Varilux
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- First Name
- Pete
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- Dec 29, 2018
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- Hickory Creek, TX
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- 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
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If you have the basic system (non-Alpine) and want to boost the power with an amp, there's a way to do so that will take all of about one hour to install...
The amp is the Alpine KTP-445U Power Pack (here's a link to it on Crutchfield Alpine KTP-445U Power Pack), and at $189, it's fairly inexpensive. This is by no means a huge amp, but it will give you 4 channels of 45w (which is more than double what the stock head unit puts out).
Okay, this is a universal amp- so how does it become plug-n-play? Well, the KTP-445U is the amp Alpine puts in its PSS-23WRA system (which also includes upgraded front dash speakers, and a subwoofer at a $1299 price tag). The PSS includes a harness for hooking that amp up to a JL, so all you have to do is order the harness to make it plug-n-play.
Crutchfield doesn't sell the harness separately, but you can purchase it at pacparts.com (which sells replacement parts for the Alpine PSS system). Here are the two harness parts you'll need:
Alpine 820SVV90ZUD-PQKUQV Main Harness ($42.86)
Alpine 820SVV90ZUD-WKUQV T-Harness ($42.86)
(Edit as of 1 September 2020- Apparently PacParts no longer carries these harnesses. My guess is Alpine noticed a number of harnesses were being sold and decided to discontinue them- requiring people to go the much more expensive Alpine PSS upgrade route.)
Unfortunately, the main harness was out of stock (and I'm impatient), so I just ordered the T-Harness and fabricated the main harness. Honestly, although it still only took about 2.5 hours to install from start to finish, almost 2 of those hours were spent building the main harness- so waiting a few extra days for the main harness to ship may have been worth it.
Here's a pic of the T-Harness and the ends of the KTP-455U. Although I had to splice the harness that came with the amp into the T-Harness, assuming you order the main harness all you'll need to do is plug one end into the outlets on the T-Harness and the other end in the KTP amp, and you'll be good to go.
I already have a powered subwoofer installed under my passenger seat, and if you do as well you'll want to grab the signal for the subwoofer before the amp, because the amp has dip switches which allow you several high-pass options for your speakers. You don't want to grab the signal after the amp, because if you elect to use the high-pass, you'll lose some of the signal to your sub. The T-Harness has a sub feed that is used for the Alpine system, and I originally tied into that. The sub worked, but for some reason I could not get much power out of the sub- so I spliced into the wires going to the amp and my sub worked just fine again. [Edit: A day later, I realized the sub feeds from the harness were low-powered, so I cut the ends off some RCA cables, spliced the RCA into the sub feeds from the harness, plugged the RCA ends into my subwoofer, and it worked perfectly. If you get the main harness, I believe it will include the RCA jacks on the sub end- just plug them into your sub of choice.]
One of the advantages of the Alpine KTP-455U's small size is you do not need to run a power cable to the battery- you can literally just tap into the power and ground used for the radio. Per Alpine's instructions, if the circuit that powers your radio is over 15A (the JL's radio circuit is 20A) you just tie right into your harness. Here's a pic with the T-Harness installed in the dash- you can see the blue taps where I've tied into the radio's power supply. Also, since the amp is so small, you can put it behind your glove box (I have mine just laying in the glove box for now until I have all the settings just where I want them).
The red end of the harness plugs right back into your radio just like the factory harness would.
I'm by no means an expert at this stuff, but I have installed a few amps in previous vehicles, and it really does not get easier than this. There's no need to add resistors into the speaker lines (this was the thing that kept me from adding an amp before), you just plug it in and it works.
How does it work? Pretty impressively considering it costs about $270 all in with harnesses! I have the gains set super low, (the minimum position is about 7 o'clock, the dials are at about 9 o'clock), and can turn the radio the whole way up without distortion. Of course, going past about 26 becomes deafening (for me, anyway- my 25 year old seemed to be enjoying it), but it's good clean power that will let me get loud enough to enjoy music even with the doors and top removed. My base system (with the 7" head unit) is very comparable to the premium Alpine system in my coworker's JL at this point. Here's what I've done:
Front speakers upgraded to a premium Kicker used in a Dodge Dart- direct fit) Mopar 77KICK25AB - $44.50 pair
Powered 125w 8" subwoofer installed under passenger seat Sound-Ordnance-B-8PTD - $169
Speaker Bar upgraded with SSV 6.5" pods SSV 6.5" Speaker Pods - $199 (including 6.5" speakers)
Alpine KTP-4 channel x 45w amplifier (described above, with links) - $270
I think that puts me all in at around $685, and I'm completely happy with my sound system at this point. It sounds great during normal driving, and I'll be able to overcome wind noise when my Jeep is in its natural state (doors and rear windows removed).
PS- Thanks to emgeesea for bringing the KTP-445U to my attention, it finished off my system.
The amp is the Alpine KTP-445U Power Pack (here's a link to it on Crutchfield Alpine KTP-445U Power Pack), and at $189, it's fairly inexpensive. This is by no means a huge amp, but it will give you 4 channels of 45w (which is more than double what the stock head unit puts out).
Okay, this is a universal amp- so how does it become plug-n-play? Well, the KTP-445U is the amp Alpine puts in its PSS-23WRA system (which also includes upgraded front dash speakers, and a subwoofer at a $1299 price tag). The PSS includes a harness for hooking that amp up to a JL, so all you have to do is order the harness to make it plug-n-play.
Crutchfield doesn't sell the harness separately, but you can purchase it at pacparts.com (which sells replacement parts for the Alpine PSS system). Here are the two harness parts you'll need:
Alpine 820SVV90ZUD-PQKUQV Main Harness ($42.86)
Alpine 820SVV90ZUD-WKUQV T-Harness ($42.86)
(Edit as of 1 September 2020- Apparently PacParts no longer carries these harnesses. My guess is Alpine noticed a number of harnesses were being sold and decided to discontinue them- requiring people to go the much more expensive Alpine PSS upgrade route.)
Unfortunately, the main harness was out of stock (and I'm impatient), so I just ordered the T-Harness and fabricated the main harness. Honestly, although it still only took about 2.5 hours to install from start to finish, almost 2 of those hours were spent building the main harness- so waiting a few extra days for the main harness to ship may have been worth it.
Here's a pic of the T-Harness and the ends of the KTP-455U. Although I had to splice the harness that came with the amp into the T-Harness, assuming you order the main harness all you'll need to do is plug one end into the outlets on the T-Harness and the other end in the KTP amp, and you'll be good to go.
I already have a powered subwoofer installed under my passenger seat, and if you do as well you'll want to grab the signal for the subwoofer before the amp, because the amp has dip switches which allow you several high-pass options for your speakers. You don't want to grab the signal after the amp, because if you elect to use the high-pass, you'll lose some of the signal to your sub. The T-Harness has a sub feed that is used for the Alpine system, and I originally tied into that. The sub worked, but for some reason I could not get much power out of the sub- so I spliced into the wires going to the amp and my sub worked just fine again. [Edit: A day later, I realized the sub feeds from the harness were low-powered, so I cut the ends off some RCA cables, spliced the RCA into the sub feeds from the harness, plugged the RCA ends into my subwoofer, and it worked perfectly. If you get the main harness, I believe it will include the RCA jacks on the sub end- just plug them into your sub of choice.]
One of the advantages of the Alpine KTP-455U's small size is you do not need to run a power cable to the battery- you can literally just tap into the power and ground used for the radio. Per Alpine's instructions, if the circuit that powers your radio is over 15A (the JL's radio circuit is 20A) you just tie right into your harness. Here's a pic with the T-Harness installed in the dash- you can see the blue taps where I've tied into the radio's power supply. Also, since the amp is so small, you can put it behind your glove box (I have mine just laying in the glove box for now until I have all the settings just where I want them).
The red end of the harness plugs right back into your radio just like the factory harness would.
I'm by no means an expert at this stuff, but I have installed a few amps in previous vehicles, and it really does not get easier than this. There's no need to add resistors into the speaker lines (this was the thing that kept me from adding an amp before), you just plug it in and it works.
How does it work? Pretty impressively considering it costs about $270 all in with harnesses! I have the gains set super low, (the minimum position is about 7 o'clock, the dials are at about 9 o'clock), and can turn the radio the whole way up without distortion. Of course, going past about 26 becomes deafening (for me, anyway- my 25 year old seemed to be enjoying it), but it's good clean power that will let me get loud enough to enjoy music even with the doors and top removed. My base system (with the 7" head unit) is very comparable to the premium Alpine system in my coworker's JL at this point. Here's what I've done:
Front speakers upgraded to a premium Kicker used in a Dodge Dart- direct fit) Mopar 77KICK25AB - $44.50 pair
Powered 125w 8" subwoofer installed under passenger seat Sound-Ordnance-B-8PTD - $169
Speaker Bar upgraded with SSV 6.5" pods SSV 6.5" Speaker Pods - $199 (including 6.5" speakers)
Alpine KTP-4 channel x 45w amplifier (described above, with links) - $270
I think that puts me all in at around $685, and I'm completely happy with my sound system at this point. It sounds great during normal driving, and I'll be able to overcome wind noise when my Jeep is in its natural state (doors and rear windows removed).
PS- Thanks to emgeesea for bringing the KTP-445U to my attention, it finished off my system.
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