Part 2:

Place the subwoofer inside the trunk cavity.

Starting on the front right start installing the 10mm bolts, but do not tighten.

For the final bolt the hole may be slightly off. The brackets allow some flex side to side so just push the subwoofer a bit to get the hole to align and insert the bolt. Once all are in tighten them down, but remember they are plastic so don't smash them and cause them to crack.

 

Part 3 Wiring:

This part can be done a few different ways. In the pictures it shows an OEM plug from the Meridian subwoofer that has been cut off, but the instructions will be the same.

If using the cigarette lighter as the power you can route the wiring however you want. I chose to tuck it back behind the taillight panel and run it down to the trunk cavity.

Connect them to the subwoofer as follows:
Red = +12v
Black = GND

Now it's time to splice the pigtail from the car to the subwoofer. With the pigtail plug from the car with the wires facing away from you and the orange facing up splice the wires in the following order:
Left = Solid White
2nd From Left = White with Black Stripe
3rd From Left = Gray
Right = Gray with Black Stripe

Now all you need to do is plug your newly made harness into the car, plug in the subwoofer adjustment knob and you're good to go to test it out. The sub may need a little adjustment using the knobs on the side so that it doesn't sound bad, but you can watch some Youtube videos on how to do that.

Congrats you have now installed an aftermarket sub all by yourself!

 

@DadPool - Any chance you could shoot me a message, I'd like to buy the brackets. Just spent some time trying to hack together a mounting solution for my 2023 GT, and not having any luck fitting it in. My post count is too low to DM you. Thanks!

 

Great job on the write-up! Please keep in mind though that for many of us with 2022 MY EV6, the two side covers are not removable; not a showstopper by any means since we just wind up removing the entire panel by default anyways.

 

Got to love how they change minor things each year

 

do you know if the remote level adjustment knob NEEDS to be plugged in to the sub for the sub to operate correctly? I would want to set it and forget it and don't want the knob flopping around in the trunk. I assume the Bass adjustment within the radio itself would still control the levels sent to the sub.

This looks like an excellent kit. I would be interested in finding out if there was a male/female connector kit for the backside of the cig lighter outlet, to act as an intercept without losing functionality of the cig lighter itself, which would also keep people who want power from the harness directly from having to cut/tap into the oem harness

 

The remote only reduces the bass, so if you don’t have it plugged in it defaults to max. You can adjust the bass enough in the car system that you should be fine without it.

 

after it's all said and done, is there a notable difference?

 

Difference is quite a bit. Simple as saying you’ll actually be aware there is a sub for once.

 

Another question, does this unit only turn on when there is a signal from your cars receiver. And where do you put the rockville volume control?

 

I just have mine routed across the back seat for now. Considering just unplugging it since mine is set to almost max all the time anyways.

 

Hey @DadPool can't PM you due to being too new but maybe you can PM me re: brackets

 

I need his PM too! I am also too new ;(

 

I'd like to buy the mounting kit from you too, but also am new (your post convinced me to stop lurking).

@DadPool, can you please PM more or provide another way to reach out?

 

Sending you a message

 

I just got brackets and installed it. It is definitely essential upgrade if you have complain with sound, especially bass sound.

The sound is much better now.

thanks for the brackets!

 

So glad it all worked out nicely!

 

@DadPool can you share the stl for the mounts? before this i already bought the mdf print out, so im getting that made. but if it doesnt work well. i wanted to try your mounts.

Also can you share a screenshot and description of the AMP settings you used?

 

Due to issues in the past with other things I've created I don't sell files anymore.

As for the settings I'll try to get a pic of where mine are at.

 

Could you pls share the link to get the bracket?

 

Just send me a message and I can get that ordered for you.

 

Here is the settings I have on my Rockville for tuning if anyone needs it.

 

Got to love a bad pic post. Here is a better one.

 

Got to love a bad pic post. Here is a better one.
View attachment 23015

Thanks! Can you please confirm the positions of the "phase" and "auto power on" buttons? They look different (the phase button in particular) in the first and this more recent photo. Maybe it's just the lighting.

Curious about the sub's remote dial setting as well as the EV6's infotainment EQ, front/rear and other audio settings. if/when you have time.

Really appreciate your hard work on this.

 

FWIW I have the Auto Power On set to "ON", although IMHO if you have the amp powered via the rear 12V outlet (either by plugging directly into the 12V outlet or wire-tapped into the 12V wire feeding the outlet) then the position of that switch shouldn't make a difference since the rear 12V outlet is not energized (at least on paper) whenever the vehicle itself is powered off...although I imagine there might be a small advantage by leaving this setting to ON, in that you might save a wee bit of energy by not having the amp draw power whenever you're not listening to any tunes. I have Phase at 0 deg, Low Pass at 180 Hz based on my uneducated presumption that the factory audio signal being sent to the sub is probably not lower than 180 Hz (but you're free to experiment with whatever setting suits your ears), Input Gain roughly 1/3 from MIN (anything higher and I start to hear clipping, based on primary audio source being my iPhone). Bass Boost is personal preference so really there is no "ideal" setting for that.

 

Excellent info. Just got our EV6 back from the body shop a couple of days ago so I ordered the Rockville sub yesterday. FWIW, I was going to order it from Amazon since Prime returns are easy, but it was being sold by a NY audio store and was going to take more than a week to show up. So I ordered directly from Rockville since it's the same price and they have a 90 day, no questions, paid shipping return policy and ship the next day. They threw in a Rockville logo T-shirt too, ha!

Have all of the parts and pieces now (thanks @DadPool!), so I'm looking forward to getting it installed. I'm planning on tapping the trailer wiring so the sub's auto on/off will come into play.

Thanks again! 🙏

 

Just finished up my install using these brackets, and using the 12 volt via piggyback spades. Above image was just to show the tools and how simple it is once you have all the (correct) parts. 😂

Yes, I know wago's aren't meant for audio cable, but they're working fine for now. Will clean up later.

Here's my 12v connection using the piggyback spades. Followed the guide from the other thread, but for some reason my blue cable spade (12v, not ground) couldn't fit. I have a 2024 EV6, not sure if Kia would really stop using the standard size spade. I had to snip a piece of the spade off, but there's enough contact there and I'm getting adequate power.

Here's what it looks like all cleaned up:

I used cloth electrical tape to avoid having cables rattling, and sanded off the paint, and used and extra nut to make the ground connection.

Running the remote cable to the front below:

Used some small pieces of gorilla double sided tape (because it's thinner than the 3M one) to make it look seamless, and then used a cable organizer to hold the wire in too.


All in all, the changes were worth it and I can definitely feel the subwoofer all the way to the front now. Time to annoy the wife. 🫡

 

View attachment 23223

Just finished up my install using these brackets, and using the 12 volt via piggyback spades. Above image was just to show the tools and how simple it is once you have all the (correct) parts. 😂

Yes, I know wago's aren't meant for audio cable, but they're working fine for now. Will clean up later.

View attachment 23224

Here's my 12v connection using the piggyback spades. Followed the guide from the other thread, but for some reason my blue cable spade (12v, not ground) couldn't fit. I have a 2024 EV6, not sure if Kia would really stop using the standard size spade. I had to snip a piece of the spade off, but there's enough contact there and I'm getting adequate power.

Here's what it looks like all cleaned up:
View attachment 23225

I used cloth electrical tape to avoid having cables rattling, and sanded off the paint, and used and extra nut to make the ground connection.

Running the remote cable to the front below:
View attachment 23226

Used some small pieces of gorilla double sided tape (because it's thinner than the 3M one) to make it look seamless, and then used a cable organizer to hold the wire in too.


All in all, the changes were worth it and I can definitely feel the subwoofer all the way to the front now. Time to annoy the wife. 🫡

Nice work and thanks for posting the details and pics!

FWIW I would wrap the terminals that you added since one will be "hot" with the ignition on. Odds are nothing will ever short it out but I'm a little OCD about those things. Exposed terminals make me wince. 😣 😆

Hope you and the missus are enjoying your "new" stereo!

🎶

 

Finally I found the time to install it. Thanks @DadPool for the brackets and the write up !

I wanted to add some cushion/support at the bottom, and decided to use one of the high density foam inserts that were sent with the subwoofer

Tapped power into the trailer plug using a couple of male spade connectors.

Still need to play with the sub settings, but the sound definitely improved, and now you can hear the bass also a low volume.

 

@andirivieni - I just posted a reply to this thread, but I see that you definitely powered via the tow-hitch harness so figured I'd inquire directly. Have you had any issues with the fact that the sub is always "on" when powering it this way?

 

After going back-and-forth on a number of options, I finally settled on the Rockville SSP10 Subwoofer and got it installed yesterday. Brackets from @DadPool worked great!

As others have said, it's not going to shake your rearview mirror or win any cars-that-go-boom battles, but it is a marked improvement over the OE Meridian sub.

I've buttoned everything up, reinstalled all of the panels including the KIA OE weatherproof floor cover and it still sounds quite good. Low-end (sub 50Hz) is pretty solid, drum kicks give a good punch now and it's filled out the OE Meridian system very nicely. I cranked one song with some heavy base, got out and closed the doors and hatch to see how much I was going to annoy the neighbors. I was really surprised at how well the sound stays inside cabin. Outside at five feet I couldn't hear much at all. Says a lot about how much insulation our EV6's have. Nice!

I used Rockville's recommended RWK81 SSP10 wiring kit to wire it up. The kit includes 8 AWG + and - power cables, high input and RCA speaker cables and a bunch of connectors. I only used the power cables and a couple of connectors. (BTW, if you buy the sub and the wiring kit at the same time, you can save a few dollars.) Instead of using the KIA 12v power outlet I opted to use the positive power from the EV6's trailer connector. FYI, the trailer connector fuse in the under hood fuse box is part of a multi-fuse block and I haven't sorted out how to pull one of those, so as a precaution I disconnected the 12v negative battery cable while I was working on the sub's power wires. I had to modify one of the Rockville spade connectors by snipping off a tiny bit on each side so it would slip into the EV6's trailer wiring + pin. I soldered the spade connector to the wire, added some shrink wrap and even though it was pretty solid I used Tesa Tape to secure it to the connector. I ran the supplied 8 AWG ground wire to an existing nut/bolt using one of the supplied ring connectors in the same way. Thanks to @DadPool's and other's wiring diagrams it was simple to wire up the existing speaker wire connector to a KIA "Repair Wiring Kit" that I purchased and of course, thanks to his brackets, it's a OE-looking fit!

I have the amp set to "Auto Power On". Even though the power from the trailer connector is hot all of the time, the sub did shut itself off within about 10 minutes of the ignition and stereo being turned off.

I've started with @DadPool's sub settings and am still tweaking them along with the KIA's infotainment/Meridian settings. I mostly listen to Spotify and their app has its own EQ settings too so I'm having a play with those as well. I'm hoping to find a Goldilocks setting with the sub's volume so that I can leave the volume control in the sub cavity to avoid running the wiring up front. Not sure that'll work out, but in the meantime I draped the wire over the back seat and up front so I can keep adjusting it for now. It looks like setting the sub's volume to just above half-way is about right, but we'll see.

It'll be pretty easy to return it all to OE when the day comes to sell it, or maybe I'll leave it in for the next buyer.

For those that follow, although I can say this is a pretty solid improvement over the OE sub for not a lot of money, I cannot say if the Rockville is better than the equivalent 10" powered sub from Kicker some have added or if adding an auxiliary amp to the OE Meridian sub like others have done would be a better option. Having tweaked but mostly fully replaced OE car stereos in most of the vehicles I've owned for decades, I have to say that with this powered sub addition, the Meridian system sounds pretty darned good for an OE stereo now.

I'll add some sound deadener in the sub cavity like I did in our other EV6 at some point since I felt like it improved even the OE sub a bit before (and I have a bunch left over), but for now, I'm a happy camper with this new setup. Thanks to all for your contributions, much appreciated! 🙏

P.S. Special thanks to @tonester for being the forum's most patient and encouraging member.

🙏

 

Follow-up to my earlier post. The new Rockville 10" sub does in fact shake the rearview mirror! Not a lot, but... Just needed to find the right tunes to do it.

 

@DadPool Would you DM me, please? My post is too low to DM you. Thanks.

 

Could you pls share the link to get the bracket?

jiofi.local.html tplinklogin​

 

Could you pls share the link to get the bracket?

You’ll need to send @DadPool a private message (conversation).

 

Thanks @DadPool for the brackets!

Now on to the install question, I want to do the piggyback to the trunk 12V from behind the plug as the first option, if that fails, second option would be to use a 12V cigarette plug and run the wires from that plug. I'm not handy at all, I took apart another car's dashboard and both front side door once and broke some tabs. I saw posts above taking a part the left driver trunk wall. If you remove the trunk wall, can you let me know please where are the tabs in the picture below and what would be an easier way to remove this wall cover? Thanks!

 

Thanks @DadPool for the brackets!

Now on to the install question, I want to do the piggyback to the trunk 12V from behind the plug as the first option, if that fails, second option would be to use a 12V cigarette plug and run the wires from that plug. I'm not handy at all, I took apart another car's dashboard and both front side door once and broke some tabs. I saw posts above taking a part the left driver trunk wall. If you remove the trunk wall, can you let me know please where are the tabs in the picture below and what would be an easier way to remove this wall cover? Thanks!

View attachment 23526

Watch the video below to see how to remove the side cover - you don't have to completely remove it, just enough to get behind it to access the wiring. As long as it's warmish there's no need to worry about breaking any tabs or retainer clips. Everything pops off pretty easily.

This earlier post by @tvxnt shows how he tapped into the 12v outlet.

There's a more robust thread discussing all of the subwoofer options:

https://www.kiaevforums.com/threads/subwoofer-discussion-continued-once-again.6228/

Hope that helps!

 

Thanks for the youtube link, let me try that.

 

Thanks @DadPool for the great write-up and the quick delivery of the set of brackets. I have completed the install of the SS10P in my EV6 and it is a huge improvement over the stock sub!
I did follow @andirivieni suggestion of using shipping foam from the SS10P as support under the sub. And used the RWK81 SSP10 wiring kit that @RSA mentioned to wire everything up.
I didn't really like the idea of having something always plugged into the 12V outlet in back and I had already used the trailer port for an auto door lock device I got from "The Ioniq Guy" so I ran the power directly from the battery. That required me to poke a small hole in the rubber firewall boot to run power to the sub. I also put the remote under the infotainment/climate control panel as @tvxnt showed. Running the wires for power and the remote were a bit of a pain, but if you're patient it's not too bad. Following is the final result

 

My contribution post. Let me start by saying that I'm not handy at all, I don't have all the necessary tools other than ratchet wrench and phillips screw driver unlike others who may have a dedicated garage space for all their tools.
I did the Rockville SSP10 install forgoing the remote.
I actually did all the wire connections while sitting in my home office, all my wires are done before I even open my car's trunk. There was a post by HDClown on reddit that describes how to connect the Kia part number 1879003730AS with the Rockville cable. I did the piggyback spade connectors to the cig lighter in the trunk. I spent the most time trying to 'snip' the spade connector to fit the positive from the cable (the original connector) that goes into the back of the cig lighter. If you're going down this road, I'm guessing a 4.8mm piggy back connector may work better than the standard 1/4inch connector. When running the ground to the car, I use a ring terminal, make sure this is at least 3/8 inch ring since the bolt size is 10mm.

 

Now onto my question, does anyone find that there is some rattles from the area of the sub when the sub is pumping? I feel I can definitely push to hold the area just above the license plate so it's tighter to reduce the rattling. I'm setting about 120Hz, gain about half and cross over about half. Not all tunes, but some deep bass tunes like Thievery Corporation - A warning or Lebanese Blonde or Here comes the Hotstepper definitely rattled the trunk area with the car's volume just around 20 or 25 (after the recent firmware update).
Anyone else experience the issue?

How do I reduce rattling so I can enjoy the music better without the "extras"?

 

Congrats on a job well done!

I've noticed the same with our GT and will be installing some sound deadener. I added it to our GT-Line but sold it before I could install the new sub. It actually made the Meridian sub sound a little better. More here about how/why:

https://www.kiaevforums.com/threads/subwoofer-discussion-continued-once-again.6228/page-42?post_id=157235#post-157235

Haven't used this particular brand, but they're all about the same and this 80mil x 10sqft pack should be all you need and it's reasonably priced:

Amazon.com