2014 Jeep Wrangler – Another Full Audio System Upgrade
This week in the shop we had another Jeep Wrangler here for an audio upgrade. For this Jeep system, the customer opted for the new Pioneer AVH-4100NEX and a stealth custom Jeep Wrangler subwoofer upgrade.
The AVH-4100NEX is a great option for Wrangler owners for a variety of reasons:
- Apple CarPlay Compatible
- Android Auto Compatible
- Anti-theft Detachable Face!
- 4 Volt preouts for Front, Rear and Subwoofer
- 13 Band EQ
- Digital Time Alignment
For anyone looking for great cell phone integration, anti-theft detachable face and a great head unit to build an audio system with – the AVH-4100NEX really fits the bill. You can read more about this model in this post here. Additional equipment in this build included Morel Virtus component speakers for the front, Morel Tempo coaxes for the rear sound bar, an Alpine PDX-V9 5 channel amplifier and a good amount of Dynamat.
Since theft is always a concern in Jeep Wranglers, we chose to go for a custom built Jeep Wrangler subwoofer enclosure molded into the rear quarter panel. Although JL Audio offers a few different Jeep Wrangler subwoofer boxes, none of them would really work well for this customer’s application.
The 13″ TW5 is a bit oversized and it’s really the first generation of JL Audio’s slim line subwoofers – meaning JL Audio has had time to perfect their flat line subs and in our experience, the newest TW1’s have the best sound quality out of all their flat line subwoofers. The 13″ TW5 is not bad, but the TW1’s are definitely tighter, cleaner and more natural in tone.
JL has had made some new Jeep Wrangler subwoofer enclosures using the 10″ TW1, but the enclosures are placed in a somewhat awkward position. Additionally, there are different methods for mounting the TW1 enclosure depending on whether you have the hard top or soft top. Well, in New England, we usually have both. So that wasn’t really going to work for us.
We decided to remove the stock Jeep Wrangler subwoofer panel in this 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and replace it with the plain panel from Jeep and build an enclosure to fit in the factory location using the JL Audio 12″ TW1. The enclosure was made with some fiberglass and some wood and was build exactly to manufacturer recommendations for the 12″ TW1 (.65 cubic feet – sealed).
First John removed the OEM panel and began prepping the area to begin fiber-glassing.
The enclosure needed to be attached to the new plain Jeep panel and worked together to create an aesthetically pleasing appearance that was also functional.
He continued to blend the two panels together.
Once the material was dry, he smoothed it all out so it could be carpeted to match and blend into the vehicle.
The finished product sounded amazing and is blended into the vehicle in a clean and unobtrusive manner. The customer still had access to the lower storage compartment as well.
The end result was a well integrated Jeep Wrangler audio upgrade that provided crystal clear, punchy, warm and smooth sound even at extremely loud volume levels – perfect for those warm summer drives with the top off. If you’re a Jeep Wrangler owner in need of an audio upgrade in CT or NY, please contact our shop Sounds Incredible Mobile (proudly serving customers from Brookfield, Danbury, New Milford, Newtown, New Fairfield, Ridgefield, Brewster, Mahopac, Carmel and more).