Kicker key: bi-amp vs 4-channel

Hi all, I’ve got a Kicker Key I’m planning on putting into my truck. I’ve got the Subaru Kicker tweeters, 44KSC6904 6x9s for the front, and 46CSC674s for the back.

I can’t decide between running the front four through the key in bi-amp mode and leaving the back two on the factory amp, or running all 6 through the amp in standard mode.

I also thought about perhaps putting a low pass filter at 3500 or 4000 HZ in front of the 6x9 to treat it more like a component woofer.


Any thoughts or experience on the way to go here? I’m looking to get the best result with what I’ve got or very little additional expense.

 

Interested to see where this goes as I have a similar setup. I have the full 6 Kicker speaker upgrade and a kicker Key but I have a

$1,000 Pioneer Avic-w8500nex 7" AV Receiver with Navigation

Pioneer Avic-w8500nex head unit. Wondering if I should bi-amp too? I also have a 10¨ sub and 300 watt amp for it.

 

In order to bi-amp you’ll need to run new wires to your tweeters and door speakers since your stock wiring runs them on the same channel (in series I believe). If you go that route, make sure you have an appropriate high pass or capacitor for the tweeters.

 

My plan if bi-amping was to run the tweeters on the factory wiring then run a separate lead for the doors. That way the tweeters would retain their pre-installed capacitors.

 

Sounds like you’re on the right track. You’ll need to tweak your fade to keep things in balance pushing that much more power to the fronts, and I’m not sure what the power handling on the Subaru tweeters would be to stay reasonable. If the Key’s DSP can’t dial down the tweeters enough to keep them happy maybe turn down your gain on that channel to keep them balanced with the full ranges.

I don’t have any direct experience with the Kicker Key but I get what it’s capabilities are and I’m no stranger to car audio.

 

You’ll also need to tweak the wiring on the factory channel too in order to complete the circuit for the tweeters without the full ranges being tied into that channel any longer. A multimeter and/or wiring diagram will be invaluable.

 

Another possibility I was considering was bi-amp, but with the four fronts together as one pair and the rears as the other pair. Just guessing, but I don't think the result there would be as good as going with the front four only.

 

If the tweets can handle the power why not run them off the same channel as the 6x9s using caps and coils. Just look at the parameters of the speakers and make a passive crossover.
The factory amp for just the tweets might be ok or not depending on watt output and frequency levels it has.
Dedicated amps are great if you have full control of the gain on the amp and to go active crossover.

 

Control is key. This is part of what’s keeping me out of a Kicker Key, is I already have amps leftover from my previous vehicle. A small two channel plus my four channel JL and a DSR1 would let me run my front stage full active, plus rear full plus a sub, but the DSP is the key to directing all of that. The Key does a lot but nothing like the degree of control a true DSP gives.

 

Yep, that's definitely one route I was considering. I'm considering bi-amping with tweeters and 6x9s then the rear doors on the factory amp, or alternately running the front four on two channels and the back doors on the other two channels. Originally when I got the Key the latter was my plan, but have started wondering if the former may give a better result. I'd appreciate input from anyone with experience with this sort of thing.

If nobody knows I'll probably start with the latter since it is easier (doesn't require running additional wire to the doors) and perhaps try bi-amp front/back rather than tweeter/6x9.

 

Read through the documentation. I think bi-amp mode is only meant to be used to split between tweeters and full ranges. It applies a high pass crossover to the “tweeter” channel.

Might help to check out some of these guys’ videos about the Key. https://youtu.be/RwFVW_ehMq0

 

I know this is an old thread but did you finally install this system and which way did you go?

 

I ended up going with the standard 4-channel. It was the most straight-forward way to go, and I've been generally happy with my result.
I'm considering adding a Key 500.1 and corresponding sub to the mix as well - I got one of those super slim under-seat all in one subs and haven't really been very happy with how that has turned out.

 

Hey thanks for the reply! I just bought the KEY and I guess I will see how it turns out.