Flyingbrian

What he said. good to know. I wasnt sure a stock base head unit would work with better speakers.

Thanks for pulling the trigger!!

Donatello

Hey Guys I've read through this thread and ALL the other ones with regard to better sound, more sound, blah blah blah... so after much adu, here is what i uh did:

IF YOU HAVE THE INFINITY SYSTEM, then you know that it sounds pretty good but the sound bar speaker are severely muted. GET AN AMP FOR A DODGE NITRO - its a direct replacement for the jeep's "specially tuned" infinity amp - BUT IT ISN'T LIMITED IN THE REAR CHANNELS.

It is really really really better, and just about the easiest thing you can do to improve the sound coming from your sound bar. ON TOP OF THAT - if you also have the wire harness for the hard top (check under the carpet at the top left corner in the back of the cargo area) use a jumper on the purple and black wires AND THE SOUND GETS EVEN LOUDER!!!! {if you DO NOT use the NITRO AMP ther is NO DIFFERENCE when you jump this circuit} <-- I tried that first.

If you read all the information on this site about these subjects you will see over and over the things i have just stated, but there may still be some doubt in your mind because some of those posts are older ('08-'09) and some seem to die off while still leaving some doubt to the complete validity of this solution.

DON'T BE AFRAID - I just did this myself this weekend - NITRO AMP and JUMPER and it is really worth it - even if it's just a place to start before replacing speakers - I also have a set of Infinity Kappa 6.5" i will be installing - but now i feel like they will be soooo much more awesome because the stock infinity woofers already sound much more clear.

So if what you are looking for is simply WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU WHERE GETTING WHEN YOU PAID FOR THE "UPGRADED SYSTEM" IN THE FIRST PLACE. Then when you do this you will have it.

I hope this helps anyone who has had the same questions and concerns that i had.

Easyryder01

I have installed the soundbar speakers today and I have ordered the nitro amp, unfortunately the amp is on back order and since I don't have to pay for it and it is going under my warranty I'll just have to wait till one comes in. As far as the speakers I hear clarity and the seperation of music, I like them but I would like to see what this amp is going to do and I am waiting for the other set of front speakers. Does anyone see a difference with the front speakers even with the u-connect ?

slink

I just finished installing the 77KICK10 speakers. I have the base radio. I must say they make a hell of an improvement over the stock speakers. Well worth the price and easy to install. Took me about 3 hours total. I also Dynamated the speaker boxes and the soundbar.

Thanks to the OP for the heads-up on these.

Mark Doiron

I installed the front speakers with my RES unit. A few thoughts regarding the instructions they give to you:

1. When you pull the panel around the steering column, make sure to keep on eye out for the metal clips on the end of the plastic prongs. They may pull off and remain in the holes in the dash. Use long nose pliers to retrieve them and reseat them onto the plastic prongs on the panel.

2. The directions say use a Torx bit to remove the actual speaker screws. Well, mine were Phillips head. I used a right-angle, ratcheting Phillips screwdriver. Good luck if you don't have some tool to work at a right angle on those screws.

3. The driver's side is just as difficult as everyone is saying. The passengers side is slightly better. To improve access to both sides, pull the two front doors (or both doors if you own a SWB). The doors aren't really in the way of the work, but they keep pushing against you as you work.

Bottom line: They do improve the sound some. This is especially true on deep bass. I have one song that has some especially deep notes that I can only truly appreciate on my home stereo with 16-inch woofers--it chokes typical home theater system sub-woofers. Well, these speakers do a much better job with those notes than the stock. However, these speakers still suffer from distortion when cranking up the volume, which makes me think that is due to the RES head unit and not the speakers.

It would be really nice if I could get some volume from the rear speakers, but sound is almost non-existent when faded to the rear at max volume (which is why I didn't bother to replace them). I think my cheapest path to improved sound would be the Kicker speakers in the rear with some type of amplifier. I think that would make me happy with the RES head unit--that is, make it like it should have been from the factory (both my last two Fords had great factory sound systems--an 82 EXP and a 96 F-150--so something like that is what I expect in today's vehicles).

Hope others find this helpful.

Preciousmetal

Installed my Kickers in the sound bar, after reading how easy it was, I let my daughter install them. She didn't have any problems and after seeing what the stock speakers looked like I'm glad I upgraded. Now I have to do the front but I'll do those myself. LOL

centerfieldr162

Looks good! Definitely getting some of these

jcole

Can someone point me to a thread detailing the jumper in the wire harness mod ? Is this so that the speakers get louder when you take off the hard top or something ?

Ramphog

Installed just now... Minimum gain at best......

Spend your money on a better served part..... this wasnt worth it.......

burnout88

I can you fill me in why you think that. Considering myself and many others have a huge improvement in sound and volume with these speakers. Did you do all four speakers? Did you readjust your base and treble and fader after the install? Do you have the base X radio or the Infinity system?

I honestly can't see how you did not have a vast improvement.