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Your cart is empty.Automatic bass Now you can get fantastic, powerful bass without shelling out a lot of money for a huge amp or spending too much time tuning the system after installation. Kicker's KEY500.1 compact subwoofer amplifier features automatic signal processing that tailors the sound to blend in perfectly with your specific stereo system. And this compact power pack can send up to 500 watts RMS to your sub. KEY Auto Setup tunes in minutes, not hours After installation, you download both the Key sine sweep and a test tone from Kicker. You set the amp gain using the test tone and a KEY indicator light. The KEY Auto setup with the sine sweep analyzes your system's response and applies the equalization and bass boost necessary to produce great bass. Then later, with the KEY button, you can A/B the sound before and after processing to amaze your friends and family. Start-Stop problem solved Some eco-friendly cars actually turn off their engines when stopped, and then start up again when the brakes are released. The voltage dip during starting could shut down an amplifier or allow it to pass a dangerous clipped signal to the sub. The KEY500.1 prevents these issues by automatically engaging a limiter in these circumstances. Integrates well This amp's so tiny, it'll fit almost anywhere in almost any vehicle. Kicker's FIT2(tm) technology, using speaker-level inputs with DC offset sensing turn-on, ensures this amp will work in just about any vehicle, even one a factory amplified system. The Radio-Detect feature makes sure you never get a "No Speakers Detected" message on your receiver's display when you install this amp. Kicker KEY500.1 control panel
fatbag
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2024
This little amp is great, bought to power an 8" sub in my bronco and this thing has more than enough power to make the thing bump. Small, compact, and sounds great!
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024
Amp works great but minus 2 stars for bass input. Hole is worn out already and it’s only been a couple months. Kicker now wants to repair it vs send a new one so please be aware you will be without an amp for a while and I feel like this will be a common theme! FYI use 4 gauge not 8!
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024
I was immediately let down the by original 4" sub that came with the "premium" Bose audio system, but I didn't want to start cutting wires on my brand new car. I wanted to use the original subwoofer signal, but I also knew that Bose was pulling a few tricks to roll off the bass output in order to protect their tiny little subwoofer from blowing itself to shreds.The amp is small enough that I was able to just carve a recess for it out of the foam piece in the trunk, so it's completely hidden and protected. I was actually able to make a little harness that plugs directly to the original signal wire and take it to the Kicker amp rather than the Bose subwoofer. With this, I can actually unplug the amp, remove the sub from the trunk and plug the original Bose sub straight back in without any further fuss. It also works out well because the 4th gen Mazda 3 doesn't have a single fuse that is switched with the ignition, so running a remote turn-on wire wasn't an option. However, with the high-level subwoofer signal going into the amp and DC offset mode activated, it turns on and off perfectly, no remote wire necessary.The signal processing done by this amp is perfect for being attached to the Bose system, again, because I didn't want to go tearing the car apart or cutting wires to reach an unprocessed, full-range signal in my brand new car. The setup process for that took me a few tries to get right because THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS IN THE BOX. I was trying to follow along with youtube videos from memory. And then I also kept forgetting to get the car's stereo set up correctly before I started, which that one's on me... Once I looked up and printed off the instruction PDF on my own though, it was pretty straight forward. However, there are multiple sets of test tracks and they don't really specify which to use. I originally started with the -0dB set, and that ended up feeling pretty weak. But after reading the instruction for how to do a factory reset on the amp, I redid the setup process one last time with the -5dB test tracks and it's absolutely perfect now.I did have an issue with the Kicker CXARC remote volume knob though. The cord that it came with wouldn't click in deep enough to the hole on the amp, so I had to buy a different cord that was narrower near the jack itself. So it's already disappointing that the amp just doesn't already come with the remote volume knob, and even more annoying that I also had to replace the cord for it, meaning that to get a working remote knob for this amp, it's basically an extra $55.Also note that the power terminals on this amp aren't particularly big. I thought I'd play it super safe by using a 4AWG wiring kit, but the terminals only fit 8AWG wire, so that was basically just wasted money.
King Trash Panda
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2024
Punches well above its RMS range and works well with my 12” tailgate box setup for my Bronco. Easy to wire up and stash under a panel if need be.
Customer
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2024
Swapped out the factory sub in my 2020 Ford F-150, along with adding this new Kicker Key 500.1 amp. Works fantastic and is a substantial upgrade from the OEM subwoofer / audio system. The key program is very easy to set up and the output is fantastic for such a small amp. Was able to carve out a small amount of space behind my rear seats to hide it away.
Tyler Easterling
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2023
The DSP on this is amazing. Every amplifier ever made should have this tech built in and after hearing the difference, I can't believe every other manufacturer isn't copying this. Excellent amp. It's also tiny and fits just about anywhere you could want. I've been an audio enthusiast for ~15 years and this is easily one of my favorite audio products of all time.
Brandon
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2022
Works amazing for a stock radio RAM 2019. Wired to the speaker wires located between the front and back seat door trim. Turns on automatically like it says. Adds all of the bass back. I am running 1 - 12 in sub. I also installed the bass knob which I feel is a must. This allows you to listen to all music types and control to much bass. It seems small compared to the amps from the past, but match the OHMs up and it is a 500 watt amp. This works great for adding the missing bass. The sound is quality and loud. You will not win any sub competitions, but you can jam out. I don't turn the knob up much past half due to sound levels about all most people could handle. I was worried was it big enough, I only wanted to spend the money once. You could not use a bigger setup without Amping the rest of your speakers. I can turn the radio up to 34 and it is a front row concert. If you are a teenager in a parking lot and sound quality doesn't matter, buy a 1500 watt cheap amp. Lol
Craig Paterson
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2020
I received this amplifier today,I am using it to add a subwoofer to my 2018 Camaro SS with a factory non bose system. I connected it using the high level input option and dc offset turned on.The KEY gain match worked excellent. Very fast and accurate.The KEY autotune to correct the cars signal was a little bit interesting. The first time I set it up, it did not correctly work or something went wrong. So I tried again. The second try went much better but there was something really off about the bass. So, I reset it and tried a third time. Not sure if I messed it up which seems impossible because it's super easy. But, the third try worked and holy crap does this thing move the sub I paired with it (Skar SDR 8 D2 Preloaded enclosure).Overall I am pretty impressed with the outcome, the ease of installation in my otherwise difficult to install vehicle. It makes plenty of power and I will be bumping up to a higher rms woofer to take the heat.I do suggest this amp if you are in a situation where you have limited options for a clean signal, not enough money for a full DSP set up. Etc.I will most likely be getting the key 47 200.4 to power the front stage which I have swapped over to focal components and audiofrog widebands in the dash.
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