Kicker Hideaway Powered Sub
07-24-12, 09:46 AM
#1
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Kicker Hideaway Powered Sub
I just wanted to Make a quick post here, because when I searched I couldn't find any threads. I found a great compact powered sub subwoofer solution for the 2nd gen RX.
I didn't want to have any sub in sight,and didn't want to spend money or time on a custom install. There is about 15"x14"x6" of space under the RX's driver seat. So I was looking at a sub that might fit and ran across a new one from Kicker called the Hideway. It's simply a 150w RMS 8" powered sub that, contrary to its size, surprisingly really puts out some base. Better than the 10" Bazooka powered sub I use the have.
http://www.kicker.com/hideaway
Anyway, I found it to be an affordable solution for my stereo needs while in my RX. I just tapped power and ground to the front lower cig lighter. Then tapped the Amp speaker wires of the lower front door speakers. No remote turn on needed, since power signal is read from the amp's speaker wires. This tucked neatly under my driver seat and I can feel the lows. I actually turn the gain to med-low, because it's powerful for such a small package. I read the president of kicker got personally invoked with this project, so I think that may be why the quality is good.
So far, I have the USA-Spec BT35-Toy (didn't like the Dice/Audiovox MediaBridge) for my Bluetooth Streaming, and this Kicker Sub. I am very pleased with my non-ML factory stereo now. All for below $400
I didn't want to have any sub in sight,and didn't want to spend money or time on a custom install. There is about 15"x14"x6" of space under the RX's driver seat. So I was looking at a sub that might fit and ran across a new one from Kicker called the Hideway. It's simply a 150w RMS 8" powered sub that, contrary to its size, surprisingly really puts out some base. Better than the 10" Bazooka powered sub I use the have.
http://www.kicker.com/hideaway
Anyway, I found it to be an affordable solution for my stereo needs while in my RX. I just tapped power and ground to the front lower cig lighter. Then tapped the Amp speaker wires of the lower front door speakers. No remote turn on needed, since power signal is read from the amp's speaker wires. This tucked neatly under my driver seat and I can feel the lows. I actually turn the gain to med-low, because it's powerful for such a small package. I read the president of kicker got personally invoked with this project, so I think that may be why the quality is good.
So far, I have the USA-Spec BT35-Toy (didn't like the Dice/Audiovox MediaBridge) for my Bluetooth Streaming, and this Kicker Sub. I am very pleased with my non-ML factory stereo now. All for below $400
07-25-12, 10:41 PM
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Yes, there is plenty of room to move the seat back and forth. I'm thinking about crafting a port extender for the under seat heater vent to flow underneath the sub. Right now I just have it blocked off.
What do you want pictures of? You can't really see the sub under the seat. The install pics for the AMP wires can be found by searching the 2nd Gen RX thread called Sub Install.
What do you want pictures of? You can't really see the sub under the seat. The install pics for the AMP wires can be found by searching the 2nd Gen RX thread called Sub Install.
07-26-12, 11:23 PM
#5
Yes, there is plenty of room to move the seat back and forth. I'm thinking about crafting a port extender for the under seat heater vent to flow underneath the sub. Right now I just have it blocked off.
What do you want pictures of? You can't really see the sub under the seat. The install pics for the AMP wires can be found by searching the 2nd Gen RX thread called Sub Install.
What do you want pictures of? You can't really see the sub under the seat. The install pics for the AMP wires can be found by searching the 2nd Gen RX thread called Sub Install.
07-30-12, 06:50 AM
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07-30-12, 07:37 AM
#7
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04-07-13, 01:22 PM
#8
After reading good reviews of the Kicker Hideaway, I finally pic one up over the weekend to install into my 2006 RX400h with Mark Levinson
Accessing the amp was a pain, but I made my connections as follows:
1. Power: tapped into lower cig port, tested and works (also used in line fuse supplied with kit)
2. Ground: connected to bare sheet metal under driver’s seat.
3. Signal: Tapped into Mark Levinson amp (front speakers): Driver’s side front: +pink – blue/black. Passenger + Purple – White and matched connections to kicker wiring harness.
After numerous attempts, the LED on the powered sub isn’t even turning on. I checked all connections and all are tight and correct.
I even tried moving the ground to tap into the ground of the lower cigarette lighter. No luck.
I moved the power wire directly to the 12V battery. No luck.
I’ve already reviewed the “hooking up subwoofer” link provided b y Sublime311 and followed the connections exactly.
This morning, I figured I’ve done everything correctly, so it must be the Hideaway itself. I exchanged it, reconnected everything, still nothing. No power to LED, no sound, etc. I checked the fuses and also replaced the fuses. Nothing.
I am still getting power to the lower cigarette lighter, even with everything connected.
This is really frustrating, as this isn’t the first car audio equipment I’ve connected.
Is it possible that the speaker wires on the Mark Levinson amp have different colored wires for the front woofers? That’s the only thing I can think of at this point before I lose it and just return the darn thing!
Thanks!
Accessing the amp was a pain, but I made my connections as follows:
1. Power: tapped into lower cig port, tested and works (also used in line fuse supplied with kit)
2. Ground: connected to bare sheet metal under driver’s seat.
3. Signal: Tapped into Mark Levinson amp (front speakers): Driver’s side front: +pink – blue/black. Passenger + Purple – White and matched connections to kicker wiring harness.
After numerous attempts, the LED on the powered sub isn’t even turning on. I checked all connections and all are tight and correct.
I even tried moving the ground to tap into the ground of the lower cigarette lighter. No luck.
I moved the power wire directly to the 12V battery. No luck.
I’ve already reviewed the “hooking up subwoofer” link provided b y Sublime311 and followed the connections exactly.
This morning, I figured I’ve done everything correctly, so it must be the Hideaway itself. I exchanged it, reconnected everything, still nothing. No power to LED, no sound, etc. I checked the fuses and also replaced the fuses. Nothing.
I am still getting power to the lower cigarette lighter, even with everything connected.
This is really frustrating, as this isn’t the first car audio equipment I’ve connected.
Is it possible that the speaker wires on the Mark Levinson amp have different colored wires for the front woofers? That’s the only thing I can think of at this point before I lose it and just return the darn thing!
Thanks!
04-07-13, 03:39 PM
#10
Well, I just confirmed via a wiring diagram that the colors of the front woofer wires are correct.
I triple checked all connections. Still nothing. Even tried turning the car off, disconnecting the remote bass control, turned vehicle back on, nothing.
I've also made sure that the balance and fader are at zero, set speakers to "all" and cranked it up to 30 and have never seen the woofer LED turn on once.
My last resort is connecting the sub wires directly to the woofer wires in the doors themselves. The wiring diagram shows that black is positive and red is negative.
If that doesn't work, I'm just going to return it. After all this headache and exchanging it, I'm just out of ideas.
I triple checked all connections. Still nothing. Even tried turning the car off, disconnecting the remote bass control, turned vehicle back on, nothing.
I've also made sure that the balance and fader are at zero, set speakers to "all" and cranked it up to 30 and have never seen the woofer LED turn on once.
My last resort is connecting the sub wires directly to the woofer wires in the doors themselves. The wiring diagram shows that black is positive and red is negative.
If that doesn't work, I'm just going to return it. After all this headache and exchanging it, I'm just out of ideas.
04-09-13, 12:01 PM
#12
Do you have a spare speaker lying around that you could plug into the wires you tapped? Basically to ensure you're getting a signal into your amp? Reason I ask is that I tapped my ES350 and had checked every step of the way (polarity and with a speaker) to ensure that I had gotten the correct wires, even moving the fader to ensure I got left and right properly marked and set aside. Might be worth a double check to make sure you've got audio hitting the amp.
04-09-13, 01:00 PM
#13
Do you have a spare speaker lying around that you could plug into the wires you tapped? Basically to ensure you're getting a signal into your amp? Reason I ask is that I tapped my ES350 and had checked every step of the way (polarity and with a speaker) to ensure that I had gotten the correct wires, even moving the fader to ensure I got left and right properly marked and set aside. Might be worth a double check to make sure you've got audio hitting the amp.
04-09-13, 08:31 PM
#14
After testing everything again, using a continuity tester and "test" speaker to confirm signal from the wires I tapped, it still wasn't working.
I ended up connecting the remote turn on lead to a switched accessory and holy cow, it finally worked! The only thing I can think of is that the signal coming from Mark Levinson amp is not enough to trigger the powered sub to turn on.
I'm quite impressed with the amount of bass that emits from the Hideaway. The extra bass really fills in what was missing. Of course, this isn't going to hit super low bass notes like a 2x10 cabinet with a 400 watt amp, but this blends in very well with the stock setup.
One thing I did have to buy was an 1/8th inch stereo right angle jack for the remote bass cable. This allowed me to slide the Hideaway further beneath the drivers seat.
Next on my list is a GTA car kit for iPod/iPhone connectivity and I should be all set
I ended up connecting the remote turn on lead to a switched accessory and holy cow, it finally worked! The only thing I can think of is that the signal coming from Mark Levinson amp is not enough to trigger the powered sub to turn on.
I'm quite impressed with the amount of bass that emits from the Hideaway. The extra bass really fills in what was missing. Of course, this isn't going to hit super low bass notes like a 2x10 cabinet with a 400 watt amp, but this blends in very well with the stock setup.
One thing I did have to buy was an 1/8th inch stereo right angle jack for the remote bass cable. This allowed me to slide the Hideaway further beneath the drivers seat.
Next on my list is a GTA car kit for iPod/iPhone connectivity and I should be all set
04-20-17, 05:28 AM
#15
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You're correct
You picked an awesome choice for your car and you will never regret it. the kicker hideaway 11hs8 is an amazing choice to upgrade your car sound system with