The Great HU Install of 2023

Switch it to Simple (I think) instead of Advanced EQ. Then you only have to deal with Front/Rear/Sub. You can also hit a preset and tweak it from Simple mode

 

I'll have to look at that tomorrow, I'm busy drinking now. You know, priorities.

 

Mine were barely up. You should be able to turn your volume up to maybe 2 notches from full and it should be perfectly clear without audible distortion. That's how I learned it. After many years of doing it wrong, haha.


Tuning shouldn't be that hard. As long as you get your crossovers, and time alignment set properly.
But, I haven't had an Alpine before.

 

You bring up another thing, I have the crossovers set on my amp, but also having crossovers on the HU itself is new to me and adds another layer of complexity. As far as the time adjustment, that may as well be alien technology to me.

 

Oh, yeah, do one or the other for crossovers.
Time alignment is super easy. Just measure from each speaker to your headrest, or where your head should be.
Are you running component speakers in the front? It's trickier if you are and they aren't close together. That's were running fully active makes it more better and easier.

 

2-way 6 x 9s up front and 2-way 6.5s rear.

 

That's easy for time alignment then. And should be super easy for crossover setting.

 

Anyone found a dash trim kit in matte black?

 

Alright, I know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed but what am I missing here? I can’t get the face to go into the main unit? Have the main unit pulled as far forward on the sliders and face has the screws on the middle setting in terms of up/down height. Instructions say not to adjust the angle of the face until it’s mounted on the main unit. I must be missing something…

 

TWSS

It's not upside down, is it?

 

Nope. Figured it out with the help of someone who’s smarter than me. Had to mount the face to the body, adjust the tilt, dismount the face, slide into dash kit, then remount the face to the body.

 

Ahh yes…Down Periscope…

 

Always measure from the lowest playing driver off of the amplifier channel.

Eg, component speaker with passive crossover splitting the amp output to the larger mid-bass and smaller tweeter. Measure physically or acoustically from the mid bass, the rationale behind it is that the lower frequencies <800ish hz are more time/phase dependent rather than the high frequencies >1.4kish hz being more intensity dependent. In that middle 800-1400 it is a balance of both.

 

well that's a sensible series of steps.

 

“ @BiggHertz whatre you doing?”
“As little as humanly possible, sir”

 

Finally got back to attempting this Alpine install after driving around with my dash torn apart for 2 weeks.
Having a couple of issues, hoping you big brains might know what’s happening.

1. My reverse camera isn’t coming on when in reverse. (Follow up question, I removed my FRaC harness, I should be able to access the rear camera anytime, correct?)

2. Front camera isn’t working either but I’m pretty sure it’s bc I need to wire up the trigger wire. Any suggestions on where I should do that?

3. How to I wire up the 2white and gray usb cables? Crutchfield said I needed a UT03 but it doesn’t fit the brown connector down low.

4. Do I need to wire up an HDMI/fire stick to cast movies from my phone? I thought it would screen cast wirelessly

thank all for any assistance

 

1. Did you tie the reverse trigger wire from the maestro harness to the one on the head unit harness?
2. Not sure there - I haven’t turn into mine yet.
3. You should have a connector behind the factory radio that the UT03 plugs into, not down at the actual factory USB port
4. Depends on your phone. Android should cast without acting extra. Apple I think has to be wired and can’t be in CarPlay mode.

 

Thanks Casey, I’ll check the reverse trigger wire tonight.

and I did now find the correct gray usb connector for the TO3. That was a DUH moment

 

Another dumb moment, didn’t have the reverse cam enabled in settings despite reading about it in this thread several times

Two down! Two to go!

 

I also didn’t see this mentioned but it’s possible I missed it - there is also an audio option to turn on the subwoofer rca signal - I may have torn the unit back out to check connections before dealing I had to check the box on the HU.

 

So, is the iDatalink

$170 Maestro ADS-MRR Universal Radio Replacement and Steering Wheel Interface

Maestro ADS-MRR module sufficient to get us full compatibility or should I buy the slightly more expense

$210 ADS-MRR2 Universal Radio Replacement and Steering Wheel Interface - Retain Factory Features & Display Engine Performance Info on Touchscreen When Installing Maestro-Ready Head Unit

ADS-MRR2? I can tell for sure what it adds. Any input is appreciated.

 

I regret getting the Bluetooth RR2. That's all it adds, the bluetooth, and it flaked on me so much, I just went to a Windows laptop and hardline USB plugged it in, and it went perfectly with 0 issues instantly. I left a USB cable ziptied but accessible to the Maestro under driver footwell in case I want to modify things in the future, but I doubt I will.

 

Oh, so it just adds the ability for you to connect to the module via BT to make changes to it if needed?

 

I’ve had my HU installed just over a week. Overall - I’m happy with it. The screen is huge compared to the 7” I had previously and the resolution/ picture quality is really good.

Few hiccups -
1. I agree with @Azblue the audio quality isn’t as great as the Kenwood I had before. Hard to describe - just not as rich and lifelike as the Kenwood was out of the box. Not as noticeable at lower volume but when you crank it there is a definite difference.
2. I can’t figure out how to keep CarPlay from interrupting while on the HDMI input. I suppose I could disconnect my phone but it would be nice if it didn’t switch the source whenever I receive a text message.
3. I’ve had a few times where the Maestro doesn’t appear to work - no steering wheel controls for an extended period but the HU says the Maestro is connected in the settings. It fixes itself but that never happened with the old HU.


On the upside, the mystery reboot I was getting with the Kenwood has not occurred and I’ve put on about 500 miles on so that may be a thing of the past.

 

Would you do the Alpine again, or another newer Kenwood?

 

I’d go back to Kenwood.

 

Too bad I didn't pick up any of those, too.

 

I dig my Kenwood and it's a shame the Alpine isn't comparing up - but it could be worse! You could be using the stock headunit!

 

Hey everyone. I'm hoping someone has run into this issue, or knows what the hell I need to do...lol.
Initially, my 2014 Platinum had JBL system. I replaced all the door speakers with new JBL, put in a new 10" sub/enclosure, installed an aftermarket amp (Rockville 5 channel), and installed an inline processor and connected to factory amp (since I was keeping stock head unit). In a nutshell, system still sounded like garbage, and I figured it was because of the stock head unit.
Two years later (current), I finally bit the bullet and bought the Alpine ILX-F511.
I purchased the wiring, harnesses , maestro, etc...(plug and play kit) from Crutchfield for the HU.
I took out the inline processor, removed the factory amp (capped any loose wires that were cut), ran RCA cables from head unit for ch 1, 2, 3, 4 (single for each channel), and a set for ch 5 (sub), and also ran an amp power-on line from head unit to the amp.
I'm only getting sound out of driver side front and rear door, and slight sound out of passenger front tweeter. Nothing else soundwise on right side, and nothing out of the sub.
I've checked speaker wire connections at amp, and swapped around RCA cables at amp. I can't get this figured out .
Did I Fk something up by cutting out the factory amp completely, when possibly some of the plug-n-play is wired for the factory amp being left in (even though I selected aftermarket amp option when getting the wiring kit from Crutchfield)?

 

Not completely sure on that. While the screen is beautiful on the Alpine, the stock HU properly amped and with quality speakers sounded better at times and was easier to use. Although I admit that I'll still need to screw with the new one for hours and hours and may end up with a better sound, but it's not a simple task.