Amplifier added

MLV was just about done and the car was being put back together, and next I added a small amplifier to the sound system. Just adding the Polk speakers by themselves didn't give me enough improvement in sound, so an amp was the next upgrade.

I briefly considered replacing the factory head unit with a double DIN unit from a well-known brand, but I really didn't want to worry about ensuring that everything integrated properly (steering wheel controls, backup camera, etc). Plus I wasn't quite sure if I liked the way it looked with the dash kit and the way it created so much empty space.

I went with the Kicker Key 200.4 amp, because I liked the fact that it has an auto-tuning digital signal processor. It comes with a microphone that you put on the driver's headrest before you start the tuning process. Then you download and play a "pink noise" audio file from the Kicker website through the car's sound system. Close the doors and wait about 3 minutes, and the DSP tunes itself.

The install was pretty straightforward. I bought some flat metal bars at Home Depot, and used them to mount the amp under the passenger seat:

The amp is pretty small, so finding a spot for it was easy. For power, I ran a wire from the battery through the passenger side wheel well. There are two holes already there: One was being used by existing wires and the windshield washer hose. I used the other one, which just had a rubber plug in it. I think it would have been used for the sunroof drain hose if I had one, but obviously I don't.
For the ground wire I connected to one of the bolts that fastens the parking brake the the chassis.
And for the speaker wires, I ran those from the amp, under the center console, straight up and behind the dash.