911 Car Audio - best solution for amp placement?

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Hello Pelicans,

Just bought a 1985 Carrera that comes with a monster stereo. The cabin has 10 MB Quart speakers, making it necessary to have an amplifier. The head unit is a sony, there is a cd changer and a 1000 watt amplifier in the trunk.

The problem with the amplifier is that it is huge and bolted down across the middle of the trunk. I can't get underneath it to service the airconditioning or access the smugglers box.

I would be happy without an amplifier, but the stereo shop says it is necessary for all the speakers... I don't want to take any of the speakers out, so some kind of amp is necessary.

Do we have an audiophile here on the Pelican bbs? The amp in the car is a Memphis Belle 1000 watt 5 channel. I am willing to buy a smaller amp that can be placed someplace else... under the passenger seat? or maybe the forward side of the passengers foot space?

Check out this picture... Your thoughts?

[mjshira]

I would consult with Bell. Do a search you will find him.

[Johnb911]

Jeff,

There is about 4" under your seats (Height)
You could put a four channel under one and a mono sub amp under the other.

Depending on your budget I would take a look at Audison. Great amps and very small.

[david914]

You can get a decent 5 channel amp that's about half the size of your Memphis Belle that you could install up by your CD changer. I've got an a/d/s/ PQ15 mounted there and there's plenty of room. As per the other's suggestions, Pelican member "Bell" is a pro installer and will hopefully chime in (no pun intended!) with his wisdom.

[dipso]

I used to have my amp and sub in the trunk. The amp was always in the way and the sub was even worse especially strapped to the tower brace. I ended up putting the amp under the passenger seat and a sub under the drivers seat. Works great and you can't see anything, in the trunk or the cab. Take some measurements and see if that will work for you. It definately cleans things up.
Good luck,

[SCWDP911]

Originally posted by JeffreyNMemphis
Hello Pelicans,

Just bought a 1985 Carrera .....
Check out this picture... Your thoughts?

Jeff, the rule here as I have found out when I joined in, is that you have to post pics of the car. Better start inserting those jpegs. See you on the road. Make sure you follow the thread on the meet-and-drive a few of are trying to plan for somewhere between you and Nashville. Should be a good time...

Did you find the dipstick?

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Hey Shane,

I did put a picture... Am I the only one who can see it?

Yes, I will join you on the drive with the rest of the west Tennessee folks.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Here are the pictures in smaller jpeg formats...

[khamul02]

2nd on the 5 channel. Kicker makes a decent one.

[rusnak]

I've got 3 1600 watt (mono) amps, 800 in stereo. It's overkill but allows for nice tuning of the speakers.

I'd recommend soundstream amps: www.soundstream.com

I haven't taken any pictures of the setup, but if it helps you, then I'll take some tomorrow and post them.

The amps are two Soundstream, one is the Reference 500, and the other is the Rubicon. I had two Reference units, but one caught fire and burned up.

The third is a Sony mini-amp that runs the rear speakers. I use the space under the passenger seat for the CD changer, and the external crossover. I added an inline controller for the subwoofer.

The head unit is a Blaupunkt Seattle MP374, which is nice because it uses a calibration mid to fine tune the equalizer.

The goal is not loud sound, but accurate sound reproduction.

[SCWDP911]

Originally posted by JeffreyNMemphis
Hey Shane,

I did put a picture... Am I the only one who can see it?

Yes, I will join you on the drive with the rest of the west Tennessee folks.

you need more...

[rusnak]

wait a second, I have a picture of the sub enclosure:

[JeffreyNMemphis]

This is a picture of the amp...

It actually does the work of 2 amps according to the Memphis Car Audio website. It is a combination class d and ab with cross overs.

I am not trying to use more amplifiers. I think I would really like to have just a head unit. The stereo in my Honda minivan does not have an amp and it sounds just fine. I don't really listen to loud music. I might yank the setup if I can have the speakers in the doors and back deck play off the head unit. That would be 6 speakers, all I really need.

[rusnak]

I can't understand why someone who has a subwoofer properly setup would yank it.

Here's what I would do:

(1) have the system professionally adjusted by a really good stereo installer. This may take several hours. The result may blow you away though. That way you can actually hear what you are about to throw into the trash before you do it.

(2) if you still want to yank the amp and the sub woofer, then the short answer is yes, you can run just the head unit. The result will be a flaccid sound compared to what you have now. It's like the difference between watching a movie in a theater compared to watching it on an ipod.

(3) if you don't want to yank the amp but want to use the front trunk, have a more sensibly designed amp (what's with the length, that thing is about 3 feet wide) mounted on the front trunk where you have your cd changer now, and move the cd changer to beneath the passenger seat.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

The stereo is properly installed and sounds amazing. I think the amp is at least 25 inches wide. When I had the PPI done before buying the car, the mechanic could not get to the condensor to find out why the A/C was not functioning without dismantling and uninstalling this amplifier. Living in the south means air conditioning gets highest priority. Summer months are brutally hot hear.

Flacid sound? You would probably get an erection listening to this setup.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

One other issue... The amp runs on 14.4 volts. The previous owner had to keep the car on a battery charger or he couldn't start the car. Other amps run on 13.8 volts?

[SCWDP911]

Glad to see someone else burning midnight oil too...

[bell]

the memphis amp is ok but way to big for what it does.
here's what i would do.....
pull out the memphis amp and sell it for what a JL 300/4 will cost you (this amp will fit under the passenger seat) use 2 channels to run the front door mb quarts, the other 2 to run the subs. eliminate the rears.

OR

sell the memphis and replace it with a JL 300/2 to run just the doors and eliminate everything else.

you don't need rear speakers in a 911, good power on the doors will give you decent midbass if they're mounted good, i have learned that big audio does not belong in a 911, but you can accomplish alot with minimal equipment if done right.
if you run the radio to those quarts without an amp you will destroy them over time.

i would start by disconnecting the battery and then gut everything (leave the speakers/wires which run into the doors alone as you'll need them, reroute the wires under the passenger seat) then start from scratch.

from what i see that car probably had 2 or 3 different systems in it over it's life, the squared off panel on the passenger side under the hood isn't stock, there was probably a matching one for the drivers side at one point.

my point is if it is as i describe there is probably a lot of un-needed wire and who knows what else in the car.....

if you were local i could deffinately help you out......

[bell]

oh....the amp is "rated" at 14.4 volts....meaning the power they claim it has was made at that voltage.....lower voltage means less power.
i've never been impressed with the memphis stuff, it's not pyramid....but it's deffinately not JL

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Thanks Bell ! I was hoping you would see this.

I didn't even notice the box thing on the passenger side until you mentioned it.