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Replacement Audio System Questions (Upgrade from Alpine)

bem1

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Yes. Disconnect the main bolt to the left of those first. Then disconnect and separate those 2. Make sure they do not touch once disconnected.
Update: Maxxsonics support sent me an updated harness to plug the twitter cable into the 6x9. This actually did the trick and they sound way better than stock. There is full high/mids coming out of them and a little bass. Per their support guy Dave:

I think I can make you an adapter harness for the tweeter wiring to not have to cut any wiring, the reason it is not working well is due to the development of this kit under the specific use of being a tuned amplified system. This is a non-issue when running our amplifiers and is why we sourced the amplifier integration pieces to allow all speaker to receive full range signal, The factory system separates the frequencies and eliminates some of them this is why the OEM system does not sound as good as it should/could if they allowed full range to all speakers and installed speakers capable of playing a full range signal. If you decide to amplifier the system you will notice a drastic increase in sound quality. What is your shipping information? I will make you and the speaker harness and you can try it out and let me know what you think as I do not have a non-modified jeep to test with at this moment.

Since these work now on non-amplified set up, he said they are going to start including this harness going forward. If/when I decide to add amps, then I will swap the cables out. It seems they did not test the 6x9's on a non-amped system...

Next step is to swap out the knee speakers....which I'm not terribly looking forward to on account of how difficult/time consuming they are to get to...
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Saldaddy00

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Hi @bem1, Did you get any pics of the correct wiring adapter setup? Do both stock plugs go into this adapter or only the 3.5” speaker plug? (For future reader reference - 6x9 going in the soundbar to replace both 4” and 3.5” stock alpine speakers).

And also, do you consider the improvement in sound worth all the cost and cutting effort? Thanks.
 

bem1

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Hi @bem1, Did you get any pics of the correct wiring adapter setup? Do both stock plugs go into this adapter or only the 3.5” speaker plug? (For future reader reference - 6x9 going in the soundbar to replace both 4” and 3.5” stock alpine speakers).

And also, do you consider the improvement in sound worth all the cost and cutting effort? Thanks.
The connector plugs straight in to the factor wiring. Dave at MBQUART support sent me the smaller connector for the 6x9s as the large one (connected to the mid driver) did not work.

I would say it was worth the cost of upgrading. The sound quality is so much better. Cutting the holes for the 6x9s was a BEATING though. I will eventually install the AMPS to make them much louder.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
 

RNLROCK

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I am looking to replace the Alpine system as well and was curious as to the maximum depth the replacement sub can be. JL Audio makes a few in the 10" but with different depths.

Thanks!
Rich
 

G-StarRock

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@Atlas what did you end up getting. I am in the same boat. I have an Alpine 8.4 premium package in my 4xe - but keep comparing to the sound system I build in my old TJ using alpine pdx-v9 amp, morel speakers and JL audio sub. If was crystal clear, loud and with tight base.

I still have the alpine amp and JL Audio sub and would like to use the same. My wish list would be to keep the existing head unit but replace the speakers with plug and play focal or morel all around. Use the alpine amp to power the JL audio sub and the sound bar speakers and let the factory amp power the front speakers. doable?
 

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Saldaddy00

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Gentlemen, here we go -
Alpine system soundbar upgrade to 6x9s.

*Taking out the soundbar took 10 minutes, super easy, few bolts and yanking on plastic trim.

*Removed speakers and hardware, marked drilling area with template provided with 6x9 JBLs. 20 minutes.

*Borrowed my cousin’s rotozip and went at it with a generic drill bit. Skinny silver colored bit, nothing special. Easy to cut through the plastic. That part alone took 30 minutes.

*Cut the connectors off the 3.5” speaker wires, strip the ends so you can hardwire them to the speakers (I used connectors, but a circuit is a circuit, do it how you like). Black wire is negative, white wire is positive, small connector on speaker is negative, big connector is positive. 15 min.

*USE THE SMALLER SPEAKER LINES, THAT WILL GIVE YOU A FULL SIGNAL TO THE NEW 6x9s. (System automatically recognizes no speakers on the other wires and the factory amp knows not to split the mid and high signals. Will not work if you use the larger 4” speaker lines, see the trouble @bem1 (and I) had in prior posts).

*I didn’t want to spend $60 for 6x9 speaker mounting plates, so I got creative and made a nice air tight seal with Gorilla tape and window stripping. I know, totally gangster, but I’d rather not explain spending more money on this to the wife. Also - there is plenty of plastic for the mounting screws so the speakers are solid and secure. Also laid in some fiberglass insulation. Most people use poly fill, (I did some research and insulation works as well or better). That took 30 min.

*Speaker covers - used the rotozip to drill out the plastic mesh insides leaving the frame. Covered the frames with speaker mesh (like $10 from Amazon) and secured it to the frames with hot glue. Used two layers of mesh. Then hot glued the covers to the soundbar at the four screw holes. 40 minutes. Took time to cut mesh to the right size. My 9yr old helped 👍🏽👍🏽

*Reinstalled soundbar, 10 min - turned on the Jeep and Shazam! I closed my eyes and jammed to Vanilla Ice like it was 1990.

*Sound is SOOO much better!!!! Full complete sound with the top and windows down cruising. Crispy treble, you can hear the little crackles of songs recorded on vinyl. Plenty of volume, I only take it up to 20 (half way) and that’s as loud as I can handle. People talk about the sound stage being at the front dash speakers, now the stage is all around you, voice and sound surround you.

*By comparison, before install with the factory speakers you could barely hear the soundbar. In fact, when I pulled it out initially we drove around with no soundbar and the stereo actually sounded better to me. My 9 year old that sits in the back said it sounded exactly the same without the soundbar installed.

*My system also has the infinity 3.5” speakers in the top of the dash - $60 from Crutchfield and a 5 minute install, all you need is a screwdriver and the connectors that Crutchfield sends with them. Best lone upgrade you can do to ourJeeps. Voices went from muffled to clear.
*To solve the bass problem (sad bass performance from factory 8” sub with top back windows down) I got the Crutchfield Sound Ordinance 8” 125 watt self powered sub, $160. Put it under the passenger seat, thumps are very clear. Initially tried it in the back, but it didn’t sound great back there. It has a little knob for you to adjust the bass up or down for anytime for any song. Screwed in the knob to the glove box. Overall, I’m 100% happy with this setup.

Jeep Wrangler JL Replacement Audio System Questions (Upgrade from Alpine) DB08CA29-EAA9-4022-AE7A-EAECD14D8E3C


Jeep Wrangler JL Replacement Audio System Questions (Upgrade from Alpine) 88F09D28-D99A-4A92-90E9-FA18192E3EE7


Jeep Wrangler JL Replacement Audio System Questions (Upgrade from Alpine) BDD88944-163D-4D75-8DD6-765991421E86


Jeep Wrangler JL Replacement Audio System Questions (Upgrade from Alpine) 33B227E5-AE0D-4F1F-94BC-EC5192F02C4C


Jeep Wrangler JL Replacement Audio System Questions (Upgrade from Alpine) 9889C465-F455-49B5-AD3F-4FBC342F8AFA


Jeep Wrangler JL Replacement Audio System Questions (Upgrade from Alpine) AE3077F5-3EC4-4950-91AE-9AF9F744BAB8


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lhigham

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@Atlas what did you end up getting. I am in the same boat. I have an Alpine 8.4 premium package in my 4xe - but keep comparing to the sound system I build in my old TJ using alpine pdx-v9 amp, morel speakers and JL audio sub. If was crystal clear, loud and with tight base.

I still have the alpine amp and JL Audio sub and would like to use the same. My wish list would be to keep the existing head unit but replace the speakers with plug and play focal or morel all around. Use the alpine amp to power the JL audio sub and the sound bar speakers and let the factory amp power the front speakers. doable?
Hello @G-StarRock - what did you end up doing in your 4xe please ?
 

jeffbn

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Hey yall, I just installed a pair of Infinity 6x9 speakers into my soundbar using the MB Quart speaker adaptor rings, which shipped with a wiring harness for the 4" (bass) factory connector. I am only receiving bass from the speaker and have tried "resetting" my Jeep as described in Post #35 when @Crawldad stated that his Jeep starting pushing full bandwidth after 20 minutes of having both negative connectors pulled from his battery.

Crawldad, are you absolutely sure you are using the 4" factory connector? @bem1 obviously tried to get his Jeep to reset as well, but it sounds like he gave up and went with the 3.5" factor connector after MB Quart shipped him a different wiring harness.

Finally, it sounds like @Saldaddy00 went with the 3.5" harness and ALSO got his Jeep to "reset", but I have a feeling that both bem1 and Saldaddy00 are only getting the "upper-range" of sound and simply THINK that it's full range(with or without the Jeep resetting).

Has any other forum member experienced this, where the system detects an open signal path on the tweeter (or woofer) loads in the soundbar and electronically removes the low (or high) pass filtering, allowing full bandwidth through? I've worked with car audio in the past and never heard of a system being able to do that.
 

Terpsmandan

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Not that I have seen. I went back to check my installation of the Alpine S-S65c components and found almost nothing coming out of the woofer. I checked my wife's stock Alpine JL and also found not much volume coming out of that speaker as well. On a base system I think that the soundbar is wired in series one one channel as opposed to our "premium" Alpine that has separate high and low channels to each corner. What I ended up doing is the package that @overboosted did to his. He wired the small plug to the 6.5" coax and the large plug to a small 2" driver. Not a huge difference in sound but all the plugs are covered. Maybe the 4" in the back is more for the ANC than the sound system. After watching @carstereochick install a MB Quart Stage 6 amplified system, I am probably going to go that way instead of replacing the HU. They also parallel wired the 4 coils of the sub to work with a mono amp and reduced the impedance to 2 ohms.
 

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jeffbn

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On a base system I think that the soundbar is wired in series one one channel as opposed to our "premium" Alpine that has separate high and low channels to each corner.
Yeah to clarify I have the Alpine Premium option w/ 8.4" radio, and yes; this system filters bandwidth for each of the eight speakers in the vehicle; high pass filters for tweeters (in dash and SB), low pass filters for the woofers (in knee panels and SB). There is no series/parallel wiring going on. I just can't imagine that these high/low pass filters are a software feature that can magically turn off based on load detection.

For now, to make my 6x9's work, I'm going to flip over to the tweeter connection, then possibly separate the two drivers within the speaker itself (cutting the leads from the "input" panel) and drive the tweeter with the 3.5" connection and the woofer with the 4" connection... IF the Jeep doesn't "reset" on it's own. This obviously means permanently altering my 6x9's but then I'm maximizing my power consumption from the stock system.
 

Terpsmandan

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I wish you luck. I just ordered the full MB Quart Stage 6 with the amps and the PAC-AP4-CH41 and put my Pioneer W4660 and the installation kits on eBay.
 

Saldaddy00

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@jeffbn my brother. You are correct. I went to the car audio shop near me, and they confirmed only the 3.5” higher frequency signal was coming through my 3 way 6x9s. They said to clip the silver tweeter wires in the 6x9s, add a bass blocker, and to connect those to the 3.5” signal lines. Then connect the 4” signal wires to the 6x9 like normal, now only feeding the woofer. See pic below. No connectors necessary, just wire to wire crimps.

The sound coming from the 6x9s is now noticeably different and more complete with the low end bass.

We live, and learn, and get better every day. Iron sharpening iron in this case. Thanks guys.

On another note, I also replaced the knee panel speakers. I just man handled the driver pod out working my way in through the side. No need to take apart the whole dash. More rotozip action and poof.

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Terpsmandan

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It seems to me that the amp is the weak link in the system. That and the frustration of working with the soudbar and nothing seeming to come out of the big plug in the sound bar is what drove me to the Quart system. It also seems that you can mount a sub by removing the stock sub and mounting a 10" directly to the trim ring. I can also add a third amp to the Quart system for less than $120.
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