What does it take to replace a standard 6-speaker system with a JBL 9-speaker system?

The 9 speaker system has the main amp under the drivers seat (US) passengers(UK). The amp also sets volume levels and produces output beeps and audio for the satnav and phone. I think this will mean the head unit is different along with the wiring loom, and of course the extra speakers. It will almost certainly be easier to use an aftermarket unit to give the extra quality and functions now available.

John (Britprius)

 

aftermarket speakers and head unit will sound much better than the jbl, and have modern features which didn't exist in 2007.

replace your head unit with a 2DIN aftermarket head unit with a touch screen, nav, BT audio and a usb port.

alpine tweeters will clip into your front door triangles just like the oe tweeters and sound way clearer.

the base speakers are absolute junk, and almost any 6 3/4" component woofer will give you better bass and mids. if you are into doing a little fabbing, you can get a 7" or 8" woofer to fit, only thing you got to look out for is window clearance in the front doors.

while you got the door panels off you can install sound deadener such as dynamat.

if you go aftermarket, your system will be better than the jbl in every way.

 

recommendation: call crutchfield. they'll help you choose a 2din head unit and supply any adapters you'll need, also give you printed instructions to help with the job.

if you want to modify, check out parts express for 7" or 8" 4 ohm drivers.
get alpine tweeters.

 

Shovlhed, thanks for the input. I have the Jbl system with nine speakers. One of the speakers is blown and I'd like to upgrade with at least new speakers in the front and a bluetooth double din. Would you, or anyone else here recommend that I keep the amp set up the way it is, or buy a new amp, or just by pass the amp. Also, I'm thinking for budget all I'd need is to update the front speakers since I'd be sitting up front obviously, or would you suggest all nine speakers being replaced. Looking to upgrade quality but within a fairly modest budget. Thanks in advance!

 

I have a 2005 with JBL. It sounds terrible. One of these days, I'll replace the front speakers (bypassing the amp). I'm not an audiophile, so I don't need top of the line speakers, but the JBL system is a joke. I too could care less about the rear speakers, since I don't drive from the back seat. I'd bet that a single $25 pair of speakers from Amazon would far exceed the quality of my current system. I'd take a similar approach if I were you.

 

the problem with replacing the jbl woofers is that they are 2 ohm front and 3 ohm rear. how stupid is that? I've not found any 3 ohm replacement speakers, and the 2 ohms I've found would require cutting the door. I'd probably do it if I could be sure that "earthquake" 8" low profile woofers (ebay) weren't just some Chinese junk. they might sound worse than the jbl.

from what I understand there is an interface that will allow you to replace the crappy JBL head unit and still use the JBL amp and speakers, but you can't replace the amp without replacing the head unit, and you'd have to rewire the whole car almost. if you replace the amp you definitely will need to replace all the door speakers, and remove that little joke speaker from the dash.
for now, if I had to replace a jbl woofer, I'd try to find a used one cause the dealer will hose you for a new one.

 

if you try to bypass the amp you'll get no sound at all except frying electrical components. good luck finding speakers of the correct resistance for $25. put in the wrong resistance woofers and you'll get reduced volume, so you got to know what you're doing before you try to upgrade the JBL system.
but it is pretty lame. I kinda like the base system better cause its so easy to upgrade.

 

I have an aftermarket single-DIN radio (stealth installed) utilizing a TYTO-01 adapter, so that the radio can be used in conjunction with the JBL amp. The stock unit is not used. My plan would be to wire the new speakers directly to the aftermarket radio. The specifications for the speakers would thus only need to match that of the aftermarket radio, rather than the JBL system.

I used my current aftermarket radio in my previous vehicle, and it sounded much better, so the issue is clearly the JBL system. I agree that $25 will not buy much in the way of speakers, but it's hard to imagine them sounding worse that what I've already got.

 

yeah, that's doable, you've got a fair amount of work to do with the rewiring. you will need to replace all the speakers unless your head unit says it can work with 2 or 3 ohm speakers. I'd buy some good component speakers though, not cheapies. also, part of the sound issue is how flimsy the car is. you might want to try some type of dynamat sound deadener to cut down on boominess and rattles.

 

So, the best program to upgrade in an economical and simpler manner would be to keep the amp, replace the blown out speaker with a stock speaker and put in a new radio head with the proper adapters to the current amp. I think I got it...

 

simpler is the key word. I've been wanting to do something about this obsolete jbl since I got the '05. that pos doesn't even got an aux port. I'm living just barely w/ a BT adapter in the '06 aux port, but it sucks. the problem is you can't upgrade piecemeal like a normal system