Alpine upgraded sound system...seriously?

[bjm00se]

I'm happy with mine and don't feel the need to upgrade.

Sound quality has to be the single most subjective aspect to new vehicle quality. "It's fruity, yet tannin! The sound stage is a bit oaky, but the highs have the buttery quality I like and evoke blackberries and lavender."

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[Northernlites]

Funny how one person thinks its best car stereo ever created, and these guys think its one of the worst

Kind of like movie critics. That claim "their" movie is the best, when in all actuality it's probably the worse. Just because they claim to be experts at something doesn't mean they are always right.

 

[GMX]

"Sound quality has to be the single most subjective aspect to new vehicle quality. "It's fruity, yet tannin! The sound stage is a bit oaky, but the highs have the buttery quality I like and evoke blackberries and lavender."

Too funny!

My 2019 Alpine is great. No complaints here.
I also like the sound of my turbo spooling up through the gears and wish it had a switch to open up the exhaust and make it louder on command.

 

[JamesWyatt]

I’d love to hear the new McIntosh ultra premium 23 speaker set up in the new Grand Wagoneers. Supposedly it’s the absolute best factory system available of any manufacturer, factory car audio wise.

I listened to one last week. Incredible. But the Harman-Kardon in the Challenger is very close. To be fair to Jeep, the Wrangler is a tin can with fiberglass or canvas top – not exactly a concert hall compared to a Challenger or Grand Cherokee with their vast trunk/cargo areas for the sub(s) and fully-lined roofs.

I'm glad a lot of people think the Wrangler Alpine systems sounds great. But I always ask, "Compared to what?" It just doesn't come close to other upgraded systems in other high-end vehicles.

Speaking of high-end vehicles: Since the Wrangler pricing now tops out at what my first home cost back in the early 90s, I think it's fair to expect a better option for the upgraded audio. It should be on the level of what's offered in other $70-90K vehicles. Why not also offer an option above the Alpine like they do in the Power Wagon, which can get the Harman-Kardon?

 

[Beachcomber72]

Funny how one person thinks its best car stereo ever created, and these guys think its one of the worst

What reviewer said it was the absolute best?

 

[Bzinsky]

What reviewer said it was the absolute best?

No idea, somebody said it was the best in this thread

 

[Pinky Tuscadero]

In response to the actual OP -
Sounds like you really do have an issue if your Alpine system sounds bad and , no, the stock system doesn't sound like soup cans either - duh ! ?
Either your setup has a flaw needing repair or your input does, try basic mp3's on a flash drive and if those don't sound awesome then you have an issue with your setup.
Of course its not the best possible sound in any car or even close as its in a Jeep, but they did a damn good job on it.
If you want you can piss away money having some teenager install a lesser system at a local shop and then join the "misery loves company" crowd who did the same ?

 

[Carlton]

Has nobody heard the saying "try it before you buy it?"

So many "I'm disappointed" and "this is not what I expected" threads lately.

 

[Paulysjeep]

Kind of surprised to see this post,, I'm a music lover from way back and still at 51 I crank my music. I have a 22 high altitude with the upgraded system and I think it sounds awesome!! I'm guessing either the upgraded system varies by yr or model? Or the system not adjusted/tuned to the usage correctly?? Kind of curious witch. I won't be upgrading my system unless I blow it!! Lol but not lol,,ugh

 

[Zandcwhite]

The alpine system has plenty of bass and it goes plenty loud especially with the top and doors on. It could definitely use some clearer highs though. Swapping out the dash speakers for something with a real tweeter helps fill in and correct that sound stage issue. Of course it won't compare to the $3k plus systems in vehicles with much better acoustics. It's a square box with minimal insulation and a ton of parallel surface that transmits more road noise into the cabin than almost any other modern vehicle available. All of these are enemies of a quality sound system even before you pull the doors and top. Add in the fact that these other vehicles have much thicker doors, dashes, and body panels to act as proper enclosures for speakers and I for one am happy with the $1,200/free "upgraded" alpine (standard in rubicons now). Could they offer a $3k+ super upgraded option? Sure, but it would be disappointing vs listening to the same system in any other FCA/stelantis vehicle for the reasons listed above.

 

[AFD]

Ugh, don’t even get me started with Mazda.

The Bose system in my Mazda-derived 2018 Fiat 124 Spider is absolute garbage. The sound is cheap and tinny.

In fact, the entire Mazda infotainment system, lifted from the MX-5, is trash. The system is organized like a bunch of data folders from the 1990s; the thing is dated; looks and feels 10 years behind the rest of the industry. To make matters worse, it is very unstable: takes forever to load up, gets lost connecting to the USB ports, streaming music gets dropped every time, etc. The thing is so ridiculously frustrating sometimes I want to stop the car and put a hammer through it!

I can’t believe an automaker like Mazda gets away with selling such garbage in this day and age. It is the biggest waste of money.

The Uconnect and the Alpine systems in my Jeep work and sound a thousand times better.

That's strange. Drove a '22 CX-5 for several months this summer and the stereo sounded fairly decent to my ears once I tweaked the EQ and Bose DSP settings a bit (the surround settings really screwed with the sound and imaging in an unnatural way). Highs and mids were fairly full and clean, while the low end was slightly lacking but still adequate. I'm guessing it had tweeters in the back, because my biggest complaint was hearing too much of the upper frequencies distracting my ears toward the back (while the Alpine is just missing the clear highs in the front). Lots of variables at play, but I always ended up thinking "this is fine" in the Mazda, while thinking "this could be better" in the Jeep.

And the infotainment system was easy to navigate, very responsive and stable, and had a much more modern-looking UI (wasn't perfect, but looked a decade newer than the current uConnect interface imo). Streaming always worked perfectly and audio loaded from a USB drive instantly. The lack of having a touchscreen was insanely dumb, but the joystick/jog wheel controls by the gear selector worked just fine once I used it for a day, and was probably much safer than averting your eyes from the road to see where you're touching on a screen.

So yeah, my experience with Mazda's system seems like the complete polar opposite of yours. Maybe they revised things between '18 and '22?

 

[aldo98229]

That's strange. Drove a '22 CX-5 for several months this summer and the stereo sounded fairly decent to my ears once I tweaked the EQ and Bose DSP settings a bit (the surround settings really screwed with the sound and imaging in an unnatural way). Highs and mids were fairly full and clean, while the low end was slightly lacking but still adequate. I'm guessing it had tweeters in the back, because my biggest complaint was hearing too much of the upper frequencies distracting my ears toward the back (while the Alpine is just missing the clear highs in the front). Lots of variables at play, but I always ended up thinking "this is fine" in the Mazda, while thinking "this could be better" in the Jeep.

And the infotainment system was easy to navigate, very responsive and stable, and had a much more modern-looking UI (wasn't perfect, but looked a decade newer than the current uConnect interface imo). Streaming always worked perfectly and audio loaded from a USB drive instantly. The lack of having a touchscreen was insanely dumb, but the joystick/jog wheel controls by the gear selector worked just fine once I used it for a day, and was probably much safer than averting your eyes from the road to see where you're touching on a screen.

So yeah, my experience with Mazda's system seems like the complete polar opposite of yours. Maybe they revised things between '18 and '22?

Doubt it. Owners and reviewers continue to complain about the Mazda system to no end.

And, yeah, I didn’t even get into Mazda’s reasoning for freezing touch screen functionality the moment the vehicle gets moving. That’s just dumb. I find screwing around with the silly joystick much more dangerous than simply reaching for the screen.

 

[JamesWyatt]

The alpine system has plenty of bass and it goes plenty loud especially with the top and doors on. It could definitely use some clearer highs though. Swapping out the dash speakers for something with a real tweeter helps fill in and correct that sound stage issue. Of course it won't compare to the $3k plus systems in vehicles with much better acoustics. It's a square box with minimal insulation and a ton of parallel surface that transmits more road noise into the cabin than almost any other modern vehicle available. All of these are enemies of a quality sound system even before you pull the doors and top. Add in the fact that these other vehicles have much thicker doors, dashes, and body panels to act as proper enclosures for speakers and I for one am happy with the $1,200/free "upgraded" alpine (standard in rubicons now). Could they offer a $3k+ super upgraded option? Sure, but it would be disappointing vs listening to the same system in any other FCA/stelantis vehicle for the reasons listed above.

Probably the only reason we can’t get the Harman-Kardon is they tried it, and it rattled everything inside the vehicle like a can full of nails.

 

[SlowPoke21]

The alpine system is the best factory sound system I have ever owned. I am completely happy with it

 

[AFD]

Doubt it. Owners and reviewers continue to complain about the Mazda system to no end.

Was looking up info about the 'surround' feature earlier, and came across many discussions about the system. Most seems to really like/love it and the rest seem to think it's "okay". Just like the Alpine system, I'm sure there's complaints to be found.

Dunno. I've been a long-time fan of Alpine's source units and never really cared for Bose's sound signature for their home audio products, so it's weird having an inverse opinion about the two. I just know what my ears like/dislike, however subjective that may be. I'll just assume everyone else likes banging Kid Rock with the windows down while clipping their volume into distortion trying to impress the person in the car next to them. Only logical explanation ?

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