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

I'm considering the hideaway under the seat or the Kicker single 10 in the cubby behind the seat of my double cab, any thoughts? I'm not looking for a ton of bass, just trying to round out the sound.

 

Hideaway will be an easier install and cost less, but with worse sound quality, less low frequencies, and less volume.

10” will sound better, play louder, play deeper, but cost more.

If you go the 10” route, please buy a 100% copper wiring kit for your amp

 

I've checked out both at Best Buy, price would be the same if I used a 300 watt amp, 100 bucks more if I move up to the 600. Not sure which to use with the RMS being at 300, max 600 with the 10".

Install ease is moot since I'm going to have Geek squad install anyway.

 

Are you looking at that pre-built kicker 10” for about $150?

 

Yeah, although after reading this thread more, the hideaway install seems easy enough

 

With that sub, you need the 600w amp because the sub is 4ohm, so the 300w amp would only feed it 150w. Or the kenwood amp for $179 feeds it 300w and works well. You need an 8awg wiring kit as well

 

@destin_meeks
Have you installed the Hideaway under the PS of a double cab that has the AC vents under the seat? I have mine waiting to install but it doesn't appear it'll fit due to the vents.

 

Having the hideaway installed now

 

Can’t say I can picture the floor under that seat. In other vehicles with vents, I’ve had good luck making a spacer and setting one side of the sub in top of the vents and using the spacer to rise up the other side.

 

Mine is going under the driver's seat, not sure if the vents are routed differently.

 

Vents under both seats. I just smashed the driver side one down and installed on top. I think of it as an amp cooler

 

Any tips on tuning the hideaway? Just picked it up from the shop and tinkered with the EQ on the head unit a bit on the way home, it sounds pretty awful. Too much bass and it sounds very muddy and distorted.

 

Most shops do the gain way too high. Let me dig back in my posts. I did a full walk though of tuning it. I’ll hunt it down and post it

 

I appreciate it, I tinkered with it a bit, they had gain and bass boost maxed.

I read that the bass boost remote allows you to control the gain remotely, I thought I would set the fain and remove the controller, and got no sound whatsoever out if the sub. Reinstalled and it works fine, so that's strange.

Also, I'm not an AV expert, I've only installed the traditional set up subs and amps in my own vehicles a couple times, but isn't this tapping into the high level speaker wires?

2018-09-01_06-55-23 by mattnewman98, on Flickr

 

Destin since your a BB installer shouldn't the shop have tuned the Hideaway Before it left the Shop ?

 

Normally yes, but when it comes to tuning, everyone’s ears are different. Most people that come in are wanting as much bass as they can squeeze out of that little 8” so that’s how a lot of the AutoTechs tune it. I prefer to do a demo and re-tune with the client, but sometimes I’m running behind and I just tell them to see how they like it and bring it back once they know what they like and don’t like

 

Yes that is high level, but unless you have an aftermarket radio, high level is your only option. The hideaway can accept a high level input

 

Here is part of my post about tuning the hideaway

........................
phase
Leave this at 0 unless you notice the bass just doesn't seem to mesh with the music. If it sounds a bit off, go to 180 and listen again.

bass boost
I personally go right in the middle. Adds some extra kick without adding in distortion

cross over frequency
Depending on your music choices, this will probably be in the 100hz range. Put on a favorite song (I always head for "Soul to Squeeze” by Red Hot Chili Peppers) and start with the cross over all the way down. Start to turn it up until the bass guitar in the chorus sounds good. Too high and you'll hear other instruments and voices start to play through the sub and thats where you know it needs to go back down some

gain levels
This can vary from person to person. With the bass knob at 50% and the radio at about 75% volume, play a song you know pretty well. RHCP works well. turn the gain up until the bass starts to sound bad. turnit back down a bit, and there you go.

 

So I shouldn't have been charged parts and labor for a line out converter then...

 

Parts, no. Labor, yes.

They basically consider any splicing of high level as “line out labor”

If you bought an LOC and they didn’t return it, you need to go ask what they did with it. Because those are 100% the white/grey wires that are part of the Hideaway’s harness. So if they say they used one, you need to ask them to show you where they installed it, and if they can’t, you need to ask to speak with the stores GM. I want all the shady people out of my company.

HOWEVER I personally have a habit of returning/refunding unused parts and forget to bring it up when the client gets their car. So I’m going to go easy on them until you know for sure what happened. Hopefully they returned it and just forgot to inform you. Happens to me all the time.