speaker selection for sq

BTW:  the speaker placement in a Cherokee is 5.25" front speakers in the bottom of the doors; and 5.25" speakers in a sound bar on the headliner in the very rear of the cab that aim pretty much at the back of your head when sitting in the front seat(s).  There is no speakers in the rear doors.  Now, if there is a better set-up/placement than this for SQ, let me know.  Im not afraid to cut-up and make custom panels.

I have a 98 Cherokee.  You can pretty much forget about SQ in them - the dash/seating position just really destroys any chance to create a good sound stage regardless of the time and money you invest. 

Nevertheless, here's the stuff I've done in an attempt to make lemonade from lemons. 

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/182031

As far speakers go, I think the Alpine Type-X refs and Type-X pros are pretty good speaks for the money.  The Pioneer PRS is also a great value.  Those three are up there with the high end stuff but don't carry the same price tag.   If you like metal tweeters, then Focal would be my first choice.  Boston makes a decent metal dome too, but I think the Focals are clearly better. 

Amps:  I like Alpine, Clarion and Cadence - I'm not a big believer in dumping money into highend amps as amps have little to no impact on sound quality.

Subs:  Shiva-X, anything from ID or Dayton.  I think you're best off sticking to a sealed enclosure in the Cherokee.  The cargo area isn't that big and it really doesn't take a lot to fill the cabin with bass. 

HU:  The Alpine 9887 is good value and offers a decent amount of tweaking capability, which you'll probably want/need. 

Wiring: Anybody other than Monster Cable.  Seriously, I usually use the cheaper stuff from Partsexpress.  AR or Dayton for RCA cables.  Radio Shack NXG cables are pretty nice too.  Go with sheilded wiring. 

Good luck with project, just don't expect spectular results because the Cherokee's interior just doesn't lend itself to creating a good sound stage.   

I've been at this for ~20 years and I haven't noticed a difference.  As RC would say watts is watts....  Some amps have a slightly better noise floor, but unless you're competiting that gets drowned out by music and/or road noise pretty quickly.  Some amps are poorly designed and/or QC sucks so they can (easily) induct noise (ie Pyramid, Legacy, et al), so we want to avoid those.  Some amps are prone to failure (Hifonic Monoblocks), so stay away from those.   

OTOH, I highly doubt anybody can truly tell the difference between a $0.25/watt Cadence amp and a $3/watt Brax amp in an blind A/B test with music.  I'm running some high end Clarion "Arc Clones" and a pretty nice MTX Thunder 275 from MTX's glory days and I can't say any of those amps sound better than cheapie Clarion that I run.  As a matter of fact that cheapie Clarion powers the front stage for the better sounding of my 2 systems.   

1)  I understand this, thats why I would like some opinions on driver location.  If there is a better configuration, im all ears.  I already stated that im not afraid to do custom pods.

2)  I also understand that the budget is a little low.  But, I made this post to hear people's opinions on high quality drivers more than anything really.  So, think around $1000 for just drivers, and maybe a head unit.

"Off- the-shelf solutions, are really comprimises at best"  <------- So, there really isnt a componet set out there that you would recommend?  I would like to keep from having to buy seperate crossovers.  And, I do plan on atleast bi-amping this setup.  Maybe a nice 2channel for F/R and of course a mono for the sub(s).

So, what it comes back to is. what is your favorite drivers.  HIghs, mid-bass, and subs.  And if at all possible, what componet sets do you like.  But dont forget, im not scared to make some custom pods to put these drivers in the best possible position.  Thanks again everyone.