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I just gotta say this has been the best thread and Ive gotten tons of great info from all who have posted.
Does op or anyone else have any experience with the new Kicker KEY1804 Key Smart Amp? I'm seriously considering adding it to power my door speakers and use the FOR-11Mki with it. I don't want to get fancy with the Fix86 or Something like that. Just want a little more power running my aftermarket door speakers. And this new amp seems like it might integrate better than the Alpine KTP-445u. Truck is in sig. Thanks for your thoughts.
I just gotta say this has been the best thread and Ive gotten tons of great info from all who have posted.
Does op or anyone else have any experience with the new Kicker KEY1804 Key Smart Amp? I'm seriously considering adding it to power my door speakers and use the FOR-11Mki with it. I don't want to get fancy with the Fix86 or Something like that. Just want a little more power running my aftermarket door speakers. And this new amp seems like it might integrate better than the Alpine KTP-445u. Truck is in sig. Thanks for your thoughts.
Hi I'm the OP,
No, sorry I don't have any exp with either of those amps. The Kicker one looks interesting. The one thing to take into consideration when upgrading factory systems is whether or not to clean up the factory "tuned" signal that is being produced by the factory headunit. Some people in these threads are fine with the sound quality that comes from amplifying the factory tune while others (myself included) prefer to clean up the factory tuned signal to start with a clean signal to amplify and tune. The draw back with not addressing the factory tune is the bass roll off and distortion that comes with higher volumes. By not addressing these issues you will just end up amplifying this crappy signal. Some folks in here have used different DSPs and/or EQs (ie, Audio Control: https://www.audiocontrol.com/car-aud...ystem-upgrade/) to improve the incoming signal before amplifying. There have also been some recent releases of amplifiers that have factory integration/DSPs built in which make a nice all-in-one solution to upgrade a factory system. JL audio just released their VXi line of such amps. I would have gotten one of these if they were available when I got my equipment. Here are some product links. There are others out there so this is just a sample.
Ultimately, it all comes down to 1) how much money you are willing to spend 2) amount of time you are willing to spend 3) what sound quality are you wanting to achieve.
Admittedly, I went way over budget from my intentional upgrade plans. Once I got into researching around these forums I expanded my build plans.....and once I get into it, my plans expanded further. Overall I am very happy with the effort I put into my build. I have a great clean sound across the volume range with smooth bass and crisp highs.
Also remember the quality of the install is also very important. You will get out of your system what you are willing to put into it. If you do a crappy install with high quality equipment it will sound like crap vs doing a high quality install with moderate/low quality equipment can sound awesome.
04-03-2018, 10:15 PM
