Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

for those who have added an amp, which did you go with. And did you hook up all 6 speakers or just the 4 door speakers? Also, did you get an am with an extra channel incase you wanted to add a sub at a later date?

 

Haven't done mine yet, but plan to do that Kicker Key amp. Keep hearing great things about that one. Tweets and front doors are wired together, so you'll get all 6 with a four channel amp. 5 channel amps are pretty pricey i think; may be better off with a separate amp for the sub. Many folks on here are doing a self-powered sub which have an amp included.

 

I have noticed that i start to get some crackling on the passenger 6x9 on very bass heavy music cranked up to roughly 47. guessing that has to do with the speaker starting to react to being under powered. anyone else run into this? may be adding the amp if that is the case.

also should say that i have the bass set to +3 against center

 

I did the Alpine Powerpack then last week replaced it with the Kicker Key. Kicker Key is the way to go. Reduces the “too much tweeter” sound with this setup and raises the sound stage like the Alpine cannot. I used the front stage only with the Alpine bridged at 90x2. Kicker Key running the front only right now. Rear replacement speakers coming soon. There’s no comparison if you care how it sounds. Get the kicker Key smart amp.

 

did you end up adding a sub or did the doors give you enough low end after adding the amp?

 

I already had the Kicker Hideaway, but I think most people would be happy without it. It’s an easy add on later.

 

The tweets to me sound more like midrange than tweeter. You’re running 90 rms to the fronts?

 

Hey guys, did this mod not too long ago and I love it! However, recently I've noticed a popping sounds at high volume. What should I be checking out? It sounds like it might be from the tweeter...but I could be wrong.

Thanks in advance!

 

most likely the front doors not getting enough power at the high volumes.


To fix, add an amp.

 

I would agree with this -- someone started another thread very recently where theirs was completely cutting out (clipping) at higher volumes. They posted a video. What they were listening to had a high amount of bass, which requires a lot of power to drive. You may just be experiencing a brief clip.

 

I was. It was insanely loud and started to distort at volume 34 with the amp gains as low as they’d go. Now I have the Kicker Key Smart amp running the fronts at 45x2. Soon I’m going to us bi-amp mode and run the front stage with 45w each to the tweeters and 45w to the doors. Just need to rewire some.

Don’t waste money replacing the rears in these trucks. It’s fill and it’s better to invest the $ in the front stage.

 

Replacing the rears will help with clarity, the oem’s are pretty bad.

 

No, just disconnect them.

 

Run no rear speaker??? Bad advice sorry

I’m running alpine power pack, and the kicker hideaway couldn’t be happier with the sound. all different styles of music

 

It’s very good advice actually, it’s very common in higher end systems to have no rear stage.

Kicker key with only a front stage, plus kicker hideaway sounds fantastic for the money. I’m not going to argue with a stranger on the internet, so do what y’all want with your trucks. Just offering suggestions. I uninstalled the powerpack, but it sounded great, too.

 

Thanks guys! I have an amp I've been putting off installing. Good to know it should fix the problem. Yes...the music I had on had a lot of bass.

 

Ok, I’m convinced, I ordered the Subaru tweeters and the kicker door speakers. Total about $230. I hope the install is easy. I have 2016 SR5 with the premium non JBL system with navigation.

 

Thank you all that put in great info on this thread. Install complete without any real hitches. Turned out great.

Yet another thread I can unwatch.

 

Can anybody explain what Crutchfield is day in the last bullet point about the theaters and woofers being retired ?

 

The wire for the front speakers leaves the head unit and runs to the tweeter. From there, it then runs to the door speakers. The door speakers will not work if the tweeter is unplugged, therefore you may have to splice some wires depending on the speakers you install. If you use the speakers in the OP, you don’t have to worry about this at all.