Subwoofers

[vweaver]

Damn bro... I was super happy for you and your setup, seems like you put a lot of time and effort in, and then I went to page 4 and saw this. Very sorry for that. Atleast you are alive to tell us... that's the main thing. Vehicles and equipment can be replaced, people cannot.

I do have one question, maybe I missed it...did you design and build the boxes or buy them? I'm still severely disappointed in the bass (or lack thereof) in my 2016, even with swapping the factory sub with the 8" Pioneer and will consider doing this. I'm just hung up on doing the install... seems too time consuming (not faulting you for saying it took ~8hrs). Time is a premium for me, having a 7-year old... that is on me as soon as I get home (which of course, I love). Maybe I could take a day off next spring when it warms up and knock it out.

Take care.

Thanks. Yes, I built then myself.

 

[vweaver]

Thats awesome both are ok with you removing accessories, and glad your ok.
So...do you have leather seats in that truck by chance? Lmao

No, cloth seats, but I purchased neo-supreme custom covers (less expensive neoprene). If I don't get another matching truck, there's another $400+ gone.

 

[blackbetty14]

I just banged mine out in about 6hrs. That’s including going to Home Depot to get the wood and glass/resin. I still need to run the amp wiring and hook into the stock sub for signal but the hard part is done. Plus it’s 20* out when I did this which didn’t help. My truck has the stock alpine system which I’ve upgraded all the speakers and sub. The stock sub box with 8” pioneer shallow hits pretty good. So I decided to add another and match an amp to it. My alpine MRV-250 comes Tuesday that I won via eBay bid for $66 shipped brand new with $30 bass knob... insane I know right! The marvel-250 puts out 250wrms at 2 ohm or 150rms at 4 ohm but the amps come tested and they always out it more. I figure I’ll get 150-175wrms at 4 ohm for this sub and I have wired the 2ohm DVC of this sub to 4 ohm. The sub is rated for 150wrms and 600w peak.... so it’s like this amp was made for it. Will be reusing a scosche LOC off the stock sub power wire for signal.

Either way 6 hrs and it’s in. No need to secure down as it fits like a glove and the fold flat floor stays and will keep it from moving around. I was shooting for .5cuft which is the recommendation for my sub. Sub has about 1” clearance from the underside of the fold flat floor. Hoping to get some more boom boom

 

[vweaver]

Well, after 6 weeks of waiting, I finally got State Farm to pay off my truck so I could get another one. I stayed with a '16, but went with a Sport trim this time (avatar is new truck). I love the painted bumpers instead of chrome. The new one also has a moonroof that the first didn't. Only thing missing is heated seats and steering wheel. (miss those already)

As many of you know the Sport comes with the Alpine system with the sub in back. I'll admit I'm surprised at the stock alpine subwoofer. The system sounds better than I expected, and the sub performs way past what I expected. So now I'm in a conundrum. Do I live with the stock, or do I take the amp and subs I salvaged from my other truck. It'll cost me around $70-100 for new power/ground wire, fuse block, and misc. It'll probably take me in the neighborhood of 8 hours to install. (see earlier posts in this thread to see the install)
So I'm just thinking aloud here, feel free to weigh in if you want. Do I spend the money and time for the extra bass, or do I sell my amp and subs and live with a decent system?

 

[TomT]

Add in the cost of a PAC AmpPRO to make your life 1,000 times easier with the Alpine system upgrades.

 

[GSchwizzy]

I just banged mine out in about 6hrs. That’s including going to Home Depot to get the wood and glass/resin. I still need to run the amp wiring and hook into the stock sub for signal but the hard part is done. Plus it’s 20* out when I did this which didn’t help. My truck has the stock alpine system which I’ve upgraded all the speakers and sub. The stock sub box with 8” pioneer shallow hits pretty good. So I decided to add another and match an amp to it. My alpine MRV-250 comes Tuesday that I won via eBay bid for $66 shipped brand new with $30 bass knob... insane I know right! The marvel-250 puts out 250wrms at 2 ohm or 150rms at 4 ohm but the amps come tested and they always out it more. I figure I’ll get 150-175wrms at 4 ohm for this sub and I have wired the 2ohm DVC of this sub to 4 ohm. The sub is rated for 150wrms and 600w peak.... so it’s like this amp was made for it. Will be reusing a scosche LOC off the stock sub power wire for signal.

Either way 6 hrs and it’s in. No need to secure down as it fits like a glove and the fold flat floor stays and will keep it from moving around. I was shooting for .5cuft which is the recommendation for my sub. Sub has about 1” clearance from the underside of the fold flat floor. Hoping to get some more boom boom

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Dayyymmmmm... that looks nice bro. Nice job!

 

[shadowhawk]

hey Schwizzy--- I'm in Racine also! Looking here for ideas on amps. I replaced the stock sub with the low pro Pioneer and I'm happy with the results. Better sound.

 

[vweaver]

Add in the cost of a PAC AmpPRO to make your life 1,000 times easier with the Alpine system upgrades.

That PAC AmpPRO is awful salty unless you're completely rewiring speakers. If you're just dealing with replacing the subwoofer, here is a plug I found that fits into the subwoofer plug after you remove the stock sub box. A little more palatable at $25

https://www.netaudiowf.com/product/dodge-ram-alpine-system/

 

[corneileous]

That PAC AmpPRO is awful salty unless you're completely rewiring speakers. If you're just dealing with replacing the subwoofer, here is a plug I found that fits into the subwoofer plug after you remove the stock sub box. A little more palatable at $25

https://www.netaudiowf.com/product/dodge-ram-alpine-system/

Hey, that’s cool I wish i woulda found that when I hooked up my box but, I just pulled the wiring harness out of the factory sub box and used that with two of them Metra connectors in the sockets that hooked directly to the factory sub.


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[TomT]

That PAC AmpPRO is awful salty unless you're completely rewiring speakers. If you're just dealing with replacing the subwoofer, here is a plug I found that fits into the subwoofer plug after you remove the stock sub box. A little more palatable at $25

https://www.netaudiowf.com/product/dodge-ram-alpine-system/

Haven’t seen that before, but Net Audio is legit (I use their enclosure and it rocks) so I definitely trust them. Do pay attention to the end of the description about how the factory Alpine amp will shut off any channels where it doesn’t like the load resistance. If you’re going directly into an amp then you may need to add a resistor before the new amp.

The AmpPRO avoids all that by grabbing signal before the Alpine amp. If you ever plan to do a full system upgrade then it may be worth it to just start out on the right track. For only subs, that adapter just may be the best option I’ve seen. I would suggest getting a bass level knob for whatever amp you use since the factory head unit does not have a separate sub volume and you’ll probably want some quick control while driving.

 

[vweaver]

Haven’t seen that before, but Net Audio is legit (I use their enclosure and it rocks) so I definitely trust them. Do pay attention to the end of the description about how the factory Alpine amp will shut off any channels where it doesn’t like the load resistance. If you’re going directly into an amp then you may need to add a resistor before the new amp.

The AmpPRO avoids all that by grabbing signal before the Alpine amp. If you ever plan to do a full system upgrade then it may be worth it to just start out on the right track. For only subs, that adapter just may be the best option I’ve seen. I would suggest getting a bass level knob for whatever amp you use since the factory head unit does not have a separate sub volume and you’ll probably want some quick control while driving.

Maybe I'll eventually upgrade the speakers, but I don't have a desire to spend $800 on a head unit, not including any other harnesses, dash kits, or adapters...! I have the bass level knob for my Alpine MRV-M500 amp... and it's essentially worthless. It is basically subs on or subs off with it. Doesn't seem to be much 'middle ground' in terms of variable resistance with it. If I want to turn down the bass, the EQ on the radio does just as good of a job. I doubt I'll install it this time around.

I did wonder about the signal when I first read about the 'finicky' Alpine stock radio, but thinking on that, having high-level inputs should allow you to use the stock sub wiring. If you needed/wanted to use low level inputs, yes- going pre-amp would be the way to go.

 

[TomT]

Maybe I'll eventually upgrade the speakers, but I don't have a desire to spend $800 on a head unit, not including any other harnesses, dash kits, or adapters...! I have the bass level knob for my Alpine MRV-M500 amp... and it's essentially worthless. It is basically subs on or subs off with it. Doesn't seem to be much 'middle ground' in terms of variable resistance with it. If I want to turn down the bass, the EQ on the radio does just as good of a job. I doubt I'll install it this time around.

I did wonder about the signal when I first read about the 'finicky' Alpine stock radio, but thinking on that, having high-level inputs should allow you to use the stock sub wiring. If you needed/wanted to use low level inputs, yes- going pre-amp would be the way to go.

Even with high level inputs on the new amp, you'll still need to make sure the factory one sees the correct resistance. Otherwise it will just not put out any signal at all on that sub channel.

A note on the PAC unit, it allows you to keep the stock head unit and gives you a clean, line level signal to feed a full aftermarket system (DSP, amps, speakers, etc.).