Hey guys,

I just purchased a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Sport, 2 door. I guess i'm going through a mid life crisis and want to upgrade my sound system in this jeep. I have a fixed budget, and as far as automotive work is concerned, i have no experience. I would like to redo the whole system, but want to keep the stock head unit because I work on the bad side of town and don't want to get something ripped out of my dash. I have contacted a local sound shop and they sounded real shady and said they could do all that I wanted for between 1300-1500 bucks. That sounded awful expensive to me. Plus were talking about using a brand I never heard of. So, I was wondering what components would you get to replace the dash speakers, sound bar speakers, and a couple of subs. I followed Matt's thread and his amazing underseat sub boxes, but I have the 2 door, so they won't fit. I have 2 young kids constantly going to some kind of practice and need the storage space in the back.

Now I know that the head unit might be an issue. I understand the sound from them is not going to be as good as a new aftermarket head unit. I was wondering about the LC7i Audio control. LC7i - AudioControl Would this be something that would be possible.

Next, how to I get my parts and get someone to install them without being taken advantage of? So, I guess my question is, what parts am I going to need. And how can i find someone to install them for me?

Any suggestions and advice would be welcome.

 

First off, welcome to the forum.


You mention they recommended a brand you had never heard of before. There's a ton of top quality driver manufacturers out there that aren't mainstream. Many mid to high end speaker companies exercise sales channel control by only allowing one or two dealers per city. What brands and models where they recommending?

$1500 isn't a bad budget for a full replacement system minus the head unit. I'm assuming this was installed? Again, it gets down to specifically what they quoted you. Things like amps and speakers can run from hundreds to thousands of dollars. For $1500 I'd expect you're getting a 5 channel amp, a set of component speakers for up front, a set of coaxials for the sound bar, and probably a single 10" sub.

I'd really like to see some more specifics on what they quoted you before I comment further.


On the AudioControl side of things, they're a well known brand and their LC7i and LC6i are very heavily used products.

 

Audiocontrol LOCs are the best Ive found. I have them in our JKUR and my work Ford Focus. I have always purchased car audio from Crutchfield because they have solid pricing, but more importantly they have awesome tech and customer support. They usually supply you with mounting brackets, wiring harnesses, and detailed written/picture instructions on how to complete your install on your year and model vehicle. If you are seriously budget minded they have their own line of car audio products called Sound Ordinance that I have found to be of really excellent quality for really good prices. I think JK/JKU installs can be done pretty easily, even with limited experience, as long as you have the right tools and supplies and you do your research to get the knowledge about your specific year/ model vehicle. Wire colors changing year to year on the same model vehicle is often the biggest PITA I have run into! I think you could do it yourself and be in the sub $750 range if you are just looking for solid sound (not competition, shake your teeth loose sound)

One other suggestion that we did at first...... I ran the LC2i to simply add a powered sub running signal from the rear stock headunit channel of our JKUR factory system, polyfilled the soundbar and factory sub enclosure, and we use the headunit EQ to set balance and frequency so that we have almost all mid and highs with no lows from the factory speakers, then we use the controls on the LOC and powered sub to get solid clean responsive bass that doesnt roll off at high volume. This alone made the system sound 1000% better. Total cost was about $250 and a couple hours of install time.

 

defiantly would recommend self-install. I'm 19 years old and my jk is my second car but I've always done all my audio work myself. Crutchfield is defiantly the way to go, they're prices are good but their tech support is awesome. If you get halfway through and install and get stumped you can call them and they will walk you through it. Also you can spend a quarter of the price on instal in a few tools (if you don't already have them) to get the job done right.
As far a speakers themselves go I'm running Alpines. I think there a good middle of the road as far as good price and good quality. One thing I defiantly recommend is running two sets of components. Personally I love the sound and separation of components and in bought two 6 1/2" Spr sets for my jeep. On the sound bar I bought a 2" drill bit (for pvc pipe or something) and made two holes in my sounds bar and put my tweeters there. Looks pretty cool and i like the sound. Also I put my amp for my subwoofer under my drivers seat. I will add this as a warning and also a question if anyone has a better suggestion, because I have always been nervous about the amp being there. I always off road with my doors on but still very careful not to get wet.