Base stereo BETTER???
 

Once upon a time I had a 2013 JK with the super-duper Alpine amplified system with the subwoofer. It came with the base head unit and my only change was to install the 430 head unit. I thought it sounded okay, but certainly not great.

Then I traded it in for an SRT Challenger with their super-duper system. It sounded very good, but certainly not great.

A couple of days ago I traded the Challenger BACK for a 2015 JK. This one has the basic non-sub 130 system. I figured my first upgrade would be the stereo system. But after only a couple of days I have the impression that this "base" system sounds better than the Alpine system in my 2013.

I don't crank it like in my younger days. I'm guessing that I would only encounter distortion if I did.

Is my imagination running wild or are the "premium" systems really no better than (not as good as) the base system???

I had a base system in my 2015, as it is pretty good it is not great. The alpine system for the 2015 is way better then the base.

The 2015 Alpine system is way better than the base, and the best premium system option available for the JK to date. My opinion of course..

I have the 130 Uconnect and Alpine setup in my 2015, its pretty good, however the headunit itself is utter garbage, its by no means the headunit lol.

Aw heck... Maybe I'm just happy to have a Jeep again. But this thing sure seems to sound better than the Alpine system in my '13 did.

Jeep acoustics are terrible, I don't know how you would make it sound good.

true to Jeep form...Over power it.