Kicker Key 180.4 Amp install

[JP305R]

Iimiter lights will flash on startup then shut off unless theres a problem but power stays on.
If you read the instructions it says set radio equalizer to middle and volume to 3/4 then adjust gains till limiter lights flicker/light up then turn gain down till no lights.
I personally dont like it so high cuz when turning radio volume up setting 5 is almost too much for normal driving and 1 is not soft enough
Of course volume is a personal thing....lol

So I did all that but now the amp sounds way less powerful I’m curious do you know if any of the settings on the amp lower the volume considerably out of the white switches on it?

 

[Ramm5.7]

So I did all that but now the amp sounds way less powerful I’m curious do you know if any of the settings on the amp lower the volume considerably out of the white switches on it?

Im by no means an expert on amps and settimg them up!
Maybe @Graygoose or @89grand can give you more insight?
I dont believe the switchhs will lower output but the gain dials will fot sure.
Are your gain dials turned way down,(counterclockwise?)

 

[JP305R]

Im by no means an expert on amps and settimg them up!
Maybe @Graygoose or @89grand can give you more insight?
I dont believe the switchhs will lower output but the gain dials will fot sure.
Are your gain dials turned way down,(counterclockwise?)

I figured it out compression makes the limiter lights go on way sooner then without it so I turned compression off. And was able to put the gain up

 

[Bigs99]

So after doing a bit of searching, I found 2 reviews on Amazon that seem to have the same issue as me. I dont know if its a faulty unit or what, but its disappointing after seeing everyone talk about how great their speakers sound after tuning. Mine sound horrendous . All kicker had to say was "you have the wrong speakers". Well I got component speakers now(only installed the tweeters so far) , but those still sound like muffled crap just as the 3.5s did.

 

[89grand]

Here's the thing with this amp. It is meant to tune to the drivers seat only. What I found with it in my Ram, was that tonally it sounded good, but it sounded very narrow and restricted in depth and width. It often sounded like I had a small center channel speaker playing most of the music, although I don't even have a center speaker.

I still use the amp as a 4 channel running the CDT 6x9 door woofers and 2.75" dash mounted wideband drivers, but have all DSP bi-passed. Instead I use a MUCH more expensive MiniDSP 8X12 unit with Dirac Live. My system, while loud enough, but not stupid loud because it's only 600 watts total including a single powered JL 12" sub, it sounds absolutely awesome now. Very accurate, and while still tuned to the drivers seat, it sounds much wider and much more accurate than before. It should, as the MiniDSP costs a lot more than the Kicker Key, and it also tunes the sub.

I do use a Key 180.4 in my TJ Wrangler, and like it pretty well in that application. It just wasn't up the my standards in the Ram.

 

[Bigs99]

In my case, it's not a matter of it not being perfect, or not up to my standards... the tuning just makes it sound terrible. The volume is low like the speakers are getting less power, and it sounds like the speakers are under water

 

[chrisbh17]

In my case, it's not a matter of it not being perfect, or not up to my standards... the tuning just makes it sound terrible. The volume is low like the speakers are getting less power, and it sounds like the speakers are under water

The tuning still uses a microphone?

Maybe the tuning mic is bad.

 

[Bigs99]

Yes it does

 

[89grand]

In my case, it's not a matter of it not being perfect, or not up to my standards... the tuning just makes it sound terrible. The volume is low like the speakers are getting less power, and it sounds like the speakers are under water

What you describe is nothing at all like I experienced. It was easily louder than stock, had pretty good tonality, it just lacked depth and width on many songs, and of course it can't tune the subwoofer, and that is a must for a system to really sound good, so I bought a much more advanced DSP, but the Kicker Key shouldn't sound anywhere near as bad as how you describe it.

I'd double or triple check that the dip switches are set correctly, and rerun the tune again, and again if needed. I ran mine numerous times. Like was mentioned, you could have a bad mic. If I can remember where I put mine, I could send it to you.

 

[Bigs99]

What you describe is nothing at all like I experienced. It was easily louder than stock, had pretty good tonality, it just lacked depth and width on many songs, and of course it can't tune the subwoofer, and that is a must for a system to really sound good, so I bought a much more advanced DSP, but the Kicker Key shouldn't sound anywhere near as bad as how you describe it.

I'd double or triple check that the dip switches are set correctly, and rerun the tune again, and again if needed. I ran mine numerous times. Like was mentioned, you could have a bad mic. If I can remember where I put mine, I could send it to you.

Kicker finally emailed back today and we're trying to get it figured out. Right now the only way it sound decent with the tune is if I max out the treble on the head unit eq. I've probably run the tune 6 or 7 times now.
If no luck with that, I'd take care of the shipping both ways to try out your mic to see if that's the issue. Thanks!

 

[89grand]

It looks like your dip switches are correct. What is odd is that you say it sounds flat, lacking in treble. I found it a little too bright, and the Kicker EQ added a boom sizzle I didn't like and sounded better when I turned it off. You have it on, so it shouldn't sound dull. Try increasing the gain controls and run the auto tune again.

 

[Bigs99]

Extremely flat. Without the tune, it's actually a bit too bright , which I think might have been in part due to the highs coming out of the 3 way door speakers . I did set the gain(I know it's all the way down in the pic) and I'm pretty sure I ran the tune again afterwards, and it didn't help, but I will try again tomorrow. I'll also be installing woofers in the doors tomorrow or weds, was just waiting for sound deadening to arrive so I can install it when everything gets pulled apart again

 

[89grand]

I probably missed it, but what is your setup again. What headunit, what interface between the headunit and amp, and what speakers?

 

[Bigs99]

8.4 head unit(6 speaker), net audio harness. I had pioneer 3 ways in the doors, kicker 3.5 coaxials in the dash. I just finished installing Pioneer TS-D69C component speakers today(along with sound deadening the doors) , and I think it's sounding a bit better. Going to set the gain tomorrow and tune it again

 

[Bigs99]

I just went out and messed with the gain . Turning up amp 1 gets me the treble that was missing. If I turn up the gain on amp 2 at all, the limiter light comes on ... im having to leave it all to way down.. Amp 1 the light won't come on at all even if I turn it all the the way up to the point that the speakers are distorting . It's that odd? It does sound good now when I turn the gain up on amp 1

 

[89grand]

Ideally, the amp's gains should be set before the auto tune. The auto tune is supposed to set the levels between speakers. Now, by set, I mean a rough adjustment, it doesn't have to be perfect, but if they are too low, I don't think it can raise them.

Defeat all of the tuning except the crossover, and set the gains by ear so that the high end sounds balanced with the door speakers, and the music is as loud as you'd expect considering the volume level on the headunit (max undistorted output before the max volume on the headunit), then rerun the tune, but don't change the gains afterward, unless it's a very small change.

Personally, I prefer the vocals and highs are both at dash level, and the midbass in the doors, as it sounds like everything is higher up near ear level, rather than a lot of the music down in the doors, but you tried that and had issues, so do what works for you.

I don't want to sound insulting, but are you sure the speakers are connected to the right channels? The white and grey go to the dash, and the purple and green to the door speakers.

You can also somewhat trick the auto tune. If everything is set right, but you want more treble, lower the treble a little on the headunit, then rerun it, then set the headunit back to 0 for treble, or any combination of bass, mid and treble.

I'm using a pretty sophisticated DSP, and I've retuned it numerous times. I'm pretty close now.

 

[Bigs99]

No insult taken at all, I have pretty much no audio knowledge, and trying to learn as I go. I appreciate you taking the time to help out. As far as wiring goes- the white and grays from the head unit output are hooked up to the white and gray kicker input wires. Greens and purples not connected. Kicker output green and purple wires are matched up to the factory wiring input. The white and gray key output wires are extended to the dash speakers .
Tomorrow I will clear the tune, set the gains again, then retune. I did get I sounding pretty good(to my ears) earlier, just seemed weird that I had to have amp 1 gain all the way up, and couldn't turn amp 2 up at all without the light coming on.

Thanks again

 

[Graygoose]

when in doubt, swing by a good Kicker dealer, they may be able to see what's happening.

 

[Bigs99]

The nearest dealer is close to an hour away, so that would be my last resort

 

[Graygoose]

PM mew your zip code, see what I can find ya