2014 SXT Stereo with Subwoofer Review

[mohare]

I've read a lot of forums discussions related to the Alpine 6 speaker amplified system...some good and some bad. I've installed many aftermarket systems in my past vehicles, so I was excited to see my new DJ had an upgraded system...here's some thoughts after listening to it for a short while.

For a manufacturer provided upgraded system, I think it sounds good. No, it does NOT compare to an aftermarket stereo and/or subwoofer but comes really close.

That said, it is a well balanced system with the amp matched well to the speakers. I can turn it up to full capacity on the highway with windows down and hear no distortion...as a professional sound man said to me once- does it sound good, or is it good sound? This stereo system is both.

The subwoofer adds depth when listening to the Eagles and adds punch/boom listening to Deadmau5 or Daft Punk.

There is a slight roll-off to the sub with missing mid/low frequencies. The 6x9's do well to pick up down to about 80-100hz, but there does appear to be a level between 90-60hz thats missing until the sub picks up at about 60hz.

Also, you really need to understand how the music you are listening to is mixed in the studio. There are some albums that are mixed with lower fidelity (or a flat frequency response) where a multi channel (beyond 3) EQ would greatly help (Dodge needs to change this with a firmware upgrade)...but I've been able to solve this problem by putting all of my music onto ITunes and listening through the USB port.

Here's how to enhance your music using ITunes: In your ITunes on your PC (not your device), right click on the album you want to enhance and go to "Get Info" and if you go to the last tab, you'll see a volume slider that acts like a pre-amp. Sliding it to the right will increase the fidelity of your lower level music (be careful because too much will cause distortion- listen through your headphones to tell). Under the slider there is a pull down menu to select a pre-determined EQ setting (like sub, Dance, Rock, etc.) I find that the "Dance" settings strongly enhances the music more-so to the lower end...Making these changes turned Rush's Red Barchetta into a true highway driving tune!

Make sure you sync your device again to pick up the changes.

Hope this helps!

Edited April 4, 2014 by mohare

[redtomatoman]

Great review mohare. I really don't know anything about car stereos, but, to me, the alpine system in my DJ sounds great. Its not the loudest system, but it sounds really good to me. A buddy of mine bought a new car and ripped it all the way down to bare metal and added GT mat to the whole car in order to install a 6" touchscreen system with all new speakers and a subwoofer. He spent nearly $2000 not including hours of labor and it doesn't sound as good as the alpine in my DJ, to me. It is louder though.

He also had to spend more than I did for my V6 pentastar DJ for a vehicle with a weak 4 cylinder. He He. LoL.

Peace.

[Darkpaw]

I've read a lot of forums discussions related to the Alpine 6 speaker amplified system...some good and some bad. I've installed many aftermarket systems in my past vehicles, so I was excited to see my new DJ had an upgraded system...here's some thoughts after listening to it for a short while.

For a manufacturer provided upgraded system, I think it sounds good. No, it does NOT compare to an aftermarket stereo and/or subwoofer but comes really close.

That said, it is a well balanced system with the amp matched well to the speakers. I can turn it up to full capacity on the highway with windows down and hear no distortion...as a professional sound man said to me once- does it sound good, or is it good sound? This stereo system is both.

The subwoofer adds depth when listening to the Eagles and adds punch/boom listening to Deadmau5 or Daft Punk.

There is a slight roll-off to the sub with missing mid/low frequencies. The 6x9's do well to pick up down to about 80-100hz, but there does appear to be a level between 90-60hz thats missing until the sub picks up at about 60hz.

[...]

Hope this helps!

Well, opinions will differ. I am very particular about my sound, and I can hear what many would probably consider an extended frequency range from "average" (I can hear well over 16kHz, so doing sweeps when testing is difficult for a few moments). The stock system in the DJ can handle power full blast without distortion, but it's because the range of it is so severely limited. The stock sub at the back is useless; it should be tuned about 6db louder than it is.

Since these are the same speakers used in the LX cars, I know that they are capable of so much more than they are doing with them. The woofers in the doors can hit way harder than they do; it's all about a poorly spec'd amp (crossover is in the amp) and/or from the head unit (poor equalization). The door speakers are low-pass and start a cutoff about 250Hz, 6db/octave. The dash speakers are high-pass and start the cutoff about 150Hz (or they just can't handle below that range). On my previous vehicle (Charger SRT8 with the same "upgraded" Alpine system) it had the same horrible range that the DJ does (bottom drops off at 80Hz and top drops off dramatically at about 8k on the one-way dash 3.5s). When I ran my own amps through the setup, I turned the punch bass (boost at 45Hz) up on the Rockford 45.2 that was running the door speakers, and it had as much depth as the 12" DVC sub I was using in the back. So much so, in fact, that the 12" sub made little difference until things with "bass only" like Hip-Hop or techno would be on. The dash speakers just outright suck. They really could have put in the extra effort to at least use a coaxial. In the Charger, I replaced them with a set of JBL GTO329s and the difference is uncomparable.

The setup I'm planning in the DJ will be different (come on, warm weather). Still keeping the door speakers, but my initial plans are to keep the horrible 3.5s in the dash but only use them as a midrange. They'll be the bottom section of a passive crossover (cutoff is around 2k, 12db/octave) and the top section is going to a pair of Rockford Fosgate Fanatic-Q tweeters. At least that's the plan. If the sound test to it fails, then I'll haul all of that out and go with a pair of coaxial JBLs again.

If anyone's curious what the stock ranges of the speakers are, I'll be doing an RTA test of it prior to the install, and will post the videos to it. I like a baseline test to see how drastic the changes are after modifying it, and it's the only way to find where the bumps and gaps are to properly EQ it. Expect this to be posted in the next couple weeks. My current plan, assuming the weather cooperates, is to rip it apart over the Easter weekend.

[Chris1276]

Well, opinions will differ. I am very particular about my sound, and I can hear what many would probably consider an extended frequency range from "average" (I can hear well over 16kHz, so doing sweeps when testing is difficult for a few moments). The stock system in the DJ can handle power full blast without distortion, but it's because the range of it is so severely limited. The stock sub at the back is useless; it should be tuned about 6db louder than it is.

Since these are the same speakers used in the LX cars, I know that they are capable of so much more than they are doing with them. The woofers in the doors can hit way harder than they do; it's all about a poorly spec'd amp (crossover is in the amp) and/or from the head unit (poor equalization). The door speakers are low-pass and start a cutoff about 250Hz, 6db/octave. The dash speakers are high-pass and start the cutoff about 150Hz (or they just can't handle below that range). On my previous vehicle (Charger SRT8 with the same "upgraded" Alpine system) it had the same horrible range that the DJ does (bottom drops off at 80Hz and top drops off dramatically at about 8k on the one-way dash 3.5s). When I ran my own amps through the setup, I turned the punch bass (boost at 45Hz) up on the Rockford 45.2 that was running the door speakers, and it had as much depth as the 12" DVC sub I was using in the back. So much so, in fact, that the 12" sub made little difference until things with "bass only" like Hip-Hop or techno would be on. The dash speakers just outright suck. They really could have put in the extra effort to at least use a coaxial. In the Charger, I replaced them with a set of JBL GTO329s and the difference is uncomparable.

The setup I'm planning in the DJ will be different (come on, warm weather). Still keeping the door speakers, but my initial plans are to keep the horrible 3.5s in the dash but only use them as a midrange. They'll be the bottom section of a passive crossover (cutoff is around 2k, 12db/octave) and the top section is going to a pair of Rockford Fosgate Fanatic-Q tweeters. At least that's the plan. If the sound test to it fails, then I'll haul all of that out and go with a pair of coaxial JBLs again.

If anyone's curious what the stock ranges of the speakers are, I'll be doing an RTA test of it prior to the install, and will post the videos to it. I like a baseline test to see how drastic the changes are after modifying it, and it's the only way to find where the bumps and gaps are to properly EQ it. Expect this to be posted in the next couple weeks. My current plan, assuming the weather cooperates, is to rip it apart over the Easter weekend.

That sound very interesting and exciting! If you dont mind me asking. We are looking for how much if we perform mods like this?

[Darkpaw]

That sound very interesting and exciting! If you dont mind me asking. We are looking for how much if we perform mods like this?

The crossovers and tweeters were from two different Rockford sets I bought back in the 1990s (back when Rockford made good gear), as are a pair of 12" Power-series DVCs (1 gets used, and 1 is kept as a spare in case I blow the other one). Amps and signal processors I usually start over with on every install, as each can vary so much, but many parts get pulled and shelved when not going into a current layout.

The equipment I have ready to go into my Journey (this may change, depending on how I like the sound of it) is this:

- Audio Control LCQ-1 line-output converter and EQ

- Audio Control Matrix line driver

- Audio Control EQL Equalizer (pending, see below)

- Soundstream Reference series REF5.1000 amplifier

- stock woofers in the front doors

- stock speakers in the dash as mids

- Rockford Fanatic-Q tweeters on dash corners (location will take time to figure out)

- Rockford Fanatic-X 2-way crossovers

- Rockford Power-series RFR2212 DVC sub in a box I built myself

I think that's it for the mains. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do the rear door speakers yet or not, but if I do they'll also get:

- Audio Control LC2i line-output converter (currently being used on my van, but I'll pull that out of the van and replace it with an Audio Control Epicenter-plus)

- Audio Control Overdrive

- Audio Control EQL (if not used on the mains)

- JL Audio A2250 amplifier

I have no idea what the total cost of this is, as I've just bought and changed so many parts over the years. The only thing I "just" bought new was the Soundstream amp, as I was looking for a single 5-channel amp with high sound quality stats (S/N ratio over 100, THD 0.02%, frequency range 15Hz-50KHz, ultra-stable to 1-ohm, and a damping factor off the charts) to run the front mains and the sub. Two channels go to the doors, two go to the 2-way crossover, sub has its own output and remote control for gain. The LCQ-1 also has a remote level control, which will be used on the door speakers. I haven't figured out where to put the two remote knobs yet. The install is going to take a lot of planning before I get into it...I sure hope I only have to do it once.

Edit: Sorry, it's an EQL, not an EQT. I was trying to find a pair of EQTs, but they are hard to find now.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Darkpaw

[Chris1276]

The crossovers and tweeters were from two different Rockford sets I bought back in the 1990s (back when Rockford made good gear), as are a pair of 12" Power-series DVCs (1 gets used, and 1 is kept as a spare in case I blow the other one). Amps and signal processors I usually start over with on every install, as each can vary so much, but many parts get pulled and shelved when not going into a current layout.

The equipment I have ready to go into my Journey (this may change, depending on how I like the sound of it) is this:

- Audio Control LCQ-1 line-output converter and EQ

- Audio Control Matrix line driver

- Audio Control EQL Equalizer (pending, see below)

- Soundstream Reference series REF5.1000 amplifier

- stock woofers in the front doors

- stock speakers in the dash as mids

- Rockford Fanatic-Q tweeters on dash corners (location will take time to figure out)

- Rockford Fanatic-X 2-way crossovers

- Rockford Power-series RFR2212 DVC sub in a box I built myself

I think that's it for the mains. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do the rear door speakers yet or not, but if I do they'll also get:

- Audio Control LC2i line-output converter (currently being used on my van, but I'll pull that out of the van and replace it with an Audio Control Epicenter-plus)

- Audio Control Overdrive

- Audio Control EQL (if not used on the mains)

- JL Audio A2250 amplifier

I have no idea what the total cost of this is, as I've just bought and changed so many parts over the years. The only thing I "just" bought new was the Soundstream amp, as I was looking for a single 5-channel amp with high sound quality stats (S/N ratio over 100, THD 0.02%, frequency range 15Hz-50KHz, ultra-stable to 1-ohm, and a damping factor off the charts) to run the front mains and the sub. Two channels go to the doors, two go to the 2-way crossover, sub has its own output and remote control for gain. The LCQ-1 also has a remote level control, which will be used on the door speakers. I haven't figured out where to put the two remote knobs yet. The install is going to take a lot of planning before I get into it...I sure hope I only have to do it once.

Edit: Sorry, it's an EQL, not an EQT. I was trying to find a pair of EQTs, but they are hard to find now.

Wow thats a kick-ass upgrade.. Goodluck! Report back the improvements!

[Darkpaw]

As you can probably tell, I'm very partial to Audio Control signal processors.

I actually did the baseline RTA and sine sweep last night. I'm going to put it on YouTube tonight and post the links to them. Should have them up shortly.

[Darkpaw]

Here's the video of the RTA: http://youtu.be/OYSHOV6q7po

Here's the video of the sweep: http://youtu.be/duunKxWw-zA

(warning: minor foul language on the RTA analysis - yep, it was that bad, totally threw me)

[DocMoose]

Darkpaw,

That is some very nice work!

I am glad to know I am not the only one unhappy with my sound system. Sadly I do not posses your audio skill set, so I am planning to take all this information, including the 2 videos of your analysis of the sound system to my professional audio installer and tell him, "Fix this!" I know your project is still underway, but I think I will start in stages, the audio controllers as a gift to myself this Christmas, and following your progress. I am looking forward to hearing how your upgrades evolve.

Thanks for sharing all your experience and insight!

[dhh3]

I was "unlucky" not to have the better system, but maybe lucky after all! The up-grade infinity system in the Nitro still used crap paper speakers. I'd be curious to see what the upgrade speakers in the DJ are made of. I replaced all of my door speakers with 6x9 Alpines. No one makes a replacement speaker for the dash speakers. That is why Crutchfield does not even list them. So, I am stuck with them, but they don't sound so bad in unison with the Alpines. My plan is to get an underseat, amplified Kicker sub, and be done with it. Swapping out the door speakers made a huge difference. I chose the Alpines because they put out more bass than the other speakers on the Best Buy display wall. I loaded all of my CD's, one by one, into my iTunes Library. It took a lot of time just to get the artwork, so I don't think that I will be going back and changing the EQ on each CD! But, it doesn't matter any way. Only a few of the artwork displayed; Uconnect no longer works with Gracenote; and, I upgraded to iOS8 so now nothing works, as far as music goes! Glad I got the free Sirius for a year! Last time I spoke with Uconnect, they are working on a fix for iOS8. My phone works fine: itunes are a mess.

Edited November 23, 2014 by dhh3

[dhh3]

Kicker sub has been installed. Even the tech was surprised on what it puts out. With the remote gain control, I can not turn it between 1/2 or my ears hurt. Simply amazing for something so small. I decided to replace the dash speakers with a set of Alpine tweeters. They have an inline crossover. They will be installed a week from today. I am no expert when it comes to sound. For me, it either sounds good or bad.