19 speaker Harmon kardon system

[renzo2213]

Hello everyone, I’ve searched and searched and searched. My truck is a 2019 larimie, and it has the 12” Uconnect with the 19 speakers.

To start off, the sound system is incredibly loud. I measured it and it reached 106 dB. Now, the front left dash speaker and the rear passenger door speaker has a rattle when the volume is at 13 and above. I took it to ram. They weren’t able to fix it. They said they ran a sound test through it so they charged me for the service, which makes no sense. But I argued a while with them and they removed the charge. Anyone else experiencing this rattle?

Also, isn’t there supposed to be 19 speakers? I only count 11 plus a sub, so “12.” Has anyone been able to find any more speakers? There’s 3 on the dash, 2 on each front door, 2 on the rear doors, 2 in the back ceiling, and the sub. Even on the Harmon kardon site, https://www.harmankardon.com/ram.html they say “19 speakers” but only list what I just listed. Isn’t this false advertisement?


Just to add, I am not complaining how loud the system is. I absolutely love it! Just a minor issue.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[iamtheav8r]

A search here will reveal lots of info on all your questions.

 

[ForTehNguyen]

there are multiple channels on speakers. They would count a 3 way speaker as 3 channels

 

[knightro84]

The "unity" speakers are counted as two speakers each because they are a tweeter and a woofer. So 7 unity speaker is really 14, plus the 4 6x9's and the sub makes 19 total.

 

[renzo2213]

The "unity" speakers are counted as two speakers each because they are a tweeter and a woofer. So 7 unity speaker is really 14, plus the 4 6x9's and the sub makes 19 total.

Oh dang that’s really dumb lol one would think that a speaker is a sole unit. Not one with multiple channels


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[knightro84]

It's all marketing - I mean I guess "technically" they are right, but yes I agree, to me there are 12 speakers in the truck (including the sub).

 

[phild]

Hello everyone, I’ve searched and searched and searched. My truck is a 2019 larimie, and it has the 12” Uconnect with the 19 speakers.

To start off, the sound system is incredibly loud. I measured it and it reached 106 dB. Now, the front left dash speaker and the rear passenger door speaker has a rattle when the volume is at 13 and above. I took it to ram. They weren’t able to fix it. They said they ran a sound test through it so they charged me for the service, which makes no sense. But I argued a while with them and they removed the charge. Anyone else experiencing this rattle?

Also, isn’t there supposed to be 19 speakers? I only count 11 plus a sub, so “12.” Has anyone been able to find any more speakers? There’s 3 on the dash, 2 on each front door, 2 on the rear doors, 2 in the back ceiling, and the sub. Even on the Harmon kardon site, https://www.harmankardon.com/ram.html they say “19 speakers” but only list what I just listed. Isn’t this false advertisement?


Just to add, I am not complaining how loud the system is. I absolutely love it! Just a minor issue.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sadly the Harman system is basically very poor. As an owner of a week old Laramie with the HK system, I have to say it’s a joke that must have been designed by a complete moron. As a audio tech with over 40 years in sound technology , heres the lowdown. The so called 19 speaker 900 watt system is badly designed and all hype. All of the full range sound comes only from the dash speakers, these are cheap 3.5 inch units with the tweeters being controlled by a 5 cent capacitor. The tweeters in the front door are barely audible, the speakers in the front and rear doors are solely used as woofers and along with terrible response they vibrate the door and are practically useless. Then you are left with two ,what appear mid/top speakers in the rear roof lining that rattle when driven hard and one extremely poor sub behind the rear passenger seat that has hardly any output and vibrates and rattles more than a snake. There simply is no air space available to produce good sound in the sub. The tonal quality is awful, tinny and a serious lack of power. The Alpine 9 speaker system is way superior but still not up to what it should be. Take a listen to the Bose in the new Silverado which is excellent. For everyone who paid a premium price for this so called high end system, Ram needs to fess up along with Harmon, recall all of the new rams with the HK system and modify them so they sound like what anyone would expect. Either that or pay for everyone to have it modified.

 

[barr0208]

Sadly the Harman system is basically very poor. As an owner of a week old Laramie with the HK system, I have to say it’s a joke that must have been designed by a complete moron. As a audio tech with over 40 years in sound technology , heres the lowdown. The so called 19 speaker 900 watt system is badly designed and all hype. All of the full range sound comes only from the dash speakers, these are cheap 3.5 inch units with the tweeters being controlled by a 5 cent capacitor. The tweeters in the front door are barely audible, the speakers in the front and rear doors are solely used as woofers and along with terrible response they vibrate the door and are practically useless. Then you are left with two ,what appear mid/top speakers in the rear roof lining that rattle when driven hard and one extremely poor sub behind the rear passenger seat that has hardly any output and vibrates and rattles more than a snake. There simply is no air space available to produce good sound in the sub. The tonal quality is awful, tinny and a serious lack of power. The Alpine 9 speaker system is way superior but still not up to what it should be. Take a listen to the Bose in the new Silverado which is excellent. For everyone who paid a premium price for this so called high end system, Ram needs to fess up along with Harmon, recall all of the new rams with the HK system and modify them so they sound like what anyone would expect. Either that or pay for everyone to have it modified.

bose is not audiophile by any stretch of the imagination to get audiophile you would have to spend at least $10000-$15000 your right though the hk is over hyped. i have the alpine at least it is half decently balanced changing the dash speakers is a great improvement and i can honestly say to get the sound that the alpine has with after market products would cost more than what ram charges for the system and it wouldn't have a 3 year warranty or up to 7 years if you get the extended warranty.

 

[spinxt]

Sadly the Harman system is basically very poor. As an owner of a week old Laramie with the HK system, I have to say it’s a joke that must have been designed by a complete moron. As a audio tech with over 40 years in sound technology , heres the lowdown. The so called 19 speaker 900 watt system is badly designed and all hype. All of the full range sound comes only from the dash speakers, these are cheap 3.5 inch units with the tweeters being controlled by a 5 cent capacitor. The tweeters in the front door are barely audible, the speakers in the front and rear doors are solely used as woofers and along with terrible response they vibrate the door and are practically useless. Then you are left with two ,what appear mid/top speakers in the rear roof lining that rattle when driven hard and one extremely poor sub behind the rear passenger seat that has hardly any output and vibrates and rattles more than a snake. There simply is no air space available to produce good sound in the sub. The tonal quality is awful, tinny and a serious lack of power. The Alpine 9 speaker system is way superior but still not up to what it should be. Take a listen to the Bose in the new Silverado which is excellent. For everyone who paid a premium price for this so called high end system, Ram needs to fess up along with Harmon, recall all of the new rams with the HK system and modify them so they sound like what anyone would expect. Either that or pay for everyone to have it modified.

It’s ridiculous to think that every RAM with the HK should be recalled. I’m not audio engineer and I think it sounds plenty crisp and loud for normal listening with low fidelity sources like XM and streaming audio. My wife’s Malibu had the same Bose system you touted in the Silverado and it sounded like crap compared to my HK.
I guess sound quality is in the eye of the beholder....

 

[zlman]

I guess we all have different expectations and experiences. For me, I love the system. I now hear things in songs I've never heard before. I'm not a fan of loud music, for those that are I guess the system weaknesses show more?

 

[phild]

It’s ridiculous to think that every RAM with the HK should be recalled. I’m not audio engineer and I think it sounds plenty crisp and loud for normal listening with low fidelity sources like XM and streaming audio. My wife’s Malibu had the same Bose system you touted in the Silverado and it sounded like crap compared to my HK.
I guess sound quality is in the eye of the beholder....

 

[phild]

If you ask 8 out of 10 Ram owners who are music lovers and have had numerous systems in vehicles, they will as is being documented everywhere, that the system is poor. I agree everyone has a different opinion and for some it may sound good. But if you look at the system from a qualified vision and take it apart, you will see its just cheap materials with a Harman sticker over the Mopar unit. As to the Silverado the new one has a completely different audio system than your wife's Malibu to which I agree was pretty poor. We all paid a lot of money to have the upgrades and Ram and Harman are completely aware of the issue, even taking many trucks in to reflash the computers which helped but you cant fix a system that has immense flaws. Take a listen to the Alpine 9 speaker system and compare to the HK, to me its 5 times better as it uses better components, amps and a real subwoofer under the seat.

 

[Ellisstrong]

I like my hk system a lot. One of the best sounding factory systems to me.

 

[RebelWraith]

I test drove two Rams Rebels. One had the red interior with a 9 speaker Alpine system and the other had the Rebel 12 package with the 19 speaker HK system. The Alpine could not hit the same bass notes or hit the higher levels of volume that the HK could which is why I took on the extra fees involved with Rebel 12.
Having aftermarket systems in my Polaris Slingshot and previous vehicles I knew of course there would be a difference in quality. You pay a ton more for aftermarket sound systems. But, for me the HK was the better stereo system from the factory.

 

[21TRX]

HK system sounds good to me

 

[SpeedyV]

My last truck had a Bose sound system, and I rarely turned it on. In my Ram, the H/K is almost never turned off. Maybe that says something?

Note: I did have the amp TSB done on mine early on. And yes, a 3-band equalizer and “surround” with no additional controls is very...1980s. But it’s a decent system for a factory design budget.

 

[duke2001]

If you ask 8 out of 10 Ram owners who are music lovers and have had numerous systems in vehicles, they will as is being documented everywhere, that the system is poor. I agree everyone has a different opinion and for some it may sound good. But if you look at the system from a qualified vision and take it apart, you will see its just cheap materials with a Harman sticker over the Mopar unit. As to the Silverado the new one has a completely different audio system than your wife's Malibu to which I agree was pretty poor. We all paid a lot of money to have the upgrades and Ram and Harman are completely aware of the issue, even taking many trucks in to reflash the computers which helped but you cant fix a system that has immense flaws. Take a listen to the Alpine 9 speaker system and compare to the HK, to me its 5 times better as it uses better components, amps and a real subwoofer under the seat.

All that being said, what system do you have in your Ram?

 

[phild]

Sadly the HK

 

[jvs600]

I was adamant about getting the HK system. I have it and had it flashed , but it seems to be underwhelming and lacking. It could be because my expectations were unrealistically high. I haven't heard the Alpine system yet.

 

[Barty88]

Anyone done any up[grades or swapped out key speakers or have suggestions on what to try? I have the HK system in my 2019 Laramie crew cab... Its sounds OK but I was definitely a little disappointed thinking a premium 19 speaker HK systems would at least be better than the Alpine... I'm just looking at cheap Crutchfield type upgrade NOT an entire system or thousands of dollars. In my old RAM I got infinity for dash and doors and it was a definite improvement over the stock. Not planning on touching any amps or power stuff, just easy speaker swap outs....