Level-Up the Symphony (yeah.. speakers) -- swapping dashboard speakers with some JL Audio C2-400x speakers

[bigbender]

I took delivery of my Big Bend last Saturday and have been having a blast. It's got the entry level sound system, so 6 speakers (qty 4 - 4" and qty 2 - 6.5"). The sound quality was on par with a 1990 vintage Magnavox boombox. I started by just swapping the two dashboard up facing 4-inchers with some JL Audio C2-400x speakers. My goodness, what an improvement. Next step will be to swap the 6.5s in the kick panels then design a rear rollbar mount to accommodate two 6x9s to grab the low frequency tunes. If anyone is interested in what I put together for the rears, let me know.

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[604Bronco]

Stupid question, but the dash speakers: Do you need to remove the dash or simply the speaker cover? Just plug & play?

What about the other ones?

 

[YTFORD]

I would love to see some pics and thoughts on the kick panel portion of the install. Ive done the other two 4 inch swaps already.

 

[regularbronco]

Nice! Yes part numbers and pics for this mod would be great.

So the head unit or whatever recall it these days, is capable of improved sound with better Speakers?

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

Interested in what you come up with.

FWIW, Crutchfield told me the Polk auto speakers are pretty much marine grade. Of course I’ve been running regular auto grade MBQuarts in my JK for years so I think going for the better audio is more important than water proofing.

 

[Heynongman]

I took delivery of my Big Bend last Saturday and have been having a blast. It's got the entry level sound system, so 6 speakers (qty 4 - 4" and qty 2 - 6.5"). The sound quality was on par with a 1990 vintage Magnavox boombox. I started by just swapping the two dashboard up facing 4-inchers with some JL Audio C2-400x speakers. My goodness, what an improvement. Next step will be to swap the 6.5s in the kick panels then design a rear rollbar mount to accommodate two 6x9s to grab the low frequency tunes. If anyone is interested in what I put together for the rears, let me know.

what was your wiring harness solution?

 

[Beach_Bum]

@bigbender I think there is great interest to see others document their experience in upgrading the stock stereo system. Please continue to share. Also, when doing so, update the original post as an ongoing build journal so others can see your progress on the main post.

 

[Erock]

Yep... build journal... I follow all of those, whether I’m wanted to or not ...

 

[broncbeau]

Love JL.

 

[talbot]

following...be great to see what else you do here

 

[bigbender]

Nice! Yes part numbers and pics for this mod would be great.

So the head unit or whatever recall it these days, is capable of improved sound with better Speakers?

Definitely. It's not going to bump the dB output, but definitely clean up the sound.

 

[bigbender]

what was your wiring harness solution?

No wiring harness options that I know of yet. I spliced using the crimps provided by the speaker manufacturer and did some crafty work with some adhesive lined heat shrink tubing.

 

[bigbender]

I would love to see some pics and thoughts on the kick panel portion of the install. Ive done the other two 4 inch swaps already.

I haven't done the kick panels yet, but pulled the panels off to take a look at the speakers (see photos attached). I don't recommend removing the small perforated speaker cover but rather the entire kick panel. You can not access the speaker mounting screws by just removing the perforated cover. To remove the whole kick panel you have to start by removing the plastic guard on the door sill. Then you can pop off the kick panel.

 

[bigbender]

Stupid question, but the dash speakers: Do you need to remove the dash or simply the speaker cover? Just plug & play?

What about the other ones?

Dash speakers can be replaced by just removing the perforated speaker cover. They can be tricky to pop off so you'll need to start with a very thin panel removal tool. Kick panel speakers require the whole panel to come off.

 

[YTFORD]

The kick panel speakers are at least made of a better quality material but the 25 watt limit makes them almost a necessity to replace if you do the other 2 sets.

How do you plan to re-wire the kick panels?

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