My stereo plans
 

Hey all, just wanted to take a min to share the plans for the stereo in the XJ I plan to buy with my tax return this year.

1) remove the current stereo ( stock or after market, it is gone )

2) build a blank out plate to fill the hole left behind and use that to mount switches for lights, air locker (someday) winch control or what ever

3) mount this amplifier behind where the stock stereo was mounted
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_530PN5...-PN5-640D.html or this one
http://www.memphiscaraudio.com/mxa-amplifiers/mxa5750/

4) mount upgrade, probably Polk DB series, speakers in the stock front locations
and (IF they will fit) 6x9s in the rear, other wise stick with stock size

5) mount a 10"sub in the factory rear passenger side cubby

6) for the head unit I am gonna mount a bluetooth dongle I got from Memphis Audio, allowing me to use my phone, iPod or any bluetooth device as the head unit. http://www.memphiscaraudio.com/produ...ons/16mxabtac/

SO you know, my phone has the various streaming apps, Pandora, I-heart radio, spotify , etc as well as a 128gig SD card full of music and a built in FM tuner, so I get everything I need for audio in one simple package.

Does ANYONE see a issue with my plans ? Fitment issues etc ? Thanks for reading my post, I hope this is one of many to come, I love this group so far.

As far as I know, 6x9s will fit with some work, and the only concern I would have is with the amp inside the dash. In my experience amps can get pretty warm if they are heavily used, so i would be worried about it overheating or something along those lines inside the dash. But I wouldnt base that solely off of my thoughts... Try and research it or something

I have been running a variant of this in my van for about 2 years now with no issues unless I ran it full volume for a long period of time. These amps are really efficient , so don't produce as much heat as a less efficient amp.
The big difference between this system and the one in my van is the van is 4 channel and no sub.

Well in that case, have at it. That is definetely an interesting idea instead of a head unit. Just make sure the amp will fit in the space of an actual headunit, because if I recall correctly there isnt a while lot of extra room. If you do it post some pictures of it before you put the switch plate on, and then some afterwards too. Good luck

I will post up pics of the build when I do it, fitments of the 6x9s and amp are the biggest concerns. The nice part of this build is I can put the amp anywhere , so if it don't fit the dash, I can put it in the rear cubby, under the seat or hell, on the roof if I want to ! LOL

My friend has a similar setup on his boat (no headunit), and the only downside is no way to tune it quickly unless you also run a standalone equalizer. Other than that, it works pretty well controlling the volume through your phone.

I have a JL 4 channel amp under the rear bench and it fits without any issues. I am planning on running an Alpine 500w amp next to it when I get around to installing my sub.

Speaking of bass, if you want more bass (remember, space makes bass), make sure you get a sub matched to the enclosure size. SoundCubed makes a stellar 8" that works down to .25 cu-ft sealed, and should handle 500w RMS. I actually already have the sub, but have yet to order the enclosure. The mounting depth is going to be close (.25" of space), but SoundCubed said it should actually be plenty of space. I might "clearance" the enclosure a bit where the sub vents to get a touch more room if I can.

http://www.soundqubed.com/HDS208-Dual-4_p_295.html

http://subthump.com/Jeep-Custom-Subw...Enclosure.html

Sundown also makes the SD-8 model which is supposed to also be one of the best, but SoundCubed was cheaper and handles as much power.

I had that soundstream amp and it is ok. Good if you are on a budget but i will personally not be buying it again. I have had very good luck with the less expensive line of the alpine amps.

Thanks for the input guys, I do not have experience with Sound Stream but he specs looked good for what I wanted, so it was one choice. I am leaning towards the Memphis amp due to experience with them.

As for the box, yeah I know all too well about that headache, U owned a stereo shop back in the late 80s early 90s, what a pain! LOL

Theres not much room behind the stock deck. It was a tight fit for my little sirius/xm receiver that is only 4-5 inches long and maybe an inch thick. I mounted it behind an aftermarket deck to keep it out of the way.

The Memphis amp I am leaning towards is 12.13 x 7.25 x 1.5 and there will not be a headunit in the way, so that will help. Will it be enough, I won't k ow until I get in there. . .

I can vouch for under the rear bench. Have had a Hertz Hcp-4 and RF 1200-d under there for over a year with zero issues.

Apparently hertz makes a pretty good component speaker too...."better than Polk" and about the same price. Be sure to check out Amazon for reviews n such too.

I'd recommend not relocating the stereo or putting the amp behind the dash i the OE location... thee will be limited ventilation for the amp which could lead it to malfunction... I guess that you don't want to do as much wiring as you'd have to with mounting an amp in the rear of the Jeep (i.e. in the stock location under the rear bench seat), but it'll allow for more ventilation. If you have to, mount the amp under the front passenger's seat, which will allow for plenty of ventilation and just a bit less wiring. :)

As far as replacing the stock front door 5.25s with 6x9's, it will work, as other had said, but it will require a bit of modification, and you may have to cut out the stock plastic front door speaker grilles in order to do so, and also re-drill the stock front speaker screw holes. They will, however, work in the rear easily if you modify the stock soundbar to replace the stock rear 5.25's.

In terms of a cubby-mounted sub, believe it or not, they DO make a sub enclosure that fits in place of the stock cubby, BUT it only fits an 8" sub, NOT anything larger. If you're really concerned about giving up cargo space, they make "powered" subs that have integrated amps and can fit under a seat or in tight spaces, but still work like a normal, full-size sub. There are plenty of "powered" subs to choose from. :)

Even though you have a Bluetooth dongle, I'd still recommend going for an aftermarket radio with Bluetooth. I know you might not be looking to spend a lot of money on a radio, but there are plenty to choose from with Bluetooth, some under $100.

Good luck with your project, and I hope my suggestions helped. :)

I guess I was not 100% clear, it will be 5.25" up front (doors) and 6x9 or 6.5"s, MAYBE 8", coaxials in the rear hatch location.

As for the amp, IF it fits in behind the dash location, it will work fine. I have been running this set up in my Dodge van for 3 years now with no issues at all, but with a 4 channel Memphis amp instead of the 5 channel I will use in this build.

I have seen the sub boxes, and they are very nice, but on my budget, and just being a 8" when I am already putting 6x9s or 8" coaxials back there, just not worth it. If I can not fit a 10" or 12" there, there will not be a sub then.

I am going head unitless because I prefer simplicity, my phone is the stereo in my van right now, on my Goldwing and will be in my jeep too. I have apps for Pandora, I Heart Radio, Sirius/XM, as well as a Micro SD card with 120ish gig of my music and movies on it, So I am covered for tunes, and movies no matter where I am, cell coverage or not. Plus, with the amp hidden, and my phone being the head unit, it makes it VERY hard for someone to steal my stereo gear.

Again, until I get the Jeep, I am just kicking around ideas so far. . . . .

They make 8" coaxials?

LOL Yeah, I get asked that, A LOT ! They do, their PRIMARY design / use is in Wake Board Tower Tubes, and I have seen them from as low as $50.00 for off brand stuff, to as much as $500.00 for super top of the line stuff, and every where in between. For a budget build, I personally recomend the Pioneer TS-MR2040 Marine 8-Inch 200-Watt Coaxial Speakers , I have found them as low as $ 88.00 using the google search engine.
Now these are NOT 8" subs with a tweeter, but are a 8" woofer and tweeter combo, so you will get real nice bass, and housed right, even some good BOOM from them, but not like you would with a true sub in a designed box. But if you make a replacement board for the rear hatch out of 1/2" MDF, seal it to the door body and mount these in it, they will sound good, if not great to all but the pickiest audiophile .
Hell, if you got power window and wood working skills/tools, I bet you could make a build out and mount a set of these up front in the doors too. . . . that will get those gears in your head turning. :D