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Alpine to JL Audio- Door Speakers

16K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  JZ57 
#1 · (Edited)
This is the second stage in the conversion of the stock Alpine speakers in my 2011 Ram CC Sport to JL Audio.

The speakers I chose to replace the stock Alpine 6x9 door speakers are JL Audio C2-650 speakers. For more details, go here:

http://www.crutchfield.com/s_136C2650/JL-Audio-C2650.html?showAll=N&search=jl_c2650&avf=N&skipvs=T

I used the Crutchfield/Metra harness #12071050 and Scosche Speaker Plate #142SA69 so there would be no need to hack into the stock wiring. Just plug and play and move on with your life! The harness and plate can be found here:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_12071050/Chrysler-Speaker-Wiring-Harnesses.html?tp=3097

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_142SA69/Universal-6-x9-to-5-1-4-or-6-1-2-Brackets.html?tp=2824

For removal of the speakers, the door panel has to be removed. This is easily accomplished by:

Prying open the little circle inside of the door handle and removing the phillips head screw. Also gently pry out the plastic handle cover.
Then remove the plastic screws and retainers from around the door panel with a Torx 20 tool.
Remove the sail panel above the door panel, by the mirror. Just gently pry as it's held in by clips only.
Gently pull the door panel outwards and then up. Before the panel will come off, release the wiring harness from underneath the switch panel while it's still in the panel. There's no need to remove it. Finally, lift the panel over the door lock pull and set aside.

The speaker is held in place by four bolts which can be removed with a 3/16" socket.

Now, in an effort to provide higher frequencies to the front door to improve the soundstage, I wired in a signal line from the dash speakers and ran that wire to the door area. The wire must be run through the stock door loom. This is detailed elsewhere on this site but please note that the passenger side is easy while the drivers side is quite difficult. This is due the loom and connector being nearly full of stock wiring. It can be done but be patient.

I installed the crossover first. The I cut, crimped and heat shrinked my dash signal wire to the crossover. From the crossover, a tweeter level output running at -3db goes to the tweeter mounted in the Scosche plate. The JL woofer is connected via the harness to the stock door signal. Note- The Scosche plate is too small for this woofer and needs to be Dremel modified slightly larger to allow it to fit. Also, the dreaded front door depth limit comes into play due to a plastic factory brace. This brace simply needs a very small amount of non essential plastic removed to allow the magnet to fit. I hate to cut or modify anything but this was just a little bit of sanding with my Dremel and looked completely stock when it was complete.

Results- Better with the added high notes as it widens the soundstage. This however is no where near as impactful as just changing out the side dash speakers. Also, I used a test CD with specific frequency test signals. The rear doors are sent a different filtered frequency than the fronts. When I connected my C2-650 separates to the front, the tweeter was obsolete. It was able to reproduce frequencies up to 800hz and all the way down to 20hz. On the rear, the tweeters performed, but not to their full potential. It faded off after about 7000hz and again, down to 20hz. When I say "full frequency," I mean that it has a broader frequency range. This would explain why people have had success with a quality set of components or coaxials in the rear doors, but not in the front.

If I had to do it again, I'd probably leave them alone or pursue external amplification. It's an improvement but a little subtle.
 

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#4 ·
Sorry to post on an old thread but wanted to give everyone a heads up. Not sure if Scosche changed their design or the OP actually used the C2-600's cause I have the exact same setup and it will be impossible to mount the tweeter on the plate with the size of the speaker. Im trimming roughly 1/2" off the Scosche plate to accommodate these, which will spill over the sides a bit. Doesn't look like the case with the speakers in the pic above.
 
#11 ·
JL C2-650 on 2012 Ram 1500 Front Doors



I'm experiencing the same issues as the above forum member quoted. My C2-650 have a larger diameter than the Scosche plate and there will be no room for the tweeter in the top. Does anybody with the same set up found a solution?
Thanks!!!!
 
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