Regular Radio vs 8.4" RADIO AND PREMIUM AUDIO GROUP

[elarse1]

I found Gladiator almost up to my specs but with regular radio.
Is that premium group and 8.4 radio really worth the money?
Is it really a big deal? How bad is regular audio? What would I miss without that upgrade?

Thank you!

I have the 8.4 Alpine and the sound is fantastic. Also the backup camera looks extremely clear, so yes, I'd recommend it. However, be advised that USB sticks over 16 GB don't work correctly int he 8.4 - not all of the songs are recognized (I don't know if this is a problem with other systems). I'm hoping there's a fix soon - @JeepCares ?

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[TRUMP2020]

I found Gladiator almost up to my specs but with regular radio.
Is that premium group and 8.4 radio really worth the money?
Is it really a big deal? How bad is regular audio? What would I miss without that upgrade?

Thank you!

I bought mine with the 5" screen and within the first week upgraded to the 8.4.. Was $1599 for the larger screen at a local audio shop plus $150 for install and setup.

 

[Eric Kern]

I had the standard radio in 2016 Wrangler Rubi, It was the most god awful POS, I’m shocked jeep would even sell a car with It...have the 8.4 Alpine in my JT, DEFINITELY WORTH It!

 

[rafaelsmith]

I got the 8.4 w/Premium/sub and I have no regrets getting it. With the exception of perhaps replacing the top dash speakers(i feel stock ones could stand to be a little more "bright"), I see no reason to upgrade. Far cry from previous Jeeps where one of the first thing I did was spend $$$ and hours of wiring/install to get a halfway decent sounding system.

Got some good quality source recordings in FLAC format on a USB and it sounds pretty damn good to me. Of course not audiophile/competition grade but considering the acoustic characteristics of Jeep it more than good enough.

 

[Mikegcny]

Ball is in their court to make it work as intended,

Knowing how software gets built and the fact that all car manufactures besides Tesla are not software companies, the U-Connect software is probably hacked to shit. I am sure there are lots of places in the code where values are either hard-coded or not written in a way for them to be able to take advantage of Apples new API's.

If they try to 'fix' this issue I can guarantee that other problems pop up elsewhere.

 

[VirTex]

My wife has a 2014 Infiniti QX60 that has the upgraded Bose system in it. The sound is excellent and is what I’ve compared all others to. I bought a 2016 Ford Expedition EL Platinum with the upgraded Sony system and was not impressed with it.
My Gladiator is my first Jeep, and so I went all in and got the 8.4 with Alpine and have been very impressed, especially considering they didn’t have the best acoustic environment to work with. It has strong bass and is more than powerful enough to handle the top down winds at interstate speeds. I like my music and am really enjoying the system. No regrets, no issues. Definitely recommend it.

 

[elarse1]

My wife has a 2014 Infiniti QX60 that has the upgraded Bose system in it. The sound is excellent and is what I’ve compared all others to. I bought a 2016 Ford Expedition EL Platinum with the upgraded Sony system and was not impressed with it.
My Gladiator is my first Jeep, and so I went all in and got the 8.4 with Alpine and have been very impressed, especially considering they didn’t have the best acoustic environment to work with. It has strong bass and is more than powerful enough to handle the top down winds at interstate speeds. I like my music and am really enjoying the system. No regrets, no issues. Definitely recommend it.

Have you encountered the problem with it not being able to read all the songs on USB sticks greater than 16 GB? The end result is that some of the songs/folders will show up, but not all. This seems to be a known issue with the radio and FCA isn't doing anything about it @JeepCares. Ironic that my 2004 Camry with an old radio does not have this limitation.

 

[JeepCares]

Have you encountered the problem with it not being able to read all the songs on USB sticks greater than 16 GB? The end result is that some of the songs/folders will show up, but not all. This seems to be a known issue with the radio and FCA isn't doing anything about it @JeepCares. Ironic that my 2004 Camry with an old radio does not have this limitation.

Hi,

Have you had a case open for this concern?

Alison
JeepCares

 

[elarse1]

Hi,

Have you had a case open for this concern?

Alison
JeepCares

I did open a case (76403681 ) - they basically told me there's nothing they can do. I can't accept that answer for a 2020 premium sound system (which is otherwise awesome).

-Erik

 

[wannajeep]

7 inch here, I've had better in the past but music sounds good enough on it. No doubt the Alpine is better but money was a higher priority for me than audio. I should dial in the EQ and see if I can make it even better. Would love to hear the Alpine sometime just for comparison.

 

[daking747]

I’m confused. I have 7in with alpine.. just not the removable sub. Other than that, size and nav what am I missing? Do they sell 7 inch with lessor speaker packages?

 

[Gatorac]

Mine came with the 8.4 and I'm glad it did. I really like this system. No doubt if I didn't get it, I'd be trying to figure out how to add it. I listen to music constantly when I drive.

 

[BrightWhiteGladiator]

I can’t compare as all I’ve experienced is the 8.4, but I love it and CarPlay.

Same. I have premium Bose sound system upgrade in my EV and I think the alpine upgraded system in the Gladiator sounds way way better.

 

[JeepCares]

I did open a case (76403681 ) - they basically told me there's nothing they can do. I can't accept that answer for a 2020 premium sound system (which is otherwise awesome).

-Erik

Hi Erik,

I was able to look into your case and it appears your case manager suggests you use a 32gb USB because that is what is compatible with your Jeep. Have you been able to try this?

Alison
JeepCares

 

[Riccochet]

I've never had an issue with any of my 8.4's reading from USB. Have used 16, 32 and 64 GB sticks, as well as a 100 GB USB hard drive. Now, I will say that when you stuff 80 GB worth of music on to a hard drive with 100's of folders, well, it takes it solid minute for the folder list to index and come up. And it's really annoying that any time you hit "Browse" to see the folder list it takes another minute. This was on an 8.4 in a '13 Ram, '17 Ram, '18 Durango, '19 Grand Cherokee.

Hands down the 8.4 is one of the best infotainment systems out there, and has been the best for quite a few years now. It is getting a little dated though. Domestic US vehicles it can't be beat, but that new Mercedes system is nicer.

I've never been impressed with the sub that comes with the Alpine system. While it does provide some low end, it lacks punch and is muddy as hell. I feel like after all these years that FCA has been using this system they would have upgraded the p.o.s. sub by now. In my friends Ram we took the sub out and installed 6x9 components with a small amp and get more, cleaner bass out of that setup than with the sub.

I've not had any issues with the 8.4's navigation. It's always worked to my expectations. Though if your roads change and your maps aren't updated it can be problematic. $150 to update the maps is a bit steep, in my opinion. We're paying a premium for nav, it should come with map updates for the length of the factory warranty. Though I suppose Car Play and Android Auto negates that, to an extent.

My only real complaint about the 8.4 unit is sometimes they're a bit buggy. Like your phone will connect via bluetooth, but there's no audio. Only way to correct is completely turn off the vehicle, wait 30 seconds, then turn back on and reconnect the phone. I've also had the screen go completely black while driving. Again, a reboot is needed to correct. And when they removed the Pandora and iHeartRadio apps out of the 2017 and older units, that down right pissed me off.

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