[Audiophyle]

Door sill trim does not have to come out but it is easier to pull the kick panel if the sill is out already.
You will lose the sub if you replace the oem amp with the Clarion, but it should fit fine in the pass kickpanel.

 

[Audiophyle]

I have two of those Picasso Nano amps (4ch & mono) that are the same size as the 5ch model, and I am fairly certain you wont be able to fit one where the OEM amp hides. They are almost twice the length of the OEM amp, & ignoring that the connections are also on both ends.

 

[Audiophyle]

Signal to noise means very little in the loud environment of a vehicle. I have so far enjoyed the soundstream amps, as they are class A/B and still very efficient with good solid power & sized along other class-D amps. The SS amps also provide adjustable gain and crossovers, something I believe the Alpine & Clarion amps you are talking about do not offer.

The SS amps are also quite a bit more power for very little coin, a tough combination to beat.

 

[Audiophyle]

The 5ch stealth would handle the entire system well & require only 1 amp to be installed. I bet it could fit in the dash, or possibly in the OEM amp location with a little extra love.

 

[Audiophyle]

People gripe about running a bigger speaker wire through the boot into the door for a speaker, and that is a pair of small wires. To install the amp in the door you would have to run power, remote, RCAs, & 8 (or 10 if 5ch) speaker wires through that same tiny boot.

Ignoring the fact that you would be exposing the amp to the elements, or frequent vibrations of the door being closed, or the constant vibrations of a speaker mounted to the very same flimsy panel, the installation effort alone to install it would surely have you giving up before completion.

Soundstream is a mess when it comes to product information, and I doubt either person's estimate on availability is accurate. All you can really do is sit & watch, and when it pops up on eBay it should also be showing up in stores. (because too many websites sell items they dont have in stock, and eBay is one of few places that does not allow that)

 

[Audiophyle]

That is a great place to stash crossovers (I put mine there) but heat could be an issue with amplifiers. The Picasso Nanos do not run any hotter than what you would expect from an amp, but they need air to maintain cooling.

The space inside the dash around the steeing column isnt a bad idea, but it will be very hard to secure the amp in place & the LAST thing you want is the amp falling while driving, that could cause a serious accident.