2018 Ram With Alpine System Replacement (with pictures)

[grubby65]

I thought I would include some pictures and explanation of what I did to replace the Factory Alpine system in a 2018 Ram. Here are the components I used:
Dash Speakers JL C2-350X
Front Doors ScanSpeak 16W/4434G00
Rear Doors Dayton RS-150P
Headliner Tweeters Dayton RST28F
Sub Pioneer 10" (Dual Voice Coil)
DSP Rockford Fosgate DSR-1
Sub Amp JL JX500/1D
Speaker Amp JL XD600/6V2


The Rear door and Headliner Tweeter are running off a self designed passive crossover. My opinion is probably biased, but the system sounds incredible. The DSR-1, while a little bit of a pain to get setup and I had to add 500 ohm resistors to get it to power up, is very powerful tool. Probably has more adjust-ability then most people would need. The pictures of the amps isn't the greatest, I still need to get things organized.

 

[MADDOG]

Nice upgrade!

 

[mboymopar]

Great Mod!

 

[black-betty]

OK - so I am somewhat skeptical - and in awe....why did you replace the system? I have. a2018 Laramie and find the Alpine factory system pretty good. I am not an audiophile, but still, its pretty good in my opinion. But I am also in for improvements....

 

[grubby65]

OK - so I am somewhat skeptical - and in awe....why did you replace the system? I have. a2018 Laramie and find the Alpine factory system pretty good. I am not an audiophile, but still, its pretty good in my opinion. But I am also in for improvements....

Please don’t take this personal, but in my opinion the factory Alpine system is/was junk. The DSP in the factory amp is a joke. It just seemed like there were so many frequencies missing. Anything above around 8,000 Hz and below 100 Hz seemed to be non existent. Also the area between 750 and 2000 was very muddy. I’m over 50, so not into rattling the windows, but I love music. I want to be able to hear everything that was put into the original recording, which was impossible with the original system. I also want it to be balanced. Really the only way to tell the difference would be to listen to both and decide if it is worth it. I have around $1,700 invested and probably 40 hours of work. I was actually out tuning it tonight for about 2 hours, then I spent another hour just listening to music.

 

[black-betty]

Please don’t take this personal, but in my opinion the factory Alpine system is/was junk. The DSP in the factory amp is a joke. It just seemed like there were so many frequencies missing. Anything above around 8,000 Hz and below 100 Hz seemed to be non existent. Also the area between 750 and 2000 was very muddy. I’m over 50, so not into rattling the windows, but I love music. I want to be able to hear everything that was put into the original recording, which was impossible with the original system. I also want it to be balanced. Really the only way to tell the difference would be to listen to both and decide if it is worth it. I have around $1,700 invested and probably 40 hours of work. I was actually out tuning it tonight for about 2 hours, then I spent another hour just listening to music.

No worries mate - I dont take anything personal written on forums - seems like you know what you are talking about, unlike me. But like you, I too enjoy great music & sound quality. Every one of my past vehicles had aftermarket sound systems...I have only had my truck for a week - so it is still quite the novelty.

Questions (if you dont mind)
- Were the door speakers replaced, and does each door speaker have a tweeter and crossover in the door card?

- What did you do with the speaker (I think it is the surround one) that says Alpine on the front dash? - under the window.

- It looks like you put the front tweeters in the headliner...why?

- Did you have to add anything for the sub? It looks like there is some wood there?

My chief concern with doing anything similar is buggering up the trim anywhere...so if I can keep it all looking factory, then I am all-in on this.

 

[grubby65]

No worries mate - I dont take anything personal written on forums - seems like you know what you are talking about, unlike me. But like you, I too enjoy great music & sound quality. Every one of my past vehicles had aftermarket sound systems...I have only had my truck for a week - so it is still quite the novelty.

Questions (if you dont mind)
- Were the door speakers replaced, and does each door speaker have a tweeter and crossover in the door card?

- What did you do with the speaker (I think it is the surround one) that says Alpine on the front dash? - under the window.

- It looks like you put the front tweeters in the headliner...why?

- Did you have to add anything for the sub? It looks like there is some wood there?

My chief concern with doing anything similar is buggering up the trim anywhere...so if I can keep it all looking factory, then I am all-in on this.

1). The factory door speakers do not have tweeters. I put ScanSpeak 6 1/2” in the front doors. These are mid-bass. The rear doors are Dayton, the tweeters in the headliner are where the factory speakers were at. I used a passive crossover here.
2). The wood covers the crossovers and this is where I mounted the amps and DSR-1. This is on the drivers side. I installed the Pioneer Sub in the factory enclosure.
3). The center speaker is non-functional now.
4). Actually removing the interior panels is pretty simple

 

[grubby65]

 

[GSchwizzy]

Congrats on the upgrade, sir. For $1,700.00... it better sound amazing!!!

EDIT: I have a 2016 Big Horn CC... and fully agree on the Alpine system. Very muddy, no bass... not a very well designed system. For what we spend on these vehicles, they could've done much better in terms of overall sound quality.

I upgraded all my speakers to JBL, and installed a Pioneer 8" sub, and it sounds much better, but the bass is still lacking quite a bit. I'd like to get a dedicated amp installed for the sub (and even DSR-1), but I just don't want to tear everything apart to do it... or know HOW to do it, nonetheless.

I guess I'll live with what I have. For now...

 

[black-betty]

GSchwizzy - I am in the same boat - not knowing how to - so I am taking it into a place and see what they recommend

 

[black-betty]

Congrats on the upgrade, sir. For $1,700.00... it better sound amazing!!!

Well I went to the local "custom shop" for a quote to basically do what Grubby has done (different components)...
- Focal FLAX .5" in the front
- Focal PC in rear
- JL Audio Stealthbox Subwoofer
- Mosconi DSP & mini controller
- JL Audio 5-ch Amp
- bunch of sound deadening "SoundSkins"
All installed and supplied - with tax - for $6,249.55

So - I would say Grubby did a FANTASTIC JOB!!! - heck I would pay him to do mine

 

[dragon_ram]

View attachment 148061 View attachment 148062
1). The factory door speakers do not have tweeters. I put ScanSpeak 6 1/2” in the front doors. These are mid-bass. The rear doors are Dayton, the tweeters in the headliner are where the factory speakers were at. I used a passive crossover here.
2). The wood covers the crossovers and this is where I mounted the amps and DSR-1. This is on the drivers side. I installed the Pioneer Sub in the factory enclosure.
3). The center speaker is non-functional now.
4). Actually removing the interior panels is pretty simple

Can you tell me - am I able to pop off the speaker surrounds in the door panels? I want to paint them (mind are black mesh with chrome trim) and was pulling on them but the seemed to be fixed pretty good (at least from the outside).