Alpine, and harmon. 8.4, and 12"

[Predfan]

So I got to sit in both an alpine stereo truck and Harmon kardon truck yesterday. played the same music on both systems with an aux cord off my phone and couldn't really tell much of a difference between the 2 at all. I was excited for the harmon kardon but now I'm leaning more towards maybe the sport as I found the 8.4 with hard buttons underneath was more user friendly and the alpine was more than adequate and no super obvious quality difference between the two sound systems. On another note the dealership I went to told me they hadn't sold a single 2019 yet and were willing to give me 1 dollar over invoice and 0% financing if I bought there middle of the line Laramie they had. I was seriously tempted but I really want ram boxes and want to see what etorque brings in both the v8 and v6. This is in alberta canada

 

[alow]

Did you compare them to the stock stereo by any chance? I imagine either should easily be better but I was curious how different they are over stock.

 

[Predfan]

No I didn't there weren't any bighorns on the lot I was able to sit in

 

[BostonBlueRam]

So I got to sit in both an alpine stereo truck and Harmon kardon truck yesterday. played the same music on both systems with an aux cord off my phone and couldn't really tell much of a difference between the 2 at all. I was excited for the harmon kardon but now I'm leaning more towards maybe the sport as I found the 8.4 with hard buttons underneath was more user friendly and the alpine was more than adequate and no super obvious quality difference between the two sound systems. On another note the dealership I went to told me they hadn't sold a single 2019 yet and were willing to give me 1 dollar over invoice and 0% financing if I bought there middle of the line Laramie they had. I was seriously tempted but I really want ram boxes and want to see what etorque brings in both the v8 and v6. This is in alberta canada

That is interesting, did you try playing it loud, I wonder if the extra wattage translates to a more cleaner audio at higher volumes? Also what type of music were you listening to?

 

[Predfan]

I listened to 90s country and 90s alternative rock I was able to crank the harmon yo max like others have mentioned without it blowing my ear drums out as for vocals I really didn't notice much difference at all

 

[Slim]

That is interesting, did you try playing it loud, I wonder if the extra wattage translates to a more cleaner audio at higher volumes? Also what type of music were you listening to?

I found the HK system "wanting" in the loudness department. The clarity was fine IMO.

The Alpine in my 2015 Limited is much louder.

 

[TDubyaDubya]

I seem to recall having a software update on my HK stereo in my '15 SRT392 Challenger that helped a lot in the volume department. Hopefully, a similar update will make the Ram HK better too

 

[Slim]

I seem to recall having a software update on my HK stereo in my '15 SRT392 Challenger that helped a lot in the volume department. Hopefully, a similar update will make the Ram HK better too

I sure hope you are right!

 

[Lakewake]

I seem to recall having a software update on my HK stereo in my '15 SRT392 Challenger that helped a lot in the volume department. Hopefully, a similar update will make the Ram HK better too

Either in amp or the Noise cancel software.
My brother in law had the same problem in a new BMW.
Stereo was soft, turned out the active noise cancel software had to be fine tuned.
I did not here it before, but sounds great now.

 

[skatz5000]

I hope theres some sort of update too. I'm seriously underwhelmed by the HK system in my longhorn.

 

[skatz5000]

Slim we’re you listening to satellite radio when it was lacking? I discovered today the radio is quite different once I switch off satellite to fm. Sounds the way I’d expect it to honestly. Shame bc all I ever listen to is satellite haha

 

[Slim]

Slim we’re you listening to satellite radio when it was lacking? I discovered today the radio is quite different once I switch off satellite to fm. Sounds the way I’d expect it to honestly. Shame bc all I ever listen to is satellite haha

I don't remember if it was satellite or FM to be honest. It may have even been a combo of both.

 

[202snowman]

I don't remember if it was satellite or FM to be honest. It may have even been a combo of both.

I notice even on my 2014 Durango with the Alpine system that there is a complete difference between FM, satellite, or if I'm playing music off the phone. I think I remember someone else also saying that once they switched inputs it sounded completely different. You would think that RAM would be to figure out the different input levels / setting for the different inputs.

 

[fish mojo]

This might be a good issue for @RamCares to look into.

 

[alwi228]

Same. Im not a stereo junky by any means, and I love the truck so this is not a case of "people only come on the forum to share bad experiences". The truck is perfect, period...but with this particular radio, the satellite radio (same as in my 15 overland) is pretty non existent base wise. But if I play pandora or Spotify off my phone, the rear window shakes at even like 23 on the volume (dont know how to better explain the level of volume...loud but not super loud). I've got the base to zero but if I switch between xm and Spotify, they sound way different and I cant stand having the window rattle. I'll find the sweet spot eventually, more my fault than the trucks.

 

[Edwards]

Just a data point - I'm still driving a 2011 Mercedes E550 while waiting on my eTorque/Rambox to be built but it has a Harman Kardon system with a lot of speakers and surround sound mode. I can tell the same difference you are noting on 2019 Ram's between Sirius and HD radio. Even playing with the treble/bass and surround functions, Sirius just sounds poor. I believe it is a combination of the compression Sirius uses combined with less line level input to the amp. I can turn Sirius up loud but it just doesn't sound good enough (poor source) to stand that for long.
Not sure if this is a Sirius issue (affecting all manufacturers) or a H/K issue but neither H/K nor Mercedes has fixed/figured it out in seven years.

 

[202snowman]

Just a data point - I'm still driving a 2011 Mercedes E550 while waiting on my eTorque/Rambox to be built but it has a Harman Kardon system with a lot of speakers and surround sound mode. I can tell the same difference you are noting on 2019 Ram's between Sirius and HD radio. Even playing with the treble/bass and surround functions, Sirius just sounds poor. I believe it is a combination of the compression Sirius uses combined with less line level input to the amp. I can turn Sirius up loud but it just doesn't sound good enough (poor source) to stand that for long.
Not sure if this is a Sirius issue (affecting all manufacturers) or a H/K issue but neither H/K nor Mercedes has fixed/figured it out in seven years.

Here's actually a pretty good article about it.


http://www.carstereochick.com/2015/04/25/why-siriusxm-sucks-what-to-know-before-you-buy-subscribe/

 

[firecadet613]

I'm VERY pleased with the Alpine in my Laramie. Hands down a HUGE improvement from the stock system in my 2016 F150.

 

[Slim]

I have no complaints with the volume on Sirius XM on my 2015 Limited. Much lower volume on the 2019 I test drove. Hoping my ordered truck doesn't have the same issue as the test drive vehicle.
@RamCares

 

[Bacoviah]

The HK is terrible. I have a SQ competition background so I might be little over critical fwiw. I did listen to the alpine and thought the alpine had better overall balance. I sure hope they have a flash update coming soon. Also I have my bass at -3 for the best balance.