Jeep goes McIntosh

Keyword here is “branded”. McIntosh doesn’t make the head unit, amp, speakers and radio modules - those come from Panasonic, Denso(they bought out the automotive side of Fujitsu that’s a long time AV/Infotainment supplier for Toyota), Clarion(now owned by Fareucia, and a long time Nissan/Subaru audio supplier), Pioneer, Alpine, Visteon or Delphi.

Harman, now a part of Samsung enjoys a dominant position in “premium” OEM-level audio. The “branded” JBL/Mark Levinson/Harman-Kardon/Revel/Lexicon/Infinity and now B&O Play in Ford and Audi are all tweaked versions of what Becker(also a long time Mercedes/Porsche audio supplier) makes. The head unit will still come from Panasonic and Pioneer in those cases.

if anything, McIntosh will put their signature on the head unit’s firmware/UX and their Sonic signature on the amp’s DSP. The aftermarket will come up with solutions to replace factory amps or head units on those. Kenwood now makes a 10” floating display and Pioneer’s latest has a modular display with the aim of OEM replacement.
 
Quattro Pete said:
Yes, obviously these are just graphics on the screen, aka one of probably many different screen savers/layouts, but still, I found it a bit comical. I suppose it looks nice in marketing literature as McIntosh VU meters are very well recognized.

I have them in Foobar...

CjQatkkl.png
Click to expand...

Back in the days of cassettes, did you used to record the right channel a little stronger/louder than the left? :)
 
DriveHard said:
The HK system was garbage...certainly can't get any worse.
Click to expand...

I'm actually pretty happy with the HK system in the Grand Cherokee, I've heard on the trucks it can be a bit "shrill". Our truck has the Alpine system and it's decent enough. One of the things i found is that I needed to disable the surround sound (which is on by default) for the HK system to sound right. Otherwise, it's like it is trying too hard to produce a spacial experience and it just ends up sounding weird.
 
nthach said:
Keyword here is “branded”. McIntosh doesn’t make the head unit, amp, speakers and radio modules - those come from Panasonic, Denso(they bought out the automotive side of Fujitsu that’s a long time AV/Infotainment supplier for Toyota), Clarion(now owned by Fareucia, and a long time Nissan/Subaru audio supplier), Pioneer, Alpine, Visteon or Delphi.

Harman, now a part of Samsung enjoys a dominant position in “premium” OEM-level audio. The “branded” JBL/Mark Levinson/Harman-Kardon/Revel/Lexicon/Infinity and now B&O Play in Ford and Audi are all tweaked versions of what Becker(also a long time Mercedes/Porsche audio supplier) makes. The head unit will still come from Panasonic and Pioneer in those cases.

if anything, McIntosh will put their signature on the head unit’s firmware/UX and their Sonic signature on the amp’s DSP. The aftermarket will come up with solutions to replace factory amps or head units on those. Kenwood now makes a 10” floating display and Pioneer’s latest has a modular display with the aim of OEM replacement.
Click to expand...

Interesting, as the article I've found on the MX950 states:
“We understand that customers don’t just want great sound,” said Charlie Randall, President of McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. “They want to get a full sensory experience. And that’s why it was so important that we left no stone unturned to deliver a true McIntosh Entertainment System for the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. We’re thrilled to bring our brand to a whole new group of people who may never have experienced McIntosh before.”

To ensure McIntosh luxury home audio experience was replicated in the vehicle, engineers from both companies worked hand-in-hand to fuse form and function into the system architecture. Engineers constantly went back and forth between the test vehicle and the McIntosh Reference Room itself to ensure a truly authentic McIntosh experience, even in a car.

950 Watts​

The MX950 McIntosh Entertainment System has 19 speakers in 12 optimal locations to deliver sound through every inch of the vehicle and a 17-channel amplifier delivers up to 950 Watts of power. The system has LD/HP® speaker design to lower distortion and McIntosh Power Guard® for clarity even at very high-volume levels. The most advanced materials technologies were used to make components lighter, yet stronger, so speakers respond faster in delivering timely sonic reproduction.
Click to expand...

Yes, the head unit will be Panasonic, as that's who is the current supplier for the FCA UConnect stuff, but it does sound like the rest of it, McIntosh had a hand in developing, at least based on what they are saying, no?

This is one of the dash speakers apparently:
1610384895570.png



Edit to add, here's the announcement from McIntosh, where the above quote and pic came from:
https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/brand/news/McIntosh-Audio-System-for-2021-Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-L
 
Last edited:
OVERKILL said:
I'm actually pretty happy with the HK system in the Grand Cherokee, I've heard on the trucks it can be a bit "shrill". Our truck has the Alpine system and it's decent enough. One of the things i found is that I needed to disable the surround sound (which is on by default) for the HK system to sound right. Otherwise, it's like it is trying too hard to produce a spacial experience and it just ends up sounding weird.
Click to expand...

Kinda surprised Bang & Olufsen wasn't used.

I have had Asus 💻 laptops with Bang & Olufsen speakers.

Other than that.. aside from knowing they can be $8,000 super elite speakers, I know nothing of B&O.
 
JT20 said:
Back in the days of cassettes, did you used to record the right channel a little stronger/louder than the left? :)
Click to expand...
Not intentionally, but if one was slightly stronger, it was usually the left one. Seems like most store-bought tapes were recorded that way, too.
 
4WD said:
Yeah … I know some will not agree, but I think our bose system sounds nicer than the alpine … but it’s in a better insulated SUV …
Click to expand...
The Bose system in my 17 Regal GS leaves a lot to be desired, the factory system in my 08 Malibu LTZ sounds a hell of a lot better.
 
There's definitely some great sounding premium sound audio systems from the factory.. I always favored the mark levinson in the Lexus. It's owned by Harman international.
 
There is nothing more subjective than sound quality from audio systems, except maybe for the smell of one's own flatulence. You find what suits your ear. I think the Alpine in my Jeep is one of the best car audio systems I've owned or heard. Others think it is so-so.

Personally, I think the look of it is kinda neat, nostalgia and all. I'd love to sit in one and hear it. The new GC looks really nice! Can't wait to see what they do with the Grand Wagoneer.
 
OVERKILL said:
This is one of the dash speakers apparently:
View attachment 40187
Click to expand...
That looks cool, enough of a differentiation for a value-add. When McIntosh and Subaru had a branded system offering, Clarion made a custom head unit with the signature McIntosh gauges.

it almost looks like the agreement between B&O and Audi in designing in their “signature” appearance or sonic signature as part of the offering - hence the pop-up speakers on the A8. Most factory “premium” systems keep the branding discreet - a little logo on the head unit or the speakers.
 
Oildudeny said:
There's definitely some great sounding premium sound audio systems from the factory.. I always favored the mark levinson in the Lexus. It's owned by Harman international.
Click to expand...
And Harman is now a part of Samsung. For many reasons - “lifestyle” audio like Bluetooth speakers/headphones and smart speakers - Samsung wanted to compete against Apple(Beats and AirPods), Amazon(Echo) and Sonos in the audio/smart assistant business.

The automotive side is a nice but not significant bonus.
 
nthach said:
Keyword here is “branded”. McIntosh doesn’t make the head unit, amp, speakers and radio modules - those come from Panasonic, Denso(they bought out the automotive side of Fujitsu that’s a long time AV/Infotainment supplier for Toyota), Clarion(now owned by Fareucia, and a long time Nissan/Subaru audio supplier), Pioneer, Alpine, Visteon or Delphi.

Harman, now a part of Samsung enjoys a dominant position in “premium” OEM-level audio. The “branded” JBL/Mark Levinson/Harman-Kardon/Revel/Lexicon/Infinity and now B&O Play in Ford and Audi are all tweaked versions of what Becker(also a long time Mercedes/Porsche audio supplier) makes. The head unit will still come from Panasonic and Pioneer in those cases.

if anything, McIntosh will put their signature on the head unit’s firmware/UX and their Sonic signature on the amp’s DSP. The aftermarket will come up with solutions to replace factory amps or head units on those. Kenwood now makes a 10” floating display and Pioneer’s latest has a modular display with the aim of OEM replacement.
Click to expand...
I came here to say this. McIntosh will slap their name on production equipment from an OE supplier, and maybe go as far as to play with the DSP. If they charge an additional $3k for the system, you can bet that amount will be mostly profitable margin for Jeep and McIntosh.
 
MacManus99 said:
McIntosh will slap their name on production equipment from an OE supplier, and maybe go as far as to play with the DSP.
Click to expand...
That’s pretty much the deal with all the OEMs. The Mark Levinson system in my parent’s Lexus is a mix of Pioneer(head unit/CD player and tuner module) and Harman Becker(ML amp and speakers/subwoofer) components. The JBL-branded system in my car used a mix of Panasonic, Fujitsu Ten(now Denso Ten) and Harman Becker parts. The place the “branding” will happen is in the amp’s software and the HMI touch points.

some automakers just offer an unbranded “premium” sound system. In Honda, that means a Pioneer-made head unit(or an Alpine-supplied navigation unit like what was offered on the Civic/CR-V and the Fit as a DDIN radio) and maybe more speakers for highs and lows.
 
I've gotten Alpine/Harmon Kardon/Infinity systems in a few Jeep/Chrysler/Dodges I've owed and they all sucked (or were average at best.) I wouldn't expect this to be any better no matter the name. What they have mass produced with their name on it, and their mainstream or for sure their high end products are NOTHING alike...
 
Back in the day, when "branded" systems first showed up, they were actually decent upgrades: Think early Chrysler/Infinity systems with EMIT tweeters and poly woofer cones. The first Dynaudio system in the Volvo C70 was excellent for it's time and also used quality drivers.

In today's day and age, every "premium" speaker driver I've seen in newer vehicles is nothing more than a plastic basket and a neodymium magnet. Paper cones, cheap tweeters. They get away with this due to the design aids they have now. Driver placement, crossover control, DSP, the like. Lipstick on a pig, basically.
 
MacManus99 said:
I came here to say this. McIntosh will slap their name on production equipment from an OE supplier, and maybe go as far as to play with the DSP. If they charge an additional $3k for the system, you can bet that amount will be mostly profitable margin for Jeep and McIntosh.
Click to expand...
This. Very few of the "premium" systems anymore are actually premium...just licensed names on garbage components. A recent example is the "Bang and Olufsen" systems in the Ford...atrocious in actual ability to create quality sound because it's a name tacked onto garbage. The name of the game now is see how many dozens of speakers we can put into a car, as quantity sells better than quality. For music, all this does is complicate the sound stage and makes it even more difficult to actually calibrate a system properly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

1
  • Locked
Finally building a mini-system
Replies
15
Views
3K
Malo83
E
  • Locked
Cadillac CT5 Revealed
2
Replies
26
Views
3K
PimTac
N
  • Locked
2016 Jeep Cherokee Limited- 2 week impressions
2
Replies
29
Views
8K
Olas
P
  • Locked
JUST BOUGHT A HONDA ACCORD V-6 EXL NAV
2
Replies
20
Views
6K
Hokiefyd
GMBoy
  • Locked
Buick Regal GS now with 6 speed and 255hp
2 3
Replies
43
Views
18K
hattaresguy
Back
Top Bottom