user 783003

I've searched on two separate occasions and can't find what I'm looking for. When I installed my Alpine head unit a couple of years ago, I ran across a post (with a picture) that listed a bypass harness or connectors for the stock amplifier that's under the passenger seat. The sound in the car is tinny and weak. New MB Quarts and Infinity Reference with the Alpine shouldn't sound this way. Must be the old amp. Anyone know where I can find this harness or the connectors for purchase? I don't want to cut into the wire loom.

Thanks in advance.

VR6-er

The Blaupunkt under the seat is to HiFi what Custer was to battlefield success. I would check the polarity on the speakers just in case. You can replace it and leave all the old wiring in place. If it were me:

Option 1
Your simplest solution is to find a small amp that will fit the space and to replace the crud.
If the new amp is very small you can use the factory power wire, I wouldn't at all though.
• Disconnect the battery.
• Run a fresh fused line to the battery at least 10 guage cable.
• Run a new set of RCA's from the back of the head unit to the amp.
• Run a remote turn on wire from the back of the head unit to the amp.
• The connectors that fit into the old amp for the speakers need to be cut off to connect to the new amp. You’ll never go back so there is no need to buy adapters for them, you can if you want.
• Hard mount the speakers in the front to the door on a ring of MDF add some dynamat to the door

Option 2
Add a small powered sub and still hard mount the front woofers.

Running the cable is easy as you don't have to disassemble much.

hamah

Option 3 is to run speaker wire from the dash to under the seat and splice into the loom so that you are running off of the HU amp. This will be better than the stock Blaupunkt amp but you will likely still be less than impressed with the sound from the stock speakers.

The wiring for the speakers is:

RL: Yel Yel/Brn
RR: Rd Rd/Brn
FR: Blk Blk/Brn
FL: Wht Wht/Brn

As always the lead with the brown trace is your ground. As VR6-er says don't worry about tapping into the loom. You're never going back to stock there anyway. (and if you are concerned that someday you will be reversing to concourse you could lop off the connector and hang on to it)

I'd suggest replacing the speakers in the front doors with better aftermarket ones (I chose Hertz MLK 165 but they were a gift and I'd never spend $1K on door speakers) and put a better amp under the seat. I'd then seriously consider putting subs in. I chose the 8" ones in custom housings in the rear foot wells from Car Audio Innovations. I now have excellent/loud music with the top down at highway speeds.

If you do replace the amp under the seat you will need to relocate electronic modules, drill holes etc. Here are a few measurements to help you find a new amp:

stock Blaupunkt amp: 1 7/8" H x 6 15/16" L x 4 3/4" W
max available room (without protruding to the front which is a workable option): 2.5" H x 13 3/4" L x 9" W

Note that this max room is AFTER moving stuff around. Also note that if you have power seats you will need to remove the connector on the loom from the bracket mounted to the floor to allow the harness to move with the seat (sounds confusing but you'll see what I mean when you get under there).

For my amp I chose an Audison LRX 6.9 (again this is sonic overkill but hey a 964 deserves no less) which is 19.25" L so it sticks out the front. I cover that with the floor mat and it is then invisible (unless you are looking for it) and not in the way. If you do put a new amp in make sure to pick one with sub outputs. This makes it VERY hard to find one that is going to be any better than the amp in your HU that fits in the available space with out all that moving and hiding.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Edit: I see you already have new speakers. Those would have been the ones I would have gone with if I didn't have a generous brother and had to spend my own money on speakers Did you mount your speakers directly to the metal in the doors? If your speakers are hung from the cardboard door cards (as the stock ones are) that will explain a lot of the lack of tonal depth and shallow/narrow stage you are getting.

sml

did you install the door speakers in ...
a) the floppy thin door cards (the OEM mounting location)?, or
b) the predrilled holes in the door frame behind the door card?

VR6-er

A really simple solution is to use Alpines own KTP445. It plugs into the the back of your head unit and gives you 4 x 45 RMS. Its a doddle to fit too.



I'll get one when I find one on the bay.

hamah

This looks like a very reasonable solution but I'd try the internal HU amp 1st as this approach doesn't require any different wiring than option 3. If option 3 isn't to your satisfaction (and I doubt it will be) then you could opt for this and it might have the power to drive those nice door speakers you already have. But to be frank this power pack would likely become the weakest link in the chain...those MB Quart 6.5's are pretty nice for the money but require a fair bit of power (70 WRMS min if I recall)

Laker

Been there with the KTP-445 much better than stock in the same footprint
https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...grade-cab.html

user 783003

Thanks for the replies thus far. I'm pretty sure that I mounted the speakers to the flimsy door card since I've never removed the door cards. Would I need to remove the door cards to mount the speakers to the metal of the door?

I don't want to buy a new amp at this time. I'd like to see if the HU powering the speakers w/o the amp makes a difference. I know somewhere on this site a couple of years ago, I saw the cables in question. They were an odd looking cable with two prongs on one end and it's only purpose was to allow the HU to supply the speaker output without going through the amp and without having to run new wiring throughout the car.

VR6-er

Alfred this is what I have. Speakers in the flimsy doors and Alpine head unit. Its ok for now but could be improved upon. There is no inclination to do more as the car is too noisy for HiFi. In fact I was on a run this weekend and turned it off to enjoy the driving and admire the scenery.

When you installed your speakers were you aware of the factory crossover in the door? I cut the wires going into the old crossovers and used those on the new crossovers. It was a perfect fit.

hamah

A lot will depend on how the speakers mount to the base and the grills to the speaker. In many cases the speaker could be mounted to the metal without having to remove the door cards HOWEVER in all cases (IMO) you will get a better installation if you use speaker mounting rings between the door card and door frame. This is because the shape of the metal on the door is not flat around the opening and the use of a mounting (aka adaptor) ring can accommodate for this variation. Another thing to note is that the existing holes in the door frame (as well as the opening in the door card are for 5.5" speakers (although a 6.5" speaker can often fit depending on the speaker basket design).

In my case I removed the door card and opened up the door card opening to accommodate the larger basket as well as created a custom MDF speaker ring to mount to the door (and for the speaker to mount to). The result is a very sturdy install that is physically, visually, and sonically pleasing.

You could try to just take a drill to the door (or see if you can find the pre-existing holes) to get a good solid speaker mount but it is absolutely critical that you do get the speaker mounted somehow directly to the door frame. If you don't you are wasting money by putting anything other than the crappy stock speakers in there.