about a box taking up space, look into either an XJ Pod with a 8" JL sub, or there's a guy on here who makes enclosures for 10" subs. Both fit into that little cargo hold that's in passenger side rear panel and take up zero room. I've got the XJ Pod with the 8" JL, only running 200 watts to it, and it sounds very clean. Not overpowering at all, just a good clean sound. With a sub and that Sony head unit you can make your sub have all the lower frequencies (80 and below) and the mains carry the mid-highs (80+). THis keeps you from having distortion in the mains as they try to keep up with everything. Using the 3 ways lets them get some of the higher bass (80-100), but keeps the overall sound very well balanced.

HD radio is pretty cool. I don't listen to it all that much though as I tend to stick to my iPod.

tuxfan212

Thanks. The sub really isnt in my budget right now as I would need a second amp. I may decide later to put one in but for now it looks like 6x9s first. I already have the thing mostly wired up the way I want but I think the next purchase will be a set of Alpine S 6x9s. This is a dumb question but can they be mounted vertically or is that going to effect the sound too much.

no rdplz

If you mount them vertically you'll impede the sound a little due to the design in the back, but not much.

tuxfan212

With the way the XJ is there would be less hacking to do vertically I will take a look when i get them in.

91 limited owner

I have two 5 1/4's (three way, full range) in the front doors, two 6x9's (three way, full range) in the rear hatch, One 10" sub in the rear pocket. All Rockford Fosgates. A 5 channel 1400 watt amp, under the rear seat. Giving me 250 watts to each corner speaker, and 400 watts going to the sub. Sound like a concert hall, and some serious volume, if I want too. But the head unit I used is a Pioneer premier DEH- 90HHD. It's ten years old now, and still worth $450-$500. In 1990 when it came out, It listed for $1800. It controls every thing, freq.'s to each speaker, time delay, Car type it's in. It's actually a sound processor, And has a built in Hard drive, that holds 160 hrs. of music. Any CD played in it, will be recorded to the hard drive, and stored. All looks like factory install, I painted the speaker grills to match the interior carpet. You can't tell any of it is there, by looking in the windows. Don't want to temp would be thieves. It did take me two days to install it. One day to run all the wire, next day to mount the hardware. But well worth it.

Griff94

If you want to go cheap get this, Pioneer Radio/CD receiver and four 6"-6 1/2" speakers. It all cost $80 but this is my first sound system so I can care less. I only installed the rear speakers and radio but they sound amazing, by far better than the stock. Best $80 early Christmas gift I have ever received!