Accidental audio improvement with dash speakers and Alpine system

[Jeepadoodle]

I don’t know about that as I have never heard the Infinity’s before to compare. They are certainly brighter then the stock speakers that were removed, but I would say the sound pretty balanced.

Definitely want a better dash speaker, but don't want something too bright or harsh at highway speeds

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[willhayward]

Definitely want a better dash speaker, but don't want something too bright or harsh at highway speeds

I replaced my 2021 JLU front dash with Infinity Reference and they are amazing. I have the OEM Premium Alpine system and recently replaced all the speakers (JL Audio C1-650 coaxial with Metra Pods in the knee panels and C1-650 components in the sound bar) - night and day difference; worth the $500 extra.

 

[exilepa]

I replaced my 2021 JLU front dash with Infinity Reference and they are amazing. I have the OEM Premium Alpine system and recently replaced all the speakers (JL Audio C1-650 coaxial with Metra Pods in the knee panels and C1-650 components in the sound bar) - night and day difference; worth the $500 extra.

Did you keep the Alpine premium factory amp and head unit ? I read another post that said swapping the knee panels for the metra with 6.5s wouldn't be a big difference because of factory amp limitations. Sounds like that may not be the case? Just how bad was the knee speaker replacement -- Did you remove full dash or only partial?

 

[Mtpockets]

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[willhayward]

Did you keep the Alpine premium factory amp and head unit ? I read another post that said swapping the knee panels for the metra with 6.5s wouldn't be a big difference because of factory amp limitations. Sounds like that may not be the case? Just how bad was the knee speaker replacement -- Did you remove full dash or only partial?

I only replaced the speakers and the alpine amp is great with the speakers I mentioned.

As for the install - the route I went with the sound bar was a pain in the ass as I cut out room for 6.5 in speakers using a kit off Crutchfield using a sawzaw.

The top dash speakers were a breeze.

Now for the pain - the knee panel pod replacements took about 4 hours - removed the HVAC controls, radio faceplate, glovebox, dash cover and trim. The driver’s side required removing the GPS antenna and removing dash frame screws to give enough room to wiggle speaker pod out.

the sound from the mentioned speakers is awesome though - much better than the “premium alpine.” My wife and kids agree.

 

[RSK]

I only replaced the speakers and the alpine amp is great with the speakers I mentioned.

As for the install - the route I went with the sound bar was a pain in the ass as I cut out room for 6.5 in speakers using a kit off Crutchfield using a sawzaw.

The top dash speakers were a breeze.

Now for the pain - the knee panel pod replacements took about 4 hours - removed the HVAC controls, radio faceplate, glovebox, dash cover and trim. The driver’s side required removing the GPS antenna and removing dash frame screws to give enough room to wiggle speaker pod out.

the sound from the mentioned speakers is awesome though - much better than the “premium alpine.” My wife and kids agree.

So, I have already done the Metra pods in the dash (yes major PITA), added Focal 6.5” and Infinity 3.5” for the upper dash. Just bought the soundbar SSV 6.5” adapter kit from Crutchfield.

Just to confirm, you put in C1-650 components in the soundbar and kept the 8.4 Premium OEM Amp and still sounds good to drive everything?

I was going to do this mod with an aftermarket AMP later in the year, but if the components sound great with the OEM Premium AMP, will do the soundbar part now. Then do the AMP after if not satisfied.


Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

 

[willhayward]

So, I have already done the Metra pods in the dash (yes major PITA), added Focal 6.5” and Infinity 3.5” for the upper dash. Just bought the soundbar SSV 6.5” adapter kit from Crutchfield.

Just to confirm, you put in C1-650 components in the soundbar and kept the 8.4 Premium OEM Amp and still sounds good to drive everything?

I was going to do this mod with an aftermarket AMP later in the year, but if the components sound great with the OEM Premium AMP, will do the soundbar part now. Then do the AMP after if not satisfied.


Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Yes, the components in the sound bar sound amazing with the factory alpine amp. Has to be a component setup because the factory alpine has components in the speakerbar already. If you'd like me to snap a picture, I'd be more than happy to go out and get one but as I stated previously - the sound quality/volume increased drastically enough for me to have my top and door off and still not have to turn the volume to 34 where I had to be previously with no detailed highs. Night and day without changing the amp/sub/HU.

P.S. I did install the crossovers on the tweeters just to ensure there was no difference in the factory and the JL's.

 

[RSK]

Yes, the components in the sound bar sound amazing with the factory alpine amp. Has to be a component setup because the factory alpine has components in the speakerbar already. If you'd like me to snap a picture, I'd be more than happy to go out and get one but as I stated previously - the sound quality/volume increased drastically enough for me to have my top and door off and still not have to turn the volume to 34 where I had to be previously with no detailed highs. Night and day without changing the amp/sub/HU.

P.S. I did install the crossovers on the tweeters just to ensure there was no difference in the factory and the JL's.

Yes! Any pictures or explanation of the crossover setup would be greatly appreciated. I think the cutting & SSV adapter part will be pretty straight forward.

Look what arrived today. Will start the process this weekend, if I can wait that long.

 

[exilepa]

So, I have already done the Metra pods in the dash (yes major PITA),

How much of a major PITA? I've seen a video where it shows the whole dash doesn't need to come out, just the bottom below the steering wheel and the glove box. Is that feasible or was it just easier to remove everything else? I'm debating if the knee speaker upgrade is worth the PITA. I'm about "average" when it comes to being mechanically inclined

 

[willhayward]

How much of a major PITA? I've seen a video where it shows the whole dash doesn't need to come out, just the bottom below the steering wheel and the glove box. Is that feasible or was it just easier to remove everything else? I'm debating if the knee speaker upgrade is worth the PITA. I'm about "average" when it comes to being mechanically inclined

It’s just screws…. A lot of them. The dash does not need to be removed. HVAC console, stereo bezel, glove box, dash pad, etc. took me about 4 hours from start to finish while watching a YouTube video on how to do it.

 

[MyDaughters20JL]

I had a popping noise, I thought was coming from the front dash speakers, but as I found out, it's the knee speakers. The good news is the speakers I bought drive a much cleaner high and add even an extra mid-bass allowing me to keep the volume down while getting cleaner "in your face" sound.

These were used in the Alpine 9 speaker system with 8.4" touchscreen, but I am guessing most dash speakers are the same size.

I purchased the Infinity Reference REF-3032cfx 3-1/2" 2-way car speakers which I mention because all links die eventually, but at the time this was posted the link is:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R3032CM/Infinity-Reference-REF-3032cfx.html?omnews=15593

It required trimming a tiny amount off the very ends of the mounts (it looks like it would fit three possible applications).

Had I known how much better these improved the front sound, I would have done this anyway, so that worked out I've had two audio shops tell me speaker upgrades wouldn't do me any good. Now I'm questioning that.

Sorry for the confusion: you say, "These were used in the Alpine 9 speaker system with 8.4" touchscreen".....do you mean that the speakers you installed were the ones used in the alpine system? I'm just asking as I've got the alpine system & it would be a moot point to replace the speakers with the same unit

 

[MyDaughters20JL]

....To start the polarity is reversed on the Metra adapters for both the dash and speaker bar speakers when connected to the factory wire harness.

I"d admit to knowing shit about car audio, but is it possible that with the reversed polarity, that is what's causing the "pooping" of the speakers when powering on/off?

 

[willhayward]

Yes! Any pictures or explanation of the crossover setup would be greatly appreciated. I think the cutting & SSV adapter part will be pretty straight forward.

Look what arrived today. Will start the process this weekend, if I can wait that long.

Here is what my sound bar now looks like.

As for the crossover -I only installed them in case the frequency limitation was different between the factory and aftermarket speakers - probably wasn't necessary but it only took a few minutes - the instructions come with your components - I bought some connectors from crutchfield to ensure everything would be plug and play when I got them in. I used 3M double sided stick tape to secure them inside the soundbar in the channel that holds that wiring harness. Make sure you have 2 different plugs for each side - one for the tweeter and one for the woofer (if you have the alpine system) - if you've replaced the dash and the pods - it's one of each of those.

 

[RSK]

How much of a major PITA? I've seen a video where it shows the whole dash doesn't need to come out, just the bottom below the steering wheel and the glove box. Is that feasible or was it just easier to remove everything else? I'm debating if the knee speaker upgrade is worth the PITA. I'm about "average" when it comes to being mechanically inclined

It’s mostly time, a bunch of screws, being very careful and being organized labeling screw bags for the reassembly. Once everything is in, the reassembly doesn’t take to long. I just watched the u-tube videos from others as well and took my time. It’s worth it IMO, but would tackle in the cooler months on like a nice fall day. Certainly doable and not overly complicated, the amount of screws and snaps makes for the PITA part. This was last year, here are a couple pictures.

 

[willhayward]

It’s mostly time, a bunch of screws, being very careful and being organized labeling screw bags for the reassembly. Once everything is in, the reassembly doesn’t take to long. I just watched the u-tube videos from others as well and took my time. It’s worth it IMO, but would tackle in the cooler months on like a nice fall day. Certainly doable and not overly complicated, the amount of screws and snaps makes for the PITA part. This was last year, here are a couple pictures.

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