2015 Wrangler Subwoofer review

pepatrick · Jul 25, 2015

I have a 2013 Wrangler Unlimited and I have a problem (Jeepaholics Anonymous). Oh yeah..back on track. I got rid of the stock 8" Alpine sub a couple of years ago (still have it if anyone needs one). I replaced with a JL Audio low profile box and their thin mount 12. This thing had really good base but it took up most the room in the back of my Jeep. I found a takeout sub from a 2015 Wrangler from Rubitrux and installed it in my 2013 Sahara. It is a quad voice coil sub so I wired both pair of coils in series then parallel to the amplifier. The total would make it roughly 1.95 ohms. I have been running it this way for the last week and it sounded really good at first...and now is even better. The sub apparently has broken in and has really good bass. It is deeper than the JL Audio sub and hits even harder. I think Alpine did a great job on this sub for the Wrangler. Its not cheap, but the bass response is every bit as good or better than the JL Audio and I get all of my room back. I heard the sub is a 300 watt sub, but I have the gain turned down quite a bit on the amp. It is definitely more efficient than the JL Audio. As long as it holds up with the PDX-V9 sending power to it, I am going to be extremely happy with this solution.

The set up is:
Stock 730n RHR Radio
PAC line out converter on the back of the radio (the trick with this is to ground it to the battery, not anyplace behind the radio)
Audiocontrol DQX EQ (you lose EQ with the stock 730 when using the PAC LOC)
Alpine PDX-V9 5 channel amp (900 watts total)
JL Audio C2 components in front
JL Audio CX2 coax in the sound bar
2015 OEM Alpine sub and enclosure wired in series and parallel

Way better than stock 2013
Way better than stock 2015 with premium sound

pepatrick · Jul 28, 2015

Of course nothing new in the 2015 Wranglers with premium sound, but pretty impressive when it has real power going to it. Fits in a 2013 like it was made for it.

n00g7 · Jul 28, 2015

pepatrick said:
2015 OEM Alpine sub and enclosure wired in series and parallel

Hu?

pepatrick · Jul 28, 2015

It's a quad voice coil sub. Each coil is 1.95 ohms. If you wire 2 coils in series and the the other 2 coils in series that puts it 3.8 ohms for the two pair. Now wire the the two pair of coils in parallel and you will get a total of 1.95 ohms. Most amps can handle two ohms...if you wire all 4 coils in parallel then you would get about .2 ohms which would fry most car amps.

Mattk11 · Jul 28, 2015

I just helped a friend install her soft top on their 2015 Rubicon on Sunday. I took a listen to the new Alpine system and while it was better than the previous premium sound I had in my 2013, it still sounded like a mediocre factory stereo. I thought the new subwoofer module was a good idea, but she had a bunch of crap sitting on it so I moved it to the side so I could listen. Very little bass with the top down, but what do you expect with it pointed to the sky 5 feet behind you? Also, I thought it seemed really under-powered and the whole system seemed to disort when I cranked it up. I think her head unit was the 430, but I honestly didn't look to close at that.

The whole time I was listening, I wondered what it would sound like with a real power amp, I think you answered the question. If it is only 6"x9" and smokes a 12" JL using the same amp, it must be an ELITE thin mount woofer. I looked as closely at the woofer as I could with it still installed. It didn't seem to have any of the same cosmetic features (folded surround and flat aluminum cone) as Alpine 10" or 12" thin mount subs, but then again, those retail for $400+ each. I wonder if you can buy just the sub itself? If it is that good, maybe Alpine will sell them as aftermarket woofers at some point?

BTW, there is one on ebay right now for $195 shipped. That's pretty cheap.

pepatrick · Jul 28, 2015

Mattk11 said:
I just helped a friend install her soft top on their 2015 Rubicon on Sunday. I took a listen to the new Alpine system and while it was better than the previous premium sound I had in my 2013, it still sounded like a mediocre factory stereo. I thought the new subwoofer module was a good idea, but she had a bunch of crap sitting on it so I moved it to the side so I could listen. Very little bass with the top down, but what do you expect with it pointed to the sky 5 feet behind you? Also, I thought it seemed really under-powered and the whole system seemed to disort when I cranked it up. I think her head unit was the 430, but I honestly didn't look to close at that. The whole time I was listening, I wondered what it would sound like with a real power amp, I think you answered the question. If it is only 6"x9" and smokes a 12" JL using the same amp, it must be an ELITE thin mount woofer. I looked as closely at the woofer as I could with it still installed. It didn't seem to have any of the same cosmetic features (folded surround and flat aluminum cone) as Alpine 10" or 12" thin mount subs, but then again, those retail for $400+ each. I wonder if you can buy just the sub itself? If it is that good, maybe Alpine will sell them as aftermarket woofers at some point? BTW, there is one on ebay right now for $195 shipped. That's pretty cheap.

It is a 12.5 x 8 inch sub...and you are right...in the factory config it still seems under powered (good friend has a 2015 rubi). The PDX-V9 sends plenty of clean power to it. Even with top off it hits pretty hard. Nothing like a 119db monster but again..for what it is it does it better than any factory sub I have heard and better than a lot of after market subs.

pepatrick · Jul 28, 2015

I think Alpine did their homework on this sub. Alpine designed the sub and enclosure. Is there a better solution....sure. According to the Alpine video on this sub it is a 300 watt sub but it is very efficient and has a great deal of throw so it has good low end and really good punch. I have the gain turned down on the sub channel and x-over at 80Hz. Far better than you would imagine. It is not a competition system by any means but for a Jeep that has the top off 90% of the time, hidden or at least factory appearance sub it is pretty tough to beat. I used to build competition audio systems in the late 80s and early 90s and although I am about a month and a half out from 50..I still want a system that hits. I did a ton of research (some trial and error via the credit card) and found the combination of factory and aftermarket components that work nicely together. The sound is super clean, no hiss, excellent mid range and highs and a ton of bass when needed. I listen to all kinds of music and it is quite an impressive setup.

n00g7 · Jul 28, 2015

Alpine makes great stuff. I'm sure for 90% of people this solution would work great. Nice job. I have switched to the Alpine PDX amps and head units in all my vehicles, they're very impressive. As are the JL audio components/subs, I have two sets of C5-570s that I'm going to stuff in my XJ powered by the V9 (along with the 10W3v3 when I get around to rerunning wires, then I will be extremely happy. $4,000 stereo in a $6500 XJ haha.

Jeepgrl14 · Jul 30, 2015

Hi pepatrick I am wanting to do the same I bought a 2015 sub for my 2014 and was wondering if you can show me a picture of you wiring. I can't figure out how to do it. I would really appreciate it. Thanks

pepatrick · Jul 30, 2015

This should help

nirwhistlr · Aug 5, 2015

Would a different or powered Line-out-Converter allow you to keep the factory EQ?

pepatrick · Aug 5, 2015

Probably not because equalization happens in the amp. The PAC line out never makes it to the amp...I am using the Audio Control DQDX to control audio. It is a multi ban EQ with time correction. It is all hidden so as far as the casual radio thief is concerned my Jeep is all stock. All the benefits of the factory set up with much better sound quality than even a premium 2015 Wrangler.

2015 Wrangler Subwoofer review

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