JBL Audio System Improvement

The 2018 Revels had an upgraded (and much-maligned) audio system that was known as the Riverpark XSG3NA-MB9. It had a touch panel interface that ran on Windows CE and JBL speakers were added to the doors and dash. However, many of them shipped to customers without the JBL software activated in the head unit. Here are the instructions for activating that software in that system:

1. Go to main menu
2. Go to HDMI
3. Tap Bluetooth icon in top right corner
4. On the IR remote, press “2-6-8-4-5” (Ensure that you hear a beep after every button press)
5. A check list will then pop up
6. Check the JBL box
7. Hit the “X” in the top right corner, JBL Option should be there

When the infotainment boots up there is now a JBL audio logo in the bottom center of the boot-up screen. Also System > Setup will have the JBL audio option.

Audio System Part 2

After upgrading the amplifier, speakers, and subwoofer, as detailed here, we decided it was time for speakers in the back.

We went with these mid-grade Focals for about 1/3 the price of the pair that we put in the front, and they sound great. We spray-painted the grills to match the interior, and they came out pretty well. We also added plenty of Dynamat in the doors for sound insulation and vibration-deadening.

To get the speaker wires from the amplifier in the base of the passenger seat to the rear doors, we elected to go under the van. We dropped the wires from the amplifier under the passenger seat to the undercarriage through an existing grommet. Then we ziptied the wires to the frame, shown here. I didn’t do the zipties, and as I look at this now, I think I’ll redo it and use stronger zipties. Sigh. (Note that others have simply run the wires inside the cabin, through the galley cabinetry, etc. This is ideal, but seemed onerous and lengthy to us, so we went with this approach.)

In the rear corners of the van, we drilled small holes into the bottom of the tail light housing, and the wires entered the body of the van there.

After the wires were in the taillight housing, we simply ran them through the rubber conduit that you see here. At this point, the wires are in the doors, and we pulled them up to the speakers to finish the job. It took about 4 hours to install and wire the rear speakers.

Audio System Part 1

We are a couple of picky audiophiles who prioritize music over almost everything, so we upgraded most of the already-upgraded sound system. Here are a few details about what we did.

In my opinion, the Xite MB9 head unit doesn't sound bad, and it offers a few features that other units are hard-pressed to meet: temperature integration with the Sprinter chassis thermometer, and an extra large screen. Yes, it's slow and uses resistive touch rather than capacitive touch for the interface, but those temperature and screen size features are nice to have for us, and after spending 10 straight days with it on a trip, we have learned to like/accept the head unit as it is. We may still replace it someday, but we're not in a hurry to remove it. (Also, I should mention that it offers a stupefying amount of GPS and RV-related features that some people may want to use.)

The underwhelming sound quality seems to be more directly related to the speakers and the lack of power in the system, which we addressed by adding an amplifier, subwoofer, door soundproofing, and speakers. After doing this, the system sounds far, far better (excellent) while driving, and now just lacks some more speakers in the living compartment to take the party to the dinette & bedroom. It is strong, rich, distortion-free, has as much bass as you could want, and is really damned loud. (Note: we do not use Bluetooth due to the audio compression that it introduces into the signal path, and are just using USB from our iPod to the head unit.)

Also, I want to mention that when we opened the dash, we found 2-3 more HDMI ports on the back of the head unit that are not exposed, along with another USB port and an Aux port. I was unable to get the USB port to function properly, but the Aux port can be used - - the Xite unit offers two female RCA jacks (L and R) on the rear pigtail, so you just need to convert that to a 3.5mm jack for most audio applications. And hey, Winnebago, it was kind of lame that you didn't expose this port on the dash somewhere -- the Xite unit is ready for it, and some of us still want to plug in certain electronics with an analog output. Please fix this in future models.

We removed the JBL subwoofer that Winnebago installed as part of the upgraded sound system under the passenger seat.

We bought this powerful 5-channel amp (Arc Audio XDi 850.5) and installed it under the passenger seat. We tapped it into the same circuitry that the dashboard switch controls, meaning that it can be switched on and off without the keys in the ignition.

We pulled out the speakers in the doors and the tweeters in the dash. The door speakers were JBL upgrades, but the tweeters were Mercedes-Benz OEM.

We replaced the speakers with these. To be honest, these are probably overkill and are very expensive, and you could probably get by with something a bit less and still have a great system. But we're audiophiles.... *sigh*

We installed a 12" JBL sealed, unpowered subwoofer and strapped it to the back of the driver's seat. This provides incredible bass throughout the vehicle (and especially for the driver!) It does not obstruct the table, uses up only a little bit of the foot room, but does not allow the driver's seat to swivel. This can be fixed by installing a 6" sub instead of a 12", and maybe we'll do that sometime, and move the 12" sub to the garage.

We installed the subwoofer knob in one of the 'blanks', rather than making a more destructive modification to the dash itself. Blanks are easily replaced.

See Part 2 for the continuation of this project.

UPDATE 2019

We finally replaced the head unit due to its extremely slow/laggy responses & interminable boot times for the reverse camera.  We installed an Alpine Halo 9", and are (mostly) happy with it. Key factors for us were screen size, Carplay integration, and capacitive touch.  

It does not match the same aspect ratio as the dash opening, so it protrudes a bit from the dash, which I do not like. But it is what it is...

I also hacked this Alpine unit a bit, see here.