Adding an Aftermarket Amp(s)

[TorturedMargot]

I didn't run long RCA's, as I used the JL Fix approach and mounted it in the rear, right next to my amps.

You may need to break out the tape measure to account for the cable drop drop to the floorboard after the PAC, likely on the passenger side of the glove box, and then rearward towards your mounting location, allowing a few extra feet for path/routing obstacles.

I ended up going with 15 foot RCAs, just to be safe. I can always tightly coil up and loom the leftover length. Do you recommend running all new speaker wire for my new speakers?

Sponsored

 

[willhayward]

I ended up going with 15 foot RCAs, just to be safe. I can always tightly coil up and loom the leftover length. Do you recommend running all new speaker wire for my new speakers?

I ran all new wiring just as best practice. Depending on your amps output per channel, the factory wire may be fine.

 

[TorturedMargot]

Hey all. Finished up my install last night, it went great! Sound is very loud and clean, I’m thrilled.

Something interesting I wanted to share: I got my new speakers installed before I amped them up, before I installed the PAC, and they were playing just fine. No resistors or other modifications of any kind. Just a straight swap.

PS: I feel like people really exaggerated how difficult swapping the kick panel pods was. It was time consuming, but overall very easy. I retained every screw I removed. What was difficult was controlling the roto-zip I used gutting the soundbar to fix the 6x9 MB Quart speaker brackets, but it was well worth the effort and the mess. Thank you to Sting for all his helpful information!! Without this thread, this install would have been a nightmare.

 

[TorturedMargot]

I didn't run long RCA's, as I used the JL Fix approach and mounted it in the rear, right next to my amps.

You may need to break out the tape measure to account for the cable drop drop to the floorboard after the PAC, likely on the passenger side of the glove box, and then rearward towards your mounting location, allowing a few extra feet for path/routing obstacles.

Hey Sting.

I've been noticing some pops and crackles coming from my speakers during loud playback. I know that this is typically due to a poor connection, but I am quite sure my connections are solid. Could having the speaker gain set too loud cause popping sounds?

Thanks.

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Hey Sting.

I've been noticing some pops and crackles coming from my speakers during loud playback. I know that this is typically due to a poor connection, but I am quite sure my connections are solid. Could having the speaker gain set too loud cause popping sounds?

Thanks.

If your amps have knobs/posts that you twist to adjust your gains, try this... Note where your gains are set, then (with your Jeep and stereo off) take a small screw driver and rotate the gain knobs to max and then to min consecutively for about 20 seconds, or so. Then return them to the original position.

Often, the "pots" on the gains get a little corroded, and performing the above steps helps to knock some of that corrosion off.

If that's not it, it very well could be that your gains are turned too high, or your power source and/or power wire isn't supplying enough juice.

I'm assuming you have run your power wire using 4ga wire or larger. If you're using anything smaller than 4, you will likely get clipping from your amps not getting the power they need. Same goes for the ground wires.

I'll stop here, as it could be so many things, but those listed above (along with bad RCA connections) tend to cause the most trouble.

 

[Du0377]

For everyone that has the stealthbox are you feeling underwhelmed? I got mine installed a few months ago along with the ssv adapters and metra pod adapters and added 4 C2-650’s which sound great. I also put some decent dash tweeters in. The subwoofer just isnt hitting like i would expect it to. I thought it was smaybe because I have had my top off for months and figured it would sound better when i put the top back on. Its still doesnt hit that good though and it was most noticeable after I drove my dads jeep with the upgraded Alpine system which hits harder than my Jl audio stealthbox. Anyone else feel this way or might it be my subwoofer? Anyway to test it besides taking it in to the shop I had install it?

 

[Jeffmiller32]

For everyone that has the stealthbox are you feeling underwhelmed? I got mine installed a few months ago along with the ssv adapters and metra pod adapters and added 4 C2-650’s which sound great. I also put some decent dash tweeters in. The subwoofer just isnt hitting like i would expect it to. I thought it was smaybe because I have had my top off for months and figured it would sound better when i put the top back on. Its still doesnt hit that good though and it was most noticeable after I drove my dads jeep with the upgraded Alpine system which hits harder than my Jl audio stealthbox. Anyone else feel this way or might it be my subwoofer? Anyway to test it besides taking it in to the shop I had install it?

I had a stealth box in my ram. Definitely underwhelming especially for the price. I used a JL 10w3 in a custom box in my JLU and sound 10x better. I’m installing another JL 10w3 in my BMW this weekend in a sealed box. Hoping that bumps too.

 

[timannnn6]

I recently upgraded to the mbquart full system for JLU. Has anyone just swapped the stock Alpine sub for a better quality one? I have not taken apart the stock box yet so not sure if it's even worth it. Thanks

 

[CallumJL]

Hey All,
I have read through a fair chunk of this and been searching for weeks now but can not find anyone that has replaced the factory amp on the alpine 8.4 system with a better amp/s keeping the factory speakers.

I am happy with the sound of the factory speakers, my main issues are that its just not loud enough and that the bass rolls off at the top end of the volume settings eg. I feel like the sub stops getting louder at 32 on the head unit and the speakers keep going.

I understand I could get a PAC and some amps and then re route all the cables to the factory speakers but what I am looking for is something that is a bit more plug and play, just goes in place of the factory amp to replace it with something more powerful.

Can any one suggest anything?

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Hey All,
I have read through a fair chunk of this and been searching for weeks now but can not find anyone that has replaced the factory amp on the alpine 8.4 system with a better amp/s keeping the factory speakers.

I am happy with the sound of the factory speakers, my main issues are that its just not loud enough and that the bass rolls off at the top end of the volume settings eg. I feel like the sub stops getting louder at 32 on the head unit and the speakers keep going.

I understand I could get a PAC and some amps and then re route all the cables to the factory speakers but what I am looking for is something that is a bit more plug and play, just goes in place of the factory amp to replace it with something more powerful.

Can any one suggest anything?

Just a suggestion...

The factory amp is matched to the specs of the stock speakers. More power will stress the stock speakers if pushed.

Replacing the stock amp alone would be very difficult, since the stock amp handles the sound conversion, like the PAC does. Unless you found a uConnect amp that was more powerful (with same connectors), I'm afraid you'd be heading down a more frustrating path.

Others have added highly efficient speakers to replace the stock ones, reporting that they are pleased with the change.

Wish there was better news to share, though I simply can't recommend replacing just the stock amp and keeping the stock speakers due to the cost vs output value.

 

[Jeeper1941]

Read couple pages on the thread and was wondering if anyone had figured out if we can use the high level speaker wire outputs from the 8.4 headunit and add resistors and go straight to a dsp then amp/or just straight to the amp(bypassing the stock amp) like how you can do in the base system. Or do we need to get the signal post stock amp because it somehow converts it to something aftermarket amps can use? Not sure why the signal coming from the 8.4 would be different than the one from the 7 inch or the 5 inch. Any help or recommendations are appreciated.

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Read couple pages on the thread and was wondering if anyone had figured out if we can use the high level speaker wire outputs from the 8.4 headunit and add resistors and go straight to a dsp then amp/or just straight to the amp(bypassing the stock amp) like how you can do in the base system. Or do we need to get the signal post stock amp because it somehow converts it to something aftermarket amps can use? Not sure why the signal coming from the 8.4 would be different than the one from the 7 inch or the 5 inch. Any help or recommendations are appreciated.

Easiest way to get clean sound is to use the PAC Amp Pro, though you should be able to use resistors on the post amp signal to feed into a JL Fix86. There's a few other dsp options that may work, but you have to make sure that your dsp flattens the stock signal, otherwise your equalization will be a total mess.

You can't, to my knowledge, tap the stereo before the amp. If I recall correctly, the radio sends an encoded signal to the stock amp that a dsp isn't likely to convert.

 

[NathanSMSU]

Hello ya'll...first time Jeep owner here. Purchased a 2021 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon..2.0L, Alpine Premium 8.4 system, Sky One-Touch and some other goodies. I too have read all 76 pages like many of you....actually a few sections multiple times lol. Much love to all the generous folks who've posted and shared information prior. I figured I'd do my part and post a bit for future help/guidance.
Now this is only for an aftermarket amp/subwoofer install. I may go for the full speaker upgrade in the future....one step at a time! I already had an amp/sub from the 2015 Tahoe we sold. Nothing special.....just a Memphis Srx1.250 and 12in Memphis sub in a ported box. I won't go into major detail as you can grab those tid-bits from others prior. Here are the high-lights:
1. I purchased this amp kit: TOPSTRONGGEAR 4 Gauge Amp Kit True 4 AWG Amplifier Installation Wiring Amp Kit Install Cables. As mentioned below 17ft is a bit short for the power run....
2 Ran my 17ft (20ft would have given me more wiggle room) of 4g through the removable plastic cover on the firewall driver side. I just drilled a hole barely big enough for the wire to fit through.
3. For my remote turn on for the amp. Instead of running a wire from the front 12v cigarette lighter plug on the front dash I tapped into the rear one. Now in stock form it's set to always be on. You can change this with the fuses in the power distribution center under the hood. You can make it only powered with accessory on or running. This made for a 3-5ft run instead of much more and easier to get to by far!
4. As for the LOC....I went with Kicker 46KISLOC2 K-Series. It's working great! I did ground it, but decided to not use it for the remote amp turn on.
5. As suggested by many others in prior posts I tapped into the audio cables at the base/back of the passenger seat. You can easily see the grouping of wires heading up when you pull off the little panel that you would pop off to remove the rear passenger door. As a reminder here are the wires you need to tap into:

45 Grey/Dark Blue RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (+) PREMIUM RADIO
49 Grey/Orange RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (-) PREMIUM RADIO

48 Dark Green/Dark Blue LEFT REAR SPEAKER (+) PREMIUM RADIO
52 Dark Green/Orange LEFT REAR SPEAKER (-) PREMIUM RADIO

I used the Scotchlok 905 RED Quick splice wire Connectors 22-18 AWG connectors to do the tap...worked great!.

6. I grounded my amp to the same place the rear cigarette lighter plug is grounded. I'll include a picture of that below.
7. I left the factory sub installed/running. They both seem to be "in-sync".....no issues that I can hear!.

Drive side back rear panel removed. You can see in the center my 4g grounding wire.

A close up shot of the amp grounding wire.

The finished product. Don't laugh at the car seats (we'll one is temporary removed)!.....we have 2 toddlers. They enjoy music, but we obviously have to keep the gain/bass turned down. I also strapped the box down to hopefully keep it from turning into projectile in the event of a crash. You can't see it but I have some rubber offsets I made on the ends/edges of the woofer to keep the strap from coming in contact with it.

 

[DocG1914]

So finally got amps and front speakers tied up.

Now I fit the 6x9’s in this sound bar. Got to put some rubber where the sound bar touches the sport bar to keep it from vibrating while I’m at it.

Just wanted to know what amp bracket did you use and where did you get it from?

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Hello ya'll...first time Jeep owner here. Purchased a 2021 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon..2.0L, Alpine Premium 8.4 system, Sky One-Touch and some other goodies. I too have read all 76 pages like many of you....actually a few sections multiple times lol. Much love to all the generous folks who've posted and shared information prior. I figured I'd do my part and post a bit for future help/guidance.
Now this is only for an aftermarket amp/subwoofer install. I may go for the full speaker upgrade in the future....one step at a time! I already had an amp/sub from the 2015 Tahoe we sold. Nothing special.....just a Memphis Srx1.250 and 12in Memphis sub in a ported box. I won't go into major detail as you can grab those tid-bits from others prior. Here are the high-lights:
1. I purchased this amp kit: TOPSTRONGGEAR 4 Gauge Amp Kit True 4 AWG Amplifier Installation Wiring Amp Kit Install Cables. As mentioned below 17ft is a bit short for the power run....
2 Ran my 17ft (20ft would have given me more wiggle room) of 4g through the removable plastic cover on the firewall driver side. I just drilled a hole barely big enough for the wire to fit through.
3. For my remote turn on for the amp. Instead of running a wire from the front 12v cigarette lighter plug on the front dash I tapped into the rear one. Now in stock form it's set to always be on. You can change this with the fuses in the power distribution center under the hood. You can make it only powered with accessory on or running. This made for a 3-5ft run instead of much more and easier to get to by far!
4. As for the LOC....I went with Kicker 46KISLOC2 K-Series. It's working great! I did ground it, but decided to not use it for the remote amp turn on.
5. As suggested by many others in prior posts I tapped into the audio cables at the base/back of the passenger seat. You can easily see the grouping of wires heading up when you pull off the little panel that you would pop off to remove the rear passenger door. As a reminder here are the wires you need to tap into:

45 Grey/Dark Blue RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (+) PREMIUM RADIO
49 Grey/Orange RIGHT REAR SPEAKER (-) PREMIUM RADIO

48 Dark Green/Dark Blue LEFT REAR SPEAKER (+) PREMIUM RADIO
52 Dark Green/Orange LEFT REAR SPEAKER (-) PREMIUM RADIO

I used the Scotchlok 905 RED Quick splice wire Connectors 22-18 AWG connectors to do the tap...worked great!.

6. I grounded my amp to the same place the rear cigarette lighter plug is grounded. I'll include a picture of that below.
7. I left the factory sub installed/running. They both seem to be "in-sync".....no issues that I can hear!.

Drive side back rear panel removed. You can see in the center my 4g grounding wire.

A close up shot of the amp grounding wire.

The finished product. Don't laugh at the car seats (we'll one is temporary removed)!.....we have 2 toddlers. They enjoy music, but we obviously have to keep the gain/bass turned down. I also strapped the box down to hopefully keep it from turning into projectile in the event of a crash. You can't see it but I have some rubber offsets I made on the ends/edges of the woofer to keep the strap from coming in contact with it.

FYI, you really need to move that strap to a different location. The sub will hit it, which can seriously distort the bass and potentially damage the woofer.

You could add some hardware to the sides of the box that your strap would connect to.

Sponsored