2024 Alpine System - Beware

[gwilburn]

So before ordering my Ram Limited, I sat in several 2023 Limited models with the Alpine 9-speaker system. I wanted to compare it to my 2014 Alpine (Laramie) AND determine if I wanted to add the $5k Limited Level 1 equipment (includes the Harmon Kardon system).
I was very pleased with the Alpine in the 2023 so I opted to not order the extra package.

Well, my order from June 2023 turned out to be a 2024 instead. Not only did Ram drop the power running boards (some time in 2023), but they must have changed the Alpine system. The sound is horrible in my truck... Sounds like i'm listening through a culvert pipe. I hear no sound coming from rear of truck unless my ear is 6" from the rear speakers. Surround is on... I have the equalizer set. I'm comparing Sirius channels.

Went back to the dealer and he agrees. We then compared my truck to a 2023 Big Horn and another 2024 Limited on his lot. Both with Alpine systems. The 2023 sounds great. The 2024 sounds like my truck (crap).

He's looking into what might have changed... but I have no idea what if any recourse I have. I cannot believe they'd put a sound system like this in a $75,000 vehicle.

Just thought others should know given the number of 2023's still available. You can't judge a 2024 by sitting in one of the 2023's.

 

[skates15]

I have a 23 with the alpine 9 speaker and the last couple months have gone down the rabbit hole of replacing all the speakers, including dash and rear headliners twice. While not terrible, the system was giving me headaches. Its heavy on mid range and no definition.

The only real option if you want decent sound is to replace the amp and get a DSP. I'm starting with speakers and late next year will replace the amp and add a DSP.

There are many threads on this site with loads of help and diymobileaudio have some ram owners who have upgraded.

 

[RamCares]

So before ordering my Ram Limited, I sat in several 2023 Limited models with the Alpine 9-speaker system. I wanted to compare it to my 2014 Alpine (Laramie) AND determine if I wanted to add the $5k Limited Level 1 equipment (includes the Harmon Kardon system).
I was very pleased with the Alpine in the 2023 so I opted to not order the extra package.

Well, my order from June 2023 turned out to be a 2024 instead. Not only did Ram drop the power running boards (some time in 2023), but they must have changed the Alpine system. The sound is horrible in my truck... Sounds like i'm listening through a culvert pipe. I hear no sound coming from rear of truck unless my ear is 6" from the rear speakers. Surround is on... I have the equalizer set. I'm comparing Sirius channels.

Went back to the dealer and he agrees. We then compared my truck to a 2023 Big Horn and another 2024 Limited on his lot. Both with Alpine systems. The 2023 sounds great. The 2024 sounds like my truck (crap).

He's looking into what might have changed... but I have no idea what if any recourse I have. I cannot believe they'd put a sound system like this in a $75,000 vehicle.

Just thought others should know given the number of 2023's still available. You can't judge a 2024 by sitting in one of the 2023's.

Hello,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. When you get the chance, can you please send us a private message so we can learn more information and look into this matter further for you?

Dakota
Ram Cares

 

[canadiankodiak700]

So before ordering my Ram Limited, I sat in several 2023 Limited models with the Alpine 9-speaker system. I wanted to compare it to my 2014 Alpine (Laramie) AND determine if I wanted to add the $5k Limited Level 1 equipment (includes the Harmon Kardon system).
I was very pleased with the Alpine in the 2023 so I opted to not order the extra package.

Well, my order from June 2023 turned out to be a 2024 instead. Not only did Ram drop the power running boards (some time in 2023), but they must have changed the Alpine system. The sound is horrible in my truck... Sounds like i'm listening through a culvert pipe. I hear no sound coming from rear of truck unless my ear is 6" from the rear speakers. Surround is on... I have the equalizer set. I'm comparing Sirius channels.

Went back to the dealer and he agrees. We then compared my truck to a 2023 Big Horn and another 2024 Limited on his lot. Both with Alpine systems. The 2023 sounds great. The 2024 sounds like my truck (crap).

He's looking into what might have changed... but I have no idea what if any recourse I have. I cannot believe they'd put a sound system like this in a $75,000 vehicle.

Just thought others should know given the number of 2023's still available. You can't judge a 2024 by sitting in one of the 2023's.

Sounds to me like Rams finally getting it right. Those premium systems are all garbage. You shouldn't have a ton of sound coming from the rear. When you go to a concert. There's no speakers at the back. You sound stages at the front. That's where the majority of your sandwich should come from. Very little fill coming from the back. Proper audio system focuses on the front, not the rear. That's why these nine speaker systems are pointless. Add on top of that that the speakers themselves nor the processor or even made by the audio company. They're only branded with their names.

 

[DeckArtist]

Even on my HK system, there's not much sound coming from the back even when the balance/fade is weighted that way. Sound quality is excellent though I don't feel it's 'twice the amount of speakers' better than the Alpine I had in my 2016. So that tells me the problem isn't the speakers at all, but the head unit/amplifiers driving them.

 

[gwilburn]

Believe me. It’s not right. My portable speaker sounds better than this truck. And the other 2024 Limited on the lot. Going into service dept today. Im no audiophile, but this system is embarrassing.
If Ram can’t fix this I’d rather have my 2014 back. It’s that bad.

 

[gwilburn]

More information... Service department looked at my truck. Since it was inside, the tech used his phone and SiriusXM account to play music. They tried to tell me it was my equalizer settings - then I got into the truck and listened. It sounds great.
We pulled outside and compared the same XM station (and same song) via his phone and the native XM receiver in the truck. NIGHT AND DAY difference. The native XM sounds like an FM radio playing - all the sound is front-loaded. Listening through the phone was "immersive" sound.

Something is wrong with the XM sound/signal on both 2024s on his lot. They don't know if it's programming on the unit or what. He suggested I wait for an update before tearing out the headliner and replacing the XM antenna.

Since I'm on the 3-month trial, I dropped my previous XM contract so I couldn't play stuff through my phone. I could only play music saved on my phone (much of which was transferred from actual CD's I own).

Not sure what to ask next...

OH, if you sent me a message on here - I can't get them. No idea why.

 

[rampaage]

Sounds to me like Rams finally getting it right. Those premium systems are all garbage. You shouldn't have a ton of sound coming from the rear. When you go to a concert. There's no speakers at the back. You sound stages at the front. That's where the majority of your sandwich should come from. Very little fill coming from the back. Proper audio system focuses on the front, not the rear. That's why these nine speaker systems are pointless. Add on top of that that the speakers themselves nor the processor or even made by the audio company. They're only branded with their names.

You might want to try some higher quality concerts if you only hear sound from the stage. That is what you hear from the opening act not the headliner. If you go to a good concert that has a good sound person, u hear balanced sound throughout the venue. Venues will differ but you may want to go to a concert somewhere other than a bar.... with that out of the way, There definitely seems to be an something up with the Sirius receiver. The sound distribution tends to be heavily dash loaded, but I have noticed that some channels sound a little more balanced. One thing is for sure, when you switch to the other sources, the balance dash to door, front to rear, it is a night and day difference. It sounds like you would expect a premium sound system to sound. You can feel and hear the lows out of the doors and your not getting blown out by the dash. Playing the same satellite channel using my phone as the source v. the Sirius receiver is night & day difference. Ram needs to do some research within and figure this out. My 2018 without the Alpine sounded good no matter which source I was using. One more major gripe about this premium system on a premium "USA" vehicle, made in Mexico, and the sound system is made in China, where Alpine equipment is all made, as well as some other items I have noticed. Very disappointing.

 

[bobmugge]

Well just a couple of thoughts here. I have had similar experiences with my iPhone and using the blue tooth vs using apple car play. All music on the BT setting is very tinny and sounds like it's coming from a cheap radio. Same music, same phone plug it in and play on Airplay and it's lights out difference. Equalizer settings seem totally different etc. Seems like the interface between the XM and the equalizer is not communicating properly which makes me think it's a software glitch of some sort that should be easily fixable as soon as you get the right guru to figure out the disconnect. I'd bet it gets fixed sooner rather than later and at no cost and nothing more than a firmware update.... I'd love to know how it turns out.

 

[bobmugge]

I said airplay but I meant apple car play....

 

[canadiankodiak700]

You might want to try some higher quality concerts if you only hear sound from the stage. That is what you hear from the opening act not the headliner. If you go to a good concert that has a good sound person, u hear balanced sound throughout the venue. Venues will differ but you may want to go to a concert somewhere other than a bar.... with that out of the way, There definitely seems to be an something up with the Sirius receiver. The sound distribution tends to be heavily dash loaded, but I have noticed that some channels sound a little more balanced. One thing is for sure, when you switch to the other sources, the balance dash to door, front to rear, it is a night and day difference. It sounds like you would expect a premium sound system to sound. You can feel and hear the lows out of the doors and your not getting blown out by the dash. Playing the same satellite channel using my phone as the source v. the Sirius receiver is night & day difference. Ram needs to do some research within and figure this out. My 2018 without the Alpine sounded good no matter which source I was using. One more major gripe about this premium system on a premium "USA" vehicle, made in Mexico, and the sound system is made in China, where Alpine equipment is all made, as well as some other items I have noticed. Very disappointing.

No need to get lippy there kid. I've been to many concerts, not just in a bar. I've actually never been to a concert in a bar. Not really sure what kind of buyers you go to. Been to a couple of pubs with live music. But how about try going to say Metallica or rolling Stones or get into the country with Garth Brooks or any of those concerts? You not going to get much bigger guess where the sound stage is at the front. They don't run speakers to the rear. You may hear sound coming from the rear but that would be deflection. They don't mount speakers back there occasionally small satellites if it's an extremely large area . Those satellites are strictly for vocal enhancement, not from music. I highly suggest you educate yourself there kid. Two of my best friends are both DJs and both will tell you the exact same thing. Your sound comes from the front. So next time I suggest before running your lips on a topic you don't understand, go educate yourself kid. Now with that out of the way we can carry on.
You're trying to get premium sound out of serious satellite radio which is not going to happen as it's not high quality audio. It's also a mono track, split between your channels. So if you look at the actual output, the frequencies are identical left to right front to rear. As it's the same track just split up. That's unfortunately just the way satellite radio works in our vehicles. Comparing it coming from your phone versus from the truck itself is going to be totally different also because you're using two different audio processors.

Now to correct you on another topic, even though I severely dislike most alpine products, the majority of their stuff is not made in China. Regardless of that, nothing in your truck is actually Alpine, not the speakers, not the head unit. Unit the only thing is a licensing rights to their name. The speakers themselves are Mopar speakers stamped with an alpine logo they are not made by Alpine. Even the signal processing in the head unit going to the amp has nothing to do with Alpine other than their name licensed to it. It's all about the money. If it was actual Alpine equipment it would sound better than is in there now.

 

[MD Sledhead]

@canadiankodiak700 I get what you're saying... but why does a 2023 "Alpine" system in a Big Horn sound infinitely better than a 2024 Alpine in a Limited? The 2016 Jeep GC sounds great too.

I listened to Sirius XM in my 2014 (Laramie Alpine) for 10 years - it sounded fantastic. Now it sounds like crap.

And where are you in "Northern Ontario"? As a "Sled Head" I've likely been there.

 

[canadiankodiak700]

@canadiankodiak700 I get what you're saying... but why does a 2023 "Alpine" system in a Big Horn sound infinitely better than a 2024 Alpine in a Limited? The 2016 Jeep GC sounds great too.

I listened to Sirius XM in my 2014 (Laramie Alpine) for 10 years - it sounded fantastic. Now it sounds like crap.

And where are you in "Northern Ontario"? As a "Sled Head" I've likely been there.

Two different trim levels are going to give you different features than the truck which are all going to affect sound indirectly. Literally difference in upholstery, sometimes even an accessory that's not available in other trim level, such as an overhead console or a sunroof can severely affect the sound quality by means of either vibration or just the way it reflects the sound waves. Also, as I said, it's not actual alpine equipment so who knows what RAM is using for their actual components. Components they could have switched manufacturer's and went with someone cheaper because of rising costs. It can all affect sound quality.
I'm just north of Sudbury, if you traveled the provincial trail system through here then you've been within three kilometers of my house

 

[MD Sledhead]

Two different trim levels are going to give you different features than the truck which are all going to affect sound indirectly. Literally difference in upholstery, sometimes even an accessory that's not available in other trim level, such as an overhead console or a sunroof can severely affect the sound quality by means of either vibration or just the way it reflects the sound waves. Also, as I said, it's not actual alpine equipment so who knows what RAM is using for their actual components. Components they could have switched manufacturer's and went with someone cheaper because of rising costs. It can all affect sound quality.
I'm just north of Sudbury, if you traveled the provincial trail system through here then you've been within three kilometers of my house

I'd be more inclined to believe the component change. The difference in audio is to great to be attributed to interior differences.
I have a Ram Cares case - talked to them today. She is "confident they can resolve the issue".

I have never actually ridden over to Sudbury. Usually North Bay area... been around Algonquin Park and up through Cochrane, Timmins and Kapuskasing. Been a 5+ years since I've been up there. The trail permit costs have skyrocketed.

 

[Archangel1onu]

2024 Bighorn with Alpine off the lot less than a week and I already have had Amp replacement and front door speakers replaced. Less than 3 days after initial repair notice no sound out of rear headliner speakers. Back to dealership Friday in Hopes to get some answers why.

 

[woojyee]

I just replaced the Alpine with a Custom JL Audio SQ build.... Problem solved

 

[platoon2063]

I just replaced the Alpine with a Custom JL Audio SQ build.... Problem solved

It's what I did as well. However, I would be quite pissed if I was in the situation of the guy in the post before yours.

 

[Archangel1onu]

They ended up replacing the rear headliner speakers,seems ok. Now but now I am Leary. Tech said package was ok now but should think of upgrading to newer Harmon speakers. As is still Sounds better than the Bose in New Chevys.

 

[woojyee]

I

It's what I did as well. However, I would be quite pissed if I was in the situation of the guy in the post before yours.

I would be too. I go into it knowing I will be replacing the factory system so I don't even want the premium factory gear but, this Built To Serve came with the Alpine. My friend's dad just wrecked his 2023 and said I can have the 12" screen out of it. So I am gonna look into getting that working.