So TommyC let me know about a little device called the alpine power pack (p/n ktp-445) and I looked into it, put it on my x-mas list awhile back and completely forgot about it. Well got it for x-mas and just installed it, and wow it is nice! The only downside was finding a place to mount it. For now it is in my glove box but I think I will probably end up mounting it somewhere else when I find a place to put it. They are giving my JLs a nice new full sound to them. So I highly recommend it to any Alpine owners out there. It is around $100 online from a quick google search.

There is a crap load of wires on this thing FYI:



Stock pic, I forgot to take a pic before I installed it.

 

So it increases output power? Sweet. No need to amp your door speakers with bigger separate amp.

 

im interested justin. can you give more details on exactly what it is. i still kinda dont get what it is. is it just a seperate amp for the speakers?

 

Very cool man! How many speaker you got in there Justin?

 

It is basically an amp, here is the review from cnet:

Alpine KTP-445 Power Pack adds easy amplification | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews

here is Alpine's description:

I actually put this in my civic, 4 speakers and a basslink in there....

Yep, it amps the speakers and is all just plug in play, you unplug the harness from the HU, and this amp device just plugs in in between the HU and the harness.

 

So long story short, it's an amp for your door speakers that wires into your headunit instead of how you would normally amp speakers.

 

I dont know if I trust that, it cant really be amping them that much since it doesnt even connect separately to the battery.

 

45x4 isnt that much though. My old pioneer head units used to power 50x4, I think this basically brings it up to standard.

 

That 50x4 on your head unit was probably max power.

My old Panasonic head unit made 42watts per channel RMS and it was fine running on the power it got from the stock wiring.

 

Yea companies lie about power. I bet you were only get about 25-30 real watts max.

 

I did some googling and looking on the car audio forums, they said all headunits will really only make about 20wx4 RMS if that. Also they said that these really don't make much of a difference, plus you can buy a real 4 channel alpine amp for $30 more.

 

I've been looking at this unit for about a year now...I installed an Alpine CDA-9886. It's essentially a speaker level amp. There isn't much out there that tells you that, but that's what I've gathered. Anyway, I was thinking of using the stock sat. receiver bracket as the mounting point (sits behind the glove box below the passenger airbag) since I took out the stock headunit. The only problem is getting the bracket out. The top bolt/nut combo is a real "peach" to get a tool on. Anyway, before I start to ramble, I though I'd give my two cents.

 

Well this gave me a noticeable difference, didn't cost me anything and was simple to install, loved not having to run more wiring to my battery as this was in my civic so don't have a lot of room to work in that thing.

 

I think its a pretty good product. I wouldn't run one unless I had limited space though.