[jfrabat]

TWDJ,

Excellent write up... Too bad you did not buy a Sony system! (I work for Sony, and I am the marketing manager for all Audio produts for Latin Americca, so I had to say that!)

Anyway, I felt a little bad because I never got around of showing what I did in my rig, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to show what I did and explain why I did some things differently than you did...

First thing I did was replace the very old, beat up Sony head unit that came in my car with a new unit that not only was MP3 capable, but also had many more features (line AUX line-on for listening to my Walkman MP3 players, frequency crossover controls, and subwoofer pre-out). Since I had no idea about the condition of the speaker cables (the previous owner had installed a stereo system and had not done a very good job at it), I decided I would use new cables for all speakers, and would take this advantage to use better quality cables for less drop in power due to impedance.

My jeep came with a Sound Bar, which had very rusted and damaged Jensen speakers. The dash speakers, although not as badly damaged, did have a lot of play in them, which caused distortion. Since none of the speakers were located in a satisfactory location (the dash speakers focus only on one of the 2 passangers, and the sound bar speakers point straight down, so it is a similar case), I decided to relocate all 4 speakers. I also decided to use larger speakers to improve sound quality (especially bass sound).

So I got a set of sound wedges (these go between the wheel well and the roll bar) that take 6X9 speakers, and mod-pods (which go below the doors) that take 5.25" speakers. After installing the pods, I wired the speakers speakers using 16G wire with very thick insulation to avoid any unwanted noises coming from the speakers. I then installed some high density layered diaphragm (made from many layers of different plastics, which witstand water and sunlight much better than other materials) 4-way speakers for both front and rear speakers.

Since I was going to use a subwoofer, I needed to place an amplifier somewhere. But because the whole SW setup would be removed for offroading (no sense in getting it damaged when it is easy to remove!), I made a special wooden mount for the amp under the driver seat which can be removed by unscrewing only one screw (you still have to detach all the cables from the amp, but I dont go offroading too often so as to be needing quick disconnects or anything similar). I still have not gotten around to it, but I plan to cover the wood frame with black sunbrella fabric to match the interior of the Jeep.

As for the amp connection, I ran a direct line from the positive battery terminal through the firewall, and directly to the amp, and used an in-line fuse to protect it (when disconecting the amp, I only need to remove the fuse to kill the line), and then grounded the amp to the floor under the driver seat. Then I ran speaker wire to the rear to drive the SW unit, which is a 12" aluminum unit in a case I had in my Nissan rig back home (the box seems to have been made especially for the Jeep, though, as it fits perfectly in the rear behind the rear seat).

I am attaching some pictures of how the whole thing looks. This setup allows you to still listen to music at a very respectable (loud according to my wife) level even when the top is removed.


Here you can see both the front speaker (in the mod-pod) and the head unit. The damage to the dash on the left lower side of the head unit was done by the previous owner, who did a very poor job of installing the previous unit (and damaged the dash in the process; I had to fix it as best as I could using fiberglass on the rear part of the dash, as he apparently sawed through it to fit the head unit).


This picture shows the sound wedge and the 6X9 rear speakers. Both the sound wedges and the mod-pods are filled with a special synthetic fabric to create the filling of a larger speaker box


Here is the 12" aluminum subwoofer (facing forward, as it normally sits). The duct of the SW box "shoots" under the rear seat for maximum bass effect. Notice that on this picture, the head unit's face has been detached (I ussually take it with me when I leave the car).


I turned the SW unit around for this unit to get a look at the SW driver.

For me, this setup works nicely, as it provides great sound. But if you would like your speakers better protected (from both the elements and theft!), then perhaps TWDJ's setup is better for you.

Felipe