@Jcway16
What model Kicker KS 6.5" coaxial speakers do you have? IME, some are just "okay", and some are...garbage.
No disrespect, but I've never been all that impressed with any of Kicker's component sets or coaxials that I have heard. Some of their subwoofers are nice, though.
@nadams5755 Do you know what the mounting depth limitations are for the 6.5" OEM speaker locations without any modifications or custom baffles? I don't always trust Crutchfield's data.
Once you get the Source Signal's quality in order (full-range, flat, & unmolested), I would definitely plan on adding a Subwoofer to your setup. It just adds so much more life and enjoyment to the system and to your daily listening! And I'm not talking about a ground-pounder setup, just something to give your music some authority and punch in the low end.
Bass guitars or synthesized bass and the drums are an important aspect of most music. Without the punch and impact of these instruments, your music will just not motivate or move you emotionally. And you mentioned that you listen to rap/hip-hop occasionally, and I can't imagine that without at least some type of subwoofer.
To add to this, most Kicker components and especially the coaxials I've heard are somewhat anemic when it comes to midbass. And their tweeters were not to my liking either.
Proper installation and some sealing/sound deadening treatment in the doors with a solid mounting baffle/ring will help any speaker that's mounted there perform its best. But IMO, you're still going to want a subwoofer.
A good single 10" or pair of 8" subs that don't take up too much space on just 300-500 watts can do the trick. For these types of vehicles I like the shallow down-firing enclosures and preloaded enclosures that allow you to still place groceries or cargo on top of them, if you don't want to build something that is built into the rear cargo floor.
The 10" and 12" Kicker and Kenwood eXcelon pre-loaded down-firing subwoofer enclosures can be a good option. Or it would be fairly simple to build a basic down-firing carpeted enclosure for the subwoofer of your choice.
If you only use this vehicle for commuting and not family outings, a subwoofer that is placed in the front passenger foot-well can work extremely well, but will involve building a custom enclosure to optimize the usable airspace in that area. And it would be more visible to "prying eyes" unless you get creative and disguise it somehow.
I used a foot-well subwoofer for a while and kept one of those large-ish blue Trader Joe's soft insulated cooler bags on the floor in front of it to hide it. I simply flipped the top lid of it open so it rested "naturally" against the glove box door. It was wide enough to cover it completely. I had also made the enclosure so that the subwoofer faced into the foot-well and firewall, not directly towards the passenger seat.
The Kicker KEY can work well in the right setup with decent speakers. It can't perform miracles, though. There are several different modes and settings that you need to configure properly during setup to make sure that it is configured to fix & correct the OEM head unit's nasty processing. So double-check that.
But if the OEM head unit has a built-in roll-off in the low frequencies, it can't replace them. And it can't actively correct the OEM head unit's volume-dependent EQ & processing. You would have to run the Kicker KEY's auto-tune when the volume set to your average daily driving volume. And if you change the volume, the OEM head unit "undoes" what the KEY had fixed.
As @nadams5755 and others suggested, this is another reason why you'd want to at least reprogram the head unit with VAGCOM, or better yet, replace it with an iDataLink Maestro compatible head unit (minimum 4v RCA outputs) and the Maestro RR (Radio Replacement) interface module. You could get a head unit with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto as well which offers better sound quality compared to wireless Bluetooth streaming.
I installed an older 2018 model Kenwood eXcelon DDX9905S double-DIN Touchscreen head unit that cost $325 (originally $850) in a friend's vehicle and used it to power a front set of inexpensive passive components and the factory rear speakers.
We added a small, inexpensive sub amp and 10" sealed subwoofer. With the unclipped high-quality 5v RCA preamp outputs, combined with this head unit's excellent built-in Time Alignment, Crossover features, and EQ, his system sounds absolutely fantastic without a huge investment or lots of complexity. It's not comparable to what could be achieved using a standalone DSP, but it produced a much better than average wide and eye-level soundstage with great tonality and impact.
The OEM Head Unit:
Obtaining a good, clean source signal is the foundation of any SQ system. Garbage In = Garbage Out, so I would concentrate your efforts there first and foremost, then go from there. I think that you'd be surprised how much of a difference this will make.
To test this, you could get a 3.5mm male stereo to L & R male RCA adapter cable and connect your smartphone's headphone output to the kicker KEY's inputs. Switch off the KEY's processing via the button on the microphone.
Use a high quality music file or good track via high-quality streaming on your smartphone to test the SQ. Note the difference in tonality and clarity compared to the OEM head unit.
Then you could run the auto-tuning process via the KEY with your smartphone as the source and see where it gets you. And the quality of the sound should not change when the volume is adjusted! It is a relatively simple test that doesn't take much time, but can be revealing.
Quite a few here have adopted the use of a portable DAP as their "SQ" source to bypass the OEM head unit, such as a FiiO, iBasso, Astell&Kern, Cayin, etc. You can obviously use it to listen to your music with headphones or earbus/IEMs on-the-go. And you can easily connect the DAP to play through your home system as well. Some of them have digital outputs, as well as a good Line Output.
IMO, using a DAP in the car isn't as convenient as a good, "do-it-all" integrated aftermarket head unit, but it's a viable option if your OEM head unit is crap but you don't want to (or can't) replace it. The DAP could be connected directly to the Kicker KEY and the signal split off to your subwoofer amp.
What model Kicker KS 6.5" coaxial speakers do you have? IME, some are just "okay", and some are...garbage.
No disrespect, but I've never been all that impressed with any of Kicker's component sets or coaxials that I have heard. Some of their subwoofers are nice, though.
@nadams5755 Do you know what the mounting depth limitations are for the 6.5" OEM speaker locations without any modifications or custom baffles? I don't always trust Crutchfield's data.
Once you get the Source Signal's quality in order (full-range, flat, & unmolested), I would definitely plan on adding a Subwoofer to your setup. It just adds so much more life and enjoyment to the system and to your daily listening! And I'm not talking about a ground-pounder setup, just something to give your music some authority and punch in the low end.
Bass guitars or synthesized bass and the drums are an important aspect of most music. Without the punch and impact of these instruments, your music will just not motivate or move you emotionally. And you mentioned that you listen to rap/hip-hop occasionally, and I can't imagine that without at least some type of subwoofer.
To add to this, most Kicker components and especially the coaxials I've heard are somewhat anemic when it comes to midbass. And their tweeters were not to my liking either.
Proper installation and some sealing/sound deadening treatment in the doors with a solid mounting baffle/ring will help any speaker that's mounted there perform its best. But IMO, you're still going to want a subwoofer.
A good single 10" or pair of 8" subs that don't take up too much space on just 300-500 watts can do the trick. For these types of vehicles I like the shallow down-firing enclosures and preloaded enclosures that allow you to still place groceries or cargo on top of them, if you don't want to build something that is built into the rear cargo floor.
The 10" and 12" Kicker and Kenwood eXcelon pre-loaded down-firing subwoofer enclosures can be a good option. Or it would be fairly simple to build a basic down-firing carpeted enclosure for the subwoofer of your choice.
If you only use this vehicle for commuting and not family outings, a subwoofer that is placed in the front passenger foot-well can work extremely well, but will involve building a custom enclosure to optimize the usable airspace in that area. And it would be more visible to "prying eyes" unless you get creative and disguise it somehow.
I used a foot-well subwoofer for a while and kept one of those large-ish blue Trader Joe's soft insulated cooler bags on the floor in front of it to hide it. I simply flipped the top lid of it open so it rested "naturally" against the glove box door. It was wide enough to cover it completely. I had also made the enclosure so that the subwoofer faced into the foot-well and firewall, not directly towards the passenger seat.
The Kicker KEY can work well in the right setup with decent speakers. It can't perform miracles, though. There are several different modes and settings that you need to configure properly during setup to make sure that it is configured to fix & correct the OEM head unit's nasty processing. So double-check that.
But if the OEM head unit has a built-in roll-off in the low frequencies, it can't replace them. And it can't actively correct the OEM head unit's volume-dependent EQ & processing. You would have to run the Kicker KEY's auto-tune when the volume set to your average daily driving volume. And if you change the volume, the OEM head unit "undoes" what the KEY had fixed.
As @nadams5755 and others suggested, this is another reason why you'd want to at least reprogram the head unit with VAGCOM, or better yet, replace it with an iDataLink Maestro compatible head unit (minimum 4v RCA outputs) and the Maestro RR (Radio Replacement) interface module. You could get a head unit with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto as well which offers better sound quality compared to wireless Bluetooth streaming.
I installed an older 2018 model Kenwood eXcelon DDX9905S double-DIN Touchscreen head unit that cost $325 (originally $850) in a friend's vehicle and used it to power a front set of inexpensive passive components and the factory rear speakers.
We added a small, inexpensive sub amp and 10" sealed subwoofer. With the unclipped high-quality 5v RCA preamp outputs, combined with this head unit's excellent built-in Time Alignment, Crossover features, and EQ, his system sounds absolutely fantastic without a huge investment or lots of complexity. It's not comparable to what could be achieved using a standalone DSP, but it produced a much better than average wide and eye-level soundstage with great tonality and impact.
The OEM Head Unit:
Obtaining a good, clean source signal is the foundation of any SQ system. Garbage In = Garbage Out, so I would concentrate your efforts there first and foremost, then go from there. I think that you'd be surprised how much of a difference this will make.
To test this, you could get a 3.5mm male stereo to L & R male RCA adapter cable and connect your smartphone's headphone output to the kicker KEY's inputs. Switch off the KEY's processing via the button on the microphone.
Use a high quality music file or good track via high-quality streaming on your smartphone to test the SQ. Note the difference in tonality and clarity compared to the OEM head unit.
Then you could run the auto-tuning process via the KEY with your smartphone as the source and see where it gets you. And the quality of the sound should not change when the volume is adjusted! It is a relatively simple test that doesn't take much time, but can be revealing.
Quite a few here have adopted the use of a portable DAP as their "SQ" source to bypass the OEM head unit, such as a FiiO, iBasso, Astell&Kern, Cayin, etc. You can obviously use it to listen to your music with headphones or earbus/IEMs on-the-go. And you can easily connect the DAP to play through your home system as well. Some of them have digital outputs, as well as a good Line Output.
IMO, using a DAP in the car isn't as convenient as a good, "do-it-all" integrated aftermarket head unit, but it's a viable option if your OEM head unit is crap but you don't want to (or can't) replace it. The DAP could be connected directly to the Kicker KEY and the signal split off to your subwoofer amp.
