Kicker hideaway- final upgrade to the $250(+) 3rd gen premium upgrade (+Kicker Key 180.4 amp)

No, I didn't bring any parts in. They asked me if i had a factory head unit and I told them yes, so they charged me $39 for a line out converter and $30 labor for that part. I was under the impression a LOC spliced into the factory HU to allow RCAs to tap in and go to the amp.

I'm beginning to think something isn't right with the unit itself or the install, following your instructions, if I turn the gain past 1 it sounds distorted and like a blown speaker. It doesnt seem like there's any more bass than factory

 

Make sure the bass level on the radio itself is set at 0, and, most importantly, make sure the “input level” on the sub is set to Hi

And double check with the installer to see if he returned that part. If not, PM me

 

Tried that, it sounded like the sub wasnt even on until I turned the gain to 75%, and then it instantly started clipping and sounding terrible.

 

I’m going to PM you so we can stop clogging up the thread

 

The directions say do not unplug the bass remote while the unit is turned on. Maybe that messed it up?

 

Nope, I read the instructions prior to making any adjustments and unplugged it with the truck off.

ETA: I'm going to start a new thread to reduce clutter in this one.

 

So for those interested or about to install a Hideaway or any other subwoofer in your truck, I took some measurements of the factory radio's power output and I wanted to share my findings.

I went behind the radio in my 2017, non-jbl, entune premium (nav, xm, etc) and took some measurements just to post them up

I used 2 test tracks, 1000hz (mids/highs) and 40hz (lows)
I placed the radio at volume level 40 (could have went higher, I have tested and got distortion at volume 52 on my unit)
I played these via bluetooth, which is much quieter in our radios than CD, but I feel is the more popular listening method here in 2018

Here are the AC voltages, and using ohms law we can calculate the wattage output of our radio

SPOILER ALERT
It's garbage.
At a volume level of 40, playing a clean test tone over bluetooth, our radios do not even produce 1 watt per channel

Front channels, @1khz
1.17v, .34 watts

Front channels, @40hz
1.76v, .77 watts

Rear channels, @1khz
1.22v, .37 watts

Rear channels. @40hz
.35v, .03 watts (yes, point zero three watts... 3 percent of one watt)


TO SUMMARIZE
I recommend using the front speakers for any subwoofer installation (Hideaway or anything else)
The wires are easily accessible in the kick panels, and the rear speakers DO NOT RECEIVE ENOUGH POWER FOR BASS SIGNALS

 

Hmmm....has to be an issue somewhere or the SR5 top knob setup is different.

I have the ********* add an amp harness which pulls signal from the rear speakers running to my mono sub amp and it most definitely receives and outputs the sub frequencies.

I can bounce the mirror off my windshield if I want.

 

Well its not to say that it doesn't play those frequencies, it just plays them drastically quieter than other frequencies. Ten times quieter, actually. This causes the gain on the amp to be way higher, which can increase distortion.

I'd really love to get an RTA and see what the curve actually looks like, but unfortunately that's not where I want to spend $500 right now

 

Ah ok, I think the Rockford amp does a good job of processing the speaker level inputs then, my gain is between the 3 and 4 position, crossover around 80ish, Punch EQ off.

 

Well guys you did it again. I did the plug and play tweeters then after enjoying the upgrade I did the CS series Kickers. I was done with audio upgrades. Then the threads about the Hideaway convinced me to do that. Like my thread title the FINAL upgrade to my audio system. My Kicker Key shows up tomorrow. I am finally DONE.

The simple fact is each stage of the system is a great upgrade. Each stage can be done with no additional upgrades. But in my experience each stage is so good that you eventually start wondering how much better the next stage will be. I am so happy with the upgrades including the Hideaway that I wonder how awesome having a little more volume to really crank it up when certain songs are playing. I will update my experience in a week or so when it is all together and tested.

 

A couple questions. I’ve had this installed under my DS seat for about a month and I like it. I put a 1” lift on the rear of my DS seat and I lost about 1/2 the bass it was producing!!! Took the spacers out and it sounded good again. I did this several times to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. The sub almost sounds blown when I put the spacers under my seat. Why is this?
Also, when I have the remote bass knob plugged in, isn’t that supposed to cancel out the gain dial on the side of the amp? Mine doesn’t cancel out when the remote bass knob is plugged in. I can still adjust the sound using the knob AND the gain dial on side of amp.
Thanks!

 

For the remote, it is acting as it should. The gain control is for input gain, the the bass knob is for volume. Typically, the gain should be set when the bass knob is at 50%.

For the spacers, I'm assuming it's about the gap between the speaker and the seat bottom. That's crazy that it loses so much sound when the seat gets tilt up that tiny bit

 

Thanks.
It sounds better than good when seat is normal height. It sounds weak & almost blown when I lift it 1" with the spacers. It's an amazing difference!
I really like the seat up 1" so it looks like I'll have to find a way to mount it under the passenger seat.
The directions say:
"When plugged into the enclosure, the remote bass control bypasses and takes the place of the gain control on the side panel." (copied & pasted)
It's weird it says this but it's clearly not the case!

 

So I really didn’t want to rewrite this sub so I got to thinking. What’ll make the sub think the seat is 1” lower?
Seat foam pad! Went to Walmart and bought a piece that’s 1” thick and cut it to size. Now the sub acts just like it did before the seat lift!

 

Resourceful! Love it!

 

So I just finished the Kicker Key 180.4 install. Everything was super easy except for a single wire I screwed up. Totally my goof and a lot of hair pulling. Once again @destin_meeks talked me off the ledge but I had a pretty solid idea where I screwed up and confirmed it this morning.

Since this thread piggybacked off of the original tweeter upgrade and CS series Kicker speaker upgrade thread I want to explain what I got at every upgrade to help decide what direction you might want to go.

1: Tweeters are definitely the first upgrade no questions asked.
2: Speakers are definitely next.
3: This is where it gets muddy. I was very happy with the Hideaway on its own. Now with the Kicker Key amp I think it is a toss up. The Key allows the speakers to push a lot more bass and huge volume over the stock head unit. Enough so that for equal money (Key@$199USD vs Hideaway@$299) I might go for the Key before the hideaway. If you don’t need more volume the hideaway is perfect for bringing up the bass that is lacking. With the Key amp there is lots of bass now. I might go back and turn down the gain on the rear speakers. I simply set it as per the instructions which has you turn the volume to 3/4 and then bring up the gain until the led comes on and then back it down slightly. The rear gain is set much higher than the fronts. For now I have turned the fader on the head unit to have more front bias.

I am completely done with audio upgrades now. It is clear, loud and has lots of bass. I would say that hands down this setup dollar for dollar is better than the OEM JBL system. I can’t see any situation where I would need more volume now. This was my only complaint with the Hideaway upgrade. Summer driving with windows down I felt I could use a bit more volume. Windows up and the tweeter, CS speakers and hideaway were sufficient even if a hair more volume would have made it perfect.

So my conclusion is the Key might be the best upgrade yet. Even potentially more so than the Hideaway.

 

Been a few hours since I first set the Kicker Key up. Had the dash apart a few times since. Did some crossover changes and settled on 80hz. I was getting too much speaker bass. The Hideaway was getting lost behind the bass coming from the speakers. I dropped the rear gain a fair bit and brought the front gain up slightly. Both are approx 25% of the knob turn now. I turned the remote for the Hideaway up slightly to match the Key.

In terms of head unit settings I am one click forward on fader and one down from center on bass. Based on my music this seems to work across the board fairly well. Everything else is center. This rocks out on Metallica but doesn’t seem overpowering bass wise on softer stuff.

You can turn the gains up further but it is PLENTY loud for my access cab. I left them lower so it is easier to dial in the volume at the lower end instead of only having window rattling sound.

 

Hi i have just installed 2 kicker hideaways and I am having an issue with trying to control both hideaways with one bass controller my current set up is both lines going to a line splitter then to the knob but this only results in having only one hideaway being controlled. I have disconnected the splitter and directly individually had one sub going to it. So just wonder the best way to I should connect it. Thanks in advance.

 

I would check all connectors. Are they a stereo plug or a mono plug? You might have to make your own connector because my assumption is one side of the splitter is taking the common and one leg of the connection. The other one takes the other leg which may not be output from the control knob. A mono to mono splitter may work but you need to verify the plugs first.