Alpine system upgrade consensus?

[Gerard22295]

I have a new 2020 Ram 1500 Big horn, the sound system for sure is inferior. I think you will find if you replace all the speakers with a significant upgrade from Crutchfield or from somewhere else you will be very pleased. The speakers in the Ram even when you purchase the Alpine Upgrade remain the same (are not an upgraded). Speaker replacement is easy in the new trucks and Crutchfield has many speaker options to choose from with all necessary hardware. The difference in sound quality with just the upgraded speakers is remarkable.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I have a new 2020 Ram 1500 Big horn, the sound system for sure is inferior. I think you will find if you replace all the speakers with a significant upgrade from Crutchfield or from somewhere else you will be very pleased. The speakers in the Ram even when you purchase the Alpine Upgrade remain the same (are not an upgraded). Speaker replacement is easy in the new trucks and Crutchfield has many speaker options to choose from with all necessary hardware. The difference in sound quality with just the upgraded speakers is remarkable.

Any recommended speakers? Like I said, in my day 30 years ago Polk was the cream of the crop for highest value and made in USA only. WIth 30 years of outsourcing, I wouldn't have a clue where to start today.

 

[KnurledNut]

Cool thx and all you did was replace them plugged into the original system. Did you do any dynomat or whatever to sound deaden?

Of what you spent to upgrade do you think it was worth it?

Yes, the upgrade was worth it. There's a definitive difference.

No dynamat, but I did pack the sub enclosure with a bunch of old t-shirts.

 

[Ajax5]

I have a new 2020 Ram 1500 Big horn, the sound system for sure is inferior. I think you will find if you replace all the speakers with a significant upgrade from Crutchfield or from somewhere else you will be very pleased. The speakers in the Ram even when you purchase the Alpine Upgrade remain the same (are not an upgraded). Speaker replacement is easy in the new trucks and Crutchfield has many speaker options to choose from with all necessary hardware. The difference in sound quality with just the upgraded speakers is remarkable.

thats what I did, I just replaced the factory speakers with Pioneer-TS-A692F’s front and back and îeven tho the sound quality was improved, the big difference in sound for me was when Uconnect did an upgrade and the next day , everything sounded as you said, remarkable .
The Uconnect reset was a hidden perk

 

[rotwiler]

I replaced all speakers in my 13 Ram with alpine system except the front door speakers and very happy with the sound. JBL gx302 3.5s are same ohm as stock and sound much better. Rear doors also JBL, JBL and Infinity are only easy to find speakers that match the ohm's of the oem speakers. Sound deaden the doors, add some closed cell foam in areas that cause rattle and sound will be much better. I also added 2 12's and used a amp pro ch41 to get a clean signal at radio, was easy to install and sounds great.

 

[Elzie]

I kept the stock Alpine system in my Ram, but replaced the 8.4NAV with an Alpine head with navigation built in. My system sounds so much better now. Being a bass player, I like a lot of low end, which I get, but it is just so crisp and tight now.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

I literally just went out to crank my radio up in my truck because of the negative things being said about the factory Alpine system and I just don't know how much louder and clearer I could stand it and I'm an old school hippie from the 70's that loves it loud. I have no problem with making anything better I just hate to spend the money unnecessarily if I don't use it! Everybody is different, just wish I could be convinced before I spend money on speakers. "Good" speakers aren't cheap!

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

I literally just went out to crank my radio up in my truck because of the negative things being said about the factory Alpine system and I just don't know how much louder and clearer I could stand it and I'm an old school hippie from the 70's that loves it loud. I have no problem with making anything better I just hate to spend the money unnecessarily if I don't use it! Everybody is different, just wish I could be convinced before I spend money on speakers. "Good" speakers aren't cheap!

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

I literally just went out to crank my radio up in my truck because of the negative things being said about the factory Alpine system and I just don't know how much louder and clearer I could stand it and I'm an old school hippie from the 70's that loves it loud. I have no problem with making anything better I just hate to spend the money unnecessarily if I don't use it! Everybody is different, just wish I could be convinced before I spend money on speakers. "Good" speakers aren't cheap!

Sorry about the double post, don't know how to delete one.

 

[Perferd]

My new ram will be a daily driver to and from work and doing other random stuff cause it's a crew cab and I habe 3 kids. In the summer I use it a ton to do deliveries pulling a trailer almost every single weekend. That being said I'm in it a lot so I want as good as I can afford...

 

[Sinistre1]

It's amazing to me the wide range of responses with most favoring replacement. I know my ears ain't what they used to be and I doubt there's that much variance between t he actual head units and speakers in the trucks, so it HAS to be a difference in tastes... it's almost enough to make me tear out my speakers and replace them... even if only temporarily, to "see" what i'm not "hearing" lol. Some of the differences seem to be at odds with one another... like "the head unit is under powered" combined with "replacing speakers with higher rated ones". Won't do any harm unless there's a HUGE impedance mismatch but you'd likely hear that right away at high volumes and at the volumes most are likely using it shouldn't make a huge difference unless the replacements have a very different frequency response or sensitivity. Now MUCH more sensitive speakers would explain a lot in that even if they didn't test out different, most would experience them different since a small turn on the volume will result in a much greater output and all the goodies that come along with more power... within useful envelope of the speaker. Another thing that seems to be common is the report of the changes including VERY crisp highs and much "better" bass. Makes me think of the classic smiley face equalizer pattern that a lot of people favor.. and then it would make sense to me that many don't care for Alpine set up. Someone posted that his new speakers tightened up the bass response and I can see that as there IS a "soft spot" in the mid-lows 80's-150/160hz... the 6x9's are presumably running out of steam and the "sub" isn't really crossed over high enough to make up the difference and probably better for not trying but other than that.... dunno. I'd be hard pressed to argue that persons results since they are a bass player and musicians tend to be VERY good at hearing and understanding sound reproduction. If nothing else it is a very interesting thread. One man's trash and all that jazz.

 

[Cableman]

The factory dash speakers have no actual tweeters so replacing them added that extra high it was missing, when i replaced the rear doors i added too much highs to the rear and had to fade a couple notches forward.

I dont think the alpine is bad but when i go for a ride in my wifes acura rdx and listen to that system i hear how much the alpine is missing or not correctly staged. The rdx has highs in dash, mids at top of door and lows at bottom of door. Doesnt have anymore bass maybe even less then the ram but the overall staging and power blows mine away.

 

[Sinistre1]

this weekend im gonna pull out my usb test disc and meter.... very curious. perhaps ive just become accustomed to the sound signature.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I kept the stock Alpine system in my Ram, but replaced the 8.4NAV with an Alpine head with navigation built in. My system sounds so much better now. Being a bass player, I like a lot of low end, which I get, but it is just so crisp and tight now.

I considered if I should sell the factory 8.4 unit and go aftermarket to avoid the expensive interfaces and issues with speakers being EQ’d etc. but what about the factory volume and tune knobs below, backup camera, unconnected, etc. ... what did you replace the factory unit with and how does it impact these things?

 

[TomT]

I kept the OEM head unit, added a Pac Audio AmpPRO, then replaced everything else with MUCH better equipment. I’m a car audio geek though.

 

[GTyankee]

If you switch out radios & go for an aftermarket radio

Make sure you set your EVIC, steering wheel controls & anything else that is radio controlled, because once you change out radios, you lose most of those controls, unless the new unit comes with work arounds

 

[TomT]

There are solutions that retain all the same controls when using an aftermarket head unit.

 

[Elzie]

I considered if I should sell the factory 8.4 unit and go aftermarket to avoid the expensive interfaces and issues with speakers being EQ’d etc. but what about the factory volume and tune knobs below, backup camera, unconnected, etc. ... what did you replace the factory unit with and how does it impact these things?

I used the iDatalink Maestro RR. All of the factory settings/buttons work, except the microphone. Also, I have even more functions than the truck had stock. The Maestro RR let's you define which buttons do what and you can add extra features. For example, the steering wheel controls on the left (back side of the wheel) changes the station when pressed up or down, but if I hold the button longer it brings up different screens on the radio, such as climate control, etc.

 

[GRN69CHV]

I don't know why they even call this music

Great way to become deaf. Not even a question of will you get hearing loss, but only a matter of how long.