Factory Alpine Premium sound system

[Bulldog10]

They're both back there.
And they're two separate items.

Kevin

BINGO-Now I know where the noise was comin from-Thanks Kevin-I learn somethin New every Day now I can slack off until Tomorrow!!

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[jludave]

This is the Alpine upgrade for 2015 and later JK. It is not the same as the very average Alpine upgrade in the JL/JT

The same theories are used for the JL and JT.

 

[YayMud!]

I got a chance to have my local stereo shop take a look at and offer solutions for the Rockford Fosgate R1675-S 6 3/4" component speakers I waited over 2 months for and used to replace my "Alpine" speakers. He was surprisingly, much more knowledgeable than the "professionals" at Crutchfield.

He suggested a Kenwood or Rockford 5 channel amp so I picked out the Kenwood Exceleon X802-5 which currently has a $80 discount at Crutchfield, but is also on indefinite back order. This amp has 50W RMS x 4 at 4 ohms and 500 RMS x 1 at 2 ohms for the sub (that we will have to turn down the gain on a bit). This should provide a huge improvement in sound without breaking the bank.

Normally, I do all the work on my cars and I have installed lots of head units and speakers before, but never an amp so I am going to open up the piggy bank and pay my local stereo shop to do it to avoid the headache of trying to wire everything and set it up correctly.

I am also toying with the idea of upgrading the speakers to the Rockford Fosgate P165-SI Punch 6 1/2" component speakers, but I just don't know if they are worth it since they handle 60 watts RMS vs. the 40 watts RMS on the Rockford components I have already installed and they would both be running on the same amp. Thoughts?

Kenwood Excelon X802-5 amp: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113X8025/Kenwood-Excelon-X802-5.html?tp=70137

Current Rockford Fosgate R1675-S Prime 6 3/4" speakers: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_575R1675S/Rockford-Fosgate-R1675-S.html?tp=105

Possible upgrade to Rockford Fosgate P165-SI Punch 6 1/2" speakers: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P165SI/Rockford-Fosgate-P165-SI.html?tp=105

 

[jjdustr340]

Just pulled the fronts out of my 80A with 8.4 Alpine last night. Look just like those.
I replaced them with Kicker 47KSC3504. Not that I thought the Alpine was terrible, it’s just missing the highs usually associated with rock music.
Of note, I installed them with the included crossover first, and they sounded muddy. Very little highs at all. Removed the crossovers and now I can hear all the high hats, snare rattle, guitar notes and Brian Johnson gruff I was missing.

 

[Bulldog10]

I've Got two 115 Pound "Woofers" in the Back under the SmartCap-Anyone Match That! ! They only seem to work when I go by a Dog! ??

 

[Radio Guy]

I have the Alpine Premium setup and just upgraded my front and sound bar 3.5s with Kenwood KFC-X3Cs. The stock setup with EQ set at 0 was very bass heavy and the mids/highs were kind of muffled using XM radio. The Kenwood replacements running XM radio were not much of an improvement, maybe just a little crispier but music played off my iPhone through Carplay sounded way too crispy on the highs and I had to turn mids and highs down a couple of notches to sound more normal., in addition to the bass in the -4 to -5 range. In general, listening to Carplay is ok, not great but improved over the stock speakers.

I turned up the mids and highs when playing the muffled sounding XM radio and it goes from muffled to screeching with no suitable in between. I think the XM radio side is just muffled and the Kenwood replacement speakers are borderline screechy so they are doomed adding treble from the equalizer.

I did not use the supplied cross over parts with the Kenwood speakers because there were no similar parts in line with the stock speakers. I suspect there is high pass equalization in the amp for these speakers so they don't blow up receiving lots of power in the bass region. I also measured the DC resistance of the stock speakers at around 4 ohms and the replacement Kenwood speakers also measured 4 ohms. This is not a precise measurement of impedance but does give you an idea if its 4 or 8 ohm or something else.

I also used a 1.5 volt battery across the stock and replacement speakers to verify the +/- terminals, for phasing, going for the cone poking outward when the battery + is on the + side of the speaker.

Just pulled the fronts out of my 80A with 8.4 Alpine last night. Look just like those.
I replaced them with Kicker 47KSC3504. Not that I thought the Alpine was terrible, it’s just missing the highs usually associated with rock music.
Of note, I installed them with the included crossover first, and they sounded muddy. Very little highs at all. Removed the crossovers and now I can hear all the high hats, snare rattle, guitar notes and Brian Johnson gruff I was missing.

 

[red/green hawk]

Thoughts?

I have 3 sets of speakers with 3 different RMS ratings. I have an 8 channel x 40 watt RMS amp. It punches hard. Can only turn it up 2/3 and then it's too loud and hurts my ears. If you're worried about running 40 watt speakers on a 50 watt channel you should be okay.

No matter what you do adding an amp is a game changer in regards to sound in the JT. IMO you also need at least a 15 channel EQ to attain the full potential of your speakers. Does your amp have a DSP? Can you program each channel? I see a lot of complaints about speakers not having mids or whatever. 95% of the time it's because the EQ is horrible.

 

[YayMud!]

I have 3 sets of speakers with 3 different RMS ratings. I have an 8 channel x 40 watt RMS amp. It punches hard. Can only turn it up 2/3 and then it's too loud and hurts my ears. If you're worried about running 40 watt speakers on a 50 watt channel you should be okay.

No matter what you do adding an amp is a game changer in regards to sound in the JT. IMO you also need at least a 15 channel EQ to attain the full potential of your speakers. Does your amp have a DSP? Can you program each channel? I see a lot of complaints about speakers not having mids or whatever. 95% of the time it's because the EQ is horrible.

Good to know, thanks! Yes, I am waiting on a DSP too. My local stereo guy said he can go online and change a ton of parameters in the DSP to dial the sound in. I just hope I don't have to wait another 2 months on the amp and DSP like I did on the speakers.

Still on the fence about upgrading the speakers again, but I think I should be ok with these RF Prime component speakers compared to the RF Punch speakers. I'll see how they sound and maybe upgrade the front speakers depending on the sound quality.

 

[jjdustr340]

I did not use the supplied cross over parts with the Kenwood speakers because there were no similar parts in line with the stock speakers. I suspect there is high pass equalization in the amp for these speakers so they don't blow up receiving lots of power in the bass region.

I have to agree with this. There must be some type of equalization or built in crossover with the Alpine.
The front speakers I pulled out of the wife’s non alpine JLU have a small capacitor soldered onto the speaker connector.
The speakers pulled from my Alpine equipped JT have no capacitors that I can find.

 

[YayMud!]

I have to agree with this. There must be some type of equalization or built in crossover with the Alpine.
The front speakers I pulled out of the wife’s non alpine JLU have a small capacitor soldered onto the speaker connector.
The speakers pulled from my Alpine equipped JT have no capacitors that I can find.

This must be more common lately. The upgraded Rockford Fosgate speakers I picked up have a little capacitor in the tweeter as well working as a crossover. All of this new tech sure makes it a lot more interesting trying to upgrade your stereo. I must be getting old...

 

[jjdustr340]

This must be more common lately. The upgraded Rockford Fosgate speakers I picked up have a little capacitor in the tweeter as well working as a crossover. All of this new tech sure makes it a lot more interesting trying to upgrade your stereo. I must be getting old...

I’m with you. Gone are the days of red to red, black to black, throw some 6x9’s in the deck and rock out! Lol

 

[YayMud!]

I’m with you. Gone are the days of red to red, black to black, throw some 6x9’s in the deck and rock out! Lol

Your point is spot on about even something as simple as the color of the wires. I was wiring up my new speakers and the wires were all different colors. And with all of these big cool looking head units, it sure has become hard to upgrade. Not to mention the placement of the speakers in the bottom of our dashboards. Jeep clearly did not want anyone to upgrade these. I had to take the entire dash apart to remove a tiny 4.5" speaker on the driver's side.

I'm probably starting to sound like an old man now. I better go yell at these kids to, "Get the hell off my lawn!"

 

[Bulldog10]

This must be more common lately. The upgraded Rockford Fosgate speakers I picked up have a little capacitor in the tweeter as well working as a crossover. All of this new tech sure makes it a lot more interesting trying to upgrade your stereo. I must be getting old...

I've got Rocks younger than Me on my Gravel Road!!

 

[scourge]

After reading twenty threads, I'm very confused.

Are these speakers an upgrade over the premium Alpine system? Will there be a noticeable difference?

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-CLUB3020...&pd_rd_wg=NQygI&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

 

[jjdustr340]

After reading twenty threads, I'm very confused.

Are these speakers an upgrade over the premium Alpine system? Will there be a noticeable difference?

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-CLUB3020...&pd_rd_wg=NQygI&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

Cant speak on those, but the Infinity’s are a big time upgrade. Brought out the missing highs and balanced out the system for me.
https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Ref...0727462&sprefix=reference+3032,aps,120&sr=8-4

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