dhh3 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) My Crossroad did not come with the upgrade sound system. I replaced the 4 door speakers with 6x9 Alpines. These speakers changed the sound 100%. But I wanted a little more punch to the bass. This Kicker unit is 14" long and only 3" high. It will fit under either front seat (driver's seat is powered). It has a remote to increase/decrease the gain, to adjust for the bass in any given song. It will be installed Wednesday. I'll let you know how it sounds. Edited January 25, 2015 by dhh3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) Sorry: Pictures, or it didn't happen. The Tech @ Best Buy says he installs a lot of these in regular cab pickups. It has a 15A fuse so he can tie it into the 20A front Power Outlet sitting at the bottom of the bin under the Heater Knobs. I never use it because very un-handy to use. Now I have a use for it! It doesn't even have to go directly to the battery. Awesome. I have not decided where to install the remote. Edited January 25, 2015 by dhh3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Soooo, how's the sound?! How much did it cost you? dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roly Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Kinda waiting to find out too. If not may look into buying factory sub enclosure and replace with different woofer. Or looking to measure Pioneer prefab shallow enclosure box for 8" to go under seat. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) I will be installed on Wednesday. The list price is $299. There are some used ones on ebay for less. 1/2 Price Audio listed it on their website: $299 or make offer. So I offered $250, and it was accepted. + Free Shipping. I don't expect to crack my neighbor's windows, but I do expect decent bass from a small box. With the Apines, I can turn the volume all the way up with no clipping or distortion. I will know Wednesday afternoon. Having 3 rows of seats leaves me with few options. As I posted somewhere last summer, my Dealer installed my rear view camera as part of my sales agreement. I walked back to check on their progress. They had the left third row seat out along with the left rear interior panel. I believe that the factory sub is supposed to reside behind this panel, but there did not seem to be much room for anything back there. Maybe this is why I have read posts here on the forum that the upgrade sound system does not sound good. Edited January 26, 2015 by dhh3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobitz68 Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Yeah, there isn't a lot of room... BUT, if you made a custom molded fiberglass box and utilized ALL of the space back there by making a very odd shaped box you MAY be able to get a 10" sub in there... Would be a lot of work, but would be custom. I have little faith in the type of sub you're getting, but many people use them and if you're not looking for earth shattering bass they may very well be just fine (and likely better than the factory option). I am very curious to read your review after you've had a couple days to break it in. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Feel free at anytime to come on down and do this for me. I am hapless now. I have 2 bone graft fusions at C4 and C5, C5 and C6, with a metal plate and 6 screws. Not quite 2 years ago I had another bone graft fusion at L4 and L5, with 4 bolts and 2 rods. For a year they have been telling me that the pain I am enduring is from the bolts: "live with it!" Finally convinced them for a cat scan, MRI and bone density X-ray. The disc at L5 and S1 is ruptured. Not sure where we are going with this next. I was not really in the market for a new car, but I found it tougher and tougher to climb up into the Nitro. Lumbar and heat = happy back! I do what I can, when I can. It pisses me off that I have to pay people to do all the stuff that I used to do for myself; but I am not about to remove that left third row seat! Ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roly Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Don't sweat it, between 3 kids and the wife, my time is limited too. I too am looking for alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobitz68 Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 Feel free at anytime to come on down and do this for me. I am hapless now. I have 2 bone graft fusions at C4 and C5, C5 and C6, with a metal plate and 6 screws. Not quite 2 years ago I had another bone graft fusion at L4 and L5, with 4 bolts and 2 rods. For a year they have been telling me that the pain I am enduring is from the bolts: "live with it!" Finally convinced them for a cat scan, MRI and bone density X-ray. The disc at L5 and S1 is ruptured. Not sure where we are going with this next. I was not really in the market for a new car, but I found it tougher and tougher to climb up into the Nitro. Lumbar and heat = happy back! I do what I can, when I can. It pisses me off that I have to pay people to do all the stuff that I used to do for myself; but I am not about to remove that left third row seat! Ha Yikes! That doesn't sound like fun... Wasn't knocking your option at all; in fact, it may be a really good option. The last time I heard one of those though, it was very unimpressive. This was many years ago though. I am actually hoping it sounds good, because it would save a TON of work. Good luck! dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2015 I had a 2003 Jeep Liberty Renegade. The only reason that I bring this up is that as an option, Mopar offered a sub that fit under the driver's seat. It got its power from the lighter/power port. Back then, I had my first fusion at C5 and 6, so was still able to do stuff! I put it in myself and it sounded decent for its size; about 1/2 the size of this Kicker. So we'll see. Appointment is in about and hour. To infinity and beyond! Probably should be: to Kicker and beyond, but it sounds better with infinity! Ha I like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 OMG! I can not believe what this small box puts out. An 8" sub speaker with sounds channels within the box; similar to what Bose does with its radios. Prior to installing the Sub, I installed 4 6x9 Alpines. I set the equalizer to max bass and highs, and about 1/3 way up for the mids. I could turn the volume all the way up with no distortion or clipping. Now, I have the bass set to 2 above center, and left the mids and highs the same. I hear the music from the Alpines more clear and crisper, and if I turn the bass gain all the way up, I can vibrate all of the mirrors. I am thoroughly impressed, and amazed at what this little box can do. It is under the drivers seat. It would not fit under the passenger seat because of the storage box. The remote gain is right under the climate control buttons; very easy to reach. To get a sub in my Nitro, I bought the factory sub enclosure with the crap Infinity paper speaker from a forum member. Then I had to buy the right rear interior panel that is designed to hide the sub enclosure. I bought a 400w Kicker mono amp and an 8" dual reflex kicker sub, because 8" is what the enclosure was designed for. I had to have Monster Cables ran from the battery. The bass sound was awesome, but the right rear panel and liftgate covers would constantly vibrate and buzz if I turned the gain up too far, depending on the song. I can honestly say that this little box puts out the same bass sound as what I put in my Nitro and is worth every penny. The good part is that I did not have to take the car apart! It came with a 15a fuse, so the Best Buy Tech just tied it into the radio circuit, also 15a. So, the sub comes on immediately when the radio is turned on. Nice. $105 installation fee. While I was walking around the store, I found out that the iPods which look like an iPhone are still being sold with iOS6 and 7; both compatible with Uconnect. I get my iPhone6 next week. It will have iOS8 already installed. So, I'll get a 16 GB phone and buy an iPod for my music. Then I should be set. There is no way to control the music on the SD card, other than to toggle up or down to the song I want. Not handy and takes my eyes off of the road. The songs are listed in alphabetical order by the name of the album! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobitz68 Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hmmm... Pics or it didn't happen. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Nice, glad to hear it was a success. Did they use a line out converter LOC to convert the RCA input and tap into the rado wire? Is that all that was needed to get it working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) No RCA cables. The harness had small wires that tapped directly into the speaker wires. And, no wires to the hidden battery! Sorry; I should have taken a picture of the harness before I put it in. Hmmm... Pics or it didn't happen. I figured this was coming! LOL I'll see what I can do when the sun comes out tomorrow. It is totally hidden from view, so the picture may be dark. There is a small bulkhead that runs across the vehicle under the front seats. It is about 2" behind this. They screwed it to the floor, longways. It came with velcrow straps so it would be easy to remove, er, steal! LOL Edited January 29, 2015 by dhh3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 No RCA cables. The harness had small wires that tapped directly into the speaker wires. And, no wires to the hidden battery! Sorry; I should have taken a picture of the harness before I put it in. I figured this was coming! LOL I'll see what I can do when the sun comes out tomorrow. It is totally hidden from view, so the picture may be dark. There is a small bulkhead that runs across the vehicle under the front seats. It is about 2" behind this. They screwed it to the floor, longways. It came with velcrow straps so it would be easy to remove, er, steal! LOL Oh I see, it must have had a LOC built in to the unit then. Even easier to install, killer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted January 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 There are 2 Best Buys in Fort Wayne. The Store I frequent most is 3 weeks out with installations. As soon as I arrived at the other Store, I was escorted out into the main Store, so I have no idea how they installed it. The Store that is closer to me has a couch in the Service Bay where one can watch the Techs at work. I was just curious if they had to remove the front seat. He said he found a wire just hanging behind the radio, going nowhere. The Tech that installed my Back Up Camera mentioned this wire also. He was hoping that it was for the camera. Nope. Anyone have a clue? Navigation antenna maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted February 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) OK, here are the pictures as promised. I like this more and more, because all I was looking for was a little more bass. Since the previous post, I have slid the bass adjuster all the way up. This allowed me to play with the gain, which gives me deep bass, but does not hurt my ears. This is looking at it from the back. It is far forward enough where people back there don't kick The Kicker! This is looking at it from the side. The red wire is the power. It came with a 15a fuse, but I think the tech just tied it in with the 15a power to the radio. This way, it comes on as soon as the radio is turned on. The bass gain knob is velcroed to the top of the big bin in front of the console. It also came with a strap, so it can just be strapped to the floor. You can see the indent for the strap in in the housing. I have never heard the optional music system from the factory, but I have a hunch that this sounds better. I am going to try and find a set of enclosed tweeters that can just sit on top of the grills in the dash, since there are not any replacements made for the dash speakers. Edited February 22, 2015 by dhh3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted February 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Does anyone think that this wire, hanging behind the radio, might be for auto headlights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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