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2011 Journey Alpine Sound Package - Lack of Bass


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Hello, we just got our 2011 Journey R/T. We ordered it from the factory. The only options we had were the Chrome wheels and Sunroof.

Now, on our build sheet it states that we have a Alpine 6 speaker system with subwoofer. I have not had the vehicle to the dealer yet to look at this problem, but I cannot believe the lack of bass with this system. There is literally no bass, even with the equalizer setting at the highest setting. We got rid of a 2007 Jeep Patriot Limited that had a very nice set of speakers with a subwoofer. The bass was awesome in this system. We also have a 2010 Dodge Challenger SXT. We have the six speaker system with NO subwoofer. The bass in this system is 100% better then in our new Journey, and the Journey has a subwoofer!

I was wondering if anyone else can comment on the bass performance of this system? I've tried both Sirius Sattelite and MP3's off a thumbdrive as source material ( same source material as I use in the Challenger ) and have no bass at all.

I guess there's a chance the subwoofer is either not working or is somehow unhooked.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Aaron

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I noticed this at first too. One thing I found that really helped is to adjust the front/rear balance of the speakers. Those front speakers are nothing but trebble. Once I shifted the position of the sound rearward, things improved significantly.

Keep in mind as well, that brand new speakers tend to be a bit shrill in the highs until they break in a bit.

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Does anyone know how big the sub is or even where its located.I am another unhappy camper with this alpine sound system.Maybe if enough people willcomlain dodge have to do something about it.

Thanks a lot Powdered Toast Man went out and adjusted speakers to the back a bit like you said,makes it sound like a different stereo.Could still have a little more bass but this makes a big difference.At least now I know there is a sub in the car

Edited by Ta22oo
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Does anyone know how big the sub is or even where its located.I am another unhappy camper with this alpine sound system.Maybe if enough people willcomlain dodge have to do something about it.

Thanks a lot Powdered Toast Man went out and adjusted speakers to the back a bit like you said,makes it sound like a different stereo.Could still have a little more bass but this makes a big difference.At least now I know there is a sub in the car

No problem! At first I too couldn't believe how bad the sound was - nothing but piercing high end! I didn't push the sound all the way to the back, but just start nudging it back until I found the sweet spot where it rolled off the highs enough to sound balanced.

And yeah, where IS the sub? I haven't seen it yet, but my option sheet says it's there.

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The sub is in the back cargo area, on the left side. Just forward of the flashlight. It is behind the grill.

I too am not impressed with the base in this Apline system. As I have mentioned in other threads, the MusicGate sound system I had in my Caliber was much better overall than this system.

I suspect the system in abeirnes' Patriot was the same system I had in my Caliber, since those vehicles are platform mates.

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Just an update. The wife took the Journey to the dealership yesterday. Our salesperson and a tech checked out the sub. I guess they turned up the stereo and then went back to the subwoofer. The salesperson said 'there's nothing coming from this thing, that's not right'. So it's going in tomorrow to have that looked at.

Will let people know what happens.

Aaron

Edited by abeirnes
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It's an 8in dvc sub. Don't expect too much bass from that or you will be disappointed. I replaced all the speakers except the sub with infinity kappas and WOW I cannot believe the difference. I placed 6x9 tri-ax's in all the doors and 3.5 co-ax's in the dash. The clarity of the highs with the kappas and the lows from the 6x9's are incredible. There isn't much you are going to be able to do without replacing the amp and sub in regards to thumping bass but the kappas are the ONLY 2ohm speakers on the market and they produce sound much more efficiently then the factory speakers. I highly recommend replacing the factory speakers with these if at all possible. You won't need to modify the housings to make them fit and you will LOVE the way they sound!

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I don't know if I have the Alpine System, but I have the 4.3 Uconnect and I have the same issue, these speakers just can't handle bass, period. Listening to radio and Sirius, I could turn the bass up without too many issues, but once I plugged my iPod in for music, I had to turn bass back to neutral to stop the terrible distortion. So, I definitely need to replace these speakers with higher quality ones, such as the ones mentioned by moondwagon above. How much did those run ya btw?

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It's an 8in dvc sub. Don't expect too much bass from that or you will be disappointed. I replaced all the speakers except the sub with infinity kappas and WOW I cannot believe the difference. I placed 6x9 tri-ax's in all the doors and 3.5 co-ax's in the dash. The clarity of the highs with the kappas and the lows from the 6x9's are incredible. There isn't much you are going to be able to do without replacing the amp and sub in regards to thumping bass but the kappas are the ONLY 2ohm speakers on the market and they produce sound much more efficiently then the factory speakers. I highly recommend replacing the factory speakers with these if at all possible. You won't need to modify the housings to make them fit and you will LOVE the way they sound!

Can you give the actual part or model numbers of all the speakers you used? Also, any info you can provide on how to remove the door panels or how to get at the dash speakers would be very helpful. Thanks!

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The 6x9's are Kappa 693.9i and the 3.5's are 32.9cf. There are two screws in each door. one underneath the rubber piece where you pull the door closed and one underneath a plastic cover behind the chrome door handle. After that it's just pressure clips holding the door interior on. To get the dash speakers you have to pop off the a pillar trim but be careful not to damage the plastic strap towards the top. Anymore questions just let me know, I'm uploading some nice blacked out pillar and headliner shots now in the photo gallery check them out........ looks sick!!!!!!!!

Edited by moondwagon
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  • 1 month later...

reading some of this is just sad....

we got a 2011 with the 8.4 Uconnect system. the frequency range is phenomenal. bass response is excellent. yes, its smaller speakers, so they dont have the kick, but the SOUND is there. i listen to all sorts of music and it is all excellent. even my old Techmaster PEB stuff. I may try to add a sub later on, but for now, the sound quality is astounding. if the alpine system was supposed to be better, I'm glad i didnt get it.

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I don't know if I have the Alpine System, but I have the 4.3 Uconnect and I have the same issue, these speakers just can't handle bass, period. Listening to radio and Sirius, I could turn the bass up without too many issues, but once I plugged my iPod in for music, I had to turn bass back to neutral to stop the terrible distortion. So, I definitely need to replace these speakers with higher quality ones, such as the ones mentioned by moondwagon above. How much did those run ya btw?

Keep in mind that if you use the iPod's internal EQ that it does affect the line out signal when it is docked as well. So if you have the iPod on an EQ setting where the bass is boosted, then that will mean you're getting a ridiculous amount of bass signal going to the head. Set your iPod's EQ as "flat" and then see how your system handles it.

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I can attest that pushing the sound towards the rear does help. The last poster is incorrect though, the EQ on your iPod when using the 30 pin connector (bottom of the iPod) overrides the iPod EQ and lets the system take over. Only when using the 3.5" headphone out does the EQ in the iPod come into play. I wonder if adding a better sub in the enclosure (8 or 10?) would help? Maybe placing a dedicated amp for the sub too?

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I can attest that pushing the sound towards the rear does help. The last poster is incorrect though, the EQ on your iPod when using the 30 pin connector (bottom of the iPod) overrides the iPod EQ and lets the system take over. Only when using the 3.5" headphone out does the EQ in the iPod come into play. I wonder if adding a better sub in the enclosure (8 or 10?) would help? Maybe placing a dedicated amp for the sub too?

My previous vehicle was outfitted with an ipod connector (the actual ipod plug) and yes, the iPod's internal EQ did affect the output sound. I actually sat there one day flipping through the iPod's EQ presets while it was plugged in to the vehicle and it was absolutely altering the output sound. It also does this while docked on an home iPod docking station.

@ dodgeman324: Try popping a CD into the player and see if you get terrible distortion in the bass. That'll tell you right there if it's the speakers or the iPod. If the CD works, then try setting your iPod's EQ to flat and see if that solves the issue. Why not try it? It'll take about 30 seconds and cost you nothing. I'd do that before swapping subs, amps. speakers. etc...

Edited by Powdered Toast Man
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  • 8 months later...

I recently upgraded from an '09 Journey with the Infinity system (awesome) to a '12 Journey with the Alpine system (terrible). Seems this is an acknowledged problem. I spent a bunch of money on the premium sound system and feel I got totally ripped off. The entire speaker package is crap - the dash tweets completely fail at high volume, and there's virtually no bass to be heard. I get a bit of bass if there's some long tones, but absolutly no thump from drums or beats, unlike the stellar Infinity system in the '09.

Should I cough up a few more bucks and drop in some replacement speakers (and hope the amp is decent), or should I be taking it to the dealer and complaining about the wasted money?

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Dealer won't be able to do anything. It's just a disappointingly shitty system. I had the MusicGate system in my 2007 Caliber and it was so much better than the Alphine system in my 2011 Crew.

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I wonder if it's just the speakers that suck, or if the amp is also crap. I'd be willing to drop in some better speakers if I knew that would help solve the problem, but I'm concerned that the amp wouldn't be able to drive them, or that the equalizer/balance is so bad that it wouldn't matter.

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