Knee speaker performance...

[johnh442]

So I have swapped the upper dash speakers (Terra Acoustics -- very nice) and DS18 Sound Bar which is loud, and surprisingly clear...

However the lower dash speaker sound, the ones on the lower part of the dash toward the floor, the sound from them is neglible -- Have the Alpine system and they don't put out anything -- in fact unless I put my head near them, I wouldn't say they are working.... Not sure why this is?

My son's JL stock system is way louder (except for the DS18 I have), and his premium is really premium and I feel like in the JT the premium should have been called barely adequate...

So, I'd like to know others with the Alpine, do. those speakers even matter? Mine are very weak....

I realize you have to pull the dash panel, but at this point I'd do it for an increase in sound.

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[DiehardTory]

Trail Seven on youtube has installation videos. Those are a real PIA to replace.

 

[Mr._Bill]

Due to their location, and the difficulty to swap, I don't think the effort is worth the reward.

 

[fourfa]

I didn't find it THAT hard to loosen the dash to get the pods out. I definitely did not remove the whole thing, just removed enough screws to make wiggle room. The passenger side is easy, no big deal. The driver side takes all the time.

Most videos I see on the subject start by removing absolutely everything - don't. I found the beginning of this thread very helpful with what to do: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/adding-an-aftermarket-amp-s.6568/

I think I spent total 2-3 hours, put in a replacement pod for 6.5"s, added dynamat on the pod walls and acoustatuf inside; was well worth it. I'll probably do it again one day when I get serious with real drivers not just cheap Infinitys

 

[Saltymedic]

So I have swapped the upper dash speakers (Terra Acoustics -- very nice) and DS18 Sound Bar which is loud, and surprisingly clear...

However the lower dash speaker sound, the ones on the lower part of the dash toward the floor, the sound from them is neglible -- Have the Alpine system and they don't put out anything -- in fact unless I put my head near them, I wouldn't say they are working.... Not sure why this is?

My son's JL stock system is way louder (except for the DS18 I have), and his premium is really premium and I feel like in the JT the premium should have been called barely adequate...

So, I'd like to know others with the Alpine, do. those speakers even matter? Mine are very weak....

I realize you have to pull the dash panel, but at this point I'd do it for an increase in sound.

Please excuse me if you've already checked. But did you check your fader settings prior to listening closely? You never know, somebody could have fooled with it.

 

[johnh442]

Please excuse me if you've already checked. But did you check your fader settings prior to listening closely? You never know, somebody could have fooled with it.

Yep, I can hear the front upper dash speakers quite well, I fiddled with it checking the knee speakers which don't seem to make much noise at all. Sound moves with the balance as well, they are just super quiet, even at high volume. I need to listen to another JT with premium to see if they are same or mine are somehow messed up..

I probably should find the factory amp and make sure all the connections are good, since they are so weak.

Its definitely a bit of work to get to those I took a peek at the installs...wish they'd have made those speakers just behind a seperate cover.

 

[dayusmc]

The factory amp is by the SGW module.
I have a Mojave with the factory alpine system and sub. My knee speakers are loud and have a lot of base.
Did you have this problem before changing the sound bar and dash speakes? It might have something to do with the impedance. I believe (I have not measured them yet) the factory speakers are 2 or 3 ohm, or possibly 4 ohm with the the dash speakers and knee speakers being wired in parallel. If they are wired in parallel and they were 4 ohm speakers the amp would see about a 2.3 ohm load. Amp power output is affected but the load it sees.

 

[Alan SOBX]

I have the stock Mojave speakers and actually find the under dash a bit annoying. The bass feels like the car doing something funny because of the vibration it makes. (I should adjust settings, prolly?)

 

[BearFootSam]

I have the stock Mojave speakers and actually find the under dash a bit annoying. The bass feels like the car doing something funny because of the vibration it makes. (I should adjust settings, prolly?)

I lowered the bass levels a bit in the equalizer because I found the bass a bit boomy but my impression is that it's coming from the woofer behind the rear seats.

 

[Erievon]

My son's JL stock system is way louder (except for the DS18 I have), and his premium is really premium and I feel like in the JT the premium should have been called barely adequate...

Any chance that JL has a headliner and you dont? My 20 Overland and My wife's 21 JLU both had a headliner, and I'd say the alpine system in both were about equal. The JL gets a little more bass with a slightly bigger subwoofer and the echo of having it fire sideways in the trunk. All else seemed equal though. When I got my 23JT, it did not have a headliner, and man, can I tell the difference.

Not sure if thats the case for you, but if you don't have a headliner, it REALLY REALLY helps with the audio.

As for your knee speakers, they're kind of minimal in the equation, but the factorys do provide some mid-fill (unless you replace them with 2 or 3 ways). Unless your soundbar or the terra accustics changed the ohm resistance of the whole system, these should be putting out a decent amount of sound for you. I can hear and feel them normally.

 

[Tufelhundin]

My 2020 had the Alpine premium but had he the 7” and I thought that system sounded very well. I remember I could feel the vibration of the music in my steering wheel from the lower dash speaker

my 2022 has the Alpine Prem with an 8.4 and honestly I don’t have the vibration any longer and already have replaced the soundbar by the dealer and it still sounds horrible.

But there is definitely a “lack” of performance from my lower dash… not just by sound but feel. lol

 

[johnh442]

Did you have this problem before changing the sound bar and dash speakes? It might have something to do with the impedance.

Not 100% sure, but I think so as the sound quality for supposedly Alpine premium was pretty poor. And the JT Subwoofer isn't even close to the JLs.

Any chance that JL has a headliner and you dont?

Both have Headliners.

Using these as fronts https://terraacoustics.com/products/jeep-front-soundstage-upgrade-jl-jt
listed at 7 ohms impedence!

DS18 are 4 ohms.

Unless your soundbar or the terra accustics changed the ohm resistance of the whole system, these should be putting out a decent amount of sound for you. I can hear and feel them normally.

Could be... but all was supposed to be plug and play. The Terra Acoustics sound great especially at high volumes, very clear.

Factory knee speakers barely do anything... maybe try disconnecting the top dash speakers and see...

 

[dayusmc]

I have the opposite problem. My wife's JLU subwoofer barely puts any bass out, my JT subwoofer put a lot of bass out.
My Terra Accoustics speakers just came in. I am installing them today, so I can let you know if it decreases the volume of the stock knee speakers...

 

[dayusmc]

I just installed the Terra Acoustics. Before I get into how they sound, the knee speakers still have the same level of volume as they did before. So something must be wrong with your speakers or amp...

Now for the sound of the Terra Acoustics.... Not at all worth the money. The Mopar upgraded speakers sounded WAY better and were a lot louder.... And they Mopar upgraded speakers were only $130 for the pair.

Below is a picture of my stock speaker, the Mopar Upgraded speaker and the Terra accoustics.

 

[johnh442]

Below is a picture of my stock speaker, the Mopar Upgraded speaker and the Terra accoustics.

Wait, those don't look right either way.
My Terra's looked different.
And my stockers didn't look like either of the bottom ones... they were about the style of the left with the size of the right....

And Terra's were noticably different in sound than my stockers-- they were crystal clear even at max volume whereas the factory ones had bunch of distortion.

Beginning to suspect that even though my sheet says premium sound, not sure I got it....

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