Dodge Dart Forum banner

Upgrade Speaker System

96K views 114 replies 50 participants last post by  chlngr1970 
#1 ·
Ok, so I looked at a Dart today and it had the Alpine audio system. Does anybody know where the AMP is located at?
Also would anybody here know how easy or hard it would be to wire a good sub and amp to the back and wiring an amp for speakers and replacing the speakers?
I had an old Saturn and it was easy to do, but im not sure about the Dart. Im looking to wait and pick up the R/T but am deciding if I should get the Alpine system, or just save that $500 and put it towards redoing the whole system.

The Alpine system does sound a lot nicer but nothing compared to a car with a dedicated sub amp combo.


Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Are you sure the alpine system was in there. You can't just trust the sticker.....did it have any holes in the trunk where extra speakers would be? The word is that it has been backordered and NO dart has it in there. Although the stock speakers sound pretty great, don't be confused.
 
#59 ·
This is the only item I regret not getting on my "Limited SE" --------- Chrystler/Dodge listen up. I'd pay the 495 right now to get on a list to have it installed. I'll be watching my email and message box for your response!.
 
#10 ·
I posted pictures of the empty spaces for these speakers. I figured the big hole was for the sub and the smaller holes where for two more speakers. Seems I was right. If it doesn't have the alpine speakers, they are just empty holes waiting to be filled with something rather than just being covered.
 
#12 ·
Alright, the one I looked at did have the alpine system, as after I saw the speakers mounded in the trunk, I looked at another model which did not have that option and they were not there. The radio options on the model with the Alpine system also had what they called "surround sound" under the sound settings.
One thing though which is disappointing is that I could not find a way to adjust only thee subwoofer volume. I could either only turn on and off the surround sound option, and change the bass level which effects the whole car, unless somebody knows if the speakers has filters on them preventing them from putting out much bass.

In the end the difference from the Alpine system and stock was good, but bass wise nothing like a car with a separate sub/amp combo in the trunk.

So do you guys who have listened to both the Alpine system vs stock find its worth the upgrade, or would it be better spending the time and money on upgrading the system to aftermarket, speakers sub and all.
 
#18 ·
Here is the short answer:
The factory Alpine system for the money is going to be your best sound for the value.

Long answer:
The system can be improved with aftermarket speakers and amplifiers. The problem is now that the cars are coming with awesome in-dash units that are not being replaced out, the cost to improve the sound with the factory head unit is more costly. When you replace the speakers and you have a GOOD aftermarket deck, you can adjust the equalizer for your speakers and be on your way. When you don't have a deck that will do the equalizer functions you need a sound processor that can. Most factory sound systems including the BOSE, MONSOON, and INFINITY have really shi**y speakers. If you've ever taken them out, you would have seen they are made of paper/cardboard mix. The reason they sound so good is that the sound is tuned by BOSE or Monsoon or Infinity in the factory equalizer for the space in the car to sound awesome. When you replace out the terrible paper speakers with better quality speakers, they have different frequency responses, behave differently at different voltages, and normally will not sound nearly as good as the paper ones do. To get the system balanced back out to the new frequencies you need an aftermarket sound processor to bring back in the lows, mids, and highs that each speaker is missing, or is kicking too much out of. With the right components and enough money you can make a system much better than factory.
A decent aftermarket 4-6 channel (the 6 being the tweeters not 2 speakers) sound processor will START out around 300 dollars. that's before your looking at a 4 channel amp, the wiring, installation, or any speakers. I'd estimate that if you were to get just the parts for a good (equal to but focused on better than the factory Alpine 9 speaker system) 6-9 channel aftermarket system and keep the factory head unit, you would be looking to spend around $1300 in components at online retail prices; without the wiring, or labor for install.

You can keep the nearly $500 and spend it towards your aftermarket upgrades; but for the same exact money, you can't get a better sounding system in my opinion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Drake460xvr
#19 ·
I have to agree that the $500 for the Alpine is well worth it. It is clear and plenty loud. Sub really sounds good and doesn't drown out the highs like many aftermarket systems. I have had aftermarket systems in many cars with multiple amps and speakers and while they may have been louder, the sound quality was only marginally better at most. I like that I can have something up really loud and no trunk vibrating or the doors. It always makes me wonder why people spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on subs to rattle the whole car and drown out the rest of the music.
 
#27 ·
Question.. can the alpine system be added to the car afterwards? As in buy the amp, sub, extra speakers? Is the wiring all there or negative? And would the deck have to be programmed to have the "surround sound" settings? I know there probably isn't much information out there for this yet, but perhaps someone knows more than I do!
 
#28 ·
Normally no. They don't have the wires going to the amp, then the wires going to what would be the amp to the speakers. Your gonna need to run your own.
For the amp there is an additional harness that the speaker connections connect to at the radio or different wires in the same harness that they use. Amplifiers normally depend on low level inputs coming from a deck that then get amplified. If High level (enough power to power your speakers) runs to an amp that does not support it, normally your volume knob goes from mute to 1 being unnecessarily loud. They make a device to convert from High level audio to low level audio called a line output converter, they can be picked up at your local audio store for around 10-20 buck. Now... the problem is that normally the factory amp is tuned for the car to give the "Surround Sound" setting. Without the factory amp your going to need some sort of sound processor to get the right frequencies to the right speakers. A good sound processor that can handle 8 - 9 speakers will set you back 500+ dollars.

The good news:
For the rear speakers that would be in the deck lid, the mounts are already there. So you can drop the speakers in and your ready to go. I haven't seen pictures yet as to if the front still has the brackets for the speaker regardless of the package but I'll keep you up to speed when I can take one apart. The missing speakers are all 3.5" except for the 8" infinite baffle sub in the rear deck lid.
 
#34 ·
Just my 2 cents after a week w/ my Dart and the premium sound system. Firstly, and I'm not sure if it's just my system, but I get pretty much no sound until the volume slider is around 8-10, I find that pretty weird. The volume slider must be up around 16-18 to get any fullness to the sound and that's in a closed cabin. The sound is muddy and "dull". Also, to the poster that suggested the stock speakers aren't the variable in great sound, I would disagree. Although Dodge stamped "infinity" on it's sound system, no doubt the speakers (and by listening to them I can attest) are of poor quality to the mass produced market. The very first thing I'm going to do is replace some or all of the speakers with aftermarket higher quality ones as the stock system (although branded premium) I find lacking and definition and clarity, especially at low volumes. I appreciate any input!
 
#35 ·
If they didn't go through the effort of tuning the stock 'premium' sound system you might be able to improve the sound dramatically by doing something as simple as Dynamat in the doors. Muddy bass can be the result of a few things, sadly, and it's hard to tell what would fix it without knowing some specs for the speakers. What's your audio source?

This also all depends on what you feel muddy and dull is. I changed out the Durango stockers for some Polk DB series and it improved sound by a very large margin. The DB series is their low-end btw.
 
#37 · (Edited)
Well after I've read about stock alpine system I want to install my Sundown 12' ASAP :D
Or just install the same size aftermarket speakers ??? Any suggestions? My Dart is already making noises inside, I don't want shake it with bass :(

I have a question, do we (non Alpine) have tweeters?? Why there are wholes in dashboard? In the middle and left/right side? Or it's a navigating women's voice coming from there?? Is there any way to hook aftermarket amp to the OEM head unit? Or by pass it? Or eq install??? This sound is terrible and no bass at all (non Alpine) my 12 year old Passat with STOCK 4 tweeters and 4 6.5s is ground shaker... And size of sub? 8 inches? what about two speakers? Door speaker size? And again do we have tweeters? Too many questions, I need to read manual....:disappointed:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top