Wrestled with whether to tag on or start a thread, opted to have a standalone for search purposes. This thread ties in with @Pressurized thread of tweeter Mod and a couple other threads (Alpine Sub replacement and Infinity 6032si soundbar upgrade) ALL of which ties together to create the combined upgrade effect.
Can't speak for everyone but, several who have been participating in this venture are to be credited with a rather dramatic overall upgrade effect for about the cost of a set of rubber mats. IF you were to do the Tweeter Mod, Soundbar speaker and the Sub - You would have about $100 invested, have a completely "stock appearance" system, retain all steering wheel control functionality and IMO have a system that would rival systems I have done/heard costing well over $1000.
The resulting system will be musical, accurate and something that you will be more likely to actually listen to, I have buddies saying,"Hey I want to hear this on your system".
Anyway, going to use some descriptive terms to try and describe "sound" include some opinion and some quantifiable info as well, Pics etc. Any questions, I will do my best to answer.
Thank you to Pressurized and SteedGun for their involvement and leading the way.
Ok, So....
-Tweeter Upgrade: See Pressurize's thread. Totally wakes up the system HUGE improvement.
SteedGun found and installed a sub by Rockford Fosgate and his comments can be found in the Alpine Sub Replacement thread and after reading his comments and doing my own Mod - I say his observations are dead on accurate.
Here is the sub I got and installed on Friday evening. It cost me about $70 (lists for a lot more than that) it has all the things we need and comes in at an impressive 86db sensitivity.
Stock Sub and the Pioneer
Install is very very easy especially with the Metra 72-6514 plug n' play adapter that also works for your SoundBar speakers. Your screww holes (all of them) line up Perfectly and you use your Alpine cover with NO modification whatsoever Alpine is top center and Pioneer reads straight when you look through the holes.
Install was a breeze.
Testing the Subs:
As pictured, I used the sterophile test CD as well as a CD I burned with a 50hz non-atenuated test tone and tested output with the pic'd SPL meter.
I tested BOTH Subs with Flat Bass/Treble settings on the HU, even fade, even channel and played the volume at 20. Using the 50hz test tone assured me that the sound tested was coming from the sub and not the rest of the system, I closed the Jeep up and sat Yoga style in the cargo area.
Results: Our Factory Sub played at 94db under repeated tests consistently measured at 1m.
The Pioneer played at 92db under the same testing procedure.
As far as Quality of the sound and subjective impressions..... I will cover that as well. These measurements do not, did not tell the whole story by a long shot.
I touched on the install but have more to say. I'm sure if you are still reading this, you have some interest in Audio.... so you've heard of Dynamat. I intended to reinforce our boomy plastic sub-enclosure during this experiment was NOT spending $140 on dynamat to do this seeing as one of our goals was/is to achieve dramitic results on a homeless budget.
so, "poor mans dynamat"
About $15 at HD and boy it takes more to line that puppy than you think. Goes in nice, feels and looks just like the real thing, maybe because its basically the same stuff ...aluminum faced butyl.
Here is the finished Look
Conclusion:
IF you like Boomy, muddy, unfocused, over-done low freq than the factory sub plays pretty loud IMO (especially after the SB and tweet mod for some reason) I NEVER could get my lows to do anything I wanted them to do even after dicking around with treble/mids/bass forever on the HU. It was either too much or not eneough and for me (recovering audiophile) that is frustrating enough to make me do tear-outs and spend rediculous money.
I believe the bass is the foundation of the music, it should "be there" but NOT over power, it should HIT but not bath me in mud (thats what the jeep is for)
This sub at 92db measured, is musical, it is accurate and it Hits. My son said, "Wow I can feel that in my back and coming from under me" no longer did I hear the Sub ....in the back of the cargo area, I heard BASS in the soundstage.
IF the signal or source is compressed or lacking Bass - this Sub WILL NOT add the bass like the stock sub did/does. It will sound compressed and missing.
BUT if you listen to something with good quality Bass then you will hear it and feel it - you wouldn't with the stock sub.
Here are a couple test pieces that you can hook up your phone or computer via the USB or aux port and play from YouTube.
Artist/Song
You may like the music, you may not BUT you will get a feel for what these $100 (tweeter/SB/Sub) - you just spent .... bought you.
That's it music Fans. If I/We can help. Cool
Thank you Pressurized, SteedGun and others and thanks for reading all this if you did.
Later
Rubi
In case you are interested:
Amazon.com: Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 8-inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer with 600 Watts Max Power: Car Electronics
Can't speak for everyone but, several who have been participating in this venture are to be credited with a rather dramatic overall upgrade effect for about the cost of a set of rubber mats. IF you were to do the Tweeter Mod, Soundbar speaker and the Sub - You would have about $100 invested, have a completely "stock appearance" system, retain all steering wheel control functionality and IMO have a system that would rival systems I have done/heard costing well over $1000.
The resulting system will be musical, accurate and something that you will be more likely to actually listen to, I have buddies saying,"Hey I want to hear this on your system".
Anyway, going to use some descriptive terms to try and describe "sound" include some opinion and some quantifiable info as well, Pics etc. Any questions, I will do my best to answer.
Thank you to Pressurized and SteedGun for their involvement and leading the way.
Ok, So....
-Tweeter Upgrade: See Pressurize's thread. Totally wakes up the system HUGE improvement.
- Sound Bar speaker Up-Grade to Infinity 6032si. Gets rid of the "Dead" useless soundbar sound. Big improvement.
- Subwoofer: What's wrong? It is FAT, Bloated, slow, muffled, over-present low frequency mush with very little Impact. It actually distorts if pushed or atenuated and hides detail that is now being revealed by the tweeter and soundbar upgrade.
SteedGun found and installed a sub by Rockford Fosgate and his comments can be found in the Alpine Sub Replacement thread and after reading his comments and doing my own Mod - I say his observations are dead on accurate.
Here is the sub I got and installed on Friday evening. It cost me about $70 (lists for a lot more than that) it has all the things we need and comes in at an impressive 86db sensitivity.
Stock Sub and the Pioneer
Install is very very easy especially with the Metra 72-6514 plug n' play adapter that also works for your SoundBar speakers. Your screww holes (all of them) line up Perfectly and you use your Alpine cover with NO modification whatsoever Alpine is top center and Pioneer reads straight when you look through the holes.
Install was a breeze.
Testing the Subs:
As pictured, I used the sterophile test CD as well as a CD I burned with a 50hz non-atenuated test tone and tested output with the pic'd SPL meter.
I tested BOTH Subs with Flat Bass/Treble settings on the HU, even fade, even channel and played the volume at 20. Using the 50hz test tone assured me that the sound tested was coming from the sub and not the rest of the system, I closed the Jeep up and sat Yoga style in the cargo area.
Results: Our Factory Sub played at 94db under repeated tests consistently measured at 1m.
The Pioneer played at 92db under the same testing procedure.
As far as Quality of the sound and subjective impressions..... I will cover that as well. These measurements do not, did not tell the whole story by a long shot.
I touched on the install but have more to say. I'm sure if you are still reading this, you have some interest in Audio.... so you've heard of Dynamat. I intended to reinforce our boomy plastic sub-enclosure during this experiment was NOT spending $140 on dynamat to do this seeing as one of our goals was/is to achieve dramitic results on a homeless budget.
so, "poor mans dynamat"
About $15 at HD and boy it takes more to line that puppy than you think. Goes in nice, feels and looks just like the real thing, maybe because its basically the same stuff ...aluminum faced butyl.
Here is the finished Look
Conclusion:
IF you like Boomy, muddy, unfocused, over-done low freq than the factory sub plays pretty loud IMO (especially after the SB and tweet mod for some reason) I NEVER could get my lows to do anything I wanted them to do even after dicking around with treble/mids/bass forever on the HU. It was either too much or not eneough and for me (recovering audiophile) that is frustrating enough to make me do tear-outs and spend rediculous money.
I believe the bass is the foundation of the music, it should "be there" but NOT over power, it should HIT but not bath me in mud (thats what the jeep is for)
This sub at 92db measured, is musical, it is accurate and it Hits. My son said, "Wow I can feel that in my back and coming from under me" no longer did I hear the Sub ....in the back of the cargo area, I heard BASS in the soundstage.
IF the signal or source is compressed or lacking Bass - this Sub WILL NOT add the bass like the stock sub did/does. It will sound compressed and missing.
BUT if you listen to something with good quality Bass then you will hear it and feel it - you wouldn't with the stock sub.
Here are a couple test pieces that you can hook up your phone or computer via the USB or aux port and play from YouTube.
Artist/Song
- Cashmere Cat - Mirror Maru
- Pretty Lights - Finally Moving
- Beau Jocque & the Zydeco High Rollers - Going to the Country
- Klingande - Jubel
You may like the music, you may not BUT you will get a feel for what these $100 (tweeter/SB/Sub) - you just spent .... bought you.
That's it music Fans. If I/We can help. Cool
Thank you Pressurized, SteedGun and others and thanks for reading all this if you did.
Later
Rubi
In case you are interested:
Amazon.com: Pioneer TS-SW2002D2 8-inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer with 600 Watts Max Power: Car Electronics