My adult (old guy) oriented KILLER Audio upgrade - $538.00

First off, thank you and everyone mentioned for these threads. All the time and resources shared here have gotten me going.

I was wondering if you or anyone could point me in the right direction for the wires. Is this something I can purchase from Home Depot, or is it really specific to audio. I have no electronics store, or audio place for that matter, and I really have no idea what I’m looking at on Amazon based on several reviews of wrong gauges for the sizes mentioned here.
I am completely new to this, but have some common sense, want to tackle what I can, and I have a brother who’d be able to step in if need be. Just wanted to kind of piece together everything you’ve mentioned here for my own lack of experience and ease.

Lots of spare time coming up with these quarantines, so thought I’d try to make use.

 

Call Crutchfield, tell them what you have and ask them what wiring adapters you’ll need.

 

A few questions need to be asked before we can tell uou which cables you need.. What equipment did you buy and what do you plan to install? I’m a believer in ofc pure copper cable for audio so I wouldn’t just buy anything from Home Depot or Lowe’s unless it says it’s pure copper ofc

 

Not a bad idea at all.

I am planning on the same 6x9’s and sub mentioned... I may end up getting a kicker key down the line as well. After talking to my brother, he says I can get an amp wiring kit from walmart for the sub, but there must be a reason OP did not forego this route. Is it safe to assume it has to do with the quality and copper content as you mentioned?

 

Yes that would likely be the reason or at least why I didn’t buy Scoshe or boss from Walmart. Not knocking them but they’re not as high quality from wal mart and holding them side by side you’d be able to tell which is better. They will work but personally NVX Stinger 6000 or above or knu concepts will give you much better quality wire strands and build quality but they’ll also cost nearly twice as much in some cases. I use nvx X series and stinger 8000 for audio and knu concepts/stinger 6000 for power and ground and amp kits. The audio cable comes fully braided and they also basically lock onto the rca connectors so I’m confident they won’t vibrate off. I’m sure there are some other high quality cables I haven’t mentioned too. Kicker and Rockford fosgate make some good ones too. I’d also search speedwire on Amazon for speaker cable you should be good with 18 gauge speedwire for doors although I didn’t go this route bc I completely overkilled my install with lower 12 gauge ofc from postta knowing what I know now looking back I would’ve went with the speedwire which comes with 9 18-22 gauge wires color coded specifically for each door and a remote wire. Easier and cleaner looking route... I’d do 14-gauge for sub. The kicker key has a thread on here specifically how to make the T harness needed for it to be clean and tucked in behind the dash. “TPP4 no nonsense guide to kicker t harness” is thread name and it’s got lots of great info on it. Sorry if I confused you. Hope this helps and I’m in no way a guru but I’ve just finished a pretty big install for the first time a month ago and learned ALOT from it made some mistakes along the way that I had to go back and correct

 

This is exactly the kind of stuff feedback that these threads provide, that fills in so many of the blank spots that come from my inexperience. I appreciate you taking the time to re draft your original post and edit in the added advice.

I figured out, through asking my brother, what the wires and cables were for, and that it’s basically an amp kit, without the kit. And like so many people, they tend to take the easy or cheap route, such as what’s available or just not knowing any better. I wanted to know the reason OP went this route, and it’s apparent now. I really appreciate your feed back, as well as you Icarus II.

I am now debating on if I should try to stay budget or just go all out if I’m going to go through all the trouble. Coaxial or components, kicker key or no kicker key.... it’s indeed a slippery slope of that kool-aid as everyone has said !

 

Are you looking to compete, get amazing sound, or just improve on what you have? To each their own.
I just wanted decent sound and not break the bank. The Crutchfield kit was good for me and electrically safe. I’m getting there, not in a rush.

 

You’re welcome buddy! I started off trying to get by going cheap and was dissatisfied so much I ended up spending much more in the end replacing the cheaper stuff I’d originally bought then selling it all for next to nothing just to get a little money back. If I had it to do again I would’ve went high end initially. Buy once cry once but I didn’t really realize that I was as much of a sucker for good clean loud sound until I did this. I’m somewhat of an audiophile I guess you could say lol didn’t realize that until this installation and I’m 38 lol. Lots of good folks on here with helpful information and experience with this stuff. I do know that if you stay stock head unit you wanna look for the more efficient speakers with a sensitivity rating at 91db/1w and above I started off with entry level coaxials with alpine power pack amp in October 2019 and now I’ve literally got a new head unit w fully active 3 way 4.1 component setup with best JL audio amp I could afford and a boxed JL audio sub and focal flax door speakers and JL dsp plus sound deadened doors and floors. I’ve went from never running electrical wiring in a vehicle to now have done it at least 4 times in this truck in 5 months time lol it’s been crazy hectic expensive(for me, and it’s totally my fault for being indecisive)and a lot of fun to learn. I’ve also never owned a subwoofer until this install lol

Also you don’t have to spend a ton man. you can get a nice sounding set of speakers and system without spending a ton and you can do it in steps. First and most important is quality set of speakers and have in mind your plan for amp so you get speakers that’ll handle whatever power/SQ it is you’re looking for imo. Then I wouldn’t be cheap on amplifier but that’s just my opinion. Not sure what you’re looking to accomplish exactly tbh to give great advice. Speakers number 1 though

anyway what I’m saying is read take your time and ask questions if you don’t understand. I’m sure a lot of these guys wanted to smack me for asking stupid questions but they were cool and very helpful for the most part. Good luck and happy you found the post helpful

 

Sorry fellas, I did not mean to abandon the thread and I apologize for not replying sooner to some of the questions asked here.

I think CLvol1255 answered most questions as I would have, although, I don't go all in on OFC wire for semi basic installs like this, when the local electronics store has American made stranded copper wire that I know will work for the intended purpose. I do agree that for audiophile installs, OFC makes sense when you are trying to eek out every last bit of clarity in a system, but since I was keeping the factory HU, and not running an amp, it was simply not necessary in my case.

Beyond that, here we are however many months later and my system still sounds amazing. The CW sub was a fantastic choice for me, and it has been rock solid. I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone thinking about putting a powered sub under the front seat. Best money I spent on this system indeed.

 

@Team Scream can post a pic of how you have the sub mounted? I just ordered one of these and want to see how it fits under the seat. Thanks!

 

Interested in a pic too

 

Besides the 4 awg wire to the battery, what else and how do I hook up the powered sub to the factory HU. Never used a powered sub before, thanks for any help.

 

You’ll need to use the same size ground wire as power wire and as far as the powered sub to factory headunit you’ll wanna tap into the front left or right speaker which will be white for left and gray for right. The rears are highly attenuated so stay away from the purple and green speaker wires.. I’d also fuse your power wire within 18 inches of battery and personally I’d just ground it At oem ground point at the front of either of the front seat(whichever you install sub under).. that’s it

 

I went and bought a

$1,190 Pioneer DMH-WC6600nex 9" Amazon Alexa Built-in, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth - Modular Solutions Receiver

Pioneer DMH-WC6600nex after I had this system all set up with the CV sub. I connected everything using the harness and it sounds even better than before. My question is do I need the harness anymore now that this new receiver has rca outputs? Can I just take the harness out and run a rca cable to the sub?

 

Love this Sub. Perfect sound and thump for what I was looking for in my single cab. I used Velcro strips to secure mine behind my seat