Jeep Wrangler Custom Audio System for Mankato Client

A client from here in Mankato recently visited Sweet Sounds about a 2017 Jeep Wrangler custom audio system. The client had already upgraded the Jeep with new wheels and tires, an improved suspension, fabricated front and rear bumpers and a fastback hardtop. He wanted an audio system that would sound great and have enough power to play loudly, even at highway speeds.

Focal Flax Speaker Upgrades

The inside of the rear speaker enclosure was lined with sound deadener to strengthen it and reduce resonances.

Copious amounts of sound deadener were used to strengthen the factory speaker pods.

The incredible Focal Flax speakers were a huge audio upgrade for this Jeep.

As the most important component in any audio system, the client wisely chose to upgrade the front and rear speakers with Focal PS165FX 6.5-inch component speakers. We mounted the tweeters in the factory dash speaker locations and the woofers in the speaker enclosure pods at the bottom of the dash. These speaker pods are flimsy, so we added several layers of Stinger Roadkill damping material to improve their strength.

The rear set of PS165FX speakers is mounted in the overhead soundbar. Our team created a set of ABS plastic mounting plates for the tweeters so they’d fit into the space originally occupied by a small midrange driver. We lined the overhead enclosures with Roadkill damping material to give them some added strength.

Custom Subwoofer Enclosure

The enclosure was fabricated to perfectly fit the tail gate on the Jeep.

Line-X bedliner spray protects the outside of the enclosure from any of the elements the Jeep may encounter.

After the rivet nuts were installed the door was treated with a layer of sound deadener.

The tailgate was the perfect mounting location for this enclosure.

After looking at the floor of the Jeep as a possible location, we agreed that a custom enclosure on the rear tailgate would be an excellent choice. Our team of fabricators put together a rock-solid sealed enclosure using ¾-inch MDF. Once assembled, we body-worked all the joints and brad nail pinholes before sending it to the local Line-X dealer for a coat of their durable spray-on bedliner. This coating makes the enclosure water resistant and creates a tough and durable finish.

After applying several layers of Roadkill sound damping material, we mounted the enclosure to the rear tailgate using six nutserts. A nutsert is a threaded insert that is compressed into a hole drilled in a thin steel panel. Once we drilled the pilot holes in the tailgate, we treated the exposed metal surfaces with paint to prevent corrosion before securing the inserts. We bolted the enclosure in place with stainless steel hardware. The enclosure is both secure and easily serviceable. A mesh grill protects the single 12-inch Memphis Car Audio CSA12D4 subwoofer.

Alpine Restyle Source Unit System

Before our radical dash transformation.

The new Alpine Restyle radio not only looks better it offers much more performance over the factory radio.

The backup camera output automatically displays on the screen when the Jeep is in reverse.

The small Alpine backup camera easily fit the rear bumper of the Jeep.

The client wanted a source unit that not only sounded great but had a variety of source features like SiriusXM and Bluetooth. After looking at several options, he decided the Alpine Restyle i209-WRA system was a perfect choice. This head unit upgrade system includes a premium source unit, a new custom dash bezel and an iDatalink Maestro vehicle integration module. The icing on the cake for the i209-WRA is that it’s water-resistant, so even if it gets rained on, it will keep on ticking. To keep the client safe while backup up in the Jeep, we added an Alpine HCE-C125 backup camera on the rear bumper next to the receiver hitch.

Memphis Car Audio System Amplifier

Audio signals from the Alpine source are passed to a Memphis Car Audio VIV900.5 five-channel amplifier from their SixFive Series. We mounted the amp under the passenger seat to keep out of the way. The front and rear channels of the amp provide up to 50 watts per channel to drive the Focal components and the subwoofer channel serves up 300 watts to drive the 12-inch woofer.

Jeep Wrangler Custom Audio System Tuning

The most important step in any audio system installation is system configuration and tuning. Our team set up our oscilloscope to fine-tune the sensitivity of the amplifier to maximize its performance. Because the rear speakers are very close to the driver, we configured their output to balance acoustically with the front speakers to provide a smooth and balanced listening experience. Finally, we fine-tuned the crossovers using our RTA to ensure the system provides smooth frequency response and a seamless blend between the subwoofer and Focal woofers.

Another Happy Client

The client returned to Sweet Sounds in Mankato to hear his Jeep. He was thrilled with the way it looks and sounds. It plays loud and stays clear and detailed. He loves the massive 9-inch screen of the Alpine source unit and how it fits into the dash so perfectly. If you are looking for an audio system upgrade for your Jeep, drop by our store, give us a call at 507-345-8863 or send us an e-mail using our contact page.