Currently there are 8 speakers and a subwoofer in the overland, and i already replaced my 730N with a Kenwood DNX891 and a Maestro for can-bus integration. The Kenwood provides low level source to the stock Alpine amp, and it sounds decent, though now im itching for more clarity and bass.


I want to now complete the second phase of this, which is to upgrade all 9 speakers, however i had a quick question about sources


a) Was the original head unit a 7.1 surround head unit, or was the surround function done via DSP in the Alpine amp. When would the 7 channels be active properly or is it just simulation stuff?
b) I want to have the all the original locations replaced, so from totaling up the channels i need (and combining the Tweets and mids) i will need 8 channels, which means i need to install one 5 channel and one 4 channel amp along with the DSP. Where are you guys hiding all this equipment, under the rear seat?
3) Is there a functional use of the rear hatch tweets, and are the original rear door speakers standard midrange only speakers or are they 2/3 way coaxials?

Greetings,

The factory Alpine systems has 10 active speakers all powered from electronic DSP/Amp. This also includes the 7.1 surround sound and the electronic crossover. The surround sound is based upon Eurphony matrix that Alpine license's from another party.

The OEM active (electronic xover) 10 speakers are as follows; (1) center, (4) front door, (2) rear door, (2) rear pillar and (1) sub. The rear hatch or D pillars are not tweeters, they are a full range driver as well as the rear door. IMO, because I have my system configured correctly, the rear D pillars make a difference. I have only 1 set of tweeters in my whole system located in the front door. When you are using high quality speakers, IMHO, a passive crossover does not do any justice especially in a surround setup. Eq and time delay are critical factors to make everything blend in.

In my install, I wanted everything active with no passive crossovers. Therefore, I needed 10 channels of amp power. This was done with 3 amps because I had a mono sub amp that I got. My amp configuration is 1 mono, 1 - 4 channel and 1 - 6 channel. To get a total active system, I went with 2 aftermarket DSP units to achieve the sound quality I wanted.

The question you have to ask yourself is, do I want a 5.1 or 7.1 surround system or a traditional front, rear and sub.

If you go with a surround system, because you have the Kenwood HU, you could have a 7.1 system with a single DSP. Their are many ways to do it.

I am trying to get my complete write up within the next couple of days. I have to organize the pictures. To get an idea on what I did, you could look at my pictures:

Jeep Garage - Jeep Forum - 1stJeepGC's Album: Pictures of the Sound System

Best for now.

 

If you already replaced the HU, for sure get rid of that crappy OE Alpine amp (and speakers). Start adding your own aftermarket amps and speakers, and use the RCA outs on your Kenwood.