New Stereo for the Jeep

Nick1994

$100 site donor 2024
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
16,645
Location
Phoenix, AZ
My brother helped me put in a new stereo for my '96 Cherokee. Well, by helped I mean he did like 98% of it. He's good at that stuff, his Cherokee has a subwoofer box that takes up the entire trunk :oops:.

I wanted something that sounded pretty good, didn't need to shake the paint off. Also wanted to retain my trunk storage and make it look minimalistic. The floor and rear wheel-wells are 2x layered in Kilmat and the inside of the doors and quarter panels are 1x layered. The quarter panels are also stuffed full of poly-fill. This thing is about as quiet as an old Jeep can get now. I need to have the headliner done soon too, so I need to figure out what to use for the roof. I worry the Kilmat will peel on a horizontal surface in the Phoenix sun. I'll use something else. I'll list below what it's got.

Pioneer DEH-S6220BS receiver
Precision Power i640.5 amplifier
Rockford Fosgate Punch P152-S speakers
Rockford Fosgate Punch P3SD4-10 subwoofer
Kicker 4 gauge wiring kit
Subthump custom subwoofer box
16 gauge speaker wire run throughout, 12 gauge for the subwoofer

It's hard right now finding a 6 channel single-din receiver, so the first one I bought was an Alpine UTE-73BT which sounded like crap. I slid out the stereo from my aunt's '70 Beetle that was just restored (Alpine CDE-175BT, much higher end radio) and put it in my Jeep and it sounded way better, so I knew that was the problem. But I ordered a Pioneer instead since my brother has always used them with good results.

Sounds pretty decent. Not the deepest bass since the box is really small but it's loud and clear with a nice bass note. But it's what I've got to fit my needs to have a full sized trunk. Thinking about getting a full sized box and 12" subwoofer and making it quick connect so I can switch between the two easy. Maybe one day. Keeping this Jeep forever so I wanted to do the stereo right. I also put in an extra 12v outlet and a USB & USB-C outlet in the center console as well. Also put in new door-jam seals.

Still on the to-do list is upgrading the alternator, it's charging wire, and battery grounds. My alternator is fairly "new" from a local rebuilder. I also installed a new Interstate battery from Costco with the stereo.

Floor pic is before the cables were organized, tucked, and taped down. Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of the inside of the doors. The amp lives under the back seat, and to keep it cooler I mounted it on a white board with some 1/2" spacers so it has some breathing room.

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My dad has a Pioneer SuperTuner on his VW Beetle back in the 70s and it sounds so amazing.
 
I think pioneer offers great SQ for the money. My last pioneer deck lost its BT after about 3 years. After that I moved to alpine, which had fabulous SQ for a lot more money. I helped install 4 more alpines at the same time. 2 of them also lost their BT in less than 2 years. nice choices in your setup.
 
Out with the 10" Rockford Fosgate Punch, In with the 8" Alpine R2-W8D4, wired to 2 ohms. I bought a reducer ring so it would fit my box.

The Rockford Fosgate didn't have enough low end bass, it's ideal box is 0.4-1.5 cubic feet, and my box is about 0.35. This Alpine's ideal box is 0.35, so just right. It's not as loud as the RF, but its a lot tighter and deeper. Nice balance to it.

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Out with the 10" Rockford Fosgate Punch, In with the 8" Alpine R2-W8D4, wired to 2 ohms. I bought a reducer ring so it would fit my box.

The Rockford Fosgate didn't have enough low end bass, it's ideal box is 0.4-1.5 cubic feet, and my box is about 0.35. This Alpine's ideal box is 0.35, so just right. It's not as loud as the RF, but its a lot tighter and deeper. Nice balance to it.

View attachment 122509

now another $600 for a Mechman alternator 😷
 
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