Anyone tried one of these??

Midnight · Feb 23, 2017

Hey guys, long time reader, first time posting..
so I've got a 2016 ram regular cab 6'4" bed 1500 express black edition and I'm going to upgrade the sound system in it.
I've seen all the info on speaker installs and which ones work well in our trucks so I'm good on that front.
So my question is.. does anyone have any experience using the alpine PLT-5? It's a self contained self powered subwoofer box for behind the seat (or wherever) and it contains 6- 5" subwoofers inside it.. it is discontinued but specs can be found on crutchfield.. reviews are amazing and a buddy of mine has one brand new old stock that I can buy for $150..
I'd like to try this as an alternative to one of the under seat units as I feel it might have a bit more output.. keep in mind I'm not looking for monster spl but more headed in the direction of a good sound quality system
Thanks

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adrianp89 · Feb 23, 2017

I would do it just because its different and sounds pretty cool. At $150 you aren't spending much at all.

Midnight · Feb 23, 2017

Yeah that's what I was thinking, I am deff going to try it out but just wanted to see if anyone else had first hand experience with one

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adrianp89 · Feb 23, 2017

I have never even heard of it to be honest lol.

autokraftgt · Feb 23, 2017

My first question is, have you listened to your buddies? Did you like it?
I am a big fan of trying things out myself as long as I think I can get rid of it IF I don't like it. This is the first time I have seen this unit, and the fact that it is discontinued doesn't sit too well with me....companies do not stop producing product because they are too awesome...it usually because the latter. Also, you said you are not looking for sheer output, and I can respect that, I am the same way. Sound quality sub stages do a couple things very well.
-they get LOW....music is very dynamic, and a sub stage that can reproduce the lowest of notes (some barely audible) sound the best across the board
-they blend well with the rest of the system (transparent) and do not draw attention to itself. I don't see Alpine tuning this enclosure very low with those little subs. I bet it can get a bit loud, but get really low without falling apart is a diff deal. Again, it's worth a shot and I would demo before buying. For $150 you can get a decent 12" that will get low, and sound good doing it. Best of luck man!

NOcasio7 · Feb 23, 2017

I have never seen it before and it definitely looks interesting. I am currently using a JBL slim bassworks or basspro, I dont remember what its called but its mounted on the floor under the seat. Not much output but clean bass. Looking for an upgrade.

Midnight · Feb 23, 2017

Hey thanks for the replies, it's really a no lose situation, he said if I'm not happy with it he will give my money back.
As far as a different set up goes, I have other 10's and 12's and boxes, just didn't want to get into a "full system" quite yet.. want to keep as much free space as possible, but it's not out yet. If I'm not happy I'll go that route.
Really hoping to find someone that has heard one before haha

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adrianp89 · Feb 23, 2017

autokraftgt said:
My first question is, have you listened to your buddies? Did you like it?
I am a big fan of trying things out myself as long as I think I can get rid of it IF I don't like it. This is the first time I have seen this unit, and the fact that it is discontinued doesn't sit too well with me....companies do not stop producing product because they are too awesome...it usually because the latter. Also, you said you are not looking for sheer output, and I can respect that, I am the same way. Sound quality sub stages do a couple things very well.
-they get LOW....music is very dynamic, and a sub stage that can reproduce the lowest of notes (some barely audible) sound the best across the board
-they blend well with the rest of the system (transparent) and do not draw attention to itself. I don't see Alpine tuning this enclosure very low with those little subs. I bet it can get a bit loud, but get really low without falling apart is a diff deal. Again, it's worth a shot and I would demo before buying. For $150 you can get a decent 12" that will get low, and sound good doing it. Best of luck man!

This includes the amplification though. And it is PDX technology at that.. I don't think he will find anything close for $150.

I would imagine it went discontinued because no one wants to buy something like this.

Midnight · Feb 25, 2017

I'm installing the unit and puting alpine 3.5's in the dash on Tuesday so I will do a YouTube video and link it in here

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Damion · Feb 25, 2017

Wow I haven't seen one of those for years. I had almost forgotten about them actually.

Alpine made this one and a rectangular version made for trunks of cars. Both of which I used to install.

The good part is their all self contained and are basically a sealed unit. The bad thing is that they do have a lot of port noise for a small unit, they also don't like low frequencies. The combination of having small drivers and being a band pass design contributes to this. It will also bottom out very easily when pushed hard.

Overall they are a neat unit and when used casually they work good, just don't expect it to blow your windows out and play it within its limits and you'll be fine. I would have some concern over the port noise in a truck though.

Hope this helps

Midnight · Feb 25, 2017

Ok this is all good to know, I've always been skeptical of these self contained type of units and I'm really hoping for the best haha, but he did say that if I'm not satisfied then he will give my money back, so at that point I'll just do it right... I really like tight punchy bass, as I like rock music and some of it is pretty heavy double bass pedal.. so if this doesn't work out which It probably won't.. I'll just do a full system and be done with it

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Damion · Feb 25, 2017

It would be good for rock stuff from what I remember they were pretty accurate. I also think they had weird side plates that cover where the wires connect, which kinda makes it a pain to do.

For what it's worth they were kinda neat to watch working though. The drivers are set up on a rod system and move along side to side. Their biggest downfall was the price. They were in the $700-800 range. The bigger one was closer to a grand. They were a hard sell for the output they gave.

If buddy will let you test drive it I'd go for it. At least then you know if you like it or not.

Midnight · Feb 28, 2017

Well.... installed the unit today.. cut the wires for the rear speakers and extended them to run into the speaker inputs on the amp section of the box...

the unit powers up but with zero output.. so I thought fine.. I'll go get a signal converter and just use rca cable input...

did that and still nothing... so out of curiosity I hooked up the speaker wires to speakers again and they are not puting anything out......
is the factory head unit smart enough to see and "not like" that the rear speaker wires were being ran not hooked up to a speaker? And maybe have locked them out somehow? The dash and front door speakers still work perfect... any input would be helpful
I have the uconnect 5.0

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Damion · Feb 28, 2017

I haven't seen a headunit lock out a set of speakers on its own.

Was the deck on when you cut the speaker wires? It's possible you may have shorted out the rear outputs of the deck.

Try unhooking your battery for a couple minutes. See if that will reset the headunit.

Also, I can't remember 100% but I don't think those units had an auto on feature. You'll probably have to run a remote turn on. Again I can't remember for sure. It's been a while since I've seen one

Midnight · Feb 28, 2017

I will try the battery disconnect, but yes I did have to run a remote wire.. the unit powers up well.. we did bench test it at my buddy's house where I got it so
I know that it does work..
I think I'm. More just aggravates that I had today off so I went at it lol as I don't get much spare time to do things I wanna do lol so now I've gotta kinda wait and plan out when he can come over and troubleshoot it.. as this is the line of work he is in for a living.. and just a hobby for me.. so I guess I'll try that and the. Wait and see what he has to say

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Damion · Feb 28, 2017

I'd try the battery disconnect.

It's times like this that separates an installer from a backyard guy. Anyone can hook gear up but troubleshooting is where knowledge and experience comes in.

It's just funny there's no rear output from your deck. Just hope you didn't blow the rear speaker outputs. Was the deck on while you were working at it?

Really stupid question, but your fader isn't faded totally toward the front?

Midnight · Feb 28, 2017

Hahah no the fader is dead center and tried it in various locations, and I agree, this is where my knowledge ends.. ask me to troubleshoot a furnace or air conditioner and I could write a book lol and yes I agree about hoping I didn't burn out or blow the rear output.. only cuz I wanna use them for an amp lol but the radio was not on at the time of disassembly so I should be good there... it's weird, it's like it can sense that there may not be the correct load or something

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jarzo · Feb 28, 2017

I've never heard of it. Please let us know if it's any good!

Midnight · Feb 28, 2017

Well went out and messed with it again.. so I found that any time a speaker is disconnected with power on, it locks out that channel (I know it's individual channel lock out as I tried it to see if both would go out or just 1).. and to get it back you must disconnect the battery..

so having said that, I hooked both factory speakers back up and reset the battery, and both speakers work fine... so I tried reconnecting the speaker leads to the LOC which is just a cheap one from Canadian tire.. and reset the battery thinking this might have been where I went wrong.... wrong.. still won't work..

sooooo... either
1) it does not like being NOT connected to an actual speaker
2) the LOC is toast/no good
3) something inside the sub unit is not working properly..
more to come in a few days when I get some more time to work on it..

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Damion · Feb 28, 2017

Were your plans originally run with no rear speakers? The loc won't add much in terms of resistance to the headunit so if it does actually sense a load and turn said channel on / off just having the loc won't work.

If I had to guess, the loc has an issue, if the sub has high level inputs ( again can't remember ) use those. Or try a different loc.

Keep me posted.

Anyone tried one of these??

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