Sub Upgrade Kicker HS10

[calipoontappa]

Hi everyone.

It’s been discussed here before but I wanted to bring it back up in case anyone else was on the fence or you’re a newish member thinking about what to get to help with more bass.

I bought the Kicker HS10 because another forum member replaced his premium sub with it and he said it was awesome. I was going to replace the premium sub as well but I left it in because I figured two subs are better than one even if it’s just the stock one.

I put it in the driver side rear pocket and honestly it’s like it was made for that location. I had to cut that little mesh pocket out so it would sit flush, but once that was out, it fit perfectly. No movement no rattle nothing. I didn’t even screw it down just taped the top with some Alien double sided tape.

Install was a breeze, if I would have just installed the sub without doing anything special. I honestly think I could’ve done it in maybe 30 minutes, but because I wanted to put down some sound deadening total time was about two hours. The thing that took me the longest was putting in the basadjustment knob because I didn’t want to just put in under the dash I wanted to make it look stock.

The bass that comes out of this little thing is honestly mind blowing. I was really on the fence because of my memories about the powered bazooka sub tubes from the 90s. They were terrible but this thing holy crap! It’s at least three times louder if not more than the stock sub. I’ve seen reviews where people blow them out or they stop working but from what I can tell and what Kicker confirmed they set the gain way too high and blow it out. The instructions clearly state to not go overboard so you don’t damage it.

nyway, that is all. Have a great day everyone.

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[bleda2002]

Any guidance on how you wired it, the one thing the inner 16 year old in me wish my gladiator had was more bass, so hearing how much better this really intrigues me.

 

[calipoontappa]

Any guidance on how you wired it, the one thing the inner 16 year old in me wish my gladiator had was more bass, so hearing how much better this really intrigues me.

Yeah I missed the bass too, didn’t want to lose space and didn’t want to go nuts with a custom box.

Wiring was super easy, just ran power, If you have the aux switches you don’t even need to go to the battery. If you have the aux switch package, there’s wiring for the interior behind the kick panel and you can just connect directly to the 40 amp wire. If you don’t have it then you have to go through the firewall and go to the battery directly. Ground is pretty self-explanatory. The remote wiring is not necessary. The sub turns on when it has an audio signal and turns off when the audio signal is gone. As for the speaker wiring, I just tapped into the orange and orange and black off of the original sub, you don’t have to pull the entire back panel. You can pull on the passenger side pocket after removing the screws and it will just pop out the wiring for the stock sub is right there.

And that’s all there is to it, my friend.

 

[bleda2002]

Yeah I missed the bass too, didn’t want to lose space and didn’t want to go nuts with a custom box.

Wiring was super easy, just ran power, If you have the aux switches you don’t even need to go to the battery. If you have the aux switch package, there’s wiring for the interior behind the kick panel and you can just connect directly to the 40 amp wire. If you don’t have it then you have to go through the firewall and go to the battery directly. Ground is pretty self-explanatory. The remote wiring is not necessary. The sub turns on when it has an audio signal and turns off when the audio signal is gone. As for the speaker wiring, I just tapped into the orange and orange and black off of the original sub, you don’t have to pull the entire back panel. You can pull on the passenger side pocket after removing the screws and it will just pop out the wiring for the stock sub is right there.

And that’s all there is to it, my friend.

Thanks, this is exactly the info i was looking for. I really appreciate it

 

[JET_83]

The bass from the premium alpine is solid, just have to turn it up 2 notches in the audio settings

 

[ntwrkguru]

For trucks without the factory sub, does anyone know if the wiring is there behind the panel?

 

[calipoontappa]

The bass from the premium alpine is solid, just hove to turn it up 2 notches in the audio settings

Gotta disagree but it’s all subjective. The Alpine package is garbage IMO especially when the top is off. I replaced all speakers the last thing that it needed was bass. Turning it up 2-3 ticks starts to distort after around 25 and with the top off it’s non existent. Now I can hear and feel it even with the top off.

 

[calipoontappa]

For trucks without the factory sub, does anyone know if the wiring is there behind the panel?

Not sure if it’s back there but you can just tap into the speakers in the side pillar by the front seat where the seat belts connect.

 

[ntwrkguru]

Not sure if it’s back there but you can just tap into the speakers in the side pillar by the front seat where the seat belts connect.

Would probably work, but not sure what that would do to the factory system since the load would have a different resistance.

 

[James1911]

@calipoontappa Exactly what I needed to hear! Order one this week. Thank you!

 

[calipoontappa]

@calipoontappa Exactly what I needed to hear! Order one this week. Thank you!

Glad to help.

 

[James1911]

M

Glad to help.

May I ask where did you apply the sound deadening material?

 

[calipoontappa]

M

May I ask where did you apply the sound deadening material?

I was going to pull out the stock sub so I had the entire back panel off. I put it all along the back wall and all across the bottom of the floor in the rear.When I finally change out the carpet to Armorlite I will do the entire floor and door panels. I also put a strip across the bottom of the cubby where the sub is in.

 

[James1911]

Thanks again!

 

[JET_83]

Gotta disagree but it’s all subjective. The Alpine package is garbage IMO especially when the top is off. I replaced all speakers the last thing that it needed was bass. Turning it up 2-3 ticks starts to distort after around 25 and with the top off it’s non existent. Now I can hear and feel it even with the top off.

I hear you when the top is off, otherwise it’s solid, also add terra acoustics for the dash for highs and mids

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