Sponsored

Anyone upgrade sound systems? Amps, speakers etc?

Glenn671

Well-Known Member
First Name
Glenn
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
78
Reaction score
129
Location
Martinez, CA
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
I installed a Stinger this week, love the big screen (and it sounds pretty good too). I had the 7" prior.
right now I’m debating. A local shop wants to charge me about $1K to add the PAC audio processor, and a 4CH amp. I already upgraded all my speakers and added a powered sub. People are saying the power from the stinger would be perfect for the mids and highs I have, plus that 10” screen is nice.
Sponsored

 

BAT

Well-Known Member
First Name
Blaine
Joined
Nov 11, 2019
Threads
106
Messages
2,295
Reaction score
2,025
Location
Katy, TX
Vehicle(s)
Jeep Gladiator Sport S Max Tow Sting Grey
I'm not up to date on tech but I did custom systems 20 years ago. Besides the screens, and digital media, not a whole lot of changes with audio over the years.
The rules back then are still applicable today. You can only take audio quality so far in a vehicle by tackling the system itself, meaning HU, amps, woofer quality, cross overs, yada yada.
Vehicles are terrible environments for quality audio. If you make the environment better, your sound system will sound better. Don't spend another $1,000+ on the system before investing some coin into the environment first. It pays huge dividends.
Hard top headliners with sound assassin strips is #1 easiest thing to start with. Not only does that cut down wind noise, but it doubles as acoustic panels, like what you see on sound studio walls. That's a thick text book of science on that topic alone.
You can take the doors apart and add sound assassin material in there. Take the carpeting up and line the whole floor with it.

If you do those three things, roof, doors and floor, I guarantee your current sound system will put a smile on your face.

If you want to drive with a naked Jeep and need a better system, then I just wasted my breath, LOL. As someone who installed custom systems, I would talk everyone out of spending a dime on trying to make it sound better. You are just begging for a lifetime of tinnitus. Take it from me, don't damage your ears. Please! Tinnitus sucks.
Not looking for a better system just a bit better sound quality over what the standard factory speakers are putting out.
 

Glenn671

Well-Known Member
First Name
Glenn
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
78
Reaction score
129
Location
Martinez, CA
Vehicle(s)
2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
Not looking for a better system just a bit better sound quality over what the standard factory speakers are putting out.
Get this:
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4gEIr...AWuIzf-9WPKCQhsEC0usElJahredGo3RoCqJMQAvD_BwE
A nice 4ch amp or a 5ch if you want to add a sub
These for the kick panel
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120JP1014/Metra-JP-1014-Jeep-Speaker-Pods.html
These for the soundbar
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_327JTSA065/SSV-Works-JJT-SA065.html
And 6.5” speakers of your choice
 

mike921921

Well-Known Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Oct 5, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
498
Reaction score
778
Location
FL
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Altitude
Occupation
Retired
right now I’m debating. A local shop wants to charge me about $1K to add the PAC audio processor, and a 4CH amp. I already upgraded all my speakers and added a powered sub. People are saying the power from the stinger would be perfect for the mids and highs I have, plus that 10” screen is nice.
I'm not exactly an audiophile, but the Stingers 15 band EQ is pretty helpful too.
 

DAVECS1

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Jan 24, 2020
Threads
56
Messages
1,861
Reaction score
2,515
Location
Peoria, IL
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Sport S Max Tow
I did these two upgrades to a Max Tow, with the 7 inch screen, and I am pretty satisfied. Better than than my 2019 RAM Alpine system, which I really liked!
Jeep Gladiator Anyone upgrade sound systems? Amps, speakers etc? 20200224_220109
Jeep Gladiator Anyone upgrade sound systems? Amps, speakers etc? 20200403_173825
 

Sponsored

BuddT

Member
First Name
Kenneth
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Threads
0
Messages
9
Reaction score
11
Location
Charlotte, NC
Vehicle(s)
Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Painter/Fabricator
right now I’m debating. A local shop wants to charge me about $1K to add the PAC audio processor, and a 4CH amp. I already upgraded all my speakers and added a powered sub. People are saying the power from the stinger would be perfect for the mids and highs I have, plus that 10” screen is nice.
Take a look at this video. It's not hard to disassemble the Jeep Dash.

 

PicklesJ

Well-Known Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Dec 4, 2020
Threads
7
Messages
151
Reaction score
131
Location
Gaithersburg & Grantsville, MD
Vehicle(s)
'21 JT-S/MT &'10 Wrangler JKU-S
Occupation
Retired (military & civil service)
Vehicle Showcase
1
I'm somewhat of an audio snob and I'm very happy with my factory system. The only shortcoming I noticed was it didn't have much presence of high notes. I installed Alpine two-way speakers in the dash and those tweeters made a BIG difference.

As mentioned, source media has a big affect on overall sound. IMO, nothing will sound good via Bluetooth. No matter the hardware, it's not going to be any better than FM radio.

I dock my iPhone in the center cubby and manipulate it from the touch screen. Works great and keeps the phone charged. Can't imagine why I'd want wireless.

I also copy M4P files from iTunes onto USB thumb drives. This also sounds very nice.

I admit I'm not trying to blow windows out as I drive through my neighborhood. If that's your objective, go with multiple Rockford amps.
Concur. First, FM and Sirius music is muy compressed to reduce bandwidth - generally sounds less than acceptable. Cable to iPhone to play my files gives excellent sound quality. Gladiator is brand new, so don't have the summer open vehicle experience in it yet. But my JK factory head unit when I'm topless and doorless in the summer, with upgraded speakers only, gets plenty loud while staying clean. So far, the Gladiator factory system with the 7” screen is sounding great.
 

Darkamek

Well-Known Member
First Name
Travis
Joined
May 5, 2019
Threads
24
Messages
281
Reaction score
246
Location
Wisconsin
Vehicle(s)
2020 JT-Sport S, 2021 JT-Sport S
My JT has the Stinger Heigh10 but my stock speakers definitely suck. The passenger side sound bar speaker has been blown for a while. It’s at an audio shop right now having Alpine type r components front and coaxial in the rear installed. Also having a JL 5channel amp with digital signal processor and a 10” kicker sub. I will let you know my experience with it when I get it back.
 

BuddT

Member
First Name
Kenneth
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Threads
0
Messages
9
Reaction score
11
Location
Charlotte, NC
Vehicle(s)
Jeep Gladiator
Occupation
Painter/Fabricator

Just understand that the Speaker Pods are made to go in the dash locations near your knees. I had to remove just about the entire dash assembly to get access to that area to install those pods. I am pretty mechanically inclined and have a wealth of tools at my disposal. To get the dash apart doesn't required a large amount of tools, but there are vehicle specific tools required to get all of these panels out and not break anything. I took my time and labeled every part that came off and took photos of every step of the way so I was sure about how everything would go back together. Each piece that came off had those bolts taped to the piece and I made note of which photo it was in the series of photos I took. The day I went to put everything back together, I was worried I would forget something, but I was able to reassemble everything with it's proper amount of bolts.

You will need a set of Nylon Pry Tools, 10 mm and 7 mm deep well and shallow socket and ratchet, a 7 mm ratchet wrench would be handy for those hard to reach bolts that fasten the side interior plastic panels. Lots of masking tape with some sharpies, and a few tubs to sort your parts would also be handy.
Jeep Gladiator Anyone upgrade sound systems? Amps, speakers etc? IMG_20201127_220542743
Jeep Gladiator Anyone upgrade sound systems? Amps, speakers etc? IMG_20201129_203828534


IMG_20201127_220542743.jpg
 

Sponsored

Hothead Headliners

Summit Sponsor (Level 3)
First Name
Mark Ambrose
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Threads
26
Messages
150
Reaction score
203
Location
Bosie, Idaho
Website
hotheadheadliners.com
Vehicle(s)
2020 Gladiator Rubicon, 2018 JLU Rubicon, 1989 YJ
Occupation
Jeep Headliners
I'm not up to date on tech but I did custom systems 20 years ago. Besides the screens, and digital media, not a whole lot of changes with audio over the years.
The rules back then are still applicable today. You can only take audio quality so far in a vehicle by tackling the system itself, meaning HU, amps, woofer quality, cross overs, yada yada.
Vehicles are terrible environments for quality audio. If you make the environment better, your sound system will sound better. Don't spend another $1,000+ on the system before investing some coin into the environment first. It pays huge dividends.
Hard top headliners with sound assassin strips is #1 easiest thing to start with. Not only does that cut down wind noise, but it doubles as acoustic panels, like what you see on sound studio walls. That's a thick text book of science on that topic alone.
You can take the doors apart and add sound assassin material in there. Take the carpeting up and line the whole floor with it.

If you do those three things, roof, doors and floor, I guarantee your current sound system will put a smile on your face.

If you want to drive with a naked Jeep and need a better system, then I just wasted my breath, LOL. As someone who installed custom systems, I would talk everyone out of spending a dime on trying to make it sound better. You are just begging for a lifetime of tinnitus. Take it from me, don't damage your ears. Please! Tinnitus sucks.
Thank you for the review!

For anyone that's curious, here are the products mentioned above for your Gladiator that might be a good option for you.

Hothead Hard Top Headliner
Hothead Soft Top Headliner
Sound Assassin Floor Packages

I'm always here to help with any questions if anyone has any at all.
-Mark
 

Darkamek

Well-Known Member
First Name
Travis
Joined
May 5, 2019
Threads
24
Messages
281
Reaction score
246
Location
Wisconsin
Vehicle(s)
2020 JT-Sport S, 2021 JT-Sport S
My JT has the Stinger Heigh10 but my stock speakers definitely suck. The passenger side sound bar speaker has been blown for a while. It’s at an audio shop right now having Alpine type r components front and coaxial in the rear installed. Also having a JL 5channel amp with digital signal processor and a 10” kicker sub. I will let you know my experience with it when I get it back.
Finally got my truck back after three days of being at the audio shop. It certainly is a night and day difference between the stock speakers. Now I’m going to have to read up on tuning with the DSP on the amp, there certainly will be a learning curve. I’m enjoying having a subwoofer now as well, it doesn’t kick to hard and really adds to the music.
 

go0001

Member
First Name
Gerald
Joined
May 30, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
20
Reaction score
18
Location
NJ
Vehicle(s)
Gladiator Overland Sting Gray
Occupation
Technology
I'm not up to date on tech but I did custom systems 20 years ago. Besides the screens, and digital media, not a whole lot of changes with audio over the years.
The rules back then are still applicable today. You can only take audio quality so far in a vehicle by tackling the system itself, meaning HU, amps, woofer quality, cross overs, yada yada.
Vehicles are terrible environments for quality audio. If you make the environment better, your sound system will sound better. Don't spend another $1,000+ on the system before investing some coin into the environment first. It pays huge dividends.
Hard top headliners with sound assassin strips is #1 easiest thing to start with. Not only does that cut down wind noise, but it doubles as acoustic panels, like what you see on sound studio walls. That's a thick text book of science on that topic alone.
You can take the doors apart and add sound assassin material in there. Take the carpeting up and line the whole floor with it.

If you do those three things, roof, doors and floor, I guarantee your current sound system will put a smile on your face.

If you want to drive with a naked Jeep and need a better system, then I just wasted my breath, LOL. As someone who installed custom systems, I would talk everyone out of spending a dime on trying to make it sound better. You are just begging for a lifetime of tinnitus. Take it from me, don't damage your ears. Please! Tinnitus sucks.
I can vouch for the headliners with the sound assassin strips - made a noticeable difference. I’m definitely thinking more sound deadening is in the cards - on floors and behind subwoofer. Doing it in the doors I’m a little wary of - seems like a PITA to get into.
 

DLAW

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2020
Threads
21
Messages
208
Reaction score
337
Location
Delaware
Vehicle(s)
'95 Nissan Pathfinder, '08 Honda Civic, '12 Honda CR-V, '16 Honda Odyssey, 2021 JTR
Occupation
Predicting the future
I can vouch for the headliners with the sound assassin strips - made a noticeable difference. I’m definitely thinking more sound deadening is in the cards - on floors and behind subwoofer. Doing it in the doors I’m a little wary of - seems like a PITA to get into.
I'm still shocked and amazed at the power of youtube content to help us do these things. The first time I completely gutted a vehicle's interior was I think 2001-2002. All Haynes Manual and no educational content about what I was doing except for Bill Nye and Mr. Wizard in my back pocket.
At one point, I remember going to the library to find more help and it didn't. Then it was a trip to Circuit City to ask my question. The dude looked inside my truck, ran back inside to grab his manager, and the manager offered me a job on the spot, hahaha. I was like, this is a pain in the ass, I'm not doing this every day!

With youtube....you will be just fine. Just don't take on too much in one day. Start with a back door. Then do all the doors. Then, you probably need a full dry weekend with a buddy to help with gutting the floor and getting that back together.

Harbor Freight is a nice spot to get some cheap specialty tools, like a trim tools.
 

Helryd68

Well-Known Member
First Name
Erick
Joined
Aug 22, 2019
Threads
14
Messages
52
Reaction score
15
Location
Tennessee
Vehicle(s)
20 Gladiator Rubicon(totaled), 2022 Sport S Diesel
I upgraded to JL amps, Hertz front speakers and JL sub for under rear seat. Makes the upgraded system sound like AM radio.
Sponsored

 
 



Top