Upgraded equipment, worse sound

[mjboss]

I bought a new 2013 Wrangler Unlimited Sport with the stock/base model sound system this weekend. Today I had a new Pioneer AppRadio 3 and 4 Alpine 6.5 speakers installed.... and it sounds terrible. There is no depth or "warmth" to the sound, no vibrations so to speak, the music sounds like it's coming from an elevator speaker. It could be the EQ but I messed with that for 45 minutes and am still not getting even the sound I had with the stock system. Any ideas?

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[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

deaden the doors and seal off the speakers from the door panel

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Are you sure it's not just settings somewhere? Check, and pay attention to your HPF and your EQ settings. Who did the install? If it was a shop you may want to pop off the door panel and check their work, if they are behind a door panel.

 

[Lowlacs 10+ year member]

Probably a polarity problem. Try fading to one speaker alone and see if it comes to life.

 

[Jes 42 10+ year member]

Yeah may be out of phase somewhere.Check your negative and positive connections.Put fader to the front and use the balance to see if one speaker sounds diff than the other.Should be able to tell that way.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I agree that phase as well as a lack of seals will cause this problem.

replacing speakers is more involved than simple drop-in. the factory speakers have perfect seals against the door panel. note the door panel is the front of the speaker enclosure and should be treated as a speaker baffle.

many Chrysler vehicles have factory amplifiers which need to be properly fed. did you intend to bypass any factory amplification?

 

[mjboss]

Thanks for the help... couple things so far

a) The speakers are not in the door panel, they are in the roll bar and dash, and the shop used Dynamax to dampen

b) No factory amp bypassed.

c) I also posted this on the Wrangler forum for audio equipment and everyone there said I needed to add an amp because the speakers weren't getting enough power. This being an audio specific site I'm assuming the folks here know more. Would anyone suggest adding an amp to solve the problem? The HU is 14 RMS / 80 Peak, the speakers are 80 RMS / 240 Peak.

I will give the fade thing a try for polarity, but I can't go in and check connections on my own, I am not that knowledgable, and the front speakers require the dash be removed and I am not up for getting into all that. If the fading issue seem to be the problem, I am assuming I can bring this back to Best Buy and present the findings? Any suggestions there?

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

1st issue I see is Best Buy. Amping them will help a lot. Check the settings, check the phase.

 

[johnthompson 10+ year member]

I'm gonna bet that an amp would solve your problem. most alpine speakers sound best when amped

 

[mjboss]

1st issue I see is Best Buy. Amping them will help a lot. Check the settings, check the phase.

Yeah I am not arguing the Best Buy issue but you live in Va. Beach (I used to live there) and I live in Cincinnati... finding someone quality in this city for this kind of work is daunting at best. It's just not like some of the other cities out there, midwestern mid-sized city people just don't upgrade like coast cities and stuff do, it's a real pain. I would do it myself but I don't trust it, I'm more of an outdoor guy not an audio guy so I really just never learned. Thanks for the tips.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Yeah I am not arguing the Best Buy issue but you live in Va. Beach (I used to live there) and I live in Cincinnati... finding someone quality in this city for this kind of work is daunting at best. It's just not like some of the other cities out there, midwestern mid-sized city people just don't upgrade like coast cities and stuff do, it's a real pain. I would do it myself but I don't trust it, I'm more of an outdoor guy not an audio guy so I really just never learned. Thanks for the tips.

There is only one shop around here I would let touch my car and its only one of those techs. I'll be watching every minute of his work.

 

[mjboss]

What size amp would you suggest? Alpine Speakers with 80 RMS / 240 RMS

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

This would make a night and day difference. Its cheap and coming from a good dealer, it wont tax the Jeep either

Alpine MRP-F300 V-Power Series 4-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield.com

 

[Josef344]

A class A/B are the best when it comes to sound quality.

There's also this: Alpine MRP-F550 4/3/2-Channel Amplifier - Alpine - Car Toys

It should match up with your Alpine 6.5s perfectly.

There's a lot of amps that have that.

Also if possible, it's best if you, yourself, will do the install.

It's better to learn what you've did wrong that to pay somebody to do the install that mess up what they do.

 

[mjboss]

This would make a night and day difference. Its cheap and coming from a good dealer, it wont tax the Jeep eitherAlpine MRP-F300 V-Power Series 4-channel car amplifier — 50 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield.com

Just ordered the amp, could this also power a 10" sub? or no