Idk why a dealer wouldn’t know that, it would be the standard 6 speaker system 4 speakers in doors, and two tweeters on the dash. Demo of it on YouTube if you want a very rough expectation of sound and bass levels. Not amazing but I certainly don’t think it’s awful as some say.

 

I know what the standard audio was but most Outbacks have an audio upgrade unless it has the Premium Harmon Kardon option as standard.

 

Here, the spec sheet says 6 speakers and doesn't reveal the audio manufacturer. Other trims come with the 12 speaker HK system but not the Wilderness, which doesn't get nav either. I guess they decided if you want the rugged look you don't care about sound and since trails don't have street signs you don't need nav either. How very weird.

 

Actually, the Wilderness does get Nav.

 

Well, I did say "here" and not "there". Check out the plethora of options I could add right now if I wanted to order.

https://subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?WebSiteID=282&WebPageID=23777&Range=Outback&ModelYear=2022

EDIT- tried to post a link to the final page with options but I only got the page before. You'd have to make sure you select the trim from the left menu.

 

That's just bizarre. I guess we need the heated steering wheel because our hands get cold when we crawl out of our igloos.
No interior option with all these great colour options either. This pic is of the whole 'options' segment - I've left nothing out.

 

I’m Canada, we get all the same features as the Limited XT, unless the Wilderness exclusive stuff replaces it, but no Harman Kardon and Navigation. We also get the front view camera.
I’m 99.99999% sure the 6 speaker system is the same as the other 6-speaker Outback’s. You will be able to order the Rockford Fosgate upgrade at a later date when the entire accessory catalog gets released for the Canadian market. That’s what my dealer told me. Expect the accessories list to be released on or around the first week of June.

I ordered a Wilderness edition last week. I was told they would revisit my deal mid-June once everything is confirmed. Since the vehicle isn’t really gonna be at the dealer until July, there’s a lot of variables still. Interest rate, accessories, value of trade-in etc.

 

Just wanted to add, in my deal, I had the dealer add an additional $2500 for some of the OEM accessories I'm adding to my deal. I've sourced the pricing based off of the other Outback trims where accessories exist. One exception is the crossbars, I assumed the pricing would be similar to the Thule Extended Aero ones available for the Forester.

 

here isn't not harmon kardon audio either, it's just the navigation addition to the radio along with the sunroof.

 

If you want you can add the Rocksford Fosgate Audio upgrade adds new front door speakers, and a amp. Getting it today on my Legacy, curious to see the difference in person.

 

Since it is not listed as a option I am not sure that could be done, but I may have to inquire when I place the order.

 

For those of you who get the Rockford Fosgate audio upgrade, in the past it didn't include a tweeter and recommend you put the Subaru/Kicker tweeters in there as an easy plug 'n play replacement.

Gen 6 - Onyx/Wilderness and other non-Harman Kardon...

The intent of this thread is for people to contribute what they've done to improve their non-HK sound systems. First up - these amazing tweeters! Subaru sells a set of Kicker tweeters H631SFJ101 for a wide range of Subaru models, and the Toyota community has embraced it as an easy...

www.subaruoutback.org

Gen 6 - Kicker Tweeter Upgrade

I just installed the Kicker Tweeter upgrade from Subaru in my 2021 Outback Onyx XT. The stereo in the Onyx is essentially awful. No amplifier and the stock speakers are garbage. I am having the dealer install the Rockford Fosgate upgrade on Wednesday which includes aa 400W amplifier and front...

www.subaruoutback.org

 

Get the base audio and spend $600-$800 and do a true custom system with Amp, Sub and new speakers all around. The RF system is way overpriced for 2 speakers and the HK system is near impossible to upgrade after the fact. . Lots of threads around here discussing audio.

BTW, . Those numbers are actual. My son just did a (Kicker CS series) 6 speaker upgrade and self powered sub with a Key amp for $770 (after coupons, discounst and Best Buy install.) the system sounds really good.

 

when you do this does it void your warranty on the car? Someone said it does and takes away the back up camera? New to this so was curious

 

NOW you can have RF in the wilderness when I was told you couldnt but had mine installed today at the dealer.




I, like others prefer premium sounds. After picking up my wilderness I started to think
of things I want to add/upgrade. Stereo being one of them.

Sadly after speaking with Subaru Customer Relations they confirmed at this time NO UPGRADE OPTIONS FOR AUDIO on the 2022 Wilderness.

 

I, like others prefer premium sounds. After picking up my wilderness I started to think
of things I want to add/upgrade. Stereo being one of them.

Sadly after speaking with Subaru Customer Relations they confirmed at this time NO UPGRADE OPTIONS FOR AUDIO on the 2022 Wilderness.

That's so weird. In Canada, the Rockford Fosgate upgrade is an optional accessory add-on.

 

Subaru Customer Relations likely interpreted your inquiry as factory-installed. Dealers can install the RF. Unless there is an industry shortage we are missing!

 

If you change the head unit you will lose the backup camera but if you just add an amp and speakers it won't affect it, but as for the warranty, if the installation is botched then the warranty won't cover damage done by the installer, nor will it cover any of your aftermarket parts, or any parts that were damaged from using the aftermarket parts (which would be very very rare, but for example if the wiring shorted out something because of improper installation it wouldn't cover that damage.

 

And there is the argument for having it all professionally installed . You'll get an experienced tech that installs quality audio every day on new/newish cars with similar quirks and sensitivities. ( i.e They know stuff you just don't) You'll also get an insured company to hold accountable if something goes wrong. FWIW, I couldn't be happier with the job done by BestBuy on my son's 21' Crosstreck. They Installed the Key Amp, 6 speakers a sub ( all with new wiring) and then tuned it all for a $200 flat fee. They worked on the car for near 6 hours and didn't hose anything up (electrically or physically) IMHOI, for $200 it's not worth the gamble of Easter egging a solution and hoping for results.

 

 

I'm not sure what "won't pick up resistance from speakers" means. Couldn't figure out how to connect?

 

Exactly what the installer told me. The amp doesn’t sense any resistance coming from the speakers. It’s a very reputable place and he also called others. Evidently the same is happening on some Chrysler and keep models as well. Not allowing Amos to be installed

 

The installer probably made a mistake - many others have successfully installed aftermarket amps themselves on the base Outback infotainment unit like that found in the Wilderness. The signal gets taken from the head unit's speaker wire outputs - there is no line level output. This means either a line converter, or an amp that has a built in high level input. The Kicker Key 200.4 has worked for several members, as well as some other amps.

There is a possibility that if the head unit's rear speaker wires are left unconnected it will sense the error and not work properly - If memory serves me correctly everyone has used both front and rear speaker wires from the head unit to the aftermarket amp high level input and it works fine.

 

They need to find the right load resister to add. The Kicker Key amp presents a 60 ohm load to the head unit's speaker outputs and that seems to work fine.

 

Good point.

 

OK WILDERNESS OWNERS AND OWNERS TO BE: I just had oem Rockford Fosgate speaks/amp installed at the dealer. BIG diff...so its not loudly advertised but buy the kit and have the dealer install.

 

How much?

 

Just picked up my Wilderness today and it actually has seven speakers. The standard 4 in the doors, the two tweeters in the dash and an unexpected central dash speaker! I was only anticipating the 6 based on other folks posts so was nicely surprised. Coming from the Mazda CX-5 GT w/ an amazing 10 speaker Bose system, and based on the bad reviews of the base Subie 6 speaker setup, I was expecting a pretty crappy audio experience. But honestly, it’s not that bad. Made a few minor adjustments to settings and it sounds pretty good!

 

The dash has a hole for a center speaker but there's no speaker installed in it.

 

Huh 🤔 - the tech who gave me the new car demo pointed it out as a built in dash speaker. I don’t doubt your word though… the dealer folks have been misinformed about several things regarding the Wilderness thus far. I’ll take a closer look tomorrow and investigate what can be placed there! Thanks for clarifying.

 

Let us know what you find! Here's my Onyx - the Wilderness should be the same but if yours has something under there it would be cool to get a picture.

 

Will do! Just rechecked my spec sheet though and it definitely says 6 speakers so I’m pretty sure it’s exactly like yours.

 

Funny, I asked my salesman about that "center" speaker and he didn't know what it was.

 

Trust me, you do NOT want a center speaker. it completely overtakes the entire soundstage and robs separation. It's the single worse feature of my HK system ( to the point that I actually covered it up to tone it down.)

 

@SilverOnyx - checked this morning - it's definitely not a speaker 😂 Thanks again for the heads-up. I do think I want to improve the system though but I don't know enough about car audio to go down that journey myself. I previously read through a bunch of threads, including yours, and there's just too much to consider that I don't have expertise on. I found a reputable audio shop that does a lot w/ Subies here in Denver though.

 

Worth noting is that Best Buy stores will install all your audio (for a 1 year period) for a flat fee of $200. You don't even have to buy your components from them. That's what my son did with his new Crosstrek. He did 6 speakers, an amp and powered sub professionally installed for under $900. Sounds super. I'm kind of jealous really. Sounds better than my HK system for sure.

 

There are at least a dozen people who have done audio mods and the trouble is we can't listen to the cars side by side, but if you trust everyone's impressions at face value, depending on how picky you are about car audio I think one can make reasonable choices, realizing that the head unit equalizes the signal even with all EQ settings off, all DSP off - it's strongly coloring the signal, especially in the bass region.

If the shop tests the head unit output with a frequency sweep (via bluetooth or AUX input) and measure the frequency response at the speaker terminals then they may see huge bass swings, peaking at 60 hz and a dip at 120hz - I have not done this but someone else did and that's what they found, so it's not just a matter of the speaker's frequency response, cabin resonance, etc. This to me is the biggest weakness of the system - it's forcing an artificial sounding bass.

So if all you want to do is change speakers and not touch the electronics, I would seek out door speakers that tend to be strong at 120hz and weak at 60hz, while still having decent mids, and put in whatever reasonable quality tweeters you want. Then if you want low bass you'll need a subwoofer for 40hz or so.

If you get the Rockford Fosgate amp I'm not sure how the low frequencies are EQ's but it's not the same as directly from the head unit and probably much better, but it doesn't address the lacking tweeters.

If the audio shop is willing to test the system's frequency response I would like to get a graph of their findings - only one person did it so far and I'm basing the above on that person's test results plus my own listening impressions before and after changing speakers.

 

Thanks for taking the time to provide such a detailed response! Definitely helps my understanding. I'm going to pass this along to the shop verbatim. If I can get that graph I'll post it here to you. Thanks again!