Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Kicker KPB1 PowerSport Review

If you’re like me, you like your tunes. And you like to take them with you on the go. This could be not just in your car, but when you’re at play in your side-by-side ATV as well. While Kicker has been making excellent car audio for generations, they also make excellent powersport products. Up for review today is their KPB1 PowerBar. MSRP is a very fair $699

 

Features and specs:

Four 3-inch Midranges and Two Titanium 1-inch Tweeters

Weather-proof with IP66 Rating

Wireless Remote Control Included

Controlled via Phone or Remote

Broadcast Mode Pairs and Shares Music

150 Watts (@14.4V,<10% THD)

Stereo AUX Input 3.5mm Female, 0-1V Sensitivity

Stereo Bluetooth Receiver

Four EQ Settings

3.5mm Line-Out Connection to add more audio

Frequency Response (Hz) 65Hz-20K

Line Output Stereo 3.5mm Female, Buffered, 2.5 V

 

The Kicker KPB1 PowerBar came in a great looking color printed box, with photos and specs of the soundbar. Opening the box revealed a well-protected soundbar, held in place by custom molded Styrofoam. Materials used in construction was almost all metal. Quality of materials, as well as fit and finish, was excellent. Also included was the steering wheel remote, manual, and mounting brackets.

 

I absolutely love the design that Kicker used for the KPB1 PowerBar. For car stereo you need a receiver for the source material of your music, an amp (unless you use the existing amp in the receiver), and speakers. Kicker has made an extremely simple all-in-one solution. The Kicker KPB1 PowerBar has everything included. It is an array of 4 midranges and 2 tweeters, to give you high output in a noisy side-by-side environment, golf cart, or other powersport vehicle. There’s also a built-in 150-watt amp, which provides plenty of power to the efficient speaker array. At 150 watts it’s also not too taxing on the electrical system of your vehicle. But Kicker didn’t stop there. They also included Bluetooth, so a receiver isn’t’ even needed. All you need is your smartphone.

 

The Kicker KPB1 has a great all-in-one design. And Kicker also included excellent useability in the design. Not only is it everything you need all in one, it’s IP66 rated. It can handle all of the weather elements that you can put it through. Thanks to Bluetooth, your smartphone is your receiver. Kicker has also provided additional functionality. There is an AUX input, so you can connect an additional source unit, such as MP3 player.  Kicker even provided multiple options for expansion. If you want more sound, there is a line out so you can connect an additional amp for additional speakers. You can also use the Bluetooth connection to link multiple soundbars together. Or maybe you have a big family so you have two side-by-sides, or you have some buddies with side-by-sides.  You can get these Kicker KPB1 PowerBars for each one, and then link them together thru Bluetooth. So when you’re out, everyone is jamming to the same tunes!


Kicker is known for making great quality, well-made, products, and ease of installation. The Kicker KPB1 PowerBar is also very solid, built like a tank! The powder coated aluminum enclosure is not only well-made, but also very durable to hold up to the abuse that your side-by-side may be put through. Installation is also very simple. It came with multiple sized mounting brackets, so no matter what size of bar your side-by-side has, you’ll be able to mount it. The long wires also helped in getting it wired up. All-in-all, installation is simple. Now let’s see how it performs.

Rush-Tom Sawyer: vocals were nice and smooth with very nice texture of the timbre.  Drums were very dynamic with good pitch definition.  Cymbals were crisp and clean.  It sounded so good I just had to crank it.  Even with the volume all the way up, it sounded clean, and managed to hit 101db!


Nat King Cole- L-O-V-E: hi hat and cymbals were really crisp and clean! Piano sounded very natural.  Strings were silky smooth with good resolution of the strings.  Trumpet was extremely dynamic, with both trumpet and trombone providing nice harmonics without being too brassy.  Vocals were silky smooth.  Surprisingly channel separation was good, with a wide and deep soundstage.  It even revealed good imaging.


A/C D/C – Back In Black: cymbals were crisp and clean.  Kick drum had very good dynamics, depth, and played with authority.  Guitar as well as vocals were nice and raw.  Again, it was begging to play loud. And when I obliged, it again did so with clean rocking hard music!


I was pleasantly unsurprised by most of the performance of the Kicker KPB1 PowerBar.  Kicker is known for providing quality well made products.  And I have experience reviewing them in the past.  But the sound I was hearing still surprised me.  Kicker is known for being able to play it loud, and the Kicker KPB1 PowerBar delivered on that Kicker Livin’ Loud legacy in spades.  But I was surprised at how musical it was, actually providing a wide and deep soundstage.  And I was not expecting anything in the way of accurate imaging from a powersport soundbar.  And for only 3-inch drivers, they hit pretty good!


Kicker has done it again with their KPB1 PowerSport. With the powder coated aluminum housing, it is built like a tank! It’s a solid product designed to handle all you can dish out to it in your motorsport vehicle. And if you like it really loud and don’t think this will be enough for you, Kicker does have a big brother in the KPB2 PowerSport. Same killer sound, and design, it just plays louder. Based on its design, features, quality, and performance, the Kicker KPB1 has earned our Editor’s Choice Award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.kicker.com.


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