Amp Installation in 2005 Quad Cab CTD

[MFenstermaker]

I'd like to add an amp to my stereo system in my new quad cad 2005 CTD. I did not purchase the Infinity system but have replaced the stock factory speakers (yuck!) with MB Quart units. Now I need to add the amp but wanted to ask the members here for a recommendation as to where to put it. I read where the Infinity amp is located on the passenger side footwell (underdash) area and am wondering if this is the best place to put one. Size and shape I'm sure come into play. Also, does the factory speaker wiring route throught this area and does the factory non-Infinity wiring have a connector there? I am looking to upgrade to about 50W/channel continuous so I shouldn't need a BIG amp. No subs will be added. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[wolfman00hd]

If you don't mind giving up some space under your fold flat storage, I mounted mine under the driver side rear seat in place of that portion of fold flat platform. Mine is rather large though, 5ch Sony XPlod amp.

 

[Blufrog]

A couple options as well are under the drivers seat. I had an amp there. Or if it is small enough you can mount it behind the back seats against the wall.

 

[Tim]

I think if you're not going to add a sub you're pretty much wasting your time. Of all the things lacking on a factory stereo, REAL bass is at the top of the list.



Make sure you use an aftermarket deck with preouts too. I tried the high input thing once--never again. The sound was very, "Dirty". Got a kenwood deck with three sets of 4. 5 v preouts, all is well now.

 

[Lorenz]

how did you wire the high inputs.



An auxilary unit that changes them into rca

or

An amp that had the high input already wired to the unit



I have a sony amp with built in high inputs and am hoping i can get it to fit where the infinity unit goes.



I want to keep the stock head unit for theft reasons.



I also went with MB quarts. running them off the stock head unit right now trying to find time to wire in an amp...

 

[Tim]

I tried both the box that has speaker inputs to RCAs, and hooking them to an amp with high inputs. No matter where the gain was adjusted, it sounded like crap. Speaker level inputs just don't work very well. If you want theft protection tint your windows.

 

[MFenstermaker]

how did you wire the high inputs.



An auxilary unit that changes them into rca

or

An amp that had the high input already wired to the unit



I have a sony amp with built in high inputs and am hoping i can get it to fit where the infinity unit goes.



I want to keep the stock head unit for theft reasons.



I also went with MB quarts. running them off the stock head unit right now trying to find time to wire in an amp...

The MB Quarts are very clean but the stock head unit doesn't have the power to drive them properly. Their operation range is 50-150 watts and the stock unit puts our something like 7 or 8. I will be changing head unit as well.



Others - I don't want to give up the fold flat storage so that's out. I was hoping someone could comment on the Infinity amp's location and its suitability for placing an aftermarket amp. This is NOT my daily driver as it sits for all but 6 days a month at our vacation house so I don't want ot pour a ton of money into it with big amp(s) and subs.



keep the suggestions coming... all are appreciated!

 

[Tim]

You really don't have to spend a lot of money to get some decent amps. I paid $150-200 for each of mine and they're at least 50 watts RMS per channel. The sub amp is somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 watts the way it is wired and it has allowed good sound and didn't cost that much.



If you're concerned with the expense of subs, get a set that can go in your daily driver as well as this vehicle. You're likely to be disappointed with an aftermarket deck with no subs--the music will sound very empty.

 

[MFenstermaker]

When I say I don't want to dump a lot of money into the audio system I'm talking $0,000's not a few hundred. The speakers I put into the truck already were $400 so $500-800 more is well within the ballpark. What I need to do is locate the amp without undue wiring and removal of too many interior panels if possible. Subs... . I just don't see a convenient place to put them... one audio dealer suggested under the rear seat but I have the "fold-flat" option that I use quite often and don't really want to give that up.



My goal... good clean audio. I'd like to power the MB Quart speakers correctly first and then look at additional issues such as sub(s).

 

[Tim]

I would investigate putting the amps under the front seats if possible. If they'll fit that'd be a perfect location.

 

[thejeepdude]

I just put MBQ's in my '05. Driving them with a JL 300x2. Mounting the crossovers was fun... NOT! I put the 300x2 and a power inverter under the passenger seat. The driver's seat covers the JL 1000/1 which is currently driving 2 JL 12W6's, but that will be replaced with one Adire 15" when they start production again. BTW, I wouldn't drive those MBQ's with anything less than a good 75 clean watts, which will easily fit under the front seat. And you have to at least have a good 10" sub to make the system sound decent. I have a 10W6 with a JL 250/1 leftover from an old install that I tried in my truck. It sounded great, just not enough thump compared to the 12's.

 

[MFenstermaker]

JeepDude - It would seem to me (newbie at high end audio) that the 300/4 JL would be the one I'd want - foregoing the sub amp for the time being. This amp seems to give me more control over the different speakers front and read that I used. Correct?

 

[thejeepdude]

Yes, the 300/4 will work, but I opted for stock speakers in the rear at about 10% volume just for fill, that way I keep a nice solid front stage. And trust me, it gets plenty loud in the rear from just the front speakers with 150W each. The 75W each would be adequate and still sound good, but if you like music to sound like a concert in nyour truck, I'd go with a 300/2 in the front and the head unit power on the rear. The installer that sells JL around here said he had just installed the 300/4 in a ram 1500 a few days before and it didn't quite have the "impact" that you get from the 300/2. Again, this is all personal preference... you're going to have a good result either way. BTW, the 300/4 won't do you any good for a sub. You could go with a 500/5, though. The problem with that is finding the space to mount it. I would get a 250/1 for the sub at a minimum. You could bridge the 300/4 rear channels for the sub but then you're running the rear speakers off the head and if you're ognna do that I'd go with the /2... many ways to skin a cat I guess.

 

[MFenstermaker]

Another quick question... the JL user manual I read online stated the the user must disconnect the battery cable from the battery before making connections. Why would this be necessary if using a fused wire from the battery to the amp you left the fuse out until everything is connected?

 

[thejeepdude]

Yup, you can do it that way too. On my install, I ran the 1/0 gauge wire from the engine compartment to under the driver's seat (took the front seats out of course). Used a 1/0g-4g distro block and ran 4g to the 300/2 and 1/0 to the 1000/1. The last thing I did was hook up the 200amp fuse to the battery. On my last truck I used 2 runs of 4g, but I think running the 1/0 and splitting it makes for a cleaner install. If you're not going over 500w or so, a single 4g line should be fine.

 

[Tim]

Wow!! 1/0 wire for a stereo! I have both the amps in my current daily driver on one 8 AWG wire.

 

[thejeepdude]

Wow!! 1/0 wire for a stereo! I have both the amps in my current daily driver on one 8 AWG wire.

That's probably adequate if they're like 100 watt amps. I have even run big amps off small wire in a pinch temporarily, but you'd be amazed what a difference it makes at high volumes. If you never blast it, though, you'll probably never hear the difference. I wouldn't recommend 1300W over 1/0 for everyone, but every chance I get I'm in that thing, so it might as well sound like a concert(or better in most cases)! Granted, I don't listen that loud all the time or I'd be deaf, but it's nice to have the option to just crank it when a favorite song comes on. My favorite aspect of good car audio is the clarity. No matter how loud you turn up my stereo, it just stays crystal clear. I think my Eclipse head unit put out a better signal, but you can only notice it on some songs and I wanted the DVD. The best upgrade with the new system though was the amp. I always underestimated the importance of chosing the right sub amp. Previously my 2 12's were running off an a/d/s 100x4 bridged to about 800 watts. Not a cheap amp, and plenty of power. But I didn't know what I was missing! This JL 1000/1 is so much cleaner, you can hear the distinctly different bass instruments at high volume when it's pounding you in the head. It makes instrumental music fun to listen to! My other amps have all sort of run together with distortion, even though I thought they sounded good at the time. At this point, I wouldn't buy anything but JL or Zapco for a good Class D amp, but the Zapco was twice the $$ so I'm happy. However, the average person doesn't care about sound quality as much as I do, and can save a lot by going to a DEI or JBL 1100. Great sounding amps for the price. For the front stage I would probably go Zapco Comp Series, except I had this 300/2 already in hand and I like it. However, you can use a "big store brand" amp for the front stage and get quite good results at the expense of a little sonic quality. Put your money where your ears are.

 

[Tim]

I think there's more clarity to be had in having high voltage preouts on your deck more than there is selecting the correct amp. Any noise on the input side of the amp is going to become, well... ... amplified, literally.



The amps in my DD are 200 and 400 watts RMS each, I do believe. The single 8 AWG has powered them just fine for two years. 1/0 I'd say is major overkill. 2 AWG or so may be necessary, but 1/0 wire has sufficient capacity to pull more current than your alternator is capable of producing.



I love loud music and I understand that it's 12v and voltage drop is an issue... but I've never seen mine below alternator voltage even on an 8 AWG wire.



What is an 8 AWG wire good for anyway? 50 amps? 1/0 is rated for 175 amps!!



I guess you can never have too much, but damn... . that IS really large.

 

[thejeepdude]

I look at it this way... 1/0 didn't cost much more than 2g, and was no more work to install, so why not? I sure wouldn't want to run 1300W off a single 4g for more than a foot or two (you can't forget length when talking about amperage ratings). Plus, I have a 1500W inverter under the front seat. That's a potential of at least 150 amps right there. Yes, you're right about high voltage pre-outs having a positive effect, but it is not more important than amp selection. When I bought my speakers, I listened to them through a $800 Eclipse head unit (8v pre-outs) and through Zapco, JL, Phoenix Gold, and Pioneer amps. Trust me, the amps make a difference. There's a lot more to clarity besides s/n ratio. I compared my head unit to the best 4-8v heads on the market all running over the same Zapco Comp amp. I only slightly compromised SQ on the AVIC-N1 because I wanted DVD with NAV, and even though it is only 2v pre-out, the signal is CLEAN because of the pre-amp they use. You just have to use good cables to keep it that way. I couldn't tell much difference between mine and the audiophile units. Everyone has a different level of compromise.

 

[TX Gooseneck]

What kind of deals are you guys getting on the MB speakers? I have a full array of their home products and love them.

The factory dodge speakers make my ears cry. My 04. 5 stock system is pitiful, but the infinity in my 05 isn't much better. Bass adjustment is minimal and very slight.