Alpine Stereo Question

[Greg H]

Uhhh, that too might explain it. I don't know if the Beach Boys will give me that thump

Good vibrations! Open the back door and get up close to the sub and check to see if it's working. If you turn it up and hold your hand in front of it you will probably feel it.

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[TimmH]

I think this is the best idea on here. Reset the equalizer settings to a neutral setting, and then play a specific song on your iphone at a specific volume (probably 25+). Then immediately listen to the same song at the same volume in another random JL on the dealer's lot. If it sounds differently, perhaps there is a short in your sub. Which would definitely be covered by the 36-mo warranty, so get it fixed now.

I would use a local radio station.....

Turn both on, side by side, flatline both EQs, so you can compare the volume and then check the sub volume side by side.

 

[laxdad21]

Re-iterating what a lot have said here already, though coming at this from an "audio enthusiast" POV (I can't claim to be an audiophile, as my ears never had the requisite level of discernment, plus they're getting old now, sigh...).

1. Use a good source. Like you mentioned, Beach Boys never had that low driving bass, so unless you really crank up the sound to painful levels, you're just not going to get much out of the sub. One of my reference tracks when I'm listening to new speakers is Eric Clapton's "My Father's Eyes". Outstanding recording by the producers, and great range of frequencies with low booming bass right in the first few seconds of the song, Clapton's signature guitar for the mids, and the the hi-hats and snare for the high treble. Queue it up and let it rip.
2. Place your hand lightly on the grille of the sub. If the music is sufficiently loud enough, you'll feel the grille shake for sure, and possibly even feel the air move. If you don't feel it with that song above, then yeah, something's definitely not working right. Take it to the dealer to investigate.

However, not knowing the exact specs of the sub and the existing tuner/amp, I wouldn't recommend trying to pre-amp it, or you could end up damaging the other components outside of factory warranty. Once you've got a bead on what you want/need, take the Jeep to your local specialty audio store and have them discuss options using their expertise.

 

[jayvis]

A good test for bass in a sound system requires the right source material. As most of you 70's rock fans would know, any Fleetwood Mac album from the 70's was recorded with higher bass resolution than most of the music from that era. It isn't wall vibrating bass, but it is higher biased than the other frequencies in the recordings. Try the song Dreams from their Rumours album. It should provide a good and accurate test for your subwoofer.

 

[chadly25]

Is the sub a dual voice coil? If so, wonder if it could have been wired out of phase. Mine thumps pretty good. Better audio system than in my Mercedes. Really happy that I don’t feel the audio upgrade bug.

 

[wvgasguy]

OK, played with it last night. I can make adjustments to the equalizer to hear some "thump" It's no where near what my son's new system is in his car, but it will thump some. Playing with it I did notice that the quality of sound, while sitting in the driveway is as clear and clean as any I've heard. I can live without the thump anyway but this is an incredible system overall

 

[HealthRebel]

No, I cranked those settings up. Thinking maybe though that I simply didn't have the volume up enough to make a difference. And if that's what it takes I probably will never use it as I don't plan on losing any more of my hearing than I already have

What? What did you say? I can't hear you!

 

[paulp]

I think I can relate to the OP. While I can certainly hear/feel a lot of bass (the system seems very bass-y in general), it seems that most of the "kick" is coming from the other speakers, not the sub.

For me, my concern wasn't that the system didn't have enough bass, but rather that the sub doesn't seem to be contributing to the bass much.

 

[Mrcake3014]

Definitely something is up - the Alpine stereo in a great upgrade and definitely can tell the sub is doing it's job.

I came from a 2015 Edge Titanium. It had a Bose system in it. Thought it was much better than the Alpine premium system. They could of given you more control or the speakers. I thought having over head speakers would be great. They don't do anything for the total sound. Maybe if I was in the back seats it would be better. But I'm driving.

 

[tlmacson]

Over the years I've had numerous FCA vehicles with the Alpine audio upgrade and I was never overly impressed, but because they were leased vehicles I fought the urge to upgrade speakers and / or outboard amps. When I ordered my Moab, I knew the Alpine system was part of the package, but since I was buying it I was sure an aftermarket audio upgrade was a foregone conclusion. That was until I took delivery 10 days ago. I'm not sure who in the FCA audio lab was assigned to the JL, but they hit it out of the park. I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile, albeit with diminished capacity now that I'm in my late 60's, and this system is much better than the so-called THX system I had in my Lincoln MKS a few years back. I'm hearing nuances from my USB drive and music streams via my Samsung S8 that I've never heard before. I'm not interested in making people close their front door as I drive down their street. I just want good balanced sound and I've finally found it. Well done Jeep sound engineering!

 

[mgroeger]

I like the sound of my Alpine Stereo. It's clear and clean. But I really can't tell from the front seat that the subwoofer is really doing anything. My son just put in a Kenwood in his car and it will vibrate the windows. Not that I want to do anything like that but there are times I would like a little more punch. I'm not knowledgable about stereo's but just moving the bass up on the equalizer doesn't really help much. Is there a way to upgrade this? An amp maybe? (I thought this was supposed to already be a powerful system)

Wow, no idea why you can't tell. We have the same system and I have to keep the low set to -3 because it is too basey.

 

[Frustration]

Wow, no idea why you can't tell. We have the same system and I have to keep the low set to -3 because it is too basey.

Yep... This system, when working properly does a booming job regardless of source. Any music that's Bass heavy has too much bump at anything over +2 or 3 Most Rap has so much bottom end that you cant hear lyrics....

My wife knew I was home before I hit the garage door opener and asked what song I was listening too because the bump was audible through the walls.

My guess is you're disconnected or the amp / power unit isnt feeding. If you found the EQ settings and they're adjusted and everything was working, you wouldnt be posting.

 

[TimmH]

It seems to me from the differences I hear in my music, that the cut-off for the subwoofer is probably set too low by the factory. I have some music that has a low driving sub-bass in the 40-60hz and it rattles the windows, but other with the punch of a deep bass drum around 80-90hz just doesn't get the boom I have from other systems that I could actually adjust the cutoff to 100 or 120.

 

[wibornz]

I use the same track to judge my audio quality from vehicle to vehicle to just about any audio source. What might that be... Alicia Keys track Fallin

It is clean and checks the boxes for just about all the different ranges.

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