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Upgrade stock 6 speaker system on 2015 JGC Limited

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2015 limited
41K views 63 replies 15 participants last post by  antsjeep 
#1 · (Edited)
Just traded my 2011 JGC limited 4x2 for a 2015 limited 4x4. Super happy with the purchase! Downside is that the 2011 had the 9 spk Alpine system w/ sub and the 2015 came with 6 spk. I did not realize I would miss the 9 spk until I started listening to the stock 6 spk, ugh...

I've read a ton in the forum about upgrading the stock system (rageoffury, etc) and think I have a good feel for what to do. To put in context, I'm mostly a talk radio listener but occasionally like to listen to music. No serious thumping, just good decent sound. I'm planning to upgrade the stock system to:

Front: Kicker 40CSS694 / Rear: Kicker 40CS654 (about $250 ttl)
or
Front: Focal ISS 690 / Rear: Focal ISC165 (about $450 ttl)

I'm also considering adding an amp. I realize this will improve the sound drastically but I do want to see what replacing the stock speakers will do first. If I add an amp it will probably be the Alpine MRV-F300. I think this will fit nicely under the drivers seat.

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc?
 
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#2 ·
Greetings and welcome,

Both choices of speakers that you are interested have the metal dome tweeters. Since you mostly interested in talk radio, you are better off looking for something with more natural tweeter that does not use metal. They call this soft dome because they use different types of natural products. The most common is silk.

All of Focal product lines use a metal dome tweeter. Some here do not like it because it delivers are harsh and bright sound. The Alpine system that you had previous used all soft dome material in the tweeters and full range speakers.

Here are some examples of component speakers from Crutchfield:

Find what fits your car - Crutchfield

Remember you are not limited to 6x9, many here have used 6.5 speaker as well.

Best for now.:)
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the advice. I've gone back and read your posts on various a/v threads, very helpful. I'm contemplating what to do next. I'm looking for a sound close to what I had in the 9 speaker setup (even if it's considered average). I'm not sure which direction to take but have thought of a few options.

A) Trade my vehicle back in and get the Overland for $5,000 more. I don't need the bells and whistles on the Overland although they're nice so this seems excessive to get the 9 speaker system. Probably not a good option.

B) Buy the components for the 9 speaker system from Chrysler (amp, sub, rear right liner, both d-pillars, rear pillar speakers, front dash plastic, front dash speaker, etc.). Just based on looking up the price of the amp and sub this would cost $500-700 I think. I'm not sure if this would be plug and play of if I would need to have the can reprogrammed? Also, I'm not sure if this would be the best bang for my buck?

C)
Phase 1: Replace the front (component) and rear (coaxial) speakers. No amp, just see how much this makes a difference. I'm guessing this WILL sound better than what I'm hearing now with the stock 6. Will it sound close to the 9 speaker?

Phase 2: Add an amp under the front driver's seat, take the high-level inputs from the stock speaker leads and pump back to the replacement speakers. I'm guessing this will drastically improve the sound. Will it be as close to the thumping of the stock 9 speaker system without having to add a sub? I'm looking at the Alpine MRV-F300 class d amp. Will it accept the speaker level feeds without any problem, noise?

Phase 3: Add a 2nd amp and JL sub in the back right corner. I imagine this will sound fantastic but will also cost me another $800. Will I get enough basic thumping out of the phase 2? Again, I'm talk radio with some music listening.
 
#4 ·
Greetings,

IMHO, I would not trade it in due to the fact you going to loose money on the transaction unless the dealer makes it worth your while. The money that is needed for your transaction for the swap, a portion could be used in the sound system.

You probably read that I ask a simple question to get started. Do you really need a surround sound system? In reality the OE system is nothing to write home about. Based upon your original post, since music is secondary on wish list, this is something to think about. Their are aftermarket alternates that you have at hand that could be incorporated into your stock locations.

One idea at your disposal for surround system is to go for 5.1 using the Alpine processor PXA-H800. And that you can talk about later.


In addition which screen do you have the 8.4 or the 5 inch?

Best for now.:)
 
#5 ·
I have the 8.4A unit.

Taking your advise on the silk dome tweeters, I'm looking at Alpine SPS-610c or SPR-60c for the fronts and SPS-610 for the rear. Crutchfield doesn't show these as fitting but rageoffury commented that they do fit. One question, would it benefit me to get the components for the rear and put the rear tweeter up a little higher on the rear door (cutting a hole)? Would I notice the sound difference from the front?

Should I put these in first and see how much things improve before spending the money on amp/sub?
 
#12 ·
Greetings,

The selection of the speakers that you are interested in are far better than the stock OE. You will for sure appreciate them.

Regarding placement of the rear, this is really a matter of personal taste. I personally do not like to the have rear tweeter close to my ear for I feel it throws off the front stage. If you have a DSP that you can control the time delay and lower the top end of the frequency, then it becomes better. Although I am still not a fan of it.

Yes, let the speakers break in and listen to them. Afterwards, if you feel you need more power and introduce the low range to the JGC, then go ahead. If you desire the surround sound, as I said in the previous post, their a ways to so, including ordering the rear D-pillars from Jeep without the speakers. The Alpine you have selected are easier enough to match a center and rear pillars down the road.

My feeling to spend $5,000.00 plus any trade in costs and additional taxes is not worth it.

Best for now.:)
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the advice. Did you put 6x9's in the front and 6.5 in the rear? Components or coaxials in front?

One thought I had was to put Alpine SPS-610c in the front and Kicker CS654 in the rear. The Alpine has the silk dome for good vocals but stops at 70hz. The Kickers in the rear may provide a little better low end since they go to 40hz. I realize this is all with no amp and no sub so the car won't shake but still looking for a good combination to replace the awful stock speakers!
 
#13 ·
1stjeep-really appreciate the advice. Put the alpine spa-610c in the front and already sounds so much better. Working on the back tomorrow. Oh how did I miss the silk dome tweeters! Man, the stock speakers are absolute junk. Planning to add the kickers in the back. Will take some pics and post soon.


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#14 ·
Greetings,

Anytime and enjoy it. :thumbsup:

Best for now.:)
 
#15 ·
Installed JBL GX602 6.5's in the back based on some feedback that they provide good bass. Not getting any bass at all from the rear, nothing even close to the punch I'm getting from the Alpine sps-610c in the front. Took one out and installed a Polk DXI-651 (suggestion from Best Buy) and still the same, no bass from the rear. Stumped?

Also, looking to add the Alpine PDR-V75 amp to power the 4 speakers and JL Audio stealthbox sub. Heard good things about this amp and think it will fit well in the spare tire compartment (taking out one of the storage boxes). I want to catch everything at the radio (speaker output to the amp and amp output back to the speakers). I'm trying to find a m/f harness to go between the radio connector and the radio so that I don't have to cut into the factory harness. Metra, etc. does not have one for the 52-pin harness. The closest thing I found was: Metra Online but this is only the male side and I also need the female. I also found this company: iCarKits - V8-AVICH-03 for the 2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. which is an unlock for nav, etc. Reaching out to them to see if I can buy just the harness.

Any thoughts?
 
#19 ·
Installed JBL GX602 6.5's in the back based on some feedback that they provide good bass. Not getting any bass at all from the rear, nothing even close to the punch I'm getting from the Alpine sps-610c in the front. Took one out and installed a Polk DXI-651 (suggestion from Best Buy) and still the same, no bass from the rear. Stumped?

Also, looking to add the Alpine PDR-V75 amp to power the 4 speakers and JL Audio stealthbox sub. Heard good things about this amp and think it will fit well in the spare tire compartment (taking out one of the storage boxes). I want to catch everything at the radio (speaker output to the amp and amp output back to the speakers). I'm trying to find a m/f harness to go between the radio connector and the radio so that I don't have to cut into the factory harness. Metra, etc. does not have one for the 52-pin harness. The closest thing I found was: Metra Online but this is only the male side and I also need the female. I also found this company: iCarKits - V8-AVICH-03 for the 2015 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE. which is an unlock for nav, etc. Reaching out to them to see if I can buy just the harness.

Any thoughts?
You probably need this type of a harness:
CRUX Interfacing Solutions ::: SWRCR-59D
 
#16 ·
Not getting any bass from the rear door speakers probably has to do more with the door enclosure than with the speaker. I didn't get much bass from my 2004 GC rear doors when I upgraded the amps and speakers. Also, my factory speakers in the rear of my '15 GC don't throw out any bass what so ever. Rear door speakers are usually just for sound fill. Use the fronts for mid-bass and a rear sub for lows.
 
#17 ·
Hello!

I'm not looking to dredge up old stuff, but I am looking for some clarification, as I've read different responses, in different forums.

I very recently purchased a 2015 GC Limited, with the 6 speaker set-up. Years ago, yes, I used to add outboard amps, big speakers, etc, but I'm getting a little too old to be on my back, straining to reach obscure wires under the dash, and these days the radios are way too integrated into the vehicles' controls, so you can't swap them out anyway.

I listen primarily to classic rock, don't really need a "sub", and would like to do a few minor upgrades to my OE speakers, so that's why I'm here. I've read that there are "Chrysler, Kicker" upgraded speakers, "Kicker, Kicker" speakers that are similar to the Chrysler upgrades, as well as other brands. One question that popped up while reading various discussions, is that the Kicker speakers that are sold through normal stereo sources, are a higher quality speaker, than the MoPar Kickers. Does anyone know that to be true? If so, are the dimensions of the two speakers (6x9) the same? In other words, will they fit in the front doors of a GC?

Secondly, do the Kicker tweeters directly replace the OE tweeters that are mounted in the "pods" on the upper portion of the doors?


Thanks for any information that you guys can provide!
 
#18 · (Edited)
Any upgrade you make to the stock speakers will be better. I've put Alpine sps610c in the front and 610 in the rear. They sound much better than stock speakers. The component tweeter fits inside the existing pillar, no modification other than put some hot glue to secure if needed. Not sure if kicker components fit, think I read on one of the posts that they fit great (or maybe these were the focals)?

Taking the front/rear panels off fairly easy. Panel removal instructions are all over the board or check wk2jeeps.com.

You will probably want to add sub. There is one oem-like option which is the jl audio sub box. It fits in the rear right quarter panel and looks stock. The downside is it's $700, and you still need to add an amp. I'm working on a cheaper solution for the sub/box now and hopefully will have it complete soon.


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#20 ·
Greetings,

If you have a 2014+ with the 8.4 or 5.0 screen, the Uconnect system is built into the radio itself. On the 8.4, besides the radio functions, you have other functions that the JGC performs on the touch screen display and those data signals travel thru the Hi-Speed CAM Bus via the Uconnect. This is the major problem with these radios to change out to the aftermarket world.

Check with Cruz first and make sure you are compatibly. In this industry, this change quickly, so it hard to keep up to date. If this was the case, it would make cleaning up this system so much easier and user-friendly.

Those who have the 2013 and below have a far easier time.


Best for now.:)
 
#21 · (Edited)
Finished the upgrade to the stock 6-speaker system (at least for now):

F: Alpine SPS-610c
R: Alpine SPS-610
Sub/box: JL Audio 10W1-4 and custom box to fit in spare wheel well
Amp: Alpine PDR-V75
Harness: PAC-CH41

F/R: Installed the F/R speakers as per the many instructions on this forum. Sounds much better than stock speakers! Tweeters fit nicely in stock location using stock grill.

Sub/box: I used the JL Audio 10TW1-4 sub (I think same one they put in the stealthbox). Got it for $185 at Crutchfield, not bad. I didn't want to spend $700 on the stealthbox so I got the idea to build a custom sub box to fit in the full-size spare wheel well in the trunk (see pics). The total interior volume when finished was about .35 cuft (after adjusting for displacement of the sub). This is small but is the approved spec for this sub. Added 1/3lb poly-fill for some assistance. Relocated the jack/tools under the rear drivers side seat. Fits perfect even when seat it down.

Amp: Installed the Amp under the drivers seat, fit very nicely. Power to the amp goes up carpet on drivers right side between seat and center console, through the center console (nice chase once you pop out sides of center console) and down right side center console between it and the passenger seat right to the battery compartment. Ground connected to bare metal screw on left side of center console towards the gas pedal (will see it once you pull off the left side panel of center console).

Connection to radio/speakers: I used the PAC-CH41 interface ($200 on Amazon), not for the NAV unlock features but rather just to get the harness in order to tap into the factory signal coming out of radio and then back to the signal going to the speakers. Expensive for just the harness but I couldn't source both ends anywhere (only could find the female end as posted early) and I DID NOT want to cut into the factory harness. Worth the investment to me.

Haven't done much tuning yet but so far sounds great. Few questions:
- The volume gets really loud at 20-25 volume on the radio. It starts to distort at 30+ and is way too loud. I have the gains on the amp turned to minimum. Should I install a LOC between the radio speaker out and the amp rather than just going speaker level into the amp (which can accept speaker input)? Would this allow me to "clean" the signal a little better so not to distory and also keep from blowing my kids ears out if they accidentally turn it all the way up?
 

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#22 · (Edited)
Installed a PAC LP7-4 LOC and the the overall volume control sounds much better. The incoming signal to the Alpine PDR was just too hot even with gain all the way down. Volume on the system got too hot at only half the volume level and really distorted at 3/4 volume. Now, volume sounds much better from low to high.

Interesting, I think the HU is cutting off low frequencies to the rear. When I have the PDR using channels 1-2-3-4 for sub input and I fade to back speakers, the sub almost disappears. When I fade back to front, the sub comes to life. Right now, I'm splitting front input to sub. I'm playing with the sub gain and EQ to get it right. I'm impressed so far with the homemade box in the spare wheel well. Really kicks.

The front Alpine SPS-610c's are really harsh. I've cut the treble down to -4 to -6 just to compensate. I am planning to replace these with JL Audio C2-650 components and cut the on-board crossover to -3 since the tweets are at the pillars. Looked at the Image Dynamics CTX-6.5c's but ended up with the JL's after reading on them. Any advice?
 
#25 ·
Latest update...

The Alpine SPS-610 component and coaxial combo did not sound good. Even though they were silk dome they were too harsh on the highs, even with setting the HU treble to -6. Mid-bass lacking...

Decided to go with Polk DXI-6501 for front and DB651s for rear. WOW! What a huge difference in sound quality. Silk dome all around and they sound fantastic. Tweeter crossover on front set at -3 and HU treble set to 0. The mids sound fantastic and the coupled with the JL 10" it provides great low end.

Blows away the stock 6 speaker and even the 9 speaker Alpine I has in the 2011 JGC. I can't believe the bass I'm getting with the custom-made box fitting inside the full size spare wheel well. Very easy to make and sure beat the $700 price tag for the Stealthbox.

$1,200 upgrade and very well worth it. Price breakdown as follows:
Front: Polk DXI-6501: $150
Rear: Polk DB651s: $75
Sub: JL Audio 10TW-1: $187
Sub box: (2'x4'x.75" MDF, caulk, etc.): $40
Amp: Alpine PDR-V75: $320
Harness: PAC BCI-CH41: $219
PAC LP7-4 LOC: $38
20' Streetwire 9 conductor wire: (4spkr to and from HU): $ 45
12awg 12' sub wire, speaker terminal, polyfill: $33
4awg amp kit: $25
rca cables: $25
other tools, connectors, etc: $40
Total: $1,197

As mentioned in a previous post, I'm convinced the stock HU cuts mid-bass from the rear speakers. I set the amp to accept input signal from front only and split off the sub input so I could control its gain separately. The LOC is set to max gain. The front gain on amp is set to min, the sub is set to 9 o'clock on the dial (about 20% from min). Using this mix I found the low end kicked in nice at low sound levels. Couldn't achieve without separate sub input off fronts.

Hope this helps anyone considering an upgrade!
 
#26 ·
Quick heads up for anyone looking for a 52-pin harness to tap into the HU audio...

Magnus @ Customtronix will sell just the 52-pin harness for 69euro (currently $74 us). Using this harness you can tap into the factory audio out coming from the HU and then back to the audio leads going to the speakers. This saves you from having to cut into the factory harness. Not a bad price if you want to leave the factory alone.

I'm pretty sure the wiring diagram for the 52-pin is located on wk2jeeps. If not, just search on this forum.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Hey guys, rather than starting a new thread i hope to post the question here. Hope you don’t feel I’m high-jacking the thread!

With 6 speak stock, when maxing our volume i get a lot of static and so forth. Would a speaker upgrade alone resolve this? I don’t think the stock setup is terrible, but does need help as far as clarity. Looking for a simple and cheap solution to this....specially since I’m no longer going to be running my L7 Kicker sub in this vehicle.

Thanks

EDIT:
I guess let me add, do speakers really have to have new mounting hardware? Is there not a way to fit in new speakers into existing slots? I can understand connectors are a different story which is not a problem for me. THanks again.
 
#29 ·
For me there are phases to upgrading the audio system. They build on each other.

Phase 1: upgrade just the stock speakers. You will see an improvement in the stock sound with better speakers but the distortion at higher volume levels was still there for me. The hu onboard amp just can't put out the power, I think it's 18w or less per channel. The full range is decent but very little low end. As 1stjeep has mentioned before, get speakers with a high db sensitivity to handle low power. Cost: $200-500

Phase 2: add an external amp and sub. This will provide a pretty significant bump in quality. If you purchased good speakers then adding a good quality amp and sub will really fill out the sound. The hu is still messing with the output so the signal is not as "clean" as it could be but not noticeable to most people. Cost: $1,000-2,000

Phase 3+: replace the hu (unless you have integrated climate, etc. imbedded in the 8.4 hu) or add a DSP/clean sweep component to clean up the signal. Set up a 5.1 or 7.1 system. Add multiple amps/speakers to fill out the center and rear pillar locations. Will also need to purchase the trim to support the added speakers. Cost: $2-5k?


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