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Mopar kicker upgrade.. worth it?

31K views 104 replies 33 participants last post by  ski4  
#1 ·
Hi all,

There has probably been a few posts in regards to this, but I was looking at pulling the trigger on the mopar kicker upgrade for my 2012 jk (pair for the soundbar)

I'm not interested in a full replacement of headunit, amps etc. IMHO the infinity system is pretty substantial for a stock system (not looking for debates about this... they are what they are, they are good for what they are)

Can any one provide feedback on personal experiences with this upgrade, is it worth it?


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#2 ·
I replaced the 4 speakers in my 2014 with 77KICK10s and it was a huge improvement. Can't think of any other mod for $120 that gets that much boom for the buck. I didn't intend to replace the 130 head unit, but felt like I needed a little more. - A few months later replaced that as well with a 4200NEX as prices were falling pretty dramatically.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, one of the main reasons I'm going for the mopar kickers is for the plug and play/ I know I'm not going to have any issues with the install.

How did you go with the 4200NEX? Any issues with making everything speak to each other, loss of features such as steering controls?

Cheers


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#4 ·
I have a 2008, no idea what radio it was originally equipped with.

When the top was off, I couldn't hear the radio at when cranked to full volume. When the top was on, cranked anywhere near moderately loud lead to distortion. It just sounded terrible compared to the Bose system in the Mazda Rx8 I traded in due to blown apex seals on the front rotor.

First, I replaced the dashboard and sound bar speakers with 77Kick10's. The distortion issue was solved, but I didn't have the volume I wanted.

I then replaced the head unit with an Alpine CDE-143BT. I was really after bluetooth connectivity, the other features were irrelevant. This gave me all the mids and highs I could want at any volume, but I was lacking bass. I do intend to replace this with an Apple CarPlay capable unit some time soon. Pro tip: There's a thread on this forum about changing the capacitors on the stock tweeters to optimize their output. In a strange ironic twist, the base model JK in 2008 came equipped with the best tweeters.

To rectify the bass issue, I then purchased an Alpine 10" subwoofer and appropriate amplifier (crutchfield's site isn't working correctly right now, can't look up my order history to provide exact models). I built a sub box out of 3/4" mdf, appropriately sized for a 10" sub, and bolted it to the tailgate. Fun fact: There's some formula to calculate proper volume of a sub box based on what size subwoofer you're wanting to add. Google it.

I then had a system that rivaled what I had in my Mazda. Unfortunately, I had issues with the adhesive on the subwoofer cone that just couldn't cope with the weird EDM stuff my then girlfriend liked to play. Half of the adhesive let go. A little shoe goo around the perimeter of the cone took care of that. A few weeks later, the other half gave out and I shoe goo'd that, too.

I've had no problems for the last year and a half. It's plenty loud enough for me. The 77Kick10's and the 10" sub complement each other pretty well for the kind of music I listen to.
 
#9 ·
I upgraded to the Kickers recently and it was a big improvement but that's really not much of a suprise when you compare them to the originals. I did run a small 40 watt per channel amplifier in that fit in the glove box and the combo is very loud for a very basic upgrade. And then I put a small sub in the back.... The Kickers are a big upgrade and don't forget to poly fill the speaker enclosures.
 

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#17 ·
#19 ·
Right, 2 sets (4 total speakers) reason I am asking if I should buy 2 sets of that same speaker is because I just glanced at the front dash and it looked like a smaller speaker in there and I wasnt sure if these larger ones would fit as they would in the sound bar but I will take a closer look at the dash

Thank you
 
#22 ·
I don't think there's a Mopar upgrade available for the tweeters--I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong--but if you're looking for plug and play then check these out: Quadratec® JK-TWEET15 Super Tweeters (Pair) for 15-17 Jeep® Wrangler & Wrangler Unlimited JK | Quadratec.

Note that they're for the dash only, not the soundbar.

You have a lot more options if you're willing to go with a different hookup method.

I replaced all 8 of my speakers. Once you can take a good look at the OEMs, you'll probably want to do the same. They're about as poorly made as it gets, which has a lot to do with how crummy they sound.
 
#30 ·
I can't say that I've personally compared them, but if I had the Alpine system I would leave well enough alone as far as the speakers. But I would still replace the HU. There are a lot of really great ones out there and in addition to a ton of features that the stock HU doesn't give you the upgrade in sound quality alone is worth it.

Imho.
 
#35 ·
Jeep Audio Upgrade Series

I found this on Youtube and thought it might be of interest to many of you. The exact link is to the Soundbar project, but there are a number of Jeep specific videos in this series that are very useful, depending on your level of DIY prowess, including factory HU systems.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yND0nYejAPU&t=2s
 
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#45 ·
I just did this and it definitely sounds crisper with some bass. I will be driving to work shortly and test it more then. The removal of the front dash speakers suck but definitely not impossible. Even I did it and didn't break anything and all the screw went back to where they are supposed to go.


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