Follow up after a couple of months. Since the last post I’ve added the kicker hideaway sub behind the rear seat. I’ve not had much seat time (short in-town stuff) but last weekend I had an away gig, so I drove the Santa Cruz. Outbound I listened to mostly spoken audio-not an ideal test of audio prowess. However, on return it was mostly music. Late at night rolling along Eric Clapton tracks were mesmerizing. The sound stage was perfect and the guitar licks were clear and clean. Even though it was from Spotify (they are compressed but less so than some of the other music source) and my hearing is old, what I heard seemed to rival that from vinyl played on my Denon turntable thru Yamaha amp into advent speakers (all circa early 80’s vintage). I am still using factory speakers and I don’t think I need to change them.

All in, $260 amp/dsp+$275 sub+$275 wiring harness=~$810. And a few hours of my time. My opinion: well worth it. If you wish you had gotten the limited b/c of the weak sound system, this might fix that regret.

 

Reading through many "speaker upgrade" threads and stumbled upon this older thread. How are you liking your setup? Does any of that void warranty work?
I have a 2024 base SEL and the speakers are not loud enough for me.

 

thanks for posting. Now we need guide on getting to back of headunit.

 

someone posted this link before and has the Santa Cruz manual

Gale - Product Login

password nclive001

 

I just spent a bit of time this am actually looking at the wiring harness options offered by this vendor. Actually pretty cool. He offers a complete “plug and play“ harness to allow installation of a kicker key 4 channel amp(it has a built-in DSP for tuning), a kicker 8/10” self-contained sub and the harness to power everything-no guessing, cutting, etc. a bit pricey but I think worth it for a OEM-like install. It looks like there are other options for those who want different components, but I am just looking for a bit more richness to the sound.

My thought is to do the kicker install with the stock speakers first (and sub) and re-evaluate after the stock speakers are broken in (170 miles on vehicle so far).

 

This is part 1 of install of Hoel harness and Kicker Keys 4 channel amp/DSP. Just some highlights. I ordered the complete harness for amp install with power lead as well as for Kicker Powered Sub add-on. Firewall penetration was challenge one. I wound up using the main opening where the primary loom enters. It is a double grommet and I used the outer one to avoid any damage to the main harness. I had to remove the battery to get access from the engine bay but it was not too bad after I made that commitment. I have 2 power leads (one for amp, one for sub). Protip: remember to label them as they are just alike in length and appearance. As an aside, the wire harness from Hoel is very well made and covered with a very nice protective sheath.

Next, the removal of the surround and face of the head unit. Not for the faint of heart. And the available instructions are for the limited faceplate. The bottom is a challenge but once you find a seam and get over the "crack" of plastic clips letting go it is pretty smooth. The head unit face must be unscrewed-one at each top and bottom corner. Installing the wiring was s bit of struggle was there is not a lot of room.

More to come...

 

Conrinued:

the kicker keys amp is (IMHO) quite a nice piece. It is quite compact ~7”x2”x3”. I would guess in some applications you could put it behind the dash, but not in the Santa Cruz as things are pretty crowded there. I chose to locate it under the driver seat there is quite a bit of room there, the carpet is already cut for wires, there are three threaded lugs that you can use both for securing the amplifier as well as for a ground lug.

using the harness that I purchased from Hoel the process was very plug and play. The space behind the factory head unit is limited and his connectors are fairly thick so you have to compress things just a bit. Once the connections were all made everything was buttoned back up I put the amp in its location and made all the final wiring connections. The set up process from kicker has your download pink noise to allow it to go through using its proprietary DSP to analyze position and speakers to achieve an optimal soundstage.

One set completes you adjust gain and also make some changes in some of the switching on the amp. For example the kicker does not defeat the time delay that’s built into the head unit so you have to defeat that dip switch. I will say that the sound is much more clear. The lower end is actually much more strong after the amplifier install. It would make me rethink a subwoofer if I was on a budget but I plan on adding the powered kicker subwoofer.

as far as aftermarket speakers I will let the speakers break in for two more months and see if I’m satisfied with them before making a decision but I will say that the sound is quite impressive. I will admit that I am not an audiophile but I know what I think sounds pretty good and that’s really all that matters to each individual. I will also tell you that I’m not a young guy anymore in my hearing is not what I was when I was 20 years old.

so based upon my experience I would say: 1. the kicker keys should be definite consideration for upgrading the SEL premium to a sound system it’s probably better than the Bose; 2. using Hoel sourced wiring plug-and-play system is definitely much easier than searching and splicing for wires.

I also add that the customer service I got from Gus Hoel was outstanding. There was a bit of confusion about where I was placing my amp and he had a lot of orders going out and he went up sending me the behind the dash set up and once he found out that mistake he overnighted an extension to me at his cost. Great customer service.

 

Yes very satisfied. But of course, I upgraded all the speakers earlier this year with kicker components up front and kicker coaxial in rear. Very easy and, maybe the new speakers improved the sound even more incrementally but not a huge leap. Biggest improvement was definitely the amp. The warranty implications are minimal, but if done correctly.

 

I'm planning on doing speakers first. Thinking about getting the JBL brand.
Any issues at all with broken clips or anything removing and installing the door panels?

Also, did you need to get a T-harness to hook up amp? I would eventually like to install my amp myself but afraid it might be too big of a job for me simply because I have a lot of back problems and can't move around working on a car like I used to.
Would you trust Best Buy to institute amp and or speakers?

 

Tweeters in sail panels come off independently. Door panels have a screw under pad in arm rest recess as well as one under 1/2” round cover near latch. Start at bottom and release clips. No issues for me but work slowly. Remember to get speakers that require low power or you’ll find the sound worse as the factory head unit can’t drive much. Best Buy….hmmm. I wouldn’t trust anyone other than a very high end shop but then you’ll overpay. I’m 69 and did it all myself. I’d buy from crutchfield and just take my time. They provide instructions, adapters and speaker spacers.

 

Perfect! Bookmarked it for future use. Thanks for the link.

 

How did the install go with the harness?

 

I’m actually doing it today after work, I was waiting for my subwoofer. I will let you know!

 

I contacted the vendor about locating the amp (kicker) under the drivers seat (he had options of either under dash or back seat areas) regarding the length of power leads, etc. my thought was the OEM Bose amp is usually in that location and it would be easier to access (for dsp tuning or replacement) and cooler (class D run warmer?).

He agreed and is going to offer the under drivers seat option as one of the offerings.

the kicker amp seems rather in short supply. Back order on crutchfield and Sonix electronics. I found one at Best Buy, of all places. Ordered today.

 

I’m actually doing it today after work, I was waiting for my subwoofer. I will let you know!

how did it go?

 

Went very easy everything was plug and play basically, at the end I had to cut the RCA ends and use the high entrance, because I was having some sound distortion using the RCA's. But everything works perfect, no issues at all.

 

A few specific questions:

1. Any challenges getting to back of head unit-panels remove easily?
2. Where did you route power thru firewall?
3. Why do you think you got distortion using RCA connection? Did you adjust gain?

and, how does it sound??

 

A few specific questions:

1. Any challenges getting to back of head unit-panels remove easily?
2. Where did you route power thru firewall?
3. Why do you think you got distortion using RCA connection? Did you adjust gain?

and, how does it sound??

interested too, how does it sound?

 

Thanks for starting this thread. Just to be clear I'm understanding this, this harness as "plug and play" is specifically if you were to remove the head unit and play with the wiring back there. is that correct?

I have a Limited that comes with the Bose sound system and sub, so I was just going to swap out the sub with the kicker HS10 and run a power and ground wire. So in my case, I dont need this harness, correct? I haven't taken anything apart and haven't purchased the sub yet so i'm just trying to make sure I get everything needed at once moving forward.

 

I have purchased the Hoel Harness and going to add the Kicker Key 200.4 as well, the sound is weak and I like my music. SEL Activity

 

There is a thread detailing replacing the Bose sub with the kicker. i have no personal experience. You will need to run fused power from the battery to behind the back seat.
my question is regarding the speaker signal at the sub. It comes from the Bose amp and what frequency (60, 80 hz, etc come to the sub). Most say it sound much better than the Bose sub.

 

I keep going to Crutchfield and looking and thinking I'm still 20 and can install anything 😀 but keep doubting myself due the back issues. I'm positive I can do the speakers, my only question with the speakers is....Is there an obvious good spot to mount the crossover?

 

I had the same issue with needing rear speaker signals for my amp, and an rca cable adapter worked great for tapping those lines off the factory radio. It really saved time since I didn’t have to splice anything or guess at wire colors.