Alpine 9 Speaker System, Adding A Subwoofer.....

[MikeyHo808]

Time after time, I tell myself to research heavily before deciding, and I’m pretty good about it. This is not one of those instances.
Read through this thread, yet still confused if I need more parts or not. I have the Alpine amplified system with ANC.
Have a Pioneer Powered shallow mount subwoofer on its way. Nothing crazy, just wanting to beef up the front of the cab some. Adjusting the EQ with more bass makes the back seat just way too boomy, and the front just overpowers the rear as far as volume, so it kinda gets lost. My plan is to add this sub to the front of the cab to get more bottom without having to peak the bass on the eq.
Can I line level this sub, or will I need to install an interface such as the PAC?
I kinda know the answer to that, but if there is any way to save some $$$, I’m all ears! That thing is a significant investment.

Have the same sub under my driver seat in my City, and am happy with what it did to that sound system, but this upgrade is looking to get more pricey Ugh…

 

[ayoslickxd]

lol im same boat as you. im confused reading this whole thing, so when i add audio control am i basically removing mt factory 8 inch sub? or am i keeping the sub intact and adding more subs that would work with factory 8

 

[Rlandon]

Reading up on the post after just receiving my components the past few days. I've got a 2021 with the 12" Alpine. I'll be using the PAC CH41 with the CH01 on the ANC. All dash and door speakers were previously replaced with JBL's on the Alpine amp but still sounds like crap. Bought the JL Stealthbox for reclining seats (10's), JL HD900/5 amp, and all the wiring kits and RCA's to get it powered and signal. I was going through all the post to see who and how anyone ran new heavier gauge speaker wire to the doors through the factory access?? That's the only real issue I've run across planning it out. Is there an easier way besides the factory wiring? Power is no problem, amp will mount to stealthbox, PAC's are simple enough. I'll run the dash and overhead off the Alpine amp and the doors/subs off the JL. Almost ready to start.

 

[RichInMN]

Reading up on the post after just receiving my components the past few days. I've got a 2021 with the 12" Alpine. I'll be using the PAC CH41 with the CH01 on the ANC. All dash and door speakers were previously replaced with JBL's on the Alpine amp but still sounds like crap. Bought the JL Stealthbox for reclining seats (10's), JL HD900/5 amp, and all the wiring kits and RCA's to get it powered and signal. I was going through all the post to see who and how anyone ran new heavier gauge speaker wire to the doors through the factory access?? That's the only real issue I've run across planning it out. Is there an easier way besides the factory wiring? Power is no problem, amp will mount to stealthbox, PAC's are simple enough. I'll run the dash and overhead off the Alpine amp and the doors/subs off the JL. Almost ready to start.

I ran fresh 10 gauge to all the speakers - the doors are a major PITA due to the tight rubber loom, and the passenger-side dash is also a challenge. It's completely possible though.

 

[Rlandon]

I ran fresh 10 gauge to all the speakers - the doors are a major PITA due to the tight rubber loom, and the passenger-side dash is also a challenge. It's completely possible though.

I did my Gen 4 years ago and remember it was a PITA also. I haven't pulled the access covers off yet but the seals have for the doors have a plug for the wiring, correct?

 

[RichInMN]

I did my Gen 4 years ago and remember it was a PITA also. I haven't pulled the access covers off yet but the seals have for the doors have a plug for the wiring, correct?

Yep, I had to drill 'em out.

 

[Rlandon]

Yep, I had to drill 'em out.

Did you have to use resistors for the factory wiring to simulate a speaker load on the factory amp? That's what Crutchfield is saying and selling on their site. Looks like I should get my drill ready also and pull mine through the plug ends. I'm using 12GA which is really overkill but prefer to have it run the first time should I decide to up the power later on. Thanks for the pics!!

 

[RichInMN]

Did you have to use resistors for the factory wiring to simulate a speaker load on the factory amp? That's what Crutchfield is saying and selling on their site. Looks like I should get my drill ready also and pull mine through the plug ends. I'm using 12GA which is really overkill but prefer to have it run the first time should I decide to up the power later on. Thanks for the pics!!

The DSP I chose has high-level inputs that present a small resistive load, so I didn't need to use resistors... although I'm not 100% sure whether that applies to the Alpine too (I have the Base 6), someone else will have to chime in on that one. Good luck!

 

[MikeyHo808]

So, just had a chat with a PACPRO rep. Although it doesn’t show under the vehicle specific menu, they confirmed that if just planning on adding a sub, I am able to use the APSUB-CH41 for my install instead of the AP4-CH41, and the APSUB comes with the ANC bypass harness at half the price of the AP4.
Gonna pull the trigger on this unit as all I am wanting to add is a powered sub.
Will document the install and let y’all know how it goes.

 

[terrywarfield]

So, just had a chat with a PACPRO rep. Although it doesn’t show under the vehicle specific menu, they confirmed that if just planning on adding a sub, I am able to use the APSUB-CH41 for my install instead of the AP4-CH41, and the APSUB comes with the ANC bypass harness at half the price of the AP4.
Gonna pull the trigger on this unit as all I am wanting to add is a powered sub.
Will document the install and let y’all know how it goes.

Very curious on this. I have a ‘20 Bighorn night with Alpine and ANC. All I wanna do is add a freakin 12” sub to the mix and everything seems so complex lol

 

[User_67930]

So, just had a chat with a PACPRO rep. Although it doesn’t show under the vehicle specific menu, they confirmed that if just planning on adding a sub, I am able to use the APSUB-CH41 for my install instead of the AP4-CH41, and the APSUB comes with the ANC bypass harness at half the price of the AP4.
Gonna pull the trigger on this unit as all I am wanting to add is a powered sub.
Will document the install and let y’all know how it goes.

I just installed one of those yesterday, yes it does work fine.

 

[Rlandon]

The fun has begun. All the wiring is run, Stealthbox is mounted, JL amp is mounted and wired. Finishing up a few OCD items today then on the the 12" removal and PAC gear tomorrow. I ordered a tone generator from Sonic Electronics the other day hoping it would be here today. No dice, not in stock now and not even an email to let me know. See ya Sonic, no more. Ordered another from Amazon and should have Sunday. I'll test out the harness leads to the oem speaker wiring and make those connections at the Alpine amp. I'll put some voltage to it and hope it doesn't go up in a big plasma flame! Do I need Nomex and a faceshield for arc flash? Should I move my truck outdoors, haha! I trust my wiring, not the electronics! In case your curious, I ran two sets of speaker wiring. One from the pillars to the amp location and the other under the driver seat for the PAC harness tap. This way I can go PAC/Alpine or skip it all and go full amp to the doors/dash and subs.

 

[Rlandon]

Finally finished my install!

View attachment 99864

View attachment 99865

Just some final notes on the installation process for anyone else looking to do the same...

Removing the front screen panel of the truck to installing the PAC AmpPRO SUB module was fairly easy, and I feel much better knowing I have a flat signal going to the subs that isn't controlled by the Ram's EQ settings.

The ANC is bypassed using PAC's APH-CH03 harness, even though Crutchfield says it doesn't fit in my specific model Ram ('19 with 12" screen and Alpine system). This is also the harness to use if you want to power the factory speakers with an aftermarket amplifier, or if you want to pull speaker-level signals to your amp's inputs.

I ran all my wiring down the driver's side. It's not optimal to have power and signal wires running parallel for these lengths, but with shielded RCAs I hope this won't give me any problems.

I used a factory ground stud that is attached to the bottom of the cab behind the passenger seats for my amp. You'll have to pull the back wall carpet out of the way a little bit to get to it. Yay for not having to sand away paint or drill any holes!

I'm happy with the install and the Stealthbox (after fixing the out of phase wiring configuration that the box arrived with!)




The APH-CH03 is the one that fits our trucks with the Alpine and is the proper one to use to redirect the speaker wires to your aftermarket amp.

What did you use to mount your amp to the stealthbox, self-tapping screws, drywall, or other? Since the enclosure is fiberglass asking before I tap mine and possibly leave a crack to rattle away. Just waiting for my tone generator to arrive so I can identify the CH03 wiring to the connectors, then time for the CH41 and power. Thanks!

 

[Rlandon]

The PAC APH-CH03 is the correct harness to use if you have the Alpine system. Using it allowed me to disable the stock subwoofer behind the rear seat, bypass the ANC (supposedly - I have no way of knowing whether this is working as intended or not), and provide me with an easy place to pull L/R speaker level signals (or the OEM subwoofer signals) to feed my subwoofer amplifier, all from under the drivers seat without having to touch any OEM wiring.

The APH-CH03 harness comes with two male and female "breakout" harnesses that plug into the two grey OEM connectors under the seat. These breakout harnesses allow you to connect the factory speakers to an aftermarket amp, or connect them to the OEM amp. It's a good idea to plug the female grey harness into the male grey OEM harness and tone out which pairs go to which speaker, but here is how mine were mapped in my '19 Rebel. (These are the colors of the PAC APH-CH03 harness):

Speaker 1 (Red)	Front left dash
Speaker 2 (Orange)	Front right dash
Speaker 3 (Yellow)	Front left door
Speaker 4 (Green)	Front right door
Speaker 5 (Blue)	Subwoofer
Speaker 6 (Purple)	Subwoofer
Speaker 7 (Pink)	Subwoofer
Speaker 8 (Light Green)	Front center dash
Speaker 9 (White)	Right rear headboard
Speaker 10 (Gray)	Left rear headboard
Speaker 11 (Brown)	Right rear door
Speaker 12 (Black)	Left rear door

I used both the tone generator and your results and they were identical for my 21 with the Alpine 12". Now for all the speaker wiring of what to keep Alpine and what will be JL amp powered. Thanks for posting this!!!! Still waiting for my DSP to arrive this week to finish it all.

 

[MikeyHo808]

Was waiting on the PACPRO interface. It finally came in, so spent the better part of yesterday tackling this install.

Pioneer compact powered sub, 150 watt max. Have the same sub under my driver seat in my Promaster City. Surprisingly solid compact sub, and provides enough low end for my liking. Dont need 1000 watts anymore, just wanna enhance what is already there
Also, 1 harness, 1 pair of RCA's and the amps wired controller, thats it. Routed to front of truck, power to battery, remote and RCA's to PACPRO interface. Probably the easiest wiring install for a stereo i have ever done. Spent more time on deciding where to put sub.
The PACPRO APSUB works perfect, ANC bypassed with provided harness.
Sub control knob installed onto dash panel, and Pioneer sub controller next to steering wheel. Stock sub remains connected to signal, too.

Because I have a WeatherTech underseat storage bin, and no room under front seats, it could only go one place, behind the rear seat.
Mounted sub onto some laminated 1/8 thick panel I had, ran strips of 3/4 inch weather stripping and strips of sound deadening to underside of panel, and stuck to back wall of truck behind seat with HD 2 way tape.
Glued some acoustic foam to underneath of the carpeted wall panel, and reinstalled under trim. With seat reinstalled, looks as if nothing is there. Foam mainly to take up dead space between sub and carpet panel. So far, I dont hear any odd vibrations coming from behind there.
Sounds awesome, and seems to have woken up the anemic stock Alpine sub, too. (At least to my ears).
Plenty more bottom end now, and so much easier to dial in the bass with PACPRO knob, instead of digging into the menu to adjust bass.
Done for now, and am super pleased with how it came out. Appreciate this thread and all I learned from it. Thanks, guys!

 

[FiremanHemi]

Very curious on this. I have a ‘20 Bighorn night with Alpine and ANC. All I wanna do is add a freakin 12” sub to the mix and everything seems so complex lol

Same here pal lol. I have a 12” kicker with an amp and all I want is to install it for more bass but I’m afraid I’m gonna get charged an arm and a leg for all the extras this truck takes

 

[MoreOvalteenPlz]

Same here pal lol. I have a 12” kicker with an amp and all I want is to install it for more bass but I’m afraid I’m gonna get charged an arm and a leg for all the extras this truck takes

I used this LLJ Customs bypass harness for my sub install with the Alpine+ANC system and it works perfectly. It simply plugs into the ANC module underneath the driver’s seat. It takes longer for the electric seat to slide forward to gain access than it does to install the harness extension. For the line out for my sub amp, I tapped into the driver’s side rear door speaker wires using a Kicker KISL. I also leave the stock Alpine sub unplugged so it doesn’t muddy the low end. This setup is super handy because in about 30 seconds I can revert back to stock by unplugging the bypass harness, unplugging my Kicker sub and plugging the stock Alpine sub back in. This allows me to easily re-enable ANC for longer road trips.

EDIT: Added pictures of the bypass harness

 

[Another Money Pit]

I used this LLJ Customs bypass harness for my sub install with the Alpine+ANC system and it works perfectly. It simply plugs into the ANC module underneath the driver’s seat. It takes longer for the electric seat to slide forward to gain access than it does to install the harness extension. For the line out for my sub amp, I tapped into the driver’s side rear door speaker wires using a Kicker KISL. I also leave the stock Alpine sub unplugged so it doesn’t muddy the low end. This setup is super handy because in about 30 seconds I can revert back to stock by unplugging the bypass harness, unplugging my Kicker sub and plugging the stock Alpine sub back in. This allows me to easily re-enable ANC for longer road trips

So your not taking the line out from directly behind your head unit? More than likely your running amp powered line into your lineout then. From my understanding the headunit runs to the amp under the seat then out to the speakers from there.

 

[MoreOvalteenPlz]

So your not taking the line out from directly behind your head unit? More than likely your running amp powered line into your lineout then. From my understanding the headunit runs to the amp under the seat then out to the speakers from there.

Correct, I tapped into the wiring behind the B pillar before it passes through the rubber seal to the door. My Kicker amplifier (46CXA4001) is capable of safely handling an amplified high level input.

 

[FiremanHemi]

I used this LLJ Customs bypass harness for my sub install with the Alpine+ANC system and it works perfectly. It simply plugs into the ANC module underneath the driver’s seat. It takes longer for the electric seat to slide forward to gain access than it does to install the harness extension. For the line out for my sub amp, I tapped into the driver’s side rear door speaker wires using a Kicker KISL. I also leave the stock Alpine sub unplugged so it doesn’t muddy the low end. This setup is super handy because in about 30 seconds I can revert back to stock by unplugging the bypass harness, unplugging my Kicker sub and plugging the stock Alpine sub back in. This allows me to easily re-enable ANC for longer road trips.

EDIT: Added pictures of the bypass harness

This is great news! Lol thank you sir!