S2KPUDDYDAD

Hey guys
I finished up my audio upgrade "for now" with the addition of a set of Boston pro door speakers and the Alpine in-line amp KTP-445. my head unit is a Alpine CDE-124SXM
Before upgrading the factory door speakers and adding the inline amp my FM reception was pretty good but after the upgrades my reception has craped out. I get intermittent static in some stations and fuzzy reception in others. The XM works fine as well as the CD player.
Any ideas as to why I lost reception or what I might try to improve it?

Here is a link to my head unit install,
https://www.s2ki.com/...1#entry22139343

JWN6264

Sounds like maybe your antenna cable is a little loose - give that a check.

Reckon

I agree on the antenna cable. I have the KTP and have no issues with regular radio reception (even though I don't use the radio often). Did you notice a sound boost by adding the KTP?

S2KPUDDYDAD

I will pull the radio tomorrow and check the connection for the antenna to be sure it's good. I thought maybe it was where I located the KTP causing the issue. I installed the amp under the drivers side dash right behind the push to start button, I thought maybe I was getting electrical interference

The amp and upgraded speakers made a very noticeable difference in sound quality and loudness I used the high gain setting on the KTP amp as it seemed to have a brighter sound than the low side did.

S2KPUDDYDAD

Issue fixed

I pulled the Alpine KTP amp from under the drivers dash and relocated it behind the passenger side dash, where the glove box is in most any other car. I pulled the Alpine head unit and disconnected and reconnected the antenna a few times to be sure I had a good connection then, used some black electrical tape on the exposed metal end of the antenna plug just as added insulation.
The FM reception is now better (I live in the boonies so reception is not the best) and back to how it was before I installed the amp and speakers.

Here is a link to my head unit install,
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/988...#entry22139343

I will take a pic tomorrow of the Alpine 445 installed on the passenger side

S2KPUDDYDAD

To help better answer your question, When I did the antenna fix today I disconnected the KTP to see how the head unit sounded without it. There is a very noticeable difference in the depth/richness of the sound using the KTP inline amp over not having it. The Alpine CDE-124SXM can power the Boston pro speakers fine but you get none of the richness you pay for out of these speakers. The pros need power to get the quality of sound you expect out of these components speakers. The sound was nothing short of amazing out of the pros when I had a “real amp” powering them, a Boston pro GT-22.

hand banana

so you mounted the amp on the passenger side....was it a pain to get it in there and get the radio back in?

ive been toying with the idea of custom wiring this to my factory head unit since you can get the amp for about $100....seems like a good bang for the buck

S2KPUDDYDAD

If you do not have a Alpine head unit buy the Alpine KTP-445U This revised unit can be wired easy to any head unit and can also be bridged to 90w RMS for 2 speaker use only.


Not to bad, here are a few pics of the location install. I used a little black tape to cover the wires so they blend into the background a little better.

hand banana

that awesome i didnt even know they had a universal version......is it even worth it to run amp power to the rear speakers, im guessing it would be better to have it bridged to the front and just upgrade the door speakers

Reckon

I put my KTP in the same area. I was able to tuck it in firmly in place without much issue. It has been sitting in that spot for nearly 2 years now with no problems. I recall the difference before I had it, but barely. I'm probably going to update the system again this Spring with a full amp and a sub for more power. I drive with the top down every chance I get and love to listen to my music so some more power will go along way. The system I have now does work well but I want to push it some more.

Still, for the price, the KTP is well worth it and is a breeze to install.