silvergray951

Here is a picture of the stock Bose amp - attached here because I could not find any on Rennlist. Dimensions are 9" x 6 1/4" x 2 3/4" ... I see the Alpine MRX-V70 is much wider so perhaps I'll need to compromise on the mounting location.

nymart

Yes the Alpine won't fit in the stock location. This is a picture of the Alpine mounted on the "shelf"...it's tight but it fits. As far as rewiring:
1. Sub Box - Yes it must be rewired inside the box because you're connecting the two speakers inside the box...20 or so torx screws and the box comes apart.
2. Dash speakers - Unless you're going to run wires back from the amp to the head unit it's easier to rewire these at the head unit. I just ran a couple of new wires between the two speakers and back to the head unit area. This is very simple once you have the head unit and A/C controls out.

FLY996

Interesting. I seems as if on some boxes they used glue and screws and others just screws. Mines is from an '03 C2 and is glued along with screws therefore I cannot open it.

OP may want to check this.....

dprantl

So after searching for several months on most of the internet forums for this subject, it seems no one knows of a 5 or 6 channel amp that fits in the stock 996TT/C4S BOSE amp location in the spare tire well. I have also been searching for amps based on the BOSE amp's dimensions, and no luck there either.

Dan.

silvergray951

Yes, exactly my dilemma - finding a 5 channel amp small enough to fit in the stock location. I did find this:
- 5-Channel 640W RMS Picasso Nano Series
Class D Amplifier
RMS Power Rating: 4 ohms: 60 watts x 4 chan. + 200 watts | 2 ohms: 80 watts x 4 chan. + 350 watts | 4 ohms Bridged: 160 watts x 2 chan. + 350 watts
Dimensions: 4.75"W x 1.5"H x 10.3" L

Stock dimensions are 6 1/4" x 2 3/4" x 9" ... so the Soundstream is slightly longer (but shorter and narrower) ... might be a good fit!
The brand 'Soundstream' has given me pause - never heard of it - opinions?

jyoteen

Soundstream used to be a good brand back in the 80s and 90s. Clean power (although not that power in terms of WPC when compared to its peers). I had soundstream amps in my acura and they were a tank.

FLY996

A few years ago I had (2) 450 watt Soundstream Amps in my Jeep and ran them extensively for a number of years. They proved to be powerful, clean and reliable. The one you are looking at seems to be a great Amp for the money.

silvergray951

Well it took 5 months but I finally had some time to install the new Amp and head unit.
As everyone said, it was more complex than I had thought it would be, took a few days to get it all done.

I ended up with a Pioneer DEHX9600BHS and a Soundstream PN5.640D 5-Channel Class D Amplifier. As planned the Amp does fit in the stock location and sounds good. I had to:
- rewire the sub box speakers in series to get the assembly up to 2 ohm.
- Rear side trim panel speakers and Front door speakers are run off the Amp.
- Replace dash speakers with JBL GTO328 - these are driven from the head unit now. An easy install with no mods required.

I used all the recommended wiring harness connectors so no wires were cut - can be reverted to the stock system (somewhat) easily.

Thanks for all the advice!

DTMiller

What's the **** below the CD storage unit do?

silvergray951

That is apparently to fine-tune the bass, according to what is being listened to. If I never use it (probable) I'll hide it behind the storage bin.
I also ordered the 2nd storage bin now that I can retire my CD collection (again)

vogz

I'm looking to do a similar lower budget system since my CDR23 took a crap. OP, how is the amp setup holding up in the small space?