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Upgrade from the Alpine System?

Steamboat

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Hi all,
I am wondering if anyone has any upgrades they have done from the Alpine system.

I had a loaded Rubi JL for a loaner car while my Lexus was being serviced (I had already ordered my JL with the Alpine system) for a week but was not overly impressed with the Alpine system. I know it must be better than the stock system but has anyone done anything to get a better, cleaner, "punchier" sound out of their Jeep?

I plan on doing the acoustic treatments whenever it comes in (lizard skin and possibly another insulation on top of that) but does anyone have any advice to make it sound better?

I know it won't sound as good as my current car but I would like it to sound as good as possible. Any suggestions other than buying a different aftermarket speaker/amp system?
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The Z

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Hi all,
I am wondering if anyone has any upgrades they have done from the Alpine system.

I had a loaded Rubi JL for a loaner car while my Lexus was being serviced (I had already ordered my JL with the Alpine system) for a week but was not overly impressed with the Alpine system. I know it must be better than the stock system but has anyone done anything to get a better, cleaner, "punchier" sound out of their Jeep?

I plan on doing the acoustic treatments whenever it comes in (lizard skin and possibly another insulation on top of that) but does anyone have any advice to make it sound better?

I know it won't sound as good as my current car but I would like it to sound as good as possible. Any suggestions other than buying a different aftermarket speaker/amp system?
I am thinking of trying a replacement of the sub woofer it sounds farty and flabby not tight. I love the huge uconnect screen but they were stingy only providing a 3 band EQ and it is super harsh sounding i leave it flat because it sucks. I don't like using a lot of EQ but sometimes just a little notch of cut hear or there instead 3 big notches. Some independent control of the Sub woofer volume would have been nice. Some EQ preset saving would have been nice too. I listen to mostly Metal and Rock I like the bass tight. My old 05 Toyota Tundra had a factory JBL system that sounded much better than my JL's but I recently upgraded it myself with a pioneer touch screen head unit, Alpine amp and 4 polk 5.5 speakers and it sounds amazing and does not even have a subwoofer and has plenty of tight bass and highs with EQ almost flat and spent less than the factory upgrade was on the JL.
 
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Steamboat

Steamboat

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I am thinking of trying a replacement of the sub woofer it sounds farty and flabby not tight. I love the huge uconnect screen but they were stingy only providing a 3 band EQ and it is super harsh sounding i leave it flat because it sucks. I don't like using a lot of EQ but sometimes just a little notch of cut hear or there instead 3 big notches. Some independent control of the Sub woofer volume would have been nice. Some EQ preset saving would have been nice too. I listen to mostly Metal and Rock I like the bass tight. My old 05 Toyota Tundra had a factory JBL system that sounded much better than my JL's but I recently upgraded it myself with a pioneer touch screen head unit, Alpine amp and 4 polk 5.5 speakers and it sounds amazing and does not even have a subwoofer and has plenty of tight bass and highs with EQ almost flat and spent less than the factory upgrade was on the JL.
Yeah, I wasn't overly impressed with the sub but figured it was probably because I had the freedom panels off and the windows down most of the time. I agree with you though that I would have rather decided for myself what brand of speakers I had wanted but I did want the 8" screen.

Also, I had a 2010 4Runner with the JBL package and it was one of the best stock systems I have ever heard so I know what you mean with the Toyota JBL systems!
 

LeaN69

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The problem is less in speakers and more in jeep itself, you can most definitely improve the stock alpine system but it will never sound as good as a properly insulated car with strategically placed speakers.
 

$uicide$hift

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The problem is less in speakers and more in jeep itself, you can most definitely improve the stock alpine system but it will never sound as good as a properly insulated car with strategically placed speakers.
Yes this right here. If you are one to have the top down / windows open etc the sub is somewhat useless when moving. Those low frequencies are behind you and will sound muddy faded or non existent. The same issue is seen on motorcycles that try to add bass.

This is why I opted out of the sound system option. That sub will be pretty much useless in a Jeep. I would rather take the money I would have spent on that option and buy an aftermarket amp with either Focal speakers or Hertz speakers. I won't have that deep base, but in an open air vehicle it is pointless for the most part.
 

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The Z

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I have not had the hard top off yet on mine yet and the bass is not tight. Playing around with 3 band EQ I set bass +1 increment, mid -1 and treble +1 any more then that is harsh. I then faded to front and that slightly turns down the sub a little and the bass tightens up a little. Then crank it up it sounds pretty decent but i can not tune it better to lower volume setting. I am think if it had a loudness setting or two for lower volumes and way turning down just the sub woofer and 10 or more bands of EQ it would be a 90% improvement. Sub woofer just might need a gradual roll cut under 50 HZ would clear up some mud.
 
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Steamboat

Steamboat

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Yes this right here. If you are one to have the top down / windows open etc the sub is somewhat useless when moving. Those low frequencies are behind you and will sound muddy faded or non existent. The same issue is seen on motorcycles that try to add bass.

This is why I opted out of the sound system option. That sub will be pretty much useless in a Jeep. I would rather take the money I would have spent on that option and buy an aftermarket amp with either Focal speakers or Hertz speakers. I won't have that deep base, but in an open air vehicle it is pointless for the most part.
Yeah, I really thought about opting out but I wanted the 8” screen. Damn you FCA!
 

clf1024

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I have not had the hard top off yet on mine yet and the bass is not tight. Playing around with 3 band EQ I set bass +1 increment, mid -1 and treble +1 any more then that is harsh. I then faded to front and that slightly turns down the sub a little and the bass tightens up a little. Then crank it up it sounds pretty decent but i can not tune it better to lower volume setting. I am think if it had a loudness setting or two for lower volumes and way turning down just the sub woofer and 10 or more bands of EQ it would be a 90% improvement. Sub woofer just might need a gradual roll cut under 50 HZ would clear up some mud.
Are these the settings, you settled on?? I need to change my settings, because the woofer, sounds horrible.
 

Sting_NC_USA

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Sorry, I have to respectfully challenge the notion that you can't upgrade the Alpine and get great sound. It's not an inexpensive option, but it can be done. And, it can sound unbelievably good (even at 70 mph with the top off). Admittedly, it's a fairly time consuming process, though it's one I've documented in the "Adding An Aftermarket Amp(s)" thread. To be clear, not simple, not without cost... but you wouldn't believe the sound quality possible in our Jeeps.
 

Swanny297

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Sorry, I have to respectfully challenge the notion that you can't upgrade the Alpine and get great sound. It's not an inexpensive option, but it can be done. And, it can sound unbelievably good (even at 70 mph with the top off). Admittedly, it's a fairly time consuming process, though it's one I've documented in the "Adding An Aftermarket Amp(s)" thread. To be clear, not simple, not without cost... but you wouldn't believe the sound quality possible in our Jeeps.
Why would you upgrade to alpine if your plans were to put an aftermarket system in it anyways?
 

Sting_NC_USA

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Why would you upgrade to alpine if your plans were to put an aftermarket system in it anyways?
Not sure, I didn't. I think some get the Alpine system to get the larger screen and uConnect functionality, then decide they want more out of their system. Nothing wrong with that, of course.
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