Speaker Upgrade For '04 Jeep Liberty?

Have any of you upgraded speakers on the '02-'07 Jeep Liberty's? I want to upgrade my gf's speakers and add a sub for her birthday in February, but I'm not sure what direction to go. I know the deck was upgraded, but I was told the speakers weren't messed with. I need to pull the deck and check the wiring. I'm not convinced that it's wired correctly and I think they left off the dash tweeters when they wired it back up..

my understanding (not having looked yet) is that they have individual amps on the door speakers which are attached to the speakers and hooked up to the wiring harness. I'm not sure what the best way to either bypass them or upgrade the speakers would be..?

Im not well versed in car audio, so should I be looking at an amp? 2 channel or 4 channel? Which sub? How can I do a clean install? I would ideally like to keep it under $300 if possible.. Any suggestions? I have until February so hopefully I can find some deals

 

Fortunately Crutchfield has an in-depth article regarding the KJ's audio system so you have a heck of a head start: - 2002-07 Jeep Liberty

You're going to definitely need to check the wiring to see whether or not her vehicle has the base stereo with only the door speakers or the optional Infinity system, because the speaker sizes used is different. Either ways, it appears either setups can be powered with a typical aftermarket headunit, since the tweeters are wired in parallel with the front door speakers so you only have to worry about four channels. This means on the OEM harness, your front speaker connections will be feeding signal to both the front door speakers and dash tweeters, simplifying the wiring.

From my past experiences with amplified factory audio systems, the aftermarket head units have always provided better sound quality and sensitivity than the factory amplifiers. Most factory amplifiers only spit out 8-12 watts RMS continuously anyways, which is less than most aftermarket head units which average from 18 to 22 watts RMS. If you're replacing the door speakers, I would bypass and hook them up directly to either an aftermarket amplifier or the head unit to get the cleanest sound possible.

As far as subwoofers go, for the price range given you are highly likely looking at a 100-200 watts RMS setup. There are good all-in-one powered subwoofer systems such as the Infinity BassLink that would serve the vast majority of the people out there as long as you are not expecting audio competition level equipment or want people to hear you coming down the street a mile away at midnight. As far as keeping the wiring to a minimum and for simplicity's sake, I definitely recommend powered subwoofers; besides the unit itself, you will just need an eight/ten gauge amplifier wiring kit ($30-50) that gives you the power and ground wire for hooking up to the car's battery, in addition to a twisted-pair RCA cable to hook it up to the head unit.

 

The BassLink doesn't look too difficult to setup.. I'm fairly certain it doesn't have the Infinity package. Assuming that's true, I'd make sure the stock speakers are hooked up correctly and just run the wires for the sub to the aftermarket deck (and power)? All I would need to buy is the BassLink, the power/ground wires, and the RCA hookup?

 

Correct. The most difficult part of this is finding a way to route the power cable from the engine bay to the inside of the car, so you may want to take a peek at the vehicle's firewall ahead of time and plan accordingly. Some vehicles may have a hole in the firewall that's been sealed with a removable grommet where a clutch pedal assembly may have resided, or you may be able to use the same opening that the ECU's harness goes in through that firewall. I would check with a KJ forum and see if anyone can provide some insight as to where you can run that cable through without having to drill a hole.

 

Awesome, I'll check out the firewall and plan my attack. My cousin got a 12" Polk a 4 channel amp for his car a few years back and never installed them. Do you think they're worth picking up from him? He'd want $75 max, probably closer to $50 I'm thinkin. I can't find much on the amp, doesn't look like the manufacturer is in business any more

Sub
Amp

Will the sub work ok with that amp? Is the sub/amp even worth it? Would I be better off using the amp for the upgraded speakers and getting a different one for the sub?

These are the speakers I'm planning to use for the upgrade:
77KICK10 New Mopar Kicker Front or Rear 6 5" 2 Way Speakers | eBay

How do I use the sub and have a crossover frequency? I would ideally set the crossover at like 80hz and let the sub play from that, but how do I tell the speakers to crossover there if I can't make those settings in the deck she has?

 

The subwoofer's nice but the amplifier looks like a no-name brand unit and is not the correct type for the Polk. That subwoofer is a single coil unit, which means you will need a mono (single channel) amplifier, or a two channel one that is bridgeable (Essentally combining the two channels into one). Consider the following:

Option 1: Buying components
- 12" Sealed Enclosure: Sound Ordnance™ Bass Bunker Sealed single 12" subwoofer enclosure (Model BB12-125S) at Crutchfield.com : $60
- 2 channel Kicker Amp (300 watts RMS bridged): Kicker 11DX300.2 2-channel car amplifier — 75 watts RMS x 2 at Crutchfield.com : $170
- 12" Polk subwoofer (Maybe you can get him to give it away for $50): $50
=========================================================
Total: $280 + $40 for wiring kit = $320
Advantage: Individual components (Amplifier, Subwoofer, Enclosure) can be upgraded separately. Stronger output than the BassLink.
Disadvantage: More labor (Mounting subwoofer to enclosure, soldering wires to terminals), more wires to hide in the trunk.

Option 2: Buying powered all-in-one subwoofer
- Infinity BassLink: Infinity BassLink Powered subwoofer: 200 watts and a 10" sub at Crutchfield.com : $200
=========================================================
Total: $200 + $40 for wiring kit = $240
Advantage: Easier installation, Lower Cost, Less Wiring
Disadvantage: Entire unit needs to be replaced if any of its component (Amplifier, subwoofer) are defective. No ability to expand or improve output.

Those Kicker speakers are not bad, and is almost a direct replacement. I believe those are the Kicker KS60's, which are pretty decent.

One thing I would suggest too is to compare prices online, car audio gear prices vary pretty dramatically when shopping at a retail store or online. eBay, Amazon and places like SonicElectronix are really good when it comes to price. Crutchfield tends to be a bit expensive, but is a good place for novice car audio installers because they will usually throw in a pretty comprehensive guide and any necessary speaker brackets or adapters with purchases.

 

I found out I'm workin with a Dual XHD7714 head unit.. Should be enough to power those kickers. I'll go ahead and get them for her birthday in early Feb. If it turns out she needs more oomph I've got the Polk sub for free and got a Rockford Fosgate Renegade 550W amp cheap to power it for Valentines day.. Nothing says "I love you" like thumpin' bass right?

+rep

 

Well.. The speakers came in today. Put one in the rear to compare in between classes and I hate to say it but I'm disappointed.

Half as much bass as the stock ones, 15% less volume overall, and they distort starting at 3/4 volume. I will say that they sound clearer at lower volumes though. So I need to find a replacement and quick. Maybe I need to take a trip to some of the local car audio shops around here to at least demo...?

 

This sounds more like an amplification issue (Or in this case, the lack thereof). I would imagine having a better headunit or especially a four channel amplifier will really bring those speakers to life.

 

Lack of power would cause the speakers to distort?