Hi! New here, with questions about my Jeep Wrangler audio ....

[kingtj]

Hi everyone. I have a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, which I purchased with the uConnect 730n "Alpine premium audio" system. As many of you probably know, though ... it's FAR from premium anything (except price!). The thing is though, I actually like certain things about the head-unit, including the navigation system that's integrated with the Sirius/XM traffic subscription I get 3 years of at no charge, as long as I keep the current sat. radio subscription active on the receiver.

So I started out on a mission to see how good I could make the crummy audio, while keeping the factory head unit. Thanks to some forum posts on a Jeep Wrangler forum I frequent, I discovered some inexpensive upgrades that helped considerably. (Biggest one was soldering different value capacitors on to the factory dash tweeters. It seems Chrysler specified an incorrect value for them from the factory, causing them to basically not function at all! The whole audio system was revised in 2015, meaning this no longer applies... but was an important first step for my 2014.)

Next was swapping the factory bass sub out with a Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 and splicing in a second amp to give it some actual wattage. Any lack of bass issues were now resolved!

I also took people's recommendation to remove the factory 6.5" speakers from the sound-bar, replacing them with Infinity 6032cs coaxials (and adding some poly-fill in the enclosure). This added some clarity, so the "rear fill" no longer sounded like mud ... but the speakers still sounded under-powered, like only the tweeter portion was really putting out a lot of sound.

So ... I "bit the bullet" and spent some "real money" buying a marine type JL Audio 700 watt 5 channel amp, and installed it in place of the cheap 2 channel amp I had been using for the sub. This was connected, in turn, to a PAC CHY-23 adapter which effectively bypassed the factory amp and provided RCA level outputs off of the factory head unit.

Results? Plenty of volume now, and a little more clarity and "crispness" to the sound, but ultimately still disappointing because everything has a bit too harsh of a tone. It lacks the "warmth" I've been chasing after. I feel like it's just too weak in the mid bass or low midrange.

The "pros" I consulted with at a local car audio shop insist this is due to the factory head unit just having poor quality output, and claim I can't fix it without swapping head units. I'm sure that's ONE way to resolve it, but I have my doubts it's the ONLY way.... Anyone on here in my "camp" about this? I'm thinking if I inserted a good multi band EQ in front of the JL Audio amp, I could correct most of what's lacking and get it to a happy place. (The car audio specialist says no, because "you can't boost what's not there in the first place".) I remain skeptical that those frequencies are simply missing? Am I right in thinking it's more likely just that they're relatively weak and could be corrected?

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[jboy2015]

i have a 2015 ram, dodge headunits ****. period. If you havent already, you could try out an audiocontrol epicenter. But our headunits really **** with the low end, especially with LOCs. I, myself, was hesitant about giving up my stock headunit, but if its sound that youre REALLY after, change out that HU. What you gain is worth much more than what youll lose. Besides, we all have smartphones that can give us traffic updates and directions. good luck!

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

The "pros" I consulted with at a local car audio shop insist this is due to the factory head unit just having poor quality output, and claim I can't fix it without swapping head units. I'm sure that's ONE way to resolve it, but I have my doubts it's the ONLY way.... Anyone on here in my "camp" about this? I'm thinking if I inserted a good multi band EQ in front of the JL Audio amp, I could correct most of what's lacking and get it to a happy place. (The car audio specialist says no, because "you can't boost what's not there in the first place".) I remain skeptical that those frequencies are simply missing? Am I right in thinking it's more likely just that they're relatively weak and could be corrected?

You've gotten some partially correct information, but that isn't accurate enough. You most likely do need more than a factory amplifier bypass and more power to get the sound to the level you're seeking.

Talk to Chris at Driven Mobile Electronics of Chantilly, VA. They're not very far from you and they will take great care of your Wrangler. (703) 376-8960

 

[kingtj]

Not claiming I'm an expert by any means, but I've installed my share of audio upgrades in my cars and trucks over the years, and know how to Google product reviews pretty well. Unless I'm mistaken, the AudioControl Epicenter you're suggesting is primarily designed to enhance only the low bass frequencies (such as situations where you have a nice sub and amp but it doesn't seem to be firing as often as you like, and boosting your bass from the head-unit only makes it sound distorted or muddy). I don't believe it's designed to analyze/process the full sound spectrum to improve audio coming out of the rest of your speakers?

That's probably along the lines of what I was thinking about in general, though. I'm just not sure if I'd be best off buying an equalizer, or if one of these audio processors is really a better bet.

I have no argument that the Chrysler head-units ****. This 730n uConnect system added something like $2,500 to the retail price of my Wrangler and knowing what I know now -- I would have tried hard to avoid getting it. Problem is, I was trying to buy a last year's model Jeep off the lot at the time, and wanted almost all of the other available options. There's also the matter of the little driver's information display on the dash, just under the speedometer. The factory head-unit knows how to draw information on it, while none of the aftermarket replacements can do that. (Even the fancy iDatalink Maestro interface won't integrate a Pioneer AVIC head-unit to that extent.) I rather like that feature because without even taking your eyes off the road in front of you, you see turn-by-turn directions that count down the number of feet until the turn. I also like the lack of temptation for theft provided by a stock head-unit in the dash. (People see that and don't tend to look further for things like a higher-end amp to steal either.)

So really, I'm just looking for advice from someone who might have first-hand success with getting a stock head-unit like this to sound really good. A number of audio processors out there appear to claim to do just what I want -- yet the more expensive and fancy they are? The more I'm uncertain they'll really fill the bill. (EG. Ones that claim to calibrate themselves by using a microphone and playing test tones or white/pink noise may not truly wind up with settings pleasing to my ears, even if they're technically as close to "neutral" as possible.)

i have a 2015 ram, dodge headunits ****. period. If you havent already, you could try out an audiocontrol epicenter. But our headunits really **** with the low end, especially with LOCs. I, myself, was hesitant about giving up my stock headunit, but if its sound that youre REALLY after, change out that HU. What you gain is worth much more than what youll lose. Besides, we all have smartphones that can give us traffic updates and directions. good luck!

 

[kingtj]

Thanks for the recommendation. I *think* I actually spoke to Chris once, on the phone, not long after I first bought the Jeep. At that time, I was just trying to find a shop nearby that could assist with getting an amp installed, and was getting frustrated with the results talking with shops in Maryland. (Basically, we have very few options unless you go out near Baltimore. The Frederick, MD Best Buy recently told me they have about a 3 month backlog on doing any installation appointments, because several other DC area Best Buy stores started sending all of their work out to the Frederick location. And as many of us know, Best Buy isn't really your first choice for car audio work!)

I wound up using a small shop in Rockville, MD -- Absolute Electronix. They were really accommodating about getting work done while I waited on a Saturday morning, and my installer (Mark, I believe) did good work. But I got the idea their sales guy wasn't so knowledgeable about anything technical (had to keep going out and bugging the installer to answer questions I had). And when I talked to the guys doing the install work directly, they just didn't seem to want to discuss anything other than doing things "their way". All the parts they used were billed at full retail MSRP pricing, too. I know they have to make their money like everybody else. But hey -- as a PC technician, I never billed full retail on parts I could obtain at discounted/reseller pricing. I made money on the labor and marked up the parts a few bucks, but not enough so anyone would see it on an invoice and think, "Ow... that's kind of high."

You've gotten some partially correct information, but that isn't accurate enough. You most likely do need more than a factory amplifier bypass and more power to get the sound to the level you're seeking.
Talk to Chris at Driven Mobile Electronics of Chantilly, VA. They're not very far from you and they will take great care of your Wrangler. (703) 376-8960