ghetdjc320

Yep the amp fits perfectly under the center console with about a 1/2” of airspace above it and plenty of venting out the back and sides. Our center consoles lend themselves very well to concealing an amp since they had the provision for the XJ rear air ductwork to pass through them. As for the radio, it now has a full programable internal DSP which makes all the difference. I am still using the powered speaker level outputs but that does help retain a good signal to noise ratio. Down the road, I’ll build another radio that deletes the internal preamp entirely and provides pre-outs. You can pull the line level signal from the RX radio before it goes to the amp stage but, the level is very low. If I was going that route, I’d probably use a good quality line level converter like an audio control unit. The built in amp for the rx series in only a 2channel but the preamp fader control splits the signals to power rear speakers. So, the advantage to keeping the the speaker level outs is that you can retain fader control which I’m using as a sub feed so I can adjust the sub level using the fader control.

Awesome, glad that helped! It can take a bit to reset the chip when Its not seeing the triggers from the tape mech. But it should stay that way now. BTW, that’s a pretty good looking radio there. Good candidate for a restoration

There is a radio mute function that is part of the tape mechanism logic that’s got you stuck. Are you ok with just deleting the tape player all together? If so, just remove the two main connectors from it along with the 3 wire signal out. Remove the four screws that retain the casette player chasis and you’re done.

Wow, sound is phenomenal. The bass is super clear and deep. Still have some tuning to do. Also dropped the rear of each corbeau seat bracket 1.25” and welded them back up with proper alignment. Truly amazing how much more comfortable that small adjustment made it. I left the carpet out at the moment just to be sure I have zero further cab leaks and to do some further cable management. Finished my personal RX173 with the internals significantly modded. Now I have custom automatic signal routing, full programable DSP and multiple inputs. Restored the lighting, button backing and faceplate. every audio component is now hidden with zero space taken up on the cab. The custom Dakota digital dash is also an extremely good piece of tech. I’m running the canbus signals from the original vette ecu for gauge signals.

Will found out in the next few days. I’m finishing up with some dash wiring work I needed to get done to accommodate the Dakota digital dash swap. Going to put back in the seats without the carpet to ensure I have zero water leaks and to make any other fine adjustments with cab wiring layout before laying down fresh carpet. Will report back soon though:

Thanks! Now just need to reinstall the interior and make some bezels/grills for the b pillar trim.

Well, that was a ton of work to design build and install, but well worth it.

I think most of the info I posted on these is pretty obscure in the diy section. I’ll see if I can throw together a thread here in the mods section about what can be done with these units. Specifically the RX-171, 172 and 173 as these radios can still be found in plenty of 96- XJs in the yards. I like the look of some of the AMC radios but imo, the later RX-171+ units look more period correct in the dash.

The best audio quality you could get would be a usb DAC with an analog output to an internal DSP which can then switch between tuner/aux and Bluetooth. Ideally you’d use the DSP preamp output to provide line level output. That would be the purest signal without running an optical or coax digital output from your DSP to amp. If you read through the DIY thread on these (“what cc knows about stock jeep radios”), that is a definite possibility Edit: Here where some of the mod/tech info on these units begins

If your going to use Bluetooth or otherwise provide some type of external signal input, that is within the scope of the mods. Checkout the mods done thus far in the DIY section “What CC knows about stock jeep radios”. You might find what you need there to fit your needs. I’ve kept all the data there open source, and provided the signal flow pathways to modding the daylights out of these radios. Adding an FM modulator is a nice setup actually that can give the same audio quality you’d get from a clean FM station. But it does require adding in some sort of switch somewhere to turn it on as it will shunt the vehicle antenna signal to about zero when it’s on.

Had to make a small detour to patch a nasty water leak. Cutting out the old metal seam and getting some solid clean metal to work with. Then will weld it all up solid.

I should have seen this coming. Been chasing down a water leak in the drivers side floorboard for some time now. I had patched in some new metal back when the build was first underway. Near the end of the build, I installed Notch flares which, aside from looking great as an end product, are utter junk for fitment. Part of the install process involves the typical cut and fold of the pinch seam in the wheel wells. Well, as you fold that seem over, you start to slightly open up the two pieces of metal which are spot welded. As I lived in a monsoon climate, water of course worked its way down into those seems that opened up in the fold. This is the result:

Thats not a bad price for a short throw. However, Id be inclined to make one myself. We have a how to somewhere in the DIY section.

Pleased to report that this system is working great now. Just need to source a switched power supply on the board and finish refurbing the radio. The sound quality is superb in both the tuner and Bluetooth sources and there is now zero tuner bleedthrough as I created a digital audio relay system with Bluetooth priority. And the DSP is a tuning dream with endless routing configurations and functionality. I’ll use right angle 3.5mm trs plugs going forward for better clearance. Will also play around with installing a nice amp board at some point. Here is how it laid it out for this demo radio:

Same here. Took me forever to source one as they are scarce now. Then was a giant pains to get it here. But it’s one nice unit to have when it’s all said and done. Plus 88k original miles is nice