Factory audio vs Alpine

[NaughtyGeek]

There are plenty of folks out there that say you're better off spending the money on aftermarket. I tried aftermarket on my JKUR and failed miserably. I have the Alpine in my JLR and had it in my JTR. When shopping for the JLR I took contenters of the list immediately if they didn't have the Alpine. It does a great job and it's there from the factory no fuss no muss. You could likely do better aftermarket but could end up spending good money with poor results. The Jeep doesn't present a good sound stage to start from and the Alpine engineers made the most of what they had to work with. I highly recommend the factory Alpine system if that wasn't clear

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[Jeep Wick]

I am about to pull the trigger on a 2025 2 door Willy. 2 different dealers with a spec I like, except one has the Alpine system. The Alpine dealer isn't offering as large a discount. With that in mind, would I be able to put approx $2200 (different in cost between discount + alpine) into the factory system to sound as good or better than the Alpine system? I have seen people put a sub under one of the front seats, but have heard that can limit leg room for people in the rear. It's mostly me and my wife in the car and pretty rare anyone would ever sit in the back seat. If they do, it would be one of our adult daughters (shorter) for a short trip somewhere.

I don't mind doing the work and tinkering, but wasn't sure 1) how bad the JL system is compared to the JK. 2) if it's easier to build off the Alpine system or factory system. Some of my vehicles in the past it was near impossible to work with a factory upgraded system. Others it was easier if it already had the upgraded system.

If it's easier to just get the Alpine, I will try to work that deal more. I had a 2018 JK and the stock system was terrible. I upgraded to the Alpine speakers (no amp) and it made a huge improvement, even thought they still weren't that great overall. I am not an audiophile, but I am a little hard of hearing and have to listen to stuff a little louder than most.

I test drove a used one with the Alpine, I think it had been damaged or something it was not impressive. The stock radio has been great IMO, on 2 different Jeeps I've had.

 

[pfletcher229648]

We’ve got two JLs with the Alpine. Back in the day you had to upgrade sound system to get decent sound. Did many of those in the 80s and 90s.

Don’t feel the need to upgrade the sound my 50+ year old ears are perfectly happy with the Alpine. If I did any upgrades it would be the dash speakers as everything I’ve read seems to indicate the TA dash speaker upgrade makes a great addition.

Good luck on the new Jeep.

 

[DriveAJeep]

Sounds like Alpine is the way to go. Alpine dealer still holding strong at their price. 9% off MSRP overall. Non alpine dealer is 12.5% now. Difference of $3K total. Thats a lot of coin. I reached out to a dealer listed on this forum for a build. My last 6 cars were custom builds because I am tired of the games these dealers play.

 

[DaltonGang]

I have had a Wrangler without the base system, in the past. It was a PITA to get it to sound good.
Fast forward to my 2018, which the Alpine System was one of the only options I insisted on . Well worth the money, and if you want even better sound, swap out a few speakers.

 

[Odyssey USA]

look at Dirt Road Cred YouTube on removing the dash to change the system. I would gladly pay for the factor installed Alpine verses upgrading yourself. It is a nightmare to change out the 2024 and newer stereo systems.

Thanks for the feedback. Not sure if I’m trading but I did find one without the Alpine. I sleep on the passenger side in our current JLU with the seats down and even considered I’d possibly pick up a couple of inches clearance for me and my gear with the sub not being there.

 

[YGBSM392]

Okay, this is just my personal feedback but I just installed (well half installed) new speakers in the 2 door JL and the Gladiator. Both have the Alpine system. I installed Kicker 46CSC44s and Kenwood Excelon KFC-X3Cs in the soundbar. Both are plug and play. I also installed q pair of JBL Club 34Fs as a dash tweeter. I compared the new speakers with the stock speakers. The only thing I saw that was worth the time was the dash speakers. I put the Alpines back in the soundbars but left the new dash speakers in place.

Consult a sound tech before using this advice. Dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and spending huge amounts of time and money on a Jeep have been known to occur. Your results may vary.

 

[Boatbuilder88]

I'm not very audio-savvy and am somewhat confused. I recently replaced my dashtop speakers in my Alpine system based on suggestions from Jeepers on this forum.

That said... What is the actual difference between the Alpine system and the base audio system? Is the Alpine simply a subwoofer and upgraded amp? Are the 8 dash and soundbar speakers identical between the two systems? Any clarity would be appreciated. Thx.

 

[DriveAJeep]

I'm not very audio-savvy and am somewhat confused. I recently replaced my dashtop speakers in my Alpine system based on suggestions from Jeepers on this forum.

That said... What is the actual difference between the Alpine system and the base audio system? Is the Alpine simply a subwoofer and upgraded amp? Are the 8 dash and soundbar speakers identical between the two systems? Any clarity would be appreciated. Thx.

I did the same on my JK. The alpine speakers were noticeable larger (magnet) than the factory speakers. Alpine also has an amp and subwoofer.

 

[Pismo61]

Sad to hear about Terra Acoustics. I'm extremely happy with their product as it made an immediate impact to the front soundstage.

That said, the Alpine system is great and would absolutely pay for the upgrade again.

audiouprising.com/collections/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&_kx=87CYrF25IQSq0rWXbMOJ6TvY6Dw_1tpQfWDXRonjE1Q.YiH8b9 These maybe the same as Terra Acoustics.

 

[Gio]

I had the option of waiting for a 2025 (too long a wait) or getting a 2024 with the Alpine. The 25 would have had the standard option which I had in my 21.

We went for the 2024 with the Alpine and I'm honestly NOT overly impressed. I was expecting a lot more refinement. Maybe the redesign of the interior for the side curtain bags has something to do with it. We have the roof panels in which helps, but we had those in the last unit too.

The bass on the Alpine is very boomy and not at all tight.

I will say, certain music sounds much better than other types. I will experiment a little more with music choices to see if I notice anything different. I've been listening to Sirius so I should probably check regular FM to see if that changes anything. I will also try some from my playlist on the phone.

Granted we are talking about a Wrangler so high end audiophile qualities don't really exist inside the vehicle. It is an OK system that is very overpriced IMO.

I have a very high end system in our home (Bryston/California Audio Labs and NHT) and it does expose crappy recordings. So much so that if somebody came in and listened to a poorly recorded album they would likely think my system sucked.

However when things are laid down properly on the recording end, the sound is some of the best I've heard.

I guess at this point I'd have to listen to our system and then one in a similar Wrangler with the standard system.

Our 2021 was fine especially for a Wrangler. Unfortunately I had higher expectations for the Alpine.

The folks adding their own stuff will most certainly make a better system.

 

[RatZero]

First off, personally I dont think I’ll ever pull down the dash again just for speakers.

I’ve got the Alpine system and a friend doesn’t. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is in clarity at volume. With road noise with/without the top is louder than a regular car. So, the volume goes up and with the base system the clarity of what’s playing isn’t as good and it seems to be much more ’tinny’. The Alpine is much clearer and fuller at higher volume and the Sub really helps.

 

[NaughtyGeek]

I've been listening to Sirius so I should probably check regular FM to see if that changes anything.

Sirius sounds like garbage as it's over compressed. Feed it a better source before you pass judgement.

 

[Max Headroom]

Sirius sounds like garbage as it's over compressed. Feed it a better source before you pass judgement.

Agreed Sirius XM has the worst compression algorithm. It's unlistenable. Literally. I had plenty of free months on several different cars and maybe used it for about 6 hours on a road trip and said FTN, I'm outta here, and never looked back.

 

[Wbino]

Agreed Sirius XM has the worst compression algorithm. It's unlistenable. Literally. I had plenty of free months on several different cars and maybe used it for about 6 hours on a road trip and said FTN, I'm outta here, and never looked back.

That all started when Sirius merged with XM radio so it has no competion.
I had XM radio back in the day and it was great sounding and they advertised the quality of the signal/sound.
I use Sirius only because when you replace the stock antenna with anything shorter getting a good FM signal is very hard.

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