Alpine system upgraded with JBL and pioneer

[FXCLM5]

Ive had my 8" pioneer for like 2 months now,

I have also installed 3 jbl clubs in the dash and 2 jbl club 6x9 in the back.

The rear 6x9 are overpowering the 8" woofer, i can barely hear it, and only on certain songs.

Really dissapointed that the sound output from the stock 8.4 is all over the place, same songs on bluetooth/mp3/xm/fm all sound different, its annoying as hell - wish I would have just gone with a aftermarket unit now full 50+ rms to each speaker

 

[TomT]

Ive had my 8" pioneer for like 2 months now,

I have also installed 3 jbl clubs in the dash and 2 jbl club 6x9 in the back.

The rear 6x9 are overpowering the 8" woofer, i can barely hear it, and only on certain songs.

Really dissapointed that the sound output from the stock 8.4 is all over the place, same songs on bluetooth/mp3/xm/fm all sound different, its annoying as hell - wish I would have just gone with a aftermarket unit now full 50+ rms to each speaker

You’re not stuck though. Now that you have the speakers in place (I would add midbasses to the front doors as well since the stock ones are crap), you can add a six channel amp and a DSP for total control and nice power. I would suggest the Pac Audio AmpPRO first to give you clean RCA outputs (front, rear, sub) that can then feed a DSP.

Unless you’re willing to do some modifications to the stock sub enclosure that would allow a much better sub, you’ll probably have to completely replace that part of your system. If you get the PAC unit, you could try just putting an amp on what you currently have and see how it sounds.

 

[Witch]

Unless you’re willing to do some modifications to the stock sub enclosure that would allow a much better sub, you’ll probably have to completely replace that part of your system. If you get the PAC unit, you could try just putting an amp on what you currently have and see how it sounds.

If you want to keep your fold flat floor I got a 4.6063" deep sub to fit in the factory box.

it takes a little work but can be done

The results for me were really good, the factory enclosure is a little over 1.3 Cubic feet

I had a thread around here somewhere that has some pics on the procedure ? 2015 upgrade or something like that

Good luck

 

[GSchwizzy]

Hey Guys.

I have a question regarding the factory amp(s) found in the Gen 4 Rams nowadays. It seems as though, there are 12 to 14 different variations... according to rampartsinc.com.

So, a friend of mine brought his 'new/used' 2015 Outdoorsman over to show me this weekend and wanted to hear how my speaker upgrade sounded.. as he was interested in possibly doing the same. He heard mine, then listened to his and said "I think I have quite a bit more bass than you do", which was odd because I had done the Pioneer upgrade as well. So I got in his truck and sure as $hit... wow! Same song, but WAY more bass... which was deep, punchy but not 'boomy'. And he had he Bass on the EQ set to 0 or -2. WTF?!?

Doing some more investigating... I found that we have 2 different P/Ns for factory amps. He has P/N 68248793AB and I have the 68267099AA.

Does anyone know details on specs for these (2) amps? I don't know what else could be 'that' different in our 2 systems. He also has the Alpine setup... with 8.4" screen, same display and controls, etc. I'm puzzled.

Just thinking maybe the circuitry (i.e. components used) are different and/or the frequency response(s) are different. Something is different for sure. It wasn't just "ehhh, there's some more bass", it was like "damn, there's WAY more bass". I even checked the polarity on the sub, and tried swapping that around... didn't do anything.

If anyone has any more info on these amps, I'd love to know. I'm loving the improved sound with the JBLs in the doors and dash (and Pioneer sub), but am also quite disappointed by the severe lack of bass in this vehicle.

Thanks in advance.

 

[GSchwizzy]

These (2) amps have the same 2 wiring harnesses going to them... one would "think" they are interchangeable... no???

I'm dying to try swapping them, just to see what the sound of the system does (i.e. bass).

 

[GSchwizzy]

Well, I changed something and it made a BIG difference.

I hooked the Pioneer sub up in a 'true' parallel configuration (red tied to red, black tied to black) then only (1) of the plugs into the sub itself. There's WAYYYY more bass and it sounds much better. I don't know if this is how it's really supposed to be connected (the stock factory sub had a harness into both terminals so I figured this was the same), but I think the amp was "seeing" a 4-ohm load, so the power was cut drastically causing an under-whelming listening experience.

Going to try swapping the plugs to the speaker... just to confirm the same power is going to the sub. There may also be an amp issue here...

More to come.

 

[Cykotherapy]

If you want to keep your fold flat floor I got a 4.6063" deep sub to fit in the factory box.

it takes a little work but can be done

The results for me were really good, the factory enclosure is a little over 1.3 Cubic feet

I had a thread around here somewhere that has some pics on the procedure ? 2015 upgrade or something like that

Good luck

I don't know where you found that figure on the stock box, but that is part of the problem with the 8" Pioneer "upgrade" as it calls for a 0.5 cf box. Hmmm, what to do now?

 

[Cykotherapy]

Well, I changed something and it made a BIG difference.

I hooked the Pioneer sub up in a 'true' parallel configuration (red tied to red, black tied to black) then only (1) of the plugs into the sub itself. There's WAYYYY more bass and it sounds much better. I don't know if this is how it's really supposed to be connected (the stock factory sub had a harness into both terminals so I figured this was the same), but I think the amp was "seeing" a 4-ohm load, so the power was cut drastically causing an under-whelming listening experience.

Going to try swapping the plugs to the speaker... just to confirm the same power is going to the sub. There may also be an amp issue here...

More to come.

Also interesting.....might try this unless someone convinces me its a bad idea. I'm not wanting to risk frying the amp.

 

[blackbetty14]

Also interesting.....might try this unless someone convinces me its a bad idea. I'm not wanting to risk frying the amp.

Its a bad idea lol. The reason its louder is he cut the resistance in half so the Amp is doubling its output per say. its going to fry his amp more than likely. Dual 2 ohm sub (set the way he has it) makes it a 1 ohm load, so hes getting more juice to the sub, but the amp is working harder... might be outside the spec range of the amp (most will have a comfort range) so it could blow trmw or if could blow in a month who knows.

 

[Cykotherapy]

Its a bad idea lol. The reason its louder is he cut the resistance in half so the Amp is doubling its output per say. its going to fry his amp more than likely. Dual 2 ohm sub (set the way he has it) makes it a 1 ohm load, so hes getting more juice to the sub, but the amp is working harder... might be outside the spec range of the amp (most will have a comfort range) so it could blow trmw or if could blow in a month who knows.

Thanks! It did sound too good to be true.

 

[FXCLM5]

Well, I changed something and it made a BIG difference.

I hooked the Pioneer sub up in a 'true' parallel configuration (red tied to red, black tied to black) then only (1) of the plugs into the sub itself. There's WAYYYY more bass and it sounds much better. I don't know if this is how it's really supposed to be connected (the stock factory sub had a harness into both terminals so I figured this was the same), but I think the amp was "seeing" a 4-ohm load, so the power was cut drastically causing an under-whelming listening experience.

Going to try swapping the plugs to the speaker... just to confirm the same power is going to the sub. There may also be an amp issue here...

More to come.

I wonder how long the sub will last? Sure beats powering a external amp to it, ill blow it up if it sounds good for like 2-3 years lol

I have also tried stuffing the oem sub box to the max, only stuffing it filling in longer seat portion that doesnt house the actual sub, and also just super loose. For me the more loose crap - made the sub sound louder. And since this amp is so pooopooo thats all Im shooting for, is more juice to power that sub right now.

 

[TomT]

It's not that the sub will blow, if it really is wired to a 1 ohm load then the amp could possibly fry itself. Assuming that the amp can't handle a load that low, most can't.

 

[GSchwizzy]

Well, I 'should have' pre-cursored that update with saying that we measured 4 ohms at each one of the harnesses (not sure why or how that could be)... which lead to wiring it the way I did, to get a 2 ohm load. I understood the risk I was taking doing what I did, but with what we measured first off... it didn't seem like an issue.

Unfortunately, there's something else going on... because the overall 'sound' of the system went back to 'normal' (i.e. basically no bass) on the way home yesterday.

I'm going to set everything back to stock configuration and let the dealer figure it out, as my truck is still under factory warranty. Plus, I noticed I have outdated system software... comparing it to a friends 2015, so they can start by updating that. Speaking of which, anyone know what the latest SW version is currently? I have 17.11.07. I'm going to have them investigate the P/N of the amp, and see if there are any known issues with that specific P/N.

More to come.

 

[Cykotherapy]

I am considering shooting expanding foam in the long portion of the stock box to reduce it's overall volume to get closer to what the 8" Pioneer recommends (0.5cf). Anyone think that's a terrible idea? One thing stopping me at this point is the notion of putting the stock sub back in the stock box and figuring out another box for the Pioneer. I might like to leave that option on the table. Perhaps the stock sub would also benefit from a smaller box area though (?)

 

[TXCOMT]

Speaking of which, anyone know what the latest SW version is currently? I have 17.11.07. I'm going to have them investigate the P/N of the amp, and see if there are any known issues with that specific P/N.

More to come.

According to the Uconnect site, the latest seems to be 17.43.01 (released 3/23/18).

TXCOMT

 

[blackbetty14]

I am considering shooting expanding foam in the long portion of the stock box to reduce it's overall volume to get closer to what the 8" Pioneer recommends (0.5cf). Anyone think that's a terrible idea? One thing stopping me at this point is the notion of putting the stock sub back in the stock box and figuring out another box for the Pioneer. I might like to leave that option on the table. Perhaps the stock sub would also benefit from a smaller box area though (?)

I wouldn't do it. The space of the stock box I'm sure was to much for the stock sub as well... expanding foam is non reversible. I would add a tuned port to the OE enclosure before filling it up. Ported airspace is always more than sealed. It would also add more "low" but you loose the crisp punch of a sealed enclosure. .15-.5cuft is what Pioneer recommends but it doesn't state if its for sealed or ported, prob .15 for sealed and .5 for ported. But maybe thats just for sealed as .15 is like nothing.

 

[GSchwizzy]

Thanks TX. The truck goes in next week, I'll advise updating the SW... in case they don't have knowledge of it.

P.S. Just had it in last week for a new window switch (drivers side was 'sticky')... I wish I had realize there was a bass issue, but a friend of mine just brought his truck over the past weekend, so I didn't know til then. Will update afterwards.

 

[GSchwizzy]

I wouldn't do it. The space of the stock box I'm sure was to much for the stock sub as well... expanding foam is non reversible. I would add a tuned port to the OE enclosure before filling it up. Ported airspace is always more than sealed. It would also add more "low" but you loose the crisp punch of a sealed enclosure. .15-.5cuft is what Pioneer recommends but it doesn't state if its for sealed or ported, prob .15 for sealed and .5 for ported. But maybe thats just for sealed as .15 is like nothing.

How about some packing foam (not sure of the actual name)... but I may try that in the narrowing part of the OE enclosure, once I get this amp/low sub power issue resolved. Atleast with that you can remove it if needed. I may also try some polyfill as others on here (and other forums) have done.

 

[autokraftgt]

just use a block of wood to take up airspace...easy

 

[blackbetty14]

Just in case anyone wants to know what GSchwizzy did to increase the power to the sub (not good for the amp) by making the dual 2ohm pioneer sub to 1ohm here's a pic. I don't recommend it unless the alpine amp can handle the 1ohm load, but if it could this would be a simple way to double power to the sub.