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

My gains are extremely low on the Key. Still get lots of volume however. The reason I suggest the Hideaway is it allows you to lower the bass to the speakers and allow them to focus on the mids and highs and allow the stronger bass signals to be handled by the Hideaway. I played around a lot with my settings once I installed the Key. Like you I almost thought it was a waste of money to have the Hideaway once I got the Key. After some adjustments I preferred the Hideaway to do the heavy lifting in terms of bass. Yes the Key and the speakers can do it. I actually found that I turned the Hideaway gain up (possibly because I turned the bass on the HU down). It just seemed better all over. The bass doesn’t drown out the rest of the music at low volumes yet the Hideaway comes alive and hits at higher volumes. I have an extremely varied musical collection from punk and new wave to electronica and heavy metal. I will also listen to classical music on long trips and just relax as well. I find my current setup can do everything fairly well without major adjustments. I like my bass strong but balanced and not overpowering. Trying to get rich bass on the Key alone seemed to take away from the overall balance. With the key and Hideaway combination it lets me keep the balance yet still have lots of solid bass when the song dictates it.

 

I have had a little bit of a tough time getting the balance with the sub correct. Very small changes to the sub gain seems to make large differences in the sub punch. But I will say that the amp to the door speakers is what really makes the system come alive

 

Finished my install over the weekend during break in the rain. Everything went smoothly I had the "convince" the power pack to fit under the radio but I haven't heard any rattling or noises so I think it's all good. I would suggest to anyone doing the install that there is space on the drivers side near vent that would allow the power pack (and I assume Kicker Key) to sit vertically nice and happy. Toyota sure did pack a ton of crap behind that HU lol. I will likely relocate it there if I ever do the hideaway.

As far as sound goes WOW! I only have the gains set one notch on F/R and at like half volume it's a rock concert. I think I will take the time to invest in applying some sound deadening material for the doors to cut out the "bass" thuds. Overall for the $ I think it's a worth while investment and I couldn't be happier. Considering those Kicker speakers are running at far less than peak power they sound amazing and very clean compared to listing through the stock cardboard.

 

What do you mean "high level"?

 

High level is speaker level. Whereas low level is what RCA outputs are.

 

Any ideas about buzzing noise at low volumes? Could I have a ground loop? Noise goes away when volume goes up past about 10.

 

could be a ground.

similar to the buzz you hear when you plug in a guitar that has a poorly grounded pickup?

 

Yes similar to that but a very light hiss. I'm curious if it is because I have power pack on same ground as radio.... maybe I need to splice it out to a chassis ground?

 

that hiss is typically from the gains being a bit too high. These small brick amps seem to have issues with that. try adjusting the gains down some and see if that hiss goes away. using the radio ground is typically even better than a chassis ground because you know its a good ground, whereas the chassis sometimes has too much paint in the way, or some other reason.

 

Hmmm ok that makes sense. Seems like they have the slight hiss until they get something to actually push through them. I'll crank the gains to zero and see how they are. Thanks!

 

Luckily, you can still typically get crazy loud volume with very low gains on these little amps.

 

Haha very true.

 

This about how you boys did the kicker key to speakers?

 

Refer to the Metra packaging and the Kicker packaging. If you didn’t use the Metra harnesses then Google Toyota audio harness or something like that. I honestly can’t remember what connects to what without tearing my dash apart to look.

 

Get the metra harnesses so you don’t have to cut your factory wiring. They’re too cheap to skimp on

 

@Exracer2 how does the subwoofer plug into the head unit?

 

Subwoofer input will come from a front speaker. If you do the plug and play harness seen in previous posts you can splice into that “piggyback” harness and wire in RCA or some high quality speaker wire that will be input for subwoofer amplifier. I believe the feeling is to wire in before you get to mini amplifier so you can adjust everything accordingly.

 

Basically it’ll go

Stock HU > piggyback (bypass) harness > input for subwoofer amp & wiring into door speaker mini amp > mini amp > doors/tweeter & input for subwoofer amp > subwoofer.

Hopefully that makes since I’be drunk a ton of cough syrup

 

Not to be a dick but considering the number of PM’s and posts I have received in this thread I have one thing to say. READ THE ORIGINAL POST. This is not directed at any one person. If one were to read line by line the install then I should have no PM’s and follow up posts. I tried my best to be explicit in my description and the details. When I get questions and I know I have answered them it makes me wish I never created this thread. Others like destin_meeks have provided a shit ton of help and information to others. This goes above and beyond the information in the original Subaru tweeter swap and budget speaker upgrade threads.

To those who read everything first and did their best to figure it out this thread was for you guys. I don’t think anyone will refuse to help when you have done your best to follow the instructions and guidance given.

I am not a volunteer at Cheap Pricks audio. If you can’t figure it out on your own then hire somebody. This is pretty basic stuff. This thread was just a walk through on my install and the tips and tricks that worked for me. If you choose to go it your own way or ignore the advice in this thread then have at it. Just don’t go asking which wire connects to here or there or expect me to rip apart my dash because you can’t understand basic wiring schematics. I literally googled Toyota audio wiring at the start and once the Metra harnesses were suggested I matched the Metra wiring key to the Kicker schematics and matched it all up.

Anyway that is my rant for the day. If I hurt your feelings or you can’t be bothered to read the original thread then find a new babysitter because that’s not in my job description.

 

lol