Has anyone verified who makes the "Alpine" speakers?

FL-RAM · Aug 16, 2022

RamDiver said:
Having worked in television & IT for several decades, I'm pretty picky about most things relating to audio & video in my life especially if they're not free.

Also, there weren't too many options in January 2022 when I suddenly decided I wanted a new Ram Truck. The discounts on the '21 trucks in January '22 helped ease the expense anxiety.

I did have the Alpine option on my search criteria, however; there were many other more important options on my list that produced this truck.

Upgrading the sound will definitely be long after many other options including leather seats, if ever. That was my point in posting. I don't believe it sounds so bad and I'm surprised at the number of users that sound very dissatisfied.

.

You can swap out the four 6X9s and the dash speakers for less than $250 total and maybe an hour of work. That would make a huge improvement.

RamDiver · Aug 16, 2022

FL-RAM said:
You can swap out the four 6X9s and the dash speakers for less than $250 total and maybe an hour of work. That would make a huge improvement.

Yes, I've looked at these options after reading of so many users who were thrilled after the upgrade. If I were in living in the US, this price might be applicable, however; up here I'd guess it's closer to $400+.

Before our borders got jammed up by the political science team, I used to pick up regularly from my US postal box in Ogdensburg, NY. and bought lots of automotive & scuba gear from US dealers.
I haven't been there since late 2019 and if our PM continues to have his way, I'll never get back there again.

Thanks for the thought though.

.

FL-RAM · Aug 17, 2022

RamDiver said:
Yes, I've looked at these options after reading of so many users who were thrilled after the upgrade. If I were in living in the US, this price might be applicable, however; up here I'd guess it's closer to $400+.

Before our borders got jammed up by the political science team, I used to pick up regularly from my US postal box in Ogdensburg, NY. and bought lots of automotive & scuba gear from US dealers.
I haven't been there since late 2019 and if our PM continues to have his way, I'll never get back there again.

Thanks for the thought though.

.

Shoot, didn't see you were in Canada. Man, that stinks. I went to college in Washington St not far from the Canadian border. We used to go up to BC and Alberta all the time. Beautiful place and the nicest people on Earth. That sucks about the political situation though.

Docwagon1776 · Aug 17, 2022

FL-RAM said:
Look to be just a generic MOPAR speaker that they put in a whole bunch of vehicles.

Anyone know who they contract for any of their speakers? Same place for all of them?

Scottly · Aug 17, 2022

"Harmon -Cardon", "Alpine", "Bose"....."Designd by...", "Influenced by...", 'Endorsed by...", or just "XX" branded....All cutsie slogans for saying, "We paid them to use their name on our piece of shizit"....Kinda like that 10sp junkbox transmission that says "Allison" that GM uses...It AIN'T NO ALLISON. The fact that we have people debating on this forum who made this junk tells me that these types of marketing campaigns work.

runamuck · Aug 17, 2022

whatever they are, they sound pretty good to me and I am a serious audio nut. after all it is a truck and besides my wife goes with me most of the time and she wants to talk and so I dont get to listen to tunes much anyway. everyone that rides in my truck usually comments about how quiet it rides and how good the "radio" sounds. just take a listen while driving a chevy or gmc 1500 .

FL-RAM · Aug 17, 2022

Scottly said:
"Harmon -Cardon", "Alpine", "Bose"....."Designd by...", "Influenced by...", 'Endorsed by...", or just "XX" branded....All cutsie slogans for saying, "We paid them to use their name on our piece of shizit"....Kinda like that 10sp junkbox transmission that says "Allison" that GM uses...It AIN'T NO ALLISON. The fact that we have people debating on this forum who made this junk tells me that these types of marketing campaigns work.

That is true. I believe the "Alpine" upgrade is bait and switch. They even have an Alpine branded grille on the dash to make you believe there's Alpine speakers in there. And there is absolutely nothing official out there about the system. Nothing. I only got the Alpine because it happened to already be on the truck I picked out at the dealership. If I was ordering from scratch, I'd just get the base 6-speaker system and upgrade it on my own. But in reality, the Alpine 9-speaker system is significantly better than the base system. But in my opinion Ram should be more transparent on what's actually in the package. They are upgraded speakers over the base system, they just aren't Alpine. They could have advertised it as "Alpine designed stereo system with upgraded speakers and a subwoofer" and people probably would have been OK. I just feel like I was tricked.

FL-RAM · Aug 17, 2022

runamuck said:
whatever they are, they sound pretty good to me and I am a serious audio nut. after all it is a truck and besides my wife goes with me most of the time and she wants to talk and so I dont get to listen to tunes much anyway. everyone that rides in my truck usually comments about how quiet it rides and how good the "radio" sounds. I have audiophile level stuff at home if I want listen to the good stuff.

My wife has a loaded Jeep Grand Cherokee with a pretty decent stereo. But she is no audiophile. She just wants music. I once adjusted her EQ and balance to make it sound a lot better (she had it set stock flat). She got in and said "what did you do to my stereo? Put it back to the way it was."

Scottly · Aug 17, 2022

FL-RAM said:
I believe the "Alpine" upgrade is bait and switch.... I just feel like I was tricked.

When Walmart advertises a TV for $99 and you get there and there was never one in stock, but a salesman tries to sell you a more expensive one, THAT is bait (the $99 TV) and switch (upselling you when you get there)...And you weren't tricked anymore than you were tricked by having a truck branded as a RAM that is actually made up of parts made mostly by someone else(Dana rear axle, the windsheild made by Sekurit, "xx" brand tires, etc). Don't believe me...Next time you visit China, go visit the Alpine factory. Hint: You won't find it because it's not there...Neither is the Pioneer factory...Or many others. The stuff is made there, by contractors, and branded by the company selling it. It's a marketing campaign, and it works...You bought it...So do a lot of others.

runamuck · Aug 17, 2022

FL-RAM said:
My wife has a loaded Jeep Grand Cherokee with a pretty decent stereo. But she is no audiophile. She just wants music. I once adjusted her EQ and balance to make it sound a lot better (she had it set stock flat). She got in and said "what did you do to my stereo? Put it back to the way it was."

yea my wife has an infiniti with a really good sound system but she listens to am talk radio so it's just wasted.

FL-RAM · Aug 17, 2022

Scottly said:
When Walmart advertises a TV for $99 and you get there and there was never one in stock, but a salesman tries to sell you a more expensive one, THAT is bait (the $99 TV) and switch (upselling you when you get there)...And you weren't tricked anymore than you were tricked by having a truck branded as a RAM that is actually made up of parts made mostly by someone else(Dana rear axle, the windsheild made by Sekurit, "xx" brand tires, etc). Don't believe me...Next time you visit China, go visit the Alpine factory. Hint: You won't find it because it's not there...Neither is the Pioneer factory...Or many others. The stuff is made there, by contractors, and branded by the company selling it. It's a marketing campaign, and it works...You bought it...So do a lot of others.

Sort of. Yes, all that stuff is made in China...but there is a HUGE difference between a factory in China making parts for Alpine/Infinity/Ram/LG..., and generic parts. There are plenty of things that come from China that are extremely high quality. They make parts to OEM specifications. That's why the Infinity speakers made in China are way better than the generic MOPAR speakers. MOPAR contracted with a factory in China to make generic speakers for the Alpine system. I'm sure the exact same factory also has contracts with Alpine/Infinity/Kenwood/Kicker... to make better quality speakers, but Ram chose to go with the lesser quality speakers, no doubt to save money.

Ram advertises an "Alpine" stereo upgrade...but it's only Alpine in name and there is no way to discover that without taking the system apart. That's bait and switch. They sell you on one thing and give you another, and it's impossible to figure it out till it's too late.

Scottly · Aug 17, 2022

FL-RAM said:
Ram advertises an "Alpine" stereo upgrade...but it's only Alpine in name and there is no way to discover that without taking the system apart. That's bait and switch. They sell you on one thing and give you another, and it's impossible to figure it out till it's too late.

No, it's not "bait and switch"...Its dumb ******* e r consumer buying name-branded crap without doing their homework. HP, Acer, Lenovo...they all sell computers and none of them have house-made components, and there is no way of knowing that without taking them apart. Is that bait and switch, too? File a bait and switch complaint with the local DA...watch them laugh you out of the office. Geez...you bought it..own it. A sucker is born every minute, and this is your minute.

Mister Luck · Aug 17, 2022

We all basically trust car salesmen with our lives, we should all name our first born after them…

Rlaf75 · Aug 17, 2022

"Good" is a subjective term. I had I believe the infinity system in my 11 Bighorn and that sounded "good" to me. My 21 BTS has the alpine and that sounds "good" to me. There's always been different grades of quality

FL-RAM · Aug 17, 2022

Scottly said:
No, it's not "bait and switch"...Its dumb ******* e r consumer buying name-branded crap without doing their homework. HP, Acer, Lenovo...they all sell computers and none of them have house-made components, and there is no way of knowing that without taking them apart. Is that bait and switch, too? File a bait and switch complaint with the local DA...watch them laugh you out of the office. Geez...you bought it..own it. A sucker is born every minute, and this is your minute.

No need to get upset. I'm just saying I bought a truck with a $1000 upgrade that was advertised as having an Alpine stereo system. It does not. It has generic stereo components that were not made by or for Alpine. If you bought an expensive HP computer that advertised that it has an Intel processor and some high end brand name graphics card but it turns out it does not, but has some cheap generic stuff, that would be a problem. I'm sure Alpine was involved just enough to legally be able to put "Alpine" on the sticker...but it's not an Alpine stereo system.

cinja · Aug 18, 2022

RamDiver said:
I'm quite intrigued by the volume of dissatisfied owners of the Alpine OEM systems in various Ram trucks. My '21 Warlock sounds pretty good and better than the JBL in my Tundra Limited.

Also, many users mention the lack of bass performance & yet I've had to tweak mine in the settings to reduce the bass by a notch or two because I don't like it booming.

I'm often surprised while listening to one of my old favourites and being able to hear a background instrument or vocal that I don't recall hearing before.

So, the question is; are the speakers included with my Alpine fitted '21 Ram 1500 Classic Warlock any better or different than the speakers that have been annoying all these users?

Am I experiencing some early stage of delirium where the truck speakers just sound better to me?

I wish I could transfer this perception to my home surround system which often annoys me with its poor audio performance while listening to certain television series DVDs.

.

JBL synethesis system is the same deal as the alpine system in the RAMs.. low quality made to a price point, and not the brands normal line. The JBL speakers are cheap paper cones as well..at least they were in my 4runner limited

Narg · Aug 18, 2022

My Longhorn has the HarmonKardon setup. Took my ears a while to get used to the tonal differences from the Bose based system I had before, but I can say the HK speakers pump! Much more volume, but I miss the details the Bose would produce on all levels of music. I mess with the controls a lot more now than I ever did. Still happy with the HKs.

Phillyrube · Aug 18, 2022

My 2008 had the Alpine system. Those amps were known to go bad, plus the dash speakers got baked in the Florida sun. I got the truck in 2021 and it was hard to listen to the speakers, lots of clipping. Replaced all the speakers with Rockford Fosgates and put a Kicker amp behind the rear seat. Much better now.

Bryan 67 · Aug 18, 2022

Narg said:
My Longhorn has the HarmonKardon setup. Took my ears a while to get used to the tonal differences from the Bose based system I had before, but I can say the HK speakers pump! Much more volume, but I miss the details the Bose would produce on all levels of music. I mess with the controls a lot more now than I ever did. Still happy with the HKs.

My 2020 1500 Limited also has the Harmon Kardon setup. My wife's 2021 GMC Denali has a Bose package. The differences are subtle but I wouldn't rank one above the other. If I had a window sticker saying I was getting an Alpine and did not see an Alpine, I would be raising a very loud complaint as that practice is not legal.

BlooDSMeaR · Aug 18, 2022

cinja said:
JBL synethesis system is the same deal as the alpine system in the RAMs.. low quality made to a price point, and not the brands normal line. The JBL speakers are cheap paper cones as well..at least they were in my 4runner limited

Auto manufacturers use the cheap paper cone speakers for sound degradation, As a vehicle gets on with age, the paper speakers make less and less clean sound. So when you jump into a new vehicle, crank that stereo up! It sounds REALLY GOOD! It is a sales tactic that was taught at a dealership I worked at. Get the customer to turn up the stereo!!! And the cheap paper speakers were also explained.

Has anyone verified who makes the "Alpine" speakers?

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