My first response is gonna be "buy cheap, get cheap". I have a simple Kenwood media unit that supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Unit's quite a number of years old but still functions fine. With an additional module, I keep access to all the steering wheel controls and HK amp function. It's more costly to do something like that but the experience is going to be MUCH better.

The long version of this: bypassing the HK amp and driving the speakers directly would not be possible while maintaining any idea of quality. There are 9 individual speaker drivers in 7 locations in this car. The front and subwoofer would become the trickiest, as both need crossovers to function properly. Door speakers are low-pass (only bass frequencies) and the dash are high pass (only mids/highs). Subwoofer is also low-pass. To add to it, the HK amp and speaker combo are centered around 2-ohm speakers and a 1-ohm woofer. 2-ohm speakers on most head units will burn out their amplifier chip very quickly, though some nicer units are capable of 2-ohm outputs. I also don't have any actual power ratings for the HK amp, but I'd be willing to bet the power output of that unit you linked to is probably on the range of 5-8W per channel, or about 1/3 of a main-line aftermarket unit (typically 20-22W per channel). If I were to guess though, I'd say the HK amp might be in the range of 30-50W per channel, maybe 60-90W for the woofer.

So there's mostly two options: go with a known brand of unit like Kenwood, Pioneer, Alpine, etc. and pair it up with the Maestro unit (allows comm w/ wheel and HK amp, etc.) or get that unit and replace every speaker in the car, and with a severe degradation in sound quality and volume.

 

Understood. Thanks so much for the detailed reply.

Rewiring with lower audio quality definitely doesn't seem worth it. So i'll research into a more reputable brand. How easy was the install for you? I've never really worked on wiring or cars but it looks simple enough.

I might also just get a unit that plugs into a cigarette volt lighter and clips to my windshield, seems easiest!

Thanks.

 

If the friend has a system without an amplifier, that's probably where they ended up in a better spot for a less complicated workaround. I'd say hit Crutchfield and filter for "Apple CarPlay", for the most part you can't go wrong there, at least in terms of it being more reliable and nicer than what you could find on Amazon like that. I don't have a whole ton of time to do the research but I can definitely give you feedback on options you've found. If you find a unit, say for example, that does 2-ohm speakers, you could, with extra labor, move the rear door speakers into the front doors, and power only those. Would be quieter and a lot less full sounding, but it would work.

Even running the wires from the new unit straight to the speakers leads to that load mismatch (2-ohm vs 4-ohm) as well as the crossover bits... However, nothing's stopping from just doing two really nice speakers up front driven from a mid-level unit. Cheaper than my solution but would require new wires run from the unit directly to the speakers in the door.

 

Thank you!

That's an interesting idea. You're saying I could essentially install any unit and wire new speakers in the front directly into it?

With this i would just need to purhcase new speakers, and wire them to the front dash and straight into the unit?

 

Thank you!

That's an interesting idea. You're saying I could essentially install any unit and wire new speakers in the front directly into it?

With this i would just need to purhcase new speakers, and wire them to the front dash and straight into the unit?

Yeah, the front door speakers are standard 6.5"/6.75" speakers, but the harness is obviously tied to the HK amp. If you install new door speakers and run wires from the door cavities to the inside of the dash where the radio's harness is you can tie that directly to the new unit's output. Quality is obviously still dependent on unit + speakers, but that would be a functional layout. Anything you didn't reinstall and re-wire won't work, but it's a start for sure. I did my old Outback in a similar piece-by-piece thing over time; it had the McIntosh system, which is almost as difficult to integrate into as the HK system lol

 

Not the highest quality units around, but nothing wrong that sticks out in terms of compatibility or usage in this scenario. Shite even comes with a backup camera lol

 

I'm okay with the quality, it's already pretty bad with the stock unit i have installed and I don't have the funds to pay for a super good system. So i'm probably just going to order this and try to install it.

And yeah the backup camera is big. That was another question that I had, if I buy a unit without a backup cam can I connect the stock one in my car directly to the unit?

 

Understood. Thanks.

Another question, I was doing some research to try and figure out a plan / bypass.

Am I right in saying that the proprietary HK amp uses RCA to connect, and the unit that I have has no RCA ports and instead 14 pin connectors.

If I get some sort of adapter to take RCA and change it to 14 pin, (like this; https://m.aliexpress.us/item/325680...em/3256802268730885.html?gatewayAdapt=gloPc2usaMsite4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US )

It should boot and run with working audio? If the amp is carrying the signal through RCA there should be no reason converting it to 14 pin shouldn't work in my head, unless the signal is completely different from RCA to 14 pin.

 

Yeah that's getting into a whole 'nother world of signal level conversion ... BUT ...

Find a head unit with "remote amp wire" or something similar and at least front and rear RCA "preouts". Might be doable to activate the HK amp with that remote wire (basically a trigger for the amp to turn on when the radio is powered on). Then the RCA outs on the radio can go straight into the HK amp. My Maestro kit does that, among a ton of other things, so you might be on a good track here. You'd just have to tap into whatever the remote wire is on the Subaru harness going to the amp.

 

Sounds like you are getting a lot of good advice in regards to installing an aftermarket system in a 2014. I went through the same trouble with my 2014 which has HK. With mine, I went with a Kenwood as well as My Maestro wires so that I can retain my steering wheel controls. Also, I needed to get a new bezel since the new unit would be smaller than my stock one. It went from looking like this:

to this:

If yours does not have the same stock unit, then you would not need to worry about getting a new bezel.

 

Sorry, but you won't want to hear this:

I contacted Curtchfield and Abt and they both said they don't carry (nor do they know of) any aftermarket units that would fit a 2014 Outback Premium, much less offer the same functionality. Last year (2022) mine kept intermittently crashing (black screen, no audio, no bluetooth, needed to shut off/restart engine); and not responding to voice commands even before crashing, and dealer was unable to get it to accept the software/firmware update. So we had to order a refurb head unit (hopefully 2014-compatible), which likely won't have updatable nav system maps (mfr. stopped selling them in 2021) nor CarPlay (not introduced in Subarus till 2017). But it would still have the CD player, XM (have to contact XM to trfer subscription), Bluetooth, backup camera, & work with the existing HK speakers. Will be a PITA to transfer the phone's phonebook back to the new head unit. (Just upgraded to a newer iPhone and had to transfer the head unit's phonebook to the phone)! New-refurb unit $2300 parts & labor.

Pricey, but necessary--dangerous (and illegal in IL) to talk on phone (or input AppleMaps routes) while driving unless handsfree. But no point in replacing a car with only 46,000 miles that still runs like a top, despite being 10 yrs old.