Alpine vs Kenwood - very disappointed

[JLJeepGuy513]

Hey its because you were supposed to replace with an 8 ohm speaker and you used a 4 ohm speaker. The upper dash and lower dash are wired parallel into the head unit resulting in a 4 ohm load combined. The radio is not handling the lower impedance well.
Its also worth noting that the polarity on the left channel lower dash has been mislabeled in just about every document i have found.

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[Pinky Tuscadero]

There's a really nice video 3 down on this forum link which shows everything in the newer Alpine setup and how it was designed for the Wrangler:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/after-a-lot-of-digging-premium-audio-details.3155/

Basically if you did buy the Alpine there's one rule -" if it ain't broke - don't try and fix it "
There is a limit on what can be done with a rough and tough off road crate running around without a top or doors in the pouring rain and this comes pretty close to that

Although I'm sure the salesman at the sound store will tell you otherwise as he eyes up your wallet and runs the deed to your home through his credit screw machine

 

[Jebiruph]

Hey its because you were supposed to replace with an 8 ohm speaker and you used a 4 ohm speaker. The upper dash and lower dash are wired parallel into the head unit resulting in a 4 ohm load combined. The radio is not handling the lower impedance well.
Its also worth noting that the polarity on the left channel lower dash has been mislabeled in just about every document i have found.

I think it's only the base systems and not the Alpine that wire the upper and lower dash speakers in parallel. If I'm remembering the calculation correctly a 4 ohm in parallel with an 8 ohm is 2.67 ohms.

 

[Bzinsky]

Hey its because you were supposed to replace with an 8 ohm speaker and you used a 4 ohm speaker. The upper dash and lower dash are wired parallel into the head unit resulting in a 4 ohm load combined. The radio is not handling the lower impedance well.
Its also worth noting that the polarity on the left channel lower dash has been mislabeled in just about every document i have found.

Amps don’t sound like crap when they can’t handle the load. They just shut down or they don’t

 

[Goh001]

There's a really nice video 3 down on this forum link which shows everything in the newer Alpine setup and how it was designed for the Wrangler:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/after-a-lot-of-digging-premium-audio-details.3155/
…

That linked video is for the changes they made to the 2015 Jeep Alpine system. If you open the video in Youtube it shows the video is 7 years old. (I had a 2014 JKU with the Alpine - that system was crap…)

 

[Pinky Tuscadero]

As noted above the video I recommended is from 2015 and he 2014 system was subpar until the changes for 2015 - I should have mentioned the new system was actually designed for the JK and continues to rock today
Here's another fun vid on it from back then:

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