95 vs 98 Cherokee, amp install (for audiobliss)

Greg Peters

Rather than continue to hijack Mac's h/u thread (sorry)...

Audiobliss- nice Jeep. Very well cared for.

As far as putting amps under the front seats, I originally planned to do the same. Measurements seemed to leave room to spare. When it came time to put them in, however, the seat tracks contacted the amps (both my 4 channel and the smaller class D monoblock). I suppose I could have cut out a big patch of carpet/underlay, would have given me a half inch or so extra height under the seat, but it was still too close and I would have been scraping the sides of either amp when moving seat forward or back. The seats in the '95 are different, but may have the same seat tracks.

Under the rear seat (where Jeep put factory "Infinity System" amplifiers under the tire iron and jack, passengers side) there is much more room. If you don't mind relocating the tire gear, you could probably fit several amps. I have my 4 channel under there on drivers side, along with distribution blocks and bulk of wiring. If you have a tall amp make sure you mount it closest to the forward edge of compartment under the rear seat.

I ended up putting my monoblock on the rear seat back next to my sub enclosure. I felt the extra cooling would be a good idea as this amp is given a 2ohm load from sub, and may run too warm if stuffed under the rear seat as well. Power is split off under seat and run to monoblock, fed through the gap between the seatback and cargo floor.

My sub enclosure is a removable wedge shaped box, fired back and upwards. This sounds best for some reason, and since it is not aimed at the hatch (steel on 97-01 Jeep XJs) it does not seem to vibrate at any volume level or frequency. The wedge shape cuts down on standing waves and cancellation inside the sub box. Box is secured with a cable lock to body structure under rear seat.


As far as building the sub into the compartment in the right rear plastic panel of cargo area, it's a good spot. I live in the rain belt, and the 2dr rear side pop-out windows seem to let a little bit of water in in a heavy rain. This collects in that spot in the right side cargo panel (a drop or two), but an mdf and fibreglass enclosure may see enough water to swell a bit if I put it here.

The 97-01 Jeep has two speaker locations in doors, two in the "Sound Bar" in the rear part of headliner. The rear speakers are aimed forward and down in factory locations- good for imaging (as the tweeters are off-axis from front seat position and can't really be heard from either front seat), but bad for lower mid-bass (as the soundbar is not really all that sealed). Some Cherokee owners swap the whole later model headliner with soundbar in their 84-96 Jeeps, but that seems like a lot of work. It does snap right in, though.

audiobliss

Wow! A whole thread just to answer one of my questions! Gee, I feel special! That may be about the most thorough answer to a question-in-passing I've ever asked! Thanks!

I hadn't thought about the track for the front seats rubbing against the amps. I'll be sure to look out for that. I'll also have to check under that rear seat again to see how much space is back there. Could you post up some pics of your amps mounted under the rear seat? I'd really appreciate it!

I tend to think I'd need something for cooling if I put them under the rear seat. Perhaps I could cut a square out of the metal lip under the front of the rear seat and mount a computer fan in it? Just an idea...

Again, thanks for such a thorough reply! I appreciate it!

Frank Z

FWIW,Mines under the front passenger seat.

audiobliss

Ah-ha, so it will work with some amps. What kind of amp you got stuffed under your front seat?

Frank Z

Alpine MRP-F240
You'll have to cut back the carpet, remove the pad and then put the carpet back down. I've got mine set up with the speaker terninals facing forwad. I can take a pic of the location if it helps.

Greg Peters

Frank is right, a 240 will fit with plenty of room. My V12 4 channel is pretty big compared to that.

In regards to heat, its running with a 4ohm load and doesn't even get warm to the touch when volume's been cranked for a while (with the seat down). I think it may have an internal fan, though.

As far as a pic, I have a rat's nest of wire down there that I've been meaning to tidy up. I have to change out the RCAs for some shorter ones too.

audiobliss

Frank Z - A pic certainly never hurts! But don't take one just for me if you don't have any.

Greg Peters - Wow, that is a lot of stuff. I didn't remember there being that much room under the rear seat. I can see the power wire coming into the distribution block, and then the power wire going back to the sub amp. But what's the black box the other power wire goes into? And then there's another on the other side of what looks like a processor that I'm assuming is the amp.

Greg Peters

The other power wire is going to the monoblock in cargo area. There is no black box, the MRV-F345 is black, with a removable aluminum cover over digital display, EQ, gains etc.

Its a fairly big amplifier- could have gone with the wider MRV-F545 (and still might for the coming sr6500s) that has same dimensions except width.

I don't know what you are planning for amplifiers, but Alpine's MRP-F240 is very compact. The V series 2channel (220???) and monoblock are all very compact, 2ohm stable, and all sound very nice. These do throw more heat than the V12s, but should be perfectly do-able under front OR rear seat. You could probably fit them all under the rear seat in your Cherokee without heat problems.

audiobliss

Oh, LOL! I see that it's all one big amplifier now! Wow...that was weird...

I've been planning on (and am still about 98% sure I'll go with) a Memphis 16-MCA3004. It is supposedly 7.68x2.4x18.5, while the area under the front seat, if I measured it right, is 10x5x18.5.

But now I'm contemplating putting it under the rear seat, 'cause it would certainly be less prone to getting wet.

Greg Peters

Not the best picture.

That Alpine is supposedly 9"d, 2 7/16"h, 13"w. It does fit (in that the rear seat does lock down over top of it).

The Memphis 16-MCA3004 is supposedly 7.68" (deep I'm guessing) x 2.4" (high?) x 18.5" (wide?). My guess is it would fit just fine under the rear seat. If you are running your front stage off channels 1/2 and bridging channels 3/4 for a sub, I would imagine it is going to pull some serious current and put out some heat due to the class AB design. If you will be running a seperate class D for sub(s), I'd bet the 4 channel probably won't get hot enough to necessitate a seperate fan.

audiobliss

Sorry for not including any units or anything...my math or chemistry teacher would have had a time with that!

Actually, the 16-MCA3004 is 7.68"wide x 2.4"high x 18.5"long. Hmm. I guess it could go either way. I've just always looked at it as being deeper than it is wide. I dunno.


I'm actually planning on biamping my Boston components with it. I'm not going to have rear speakers, and I hope to get a separate sub amp when I get a sub. I guess it wouldn't put out much heat at all, especially since I'll have the gains down low, with biamping 5.25" components!

Greg Peters

Not too many Memphis dealers up in the frozen north. It looks to be a beauty. I've read reviews on some other stuff of theirs and it seems pretty decent.

Do you carry many rear seat passengers? Having people climb over my amp to get in the back would make me nervous. I usually move the seat forward when people climb in the back. Probably best under the driver's side seat.

The later Cherokees had an airbag module sticking up on the drivers side under the seat (which should have been removed and relocated if they went in for the recall). Mine was dealt with at the dealer in '01. I can't speak for the '95 model. If you do have it, it is a boxed module sticking up through the carpet, bolted to the floor near front left under seat.

audiobliss

Thanks for the heads up about the airbag module; I had never heard about that before. But, the floor under both my front seats are smooth. Though, there is a hole cut in the carpet right in the middle of the floor under each seat, and I can't figure out why that is.

To be honest...I can think of 3 people that have ridden in the back of my Jeep in the (almost) 2 years I've had it.

Greg Peters

audiobliss wrote:

Thanks for the heads up about the airbag module; I had never heard about that before. But, the floor under both my front seats are smooth. Though, there is a hole cut in the carpet right in the middle of the floor under each seat, and I can't figure out why that is.

To be honest...I can think of 3 people that have ridden in the back of my Jeep in the (almost) 2 years I've had it.

Just as well- your future sr sub would just take their heads off anyways.

audiobliss

Hehe...an SR sub sure would be nice. Sure would be overkill (class-wise) for some lowly Boston components, though! I'm fairly sure I'll go with a MM2104.