I was wondering what would be the best way to improve the sound quality of the stock non-infinity sound system? I'm not very impressed and a musician so I would like to hear more bass and low mids.

 

I'm not an expert in this field, but I think for a dramatic improvement you'd need some mods to the Jeep itself as well as the stereo.
The lack of insulated top and only the thin carpet on the floor don't make for a good sound space, I imagine.

 

you would be amazed at the difference that a good system will make in a jeep. I to am a musician and the extreme lack of low end in the jeep system drove me crazy. I would suggest getting a whole new system: speakers, amp and sub but if you don't want to do that then you could just start with new speakers and go from there.

It really just depends on how much the current sound system bothers you and what you want out of the new one.

I work at a car audio shop so if you have any questions I would be happy to try and answer any questions you have.

 

The only things I can think of to improve the sound quality would be to replace the:
Kickers in the dash
The dash stereo unit
The speakers in the sound bar
The tweeters
Or to add an amp and a sub in the back.

I was wondering which you would recommend as a first step to try and improve the sound quality or if there are any cheap tweaks or fixes I should try first.

 

This is the kind of question that come with a budget attached. How much are you looking to spend?

If you're trying to get by on the cheap I'd recommend checking the for-sale section here and trying to pick up someones parted out Infinity system.

You might also try replacing the factory amp with the Nitro's "Kicker" amp which you can get off eBay or any Nitro forum pretty inexpensivily.


Now to get a dramatic improvement you're doing to have to do some major surgery starting with replacing the head unit. Some of the more common setups include the following:

Clarion or Kenwood Double DIN head unit
Alpine PDX4 or PDX5 amp mounted in the factory location
JL Stealthbox or other custom sub enclosure
Polk or other component speaker system


I've seen and personally priced systems that can cost upwards of $2500. It's all about your budget. Give me a price point and we can start from there.

 

I was looking to do it in increments, such as starting out just replacing a set of speakers or the dash unit. For the first step I would prefer to keep the budget between $80 and $200 for parts. I'm fairly certain I could swap the speakers or dash unit by myself.

 

It all depends on what you want to spend. My system sound alot better than stock and i spent a mere 80 bucks. All i replaced was the speakers. Pioneers from walmart (or best buy-price matched), 40 bucks a pair. Replaced all 4 using this very website. What i also did was cram my soundbar full of fiberglass insulation... and just polyfilled around the speakers. After reading forum after forum...i felt the fiberglass was best stuffed in the soundbar (to eliminate vibration) and polyfill the speaker area (to deepen the sound).

Sounds lots better. Factory deck and amp...regardless of soft top up or down.

 

i would start out with replacing your front speakers and getting a decent amp to power them

 

I'd try looking into getting someones old Infinity system. It'd be your cheapest and easiest route. But not your most flexable.

 

I highly doubt that it would be cheaper to get someone's infinity system and even if it is I would not consider it cost effective especially if he is not satisfied with the sound that his current system is giving him due to a lack of bass. The little sub in the infinity system would most likely not be enough to make him happy.

If you want bass now then buy a small sub like the JL 13TW5 that comes with the JL stealth box and get a local stereo shop to build you a box like the stealth box and stick an amp somewhere in the jeep (lots of threads out there with ideas) and you have some nice bass. since the TW5 is a decent sub it will also supply you with an increase in mid bass as well as low end bass

If you want more volume and better mid bass buy some decent speakers like JL C2 or Focal Access. If you move up to the JL C5 they give a clearer sound and sound better at high volumes but don't give as much mid bass and thus you would need a better sub.