Back to the main site

Kicker Amp / Sub on 2017 Question - bass adjustment

Trippernsc

Trippernsc

Well-Known Member
Messages
212
Reaction score
335
Location
Chapin, SC
Is anyone familiar with the kicker  amp / sub upgrade?  We have it on the new 23R, but for such a big amp and sub we really don't get much bass out of it.  We've played with the radio and have bass up full but still music sounds very high in midrange and treble (which are turned down).  In my experience with Subs there is usually a separate bass volume adjustment on the sub itself, but we haven't been able to find anything so far. 
 
I was able to determine the model number and have found a manual so I should be good there. I'm surprised and how hot the amp gets. 
 
I've got the Kicker 5 channel amp, Kicker sub and Wetsounds speakers.  With a little tweaking it actually sounds pretty good.  My amp didn't come with a bass knob so I purchased one separately and mounted it to the right side of my throttle housing.  They don't want you to adjust the amp and while mine was pretty close it did need some fine-tuning.  There are separate bass control knobs on the amp itself.  You can also play with the speaker setting for full or high pass to determine how much bass you want out of the speakers themselves.  Typically, if you set the speakers to high pass and allow the sub to handle most of the lows, the music will sound cleaner with low distortion.  But, every boat is different and each individual has their own personal tastes for how they like the music to sound so if you want a bit more bass out of the speakers then by all means set the amp to full.  I added a second 4 ohm sub to my amp (makes the sub output 2 ohms which is fine) and that helped with the lows at the rear of the boat (the factory sub was under the front starboard seat).  Like I said, with a little tweaking you can get it to sound pretty good.  I'm pretty anal about my music stuff and overall I'm happy with the set-up.  And yes, the amp does get quite warm but I haven't found it to be a problem even when my boat is out in 115+ temps.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks!  My sub is in the same spot.  I pulled off the amp front cover and looked at the settings a tweaked it a bit and it does sound better, but I will spend more time with it.  I sent an email to kicker since their website says the remote bass knob comes with the amp.  The next morning they put one in the mail for me; no charge.  I'll get it installed as soon as it arrives and that may help some.  I like the idea of a rear sub as as well, I just can't figure out where to put one.  Overall I'm very happy with the system.  In our last boat you couldn't hear the music when you were running, but with this one I think everyone can hear it, probably across the lake lol. 
 
Cool.  That was nice of Kicker to send you one.  Typically, if you don't have a bass knob plugged in, the amp will put out the max for that setting.  So, the benefit of the knob is that you can turn your amp up a bit more then use the knob to fine tune.  I like to set mine so the knob is at about 3/4.  That way you still have headroom to turn up the bass some but of course has lots of room to turn it down if there's too much.  I put the second sub (Pioneer 10" shallow mount) under the rear seat.  That helped fill the sound a lot especially in the rear area.  You just have to run a separate speaker wire to it which was no big deal.
 
Havasu said:
Cool.  That was nice of Kicker to send you one.  Typically, if you don't have a bass knob plugged in, the amp will put out the max for that setting.  So, the benefit of the knob is that you can turn your amp up a bit more then use the knob to fine tune.  I like to set mine so the knob is at about 3/4.  That way you still have headroom to turn up the bass some but of course has lots of room to turn it down if there's too much.  I put the second sub (Pioneer 10" shallow mount) under the rear seat.  That helped fill the sound a lot especially in the rear area.  You just have to run a separate speaker wire to it which was no big deal.
Click to expand...

Hey how did you run your speaker wire to the rear sub?
 
I ran the wire from the boot under the rear seating across between the floor and the wave shield to the starboard side.  Then right up the starboard side to the boot under the helm.  Very easy.  A wire loom was used to protect the wire and it was tie-wrapped to the existing wire loom.  Also in the loom was the rear remote wiring.
 
Havasu said:
I ran the wire from the boot under the rear seating across between the floor and the wave shield to the starboard side.  Then right up the starboard side to the boot under the helm.  Very easy.  A wire loom was used to protect the wire and it was tie-wrapped to the existing wire loom.  Also in the loom was the rear remote wiring.
Click to expand...

Does the wave shield need to be removed?
 
No.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top