Kicker Key Amp 200.4 Install DIY Video - Do this first!

[TripleB]

I installed a Kicker Key 200.4 amp in my BaseSquatch today and it made a HUGE difference. It was a straight forward install that took about an hour and a half. The install was made easy because of the harness from plugnplaykits.com. There was no need to cut, splice or drill anything. As you will see in the video below, it litterally was a plug and play operation.

The Kicker Key amp has a build-in automatic DSP that fixes Ford's terrible signal as well as adding 50 watts per channel. The combination is amazing. I have a nice 3 way component speaker set waiting to install in the front and now I'm not even sure I will bother. That is just how big of improvement this is.

I have suspected that Ford is intentionally degrading the sound quality of the base system in an effort to get customers to upgrade to the B&O. These amp and more importantly the smart DSP that is integrated in it really brings the entire stereo to life. Spend you money on this before you spend it on speakers. Good speakers can't fix low power and poor signal.

I put together a quick installation video but wasn't able to show the self tuning step because I needed my phone to play the kicker pink noise DSP turning track. If you want to see that step other installation videos show you how to do that.

Edit: the harness and amp are "Kit 11". Here is the direct link to the bronco kits.
https://plugnplaykits.com/products/...y-audio-harnesses-kits?variant=41130698473662

Did you use any bass blockers? I ended up ordering kit 16 in case I wanted to add a sub later.

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[j_anderson]

ya customer service and website maybe arent their strong suit. it is a bit confusing but im sure they are swamped with questions because of this thread.
but to me it looks like kit 14 and 15 are the same except the harness length. 14 is 6 ft and 15 is 17 ft. hope that helps.

I got a reply from them. They confirmed this. Kit 15 ordered!

 

[Frankie945]

there are instructions for setting the gain. Did you go through the dsp configuration with the pink noise calibration track?

Yea I know the amp pretty good I’ve had it for 3 years just used in other cars. Try turning the dsp off and see how you like it I thought it was much better without it. More of a full sound with it off that’s best way I can describe it.

 

[Draughon]

Looks like some good stuff on that website. I found Bronco after I searched, it’s not in the drop down menu. However, I have no idea what any of that stuff means. It looks like somewhat broken English. Someone would have to tell me if any of it is useful on a B&O system. Glad to see their harnesses work. Perhaps it’s the same as other Ford radios.

Same question - if I did order the B&O - will this be a wise improvement?

 

[BadK22]

You don’t need forscan if you get the kicker key you can turn the rears up loud as you want with the rear gain on the amp. I thought the factory sound was better then the kickers DSP tune so I flipped that dip switch to off. It has more of a full sound with it turned off. I recommend driving some in real life conditions when your making your setting changes on the amp. You can just loosely mount it under the steering wheel and pull over somewhere to make changes on it. You’ll want to turn the gains all the way down on the front and just barely turn up the rear or your warning chimes and seatbelt chimes will be super loud. If you turn the rear gain up too high they will be louder than the fronts. I have mine set to the letter A in amp. You’ll also get a static sound even when the radio is off if your gains are too high so you’ll want to turn them down till it’s gone or acceptable to you. I had this in another car and it did the same thing with the static noise. I researched it more last night and it seems like it’s pretty common if gains are too high while using a factor radio but no big deal it still sounds great and added much more power to the speakers. I have jl audio 4” in my dash and the vibrate like crazy on certain songs now after the amp install I will probably try some base blockers before I switch them out to something else. I did try the crossover but it took little too much bass out so I ended up leaving it off. Over all I’m pretty happy with the kicker key my last car I soldered all the wires behind the radio and it was no fun but with this plug and play harness it was a joy to install.

Are you powering all 6 speakers with the Kicker KEY? If so I don't think the DSP will work correctly. In order for the DSP to work correctly, you would need to bi-amp the fronts. If you are running all 6 speakers with 4 channels, there will be a compromise. The DSP works by automatically adjusting the crossover and time delay to each speaker. When the front stage is wired in parallel, the amp is trying to adjust time delay and the crossover points to 2 different speakers on a single channel at the same time. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think this is possible which is why it sounded better with it turned off.

 

[cmcbronco]

Are you powering all 6 speakers with the Kicker KEY? If so I don't think the DSP will work correctly. In order for the DSP to work correctly, you would need to bi-amp the fronts. If you are running all 6 speakers with 4 channels, there will be a compromise. The DSP works by automatically adjusting the crossover and time delay to each speaker. When the front stage is wired in parallel, the amp is trying to adjust time delay and the crossover points to 2 different speakers on a single channel at the same time. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think this is possible which is why it sounded better with it turned off.

You might be right but when I spoke with crutchfield I did ask this. They insisted the key had plenty of power to run both speakers up front on one channel. I suppose though maybe there would be an issue with dsp in this case maybe I’ll ask crutchfield again.

 

[Frankie945]

Are you powering all 6 speakers with the Kicker KEY? If so I don't think the DSP will work correctly. In order for the DSP to work correctly, you would need to bi-amp the fronts. If you are running all 6 speakers with 4 channels, there will be a compromise. The DSP works by automatically adjusting the crossover and time delay to each speaker. When the front stage is wired in parallel, the amp is trying to adjust time delay and the crossover points to 2 different speakers on a single channel at the same time. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think this is possible which is why it sounded better with it turned off.

Only issue when you biamp the fronts you don’t get much sound out of the rear speakers. I went through this on my old car but I’ll try this evening using the biamp setting and see what happens. I’m pretty content on how it sounds now with it off.

 

[Bronc OH]

You don’t need forscan if you get the kicker key you can turn the rears up loud as you want with the rear gain on the amp.

This seems counterintuitive. Wouldn't you want to remove the ford dsp via forscan before amplifying the sound? Simply cranking up the gain would likely increase the distortion unless you have a clean/full range of sound that you're sending the amp?

 

[Frankie945]

This seems counterintuitive. Wouldn't you want to remove the ford dsp via forscan before amplifying the sound? Simply cranking up the gain would likely increase the distortion unless you have a clean/full range of sound that you're sending the amp?

Most people just want more sound just by getting more volume out of the rears it’s a huge difference in sound quality. It’s a off road vehicle with tire and road noise even if you had the perfect sound system it’s not going to be as good when your driving. I think that’s kinda why I liked the dsp turned off. I’ll fool with it some more but as of right now I’ve found my happy spot. If you read my other post I said the gains are pretty much all the way down besides little in the rear.

 

[BadK22]

Only issue when you biamp the fronts you don’t get much sound out of the rear speakers. I went through this on my old car but I’ll try this evening using the biamp setting and see what happens. I’m pretty content on how it sounds now with it off.

In my opinion this is preferred. Sound should come from the front when listening to music. Surround sound is for movies Again this is just my opinion. It depends on each individuals preference. Neither is correct. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[BadK22]

You might be right but when I spoke with crutchfield I did ask this. They insisted the key had plenty of power to run both speakers up front on one channel. I suppose though maybe there would be an issue with dsp in this case maybe I’ll ask crutchfield again.

I do think it has enough power for all 6 speakers. I'm just saying I don't believe the DSP works correctly if you are powering 6 speakers through 4 channels. If you are wanting to increase volume in the rear speakers, this is the way to go but with DSP off as you did.

 

[cmcbronco]

In my opinion this is preferred. Sound should come from the front when listening to music. Surround sound is for movies

So in bi amp mode it will only amplify the fronts correct?

 

[cmcbronco]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think bi amp mode would work with the plug n play harness?

 

[neil23]

BY all means I'm not an audio wizard but surprised more people are not looking to do a Key 200 for the 6 speakers and Key 500 for a sub in the back. To me this seems like the easiest most straight forward setup, someone explain to me what I'm missing.

 

[BadK22]

So in bi amp mode it will only amplify the fronts correct?

Yes. Bi-amp mode is specifically for powering a front stage, such as a component set. You do need to run a wire directly from the Kicker KEY to the tweeter or kickpanel 6.5"s in this case though.

Kicker KEY White Paper:

"When in bi-amp mode:
The Kicker Key200.4 can also be used to set up and optimize a bi-amp system if you are powering the midranges and tweeters of a component speaker system separately. It will also do the same for wider bandwidth dash speakers (such as 3 ½”, 4”, 4 x 6”, 5 ¼” ect...) if there are larger or full range speakers in the dash along with speakers in the doors. The Key will automatically determine if you have a tweeter or larger speaker and tune accordingly."

https://www.kicker.com/app/misc/support/tech/tech_papers/docs/KEY2004_White_Paper.pdf

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think bi amp mode would work with the plug n play harness?

Yes you can. You just need to contact Joe at Plugnplay and ask him for this specific setup.

The return harness from the amp will include an extra set of wires to separate the front stage. You will run this directly to either the dash/tweeter or kick speakers. It depends on how its wired but plugnplay would tell you how to set it up.

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