Alpine soundbar upgrade advice.

[Gladimox]

Hey all, I know this seems to be a very common question but I think I may have Google'd myself into confusion since everyone is doing purposeful upgrades and I'm wanting to remain relatively stock.

I have the Alpine/8" combo and believe I have narrowed it down to 1 of my 4" speakers in the sound bar having an issue. Was looking to replace it and do a minor upgrade in the process since (at least for now...) I like the current sound setup. Not finding many 4" options and believe I read that they are limited due to fitment issues? I don't mind doing the 6.5 upgrade but was wanting some opinions/advice on doing so as I wasn't going with an external amp.

Would something like the Kenwood KFC-651 be good as I've seen the X3Cs are recommended upgrades for the dash. Then would just need the Meta 72-6514 and JP1015 for plug/play and speaker fitment and not use the connector for the old 3.5" in the soundbar that would need to be removed? Or any recommendations on a replacement 4" would be great too.

Thanks

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[bd100]

What I used for the 3.5" dash and sound bar:
Kenwood Excelon KFC-X3C

For the 4" sound bar:
Kicker 47KSC404
Break off the metal tabs and use the plastic mounting ring.

Also put some pillow stuffing in the sound bar to reduce rattle. Leave some room going to the sound ports.

The 3.5" speakers greatly improve clarity, getting rid of the cardboard box sound.

The stock 4" speakers are ok for what they are, and the upgrade almost don't seem to be needed unless one of the originals is blown. I have not bothered with the 4" in the knee panels.

With these upgrades I can crank the Alpine way up w/o rattle or distortion. I wish there were an EQ control for the subwoofer.

If you want to save money, just do the 3.5" in the dash. The soundbar 3.5" are just fill. Crutchfield adds the proper connectors. And try some pillow stuffing in the sound bar to absorb buzz and rattle before giving up on the original 4" speakers.

 

[Gladimox]

Awesome. Thanks a lot for the info. Yeah, was looking around for some poly and some of that fabric tape and gonna try that regardless.

 

[tekkdrone]

I came across these when I was looking at options, they seemed like a good possibility for folks that were wanting a drop-in upgrade. They have options for base and amplified OEM systems too. https://trailseven.com/collections/...er-plug-play-speaker-pods-upgrade-18-jl-20-jt

 

[Hockeydad55]

Hey all, I know this seems to be a very common question but I think I may have Google'd myself into confusion since everyone is doing purposeful upgrades and I'm wanting to remain relatively stock.

I have the Alpine/8" combo and believe I have narrowed it down to 1 of my 4" speakers in the sound bar having an issue. Was looking to replace it and do a minor upgrade in the process since (at least for now...) I like the current sound setup. Not finding many 4" options and believe I read that they are limited due to fitment issues? I don't mind doing the 6.5 upgrade but was wanting some opinions/advice on doing so as I wasn't going with an external amp.

Would something like the Kenwood KFC-651 be good as I've seen the X3Cs are recommended upgrades for the dash. Then would just need the Meta 72-6514 and JP1015 for plug/play and speaker fitment and not use the connector for the old 3.5" in the soundbar that would need to be removed? Or any recommendations on a replacement 4" would be great too.

Thanks

I don’t know if you got your speakers yet but you need to pay attention to the ohms or you will loose a lot of power. I would not get anything over 3 ohms 2 would be perfect but not much in the 2 ohm range.

 

[FormerToyotaGuy]

If your looking to stick with Alpine 4" just upgrade to the S series

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-S-S40...ouMWSxGTfOjpLqEs5dPLAkf7LwVF04IwaAoneEALw_wcB

 

[Radio Guy]

I don’t know if you got your speakers yet but you need to pay attention to the ohms or you will loose a lot of power. I would not get anything over 3 ohms 2 would be perfect but not much in the 2 ohm range.

I thought the original speakers were in the 4 ohm range and if so a 2 ohm speaker would not be the best idea. The speaker impedance should be matched to the amplifier impedance rating and maximum power transfer happens when source and load impedance is matched. Placing a 2 ohm load on an amplifier not rated for it can cause the amplifier to run into distortion early when it can't provide enough current to the lower impedance load.

 

[Hockeydad55]

I thought the original speakers were in the 4 ohm range and if so a 2 ohm speaker would not be the best idea. The speaker impedance should be matched to the amplifier impedance rating and maximum power transfer happens when source and load impedance is matched. Placing a 2 ohm load on an amplifier not rated for it can cause the amplifier to run into distortion early when it can't provide enough current to the lower impedance load.

You are correct and the Alpine system is 2 ohm which is what I thought you were talking about. If your talking about the Bass system yes that is 4 ohm.

 

[Radio Guy]

You are correct and the Alpine system is 2 ohm which is what I thought you were talking about. If your talking about the Bass system yes that is 4 ohm.

My JT has the Alpine Premium Audio System and the 3.5" speakers I replaced were all 4 ohm. I measured the speaker impedance with a Neutrik A2 audio analyzer.

 

[Hockeydad55]

There is actually a few write ups on the 8.4 on this sight about the system being a 2 ohm system and how hard it is to find 2 ohm speakers for it. A couple guys even had the total amperage and how many amps per channel from manufacture and I believe crutchfield confirms it too. I have had this system in a couple different types of vehicles and when I checked the stock speakers they were 2.7 ohms. That’s why people that have done the research go with the infinity and jbl speakers as they are the closest at 3 ohms.

 

[Radio Guy]

There is actually a few write ups on the 8.4 on this sight about the system being a 2 ohm system and how hard it is to find 2 ohm speakers for it. A couple guys even had the total amperage and how many amps per channel from manufacture and I believe crutchfield confirms it too. I have had this system in a couple different types of vehicles and when I checked the stock speakers they were 2.7 ohms. That’s why people that have done the research go with the infinity and jbl speakers as they are the closest at 3 ohms.

Speaker impedance can't be measured precisely with an ohmmeter, its an AC measurement and usually measured at 400Hz. An ohmmeter can get you close on some speakers but that is just voice coil resistance and not taking voice coil inductance and other things into consideration.

My JT has the 7" display and as I mentioned all speakers so far have measured 4 ohms. Do they supply a different tuner/amp with the 8.4" display and Alpine Premium?

 

[Kevin_D]

My JT has the 7" display and as I mentioned all speakers so far have measured 4 ohms. Do they supply a different tuner/amp with the 8.4" display and Alpine Premium?

The Alpine audio system uses a different, separate amplifier, with separate channels (bass & treble) for each of the 4 pairs of speakers.

Kevin

 

[Hockeydad55]

Your first post said you had the alpine premium system. If you have the 7” display that is the bass system and it is 4 ohm with a smaller amp less channels and no sub. The 8.4“ has the alpine premium system and yes different amp and sub.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Speaker impedance can't be measured precisely with an ohmmeter, its an AC measurement and usually measured at 400Hz. An ohmmeter can get you close on some speakers but that is just voice coil resistance and not taking voice coil inductance and other things into consideration.

My JT has the 7" display and as I mentioned all speakers so far have measured 4 ohms. Do they supply a different tuner/amp with the 8.4" display and Alpine Premium?

Yes, there's no amp with the base system they are just powered off the head unit in my research. The alpine system has a 12 channel amp 1 channel each for the 8 speakers and 4 channels for the subwoofer. All are 2 ohm in my research including each of the 4 voice coils on the sub.

 

[Caveman]

Quoting Hockeydad55: "Your first post said you had the alpine premium system. If you have the 7” display that is the bass system and it is 4 ohm with a smaller amp less channels and no sub. The 8.4“ has the alpine premium system and yes different amp and sub."

Depending on the year of your Gladiator, it does not follow from the fact that you have a 7" display that you do not have an Alpine Premium Audio System. My 2020 Sport S has the 7" display, and for an additional $1295, the Alpine Premium Audio System.

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