Alpine upgraded sound system...seriously?

[AFD]

I can't seem too get the mix I want. The bass is really boomy. Great if you only listen to R&B /rap. I'm disappointed. I think it should have been a lot better for the money.

I listen to just about everything from metal to classical, rap, electronica, country, you name it, and while it's usually hard to tweak your system to nicely cover every genre, I'm still trying to find a 'neutral' happy-medium with this one.

Has anyone blacked out the silver ring around the Terra Acoustics tweeter? How would u go about it any ideas

I was just thinking about the same thing. Really think the silver ring looks nice, but I really can't stand the window reflections I get from sticking something bright or shiny in the dash tray.

I'd imagine it'd be possible to tape everything else off and spray paint the trim ring in black, though it might be safer to remove the tweeter first if that's possible. Could probably even use a coat or two of Plastidip spray instead, since that can later be peeled back off by hand (though cleaning the windshield and dash might inadvertently take it off eventually as well). Vinyl wrap might be another option, though that seems like a pita for the shape.

Not really sure if that piece is metal or just plastic painted to look like metal, but it'd be nice if they offered a grille with a darker gunmetal tweeter trim instead.

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[JimsRubicon]

The Alpine system in my 22 Wrangler Rubicon JLU is far better than the Harman Kardon system in my wife's Lexus RX350. I think the sound is amazing. But if I have any boxes next to the subwoofer it doesn't sound great.

 

[jeepingib]

The JL audio is a bit of a disaster of compromise.

The highs come from a 3.5" speaker, normally this wouldn't be anything to complain about, because any other premium audio upgrade would be similar sized. But every other one will be using the speaker with a tweeter! You just can't get the same fidelity from a cone speaker.

The mids are a mere .5" larger than the highs. That is another weak point and definitely not something that I would consider a premium quality solution. I would have settled for 5.25" but 4" is just too small to replicate the frequencies being asked of it. Especially when there is room for larger still.

And the small mids lead to the next problem. The 12" bass overpowers the rest of the system. It's like they asked a 14 year old kid what a good audio system comprised of. Worse is that the equalizer on the radio doesn't have a separate way to reduce the sub volume. So if you get the mids close to working, then the sub will step in and hit you with a ton of bricks. I'd love to see the crossover points, I think that the sub comes in really early for this setup.

I've made a simple change that allowed me to enjoy my Jeep a little more. I replaced the factory highs with JBL GX328 speakers. These are inexpensive, but I would have gotten them even if they were double the price. They are designed to work at lower resistance, so they work with the factory amplifier. And they have a good sensitivity, so I don't have to crank the volume up crazy high just to understand lyrics and hear cymbals. And these are only in the dash, front sound stage bias on the fade by a few notches also helps to control bass creep on the mids. EQ is flat on the head unit, but on my phone I use a 7 band, and pretty much always stream Spotify premium or Amazon music. Both offer decent HD and I was using them before Tidal came around. My EQ is pretty flat on bass and has a bump in the mids tapering off for the highs.

If I do anything else I will improve the mids. I think that the powerbass 7" speaker for the Toyota Sequoia would fit in the aftermarket dash pods, and still work with the factory amp.

 

[funglenn]

How do you hifi hear stuff over the road noise with no doors? Even with the hard top, road noise is pretty loud.....

 

[efreyman]

I went this direction as my 21JLR didn’t come with the premium and I am extremely happy. It is nice not losing the storage space under the flooring to the sub. And with the club discount, it was definitely worth it.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/alpine/pss-24wra-complete-sound-system-upgrade-wrangler-jl

 

[Opus]

Yeah, I have to say comparing the Jeep stereo sound to somebody's BMW or Audi is like comparing apples to sledge hammers...

 

[AFD]

Yeah, I have to say comparing the Jeep stereo sound to somebody's BMW or Audi is like comparing apples to sledge hammers...

I only compare sledgehammers to watermelons! (RIP Gallagher)

But nah, not really imo. It all falls into the car audio realm, whether it's a bus or a truck, a Ferrari or a Honda. Both get you from point A to point B while making music. Having removable top and doors isn't any less of a reason to have decent music than if you had a convertible (for most people, the top's not always off/down). And there's many models of luxury brand vehicles that you can get significantly cheaper than a mid to upper trim Wrangler. It still boggles my mind that I could've bought a Porsche for cheaper than my Jeep, and I didn't even get the sweet 392 model.

 

[BXFXJeep]

2022 JLUR XR w/SOT Top, spend 98% of my driving time with the windows down and the top open. I've always been very pleased with the sound coming from the Jeep. I have made EQ adjustments to work with my genre of music (80's) and listening tastes. See no need to modify.

Care to share your EQ for 80s?

 

[pfletcher229648]

Care to share your EQ for 80s?

As I always have, I move base higher until it starts to sound bad then I back off one notch, I move mid-range down a notch or level flat, then move high end up but not so it sounds tinny.

 

[Xcoaste]

Nothing else to add, but I also have the Terra Acoustics and have no complaints.

 

[Walker Texas Wrangler]

I'm no audiophile, but really into music and can say that I have zero complaints with the factory upgraded Alpine system. I've gotten nothing but compliment about it.

I have a factory headliner, have my iPhones eq turned off and make minor adjustments to taste on the systems EQ. My son played through his iPhone with his own EQ settings and it quickly turned to muddy crap, so that could be the issue. I would also note that the Satellite radio audio quality is pretty crappy (but I listen to that a lot too and the stereo handles it pretty well).

 

[rmlimodriver]

Just this weekend I added Kicker 46CSS654 component speakers mounted in Select Increments JLJT pods in the roll bar and a set of Kenwood Excelon KFC-x3c's in the upper dash. Added some polyfil around each speaker including the floor sub. Huge difference in sound. I question whether the OE speakers that come with the premium system are really anything more than plain old Mopar speakers. One tip with upgrading speakers. You'll most probably be using the Metra speaker adapters to make the connections, be sure to check that the adapters are connecting to the correct (+/-) wiring in the Jeep. I had to repin the Metra's wires because they were reversing the proper connection. Your speakers still work even when crossed but the sound quality is reduced. All in on the upgrades cost about $340 but well worth it!

I too did the Select Increments JLJT-Pods upgrade on my factory Alpine system as well and am very impressed.

Prior to the upgrade I also added the Terra Acoustics front speaker upgrade. I noticed an immediate improvement in sound fidelity with Terra. They even include a playlist to fully showcase the ability of these front speakers. Play the playlist on your existing system PRIOR, do the install, then play the playlist again and you can instantly hear the sound quality. Easy to upgrade, took 15 minutes to get installed. https://terraacoustics.com/pages/waitlist-jeep-front-soundstage-speaker-upgrade-jl-jt

About a month later I added the Select Increments JLJT-Pods. Install was more involved and time consuming than the Terra speakers. I needed to change out the factory hardware when reattaching the new speaker, but that was about it. Instantly the sound quality was top notch. Adding the two really takes the stereo system to a new level. I used the Kicker speakers and the tweeter is outstanding. https://www.extremeterrain.com/select-increments-jeep-wrangler-jljt-pods-j156937-jl.html

I also have a Hotheads headliner on my SOT which I would recommend for improved stereo fidelity, decreased road noise, and insulation from extreme heat/cold. https://hotheadheadliners.com/colle...ky-one-touch-headliner?variant=39284097253442

 

[shnider10]

This is probably the best system offered factory for any vehicle period. It’s way better than the B&O system found in LUX Broncos.

 

[SH556JL]

I went this direction as my 21JLR didn’t come with the premium and I am extremely happy. It is nice not losing the storage space under the flooring to the sub. And with the club discount, it was definitely worth it.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/alpine/pss-24wra-complete-sound-system-upgrade-wrangler-jl

This is basically the kit I built for the 21 before it was offered. Only difference is my knee speakers were the highest quality R speakers. I’m not an audiophile and my tuning was pretty novice at best. But I was able to get it to sound really good and it could get overwhelming with the doors/top off. The sound quality was nothing short of amazing even cruising down the interstate naked.

 

[WRGLR-JL]

I too did the Select Increments JLJT-Pods upgrade on my factory Alpine system as well and am very impressed.

Prior to the upgrade I also added the Terra Acoustics front speaker upgrade. I noticed an immediate improvement in sound fidelity with Terra. They even include a playlist to fully showcase the ability of these front speakers. Play the playlist on your existing system PRIOR, do the install, then play the playlist again and you can instantly hear the sound quality. Easy to upgrade, took 15 minutes to get installed. https://terraacoustics.com/pages/waitlist-jeep-front-soundstage-speaker-upgrade-jl-jt

About a month later I added the Select Increments JLJT-Pods. Install was more involved and time consuming than the Terra speakers. I needed to change out the factory hardware when reattaching the new speaker, but that was about it. Instantly the sound quality was top notch. Adding the two really takes the stereo system to a new level. I used the Kicker speakers and the tweeter is outstanding. https://www.extremeterrain.com/select-increments-jeep-wrangler-jljt-pods-j156937-jl.html

I also have a Hotheads headliner on my SOT which I would recommend for improved stereo fidelity, decreased road noise, and insulation from extreme heat/cold. https://hotheadheadliners.com/colle...ky-one-touch-headliner?variant=39284097253442

Headliner is on my list to do. Did you use Metra adapters? Did you need to re-pin them to get the wiring correct? Interested in how prevalent the issue is.

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