Best 3.5" dash speakers? (direct replacement, no amps, no other speakers)

[19Delta]

You can order a tester off amazon for fairly cheap or download a app off your phone, then just play the test tracks and hold the device next to the speaker. It will tell you if its positive or negative and just make sure they all match one way or the other.

I tried to find an app (Google play store / Android) and can't find one that has reviews saying it works. Do you have a recommendation?

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[mert34]

I have seen some people use a app called Speaker pop but i think it was on IOS

 

[XJFanatic]

You need to swap pins from side to side on the end that plugs into the factory harness. It’s about a two minute job with the help of a pick.

 

[JMJ52876]

I used an app called Polarity Checker out of the Google store. It took a while to figure it out , but once it made the thumping sounds, I figured it out. You want to fade the sound to the factory speaker first and see if it is positive or negative. Then when you hook up the new speaker, check it. If the polarity is different, you will have to reverse the wires.

 

[jjdustr340]

The metra adapters reverse the polarity of after market speakers. There's no need to test, just swap the wires on the adapters.

This is not 100% accurate. There was indeed a run of the metra adapters where the wires were reversed. However, it seems that has since been fixed.
It’s best to just check and be sure rather than assume they’re correct or incorrect.

 

[jebiruph]

This is not 100% accurate. There was indeed a run of the metra adapters where the wires were reversed. However, it seems that has since been fixed.
It’s best to just check and be sure rather than assume they’re correct or incorrect.

I'm not sure where you got that information from, but here's my post on the wrangler board about this https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/metra-speaker-harness-polarity.49506/
You can compare your adapters to the ones in the thread, if they match, they need reversed.

You can also listen to how they sound before swapping the wires. If there's too much high end and not enough mid range, they are probably out of phase with the lower speakers.

Here's my post about a more complete low cost speaker upgrade https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/base-system-speaker-upgrade.75015/

 

[SargeDiesel]

Sorry guys, I searched and searched, and I am more confused than I started.

I have the alpine premium 8.4" in my stock Mojave. I am not an audiophile. It is actually so bad, I thought the stock was "ok" but could be better. I don't want amps, etc. Just looking for a little improvement. I doubt I will swap my roll bar speakers.

I saw somebody post that they really like the JBL club 322F for $80. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-kUTDiapBQwb/p_109CL322F/JBL-Club-322F.html

So I went to Crutchfield website, and they recommend 3 speakers for my dash, and they are all about the same price, and none of them are the JBL.

What are everyone's experiences and opinions?
Thanks in advance!

I went with the JBL 322s and its a huge difference, they will also go right in the roll bar as well as the dash.... but I only payed $45..... dont fall for Crutchfield prices.

 

[SargeDiesel]

This is not 100% accurate. There was indeed a run of the metra adapters where the wires were reversed. However, it seems that has since been fixed.
It’s best to just check and be sure rather than assume they’re correct or incorrect.

My adapters came with the incorrect polarity.. I needed to repin mine.

This diagram helped me

 

[cuellar13]

Look into https://terraacoustics.com/

Just added them to my 8.4 set up and completely satisfied ... no complaints, also the guys running this company are great!

I second this.

 

[jebiruph]

My adapters came with the correct polarity.. no need to repin anything.

This diagram helped me

This screen shot of the factory wiring diagram has front speakers wired the opposite of your diagram. For the left, orange + and yellow -. For the right, dark green + and green -.

 

[SargeDiesel]

[/QUOTE]

This screen shot of the factory wiring diagram has front speakers wired the opposite of your diagram. For the left, orange + and yellow -. For the right, dark green + and green -.

I "borrowed" that image from another member ( @phranican ). Its been a minute, since I did the install.... having a senior moment... ha ha.... Now I will have to go back and take a look at how I have mine wired. Honestly, for this system it probably won't make any difference, but worth a look just for clarity... I will do a polarity test. Thanks for pointing this out.... if I do remember correctly, I used the diagram to help determine if I needed to repin the metra adapters.... just not sure now.

 

[19Delta]

***update***
I used this android app and it worked. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dwa_ict.polaritychecker

I checked the driver's with a volt meter to confirm polarity, and the app said the same thing. The metra adapters were correct for my 2022 Mojave. No need to repin.

Thanks to everyone for the info and opinions! The new infinity speakers in the dash made a substantial difference in the sound. It's not louder, it just sounds much higher quality.

FYI, I did have to trim the ears on the speakers to fit. Real easy with side cuts. Also these are slightly deeper than stock, so they don't seat all the way down as they are hitting the duct to the vent. But the duct tube is a bit flexible, so I don't believe it will conduct sound or vibrate. (Hasn't yet) The face of the new speaker is still well below the grill.

 

[19Delta]

My adapters came with the correct polarity.. no need to repin anything.

This diagram helped me

This is exactly how mine were. So no need to repin. (I only did dash, so I didn't check sound bar)

 

[SargeDiesel]

This screen shot of the factory wiring diagram has front speakers wired the opposite of your diagram. For the left, orange + and yellow -. For the right, dark green + and green -.

Im actually in the JT now... retracing my steps and things are coming back to me..... "This is in reference to the Left/Drivers side upper dash speaker".
When using a multimeter (not a cell phone app) to check the polarity of the "VEHICLES" speaker wire orientation... the positive is the Grey/Yellow and the negative is the Grey/Orange. ... so this correlates with the diagram I originally posted and does not confer with the one you posted/floating around on the forum.... its easy to do, you might want to go back and test yours if you haven't already done so.

For clarity, I added some pics....
you can clearly see how the orientation of the +/- wires are connected to the factory plug.
You can see I have the white metra adapter wire connected to the positive post of the speaker and to the Grey/Yellow factory speaker wire.
Not so clear due to the glare and the difficulty getting the picture... but clear enough to see when my connections are made, with the positive lead on the postive terminal of the speaker, I get a positive multimeter reading. When switched, you see I get a negative reading.... so unless I have really missed something or made a mistake, MY positive speaker wire from the factory is the Grey/Yellow....

I just double checked the Right/Passenger side of the upper dash speaker and again it correlates to the diagram I originally posted.

As you can see in the following pictures. My positive speaker wire from the factory is the Grey/Light Green wire and the negative is the Grey/Dark Green wire.
You can see I have the white metra adapter wire connected to the positive post of the speaker and to the Grey/Light Green factory wire. You can see in the pics, once again my connections are showing that they are correct and Do NOT correlate with the diagram floating around on the forum.

Let me know what you guys think.. ? Anybody else run into this ?
FYI - @phranican

 

[jebiruph]

You don't determine the polarity of a speaker with a DC voltmeter. The polarity a speaker relates to whether voltage applied to that terminal will push the speaker out or pull it in. For the best sound, you typically want all the speakers in synch, all pushing out and pulling in at the same time. Having some speakers push out while others pull in tends to distort the sound.

There are different ways to test for speaker polarity, but I could hear the difference when I rewired my metra adapters.

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