OldSchool

Hey Buddy!!!

Spine Tingler

I am going to put a mount for an iPod and XM radio in our new one. You may want to think about these. We will rarely need CD's and can have continuous music.

BigSilverCat

I would say put an amp on any speakers you can and the more power the better, I have seen alot more speakers blown by under-powering them then over-powering them.

if you have any questions you can call me.

tyson
4174370665

offshoredrillin

I have sirrius and love it, all mine is Kenwood marine and it sounds great, no amps to the cabin spekers as its not needed. i added 2 6.5's to the freeboard by the driver and passenger dash.

dockrocker

Following this with interest as I have some work needed in my boat. Previous owner put in two big Pioneer(?) subs under the back bench, but never hooked them up. So I know I'll need another amp, but this is the first I've heard of possibly adding a new battery!

Also, does anyone know of a car/boat head unit that will allow you to directly connect a iPod? It seems to me that we've had external sources (think portable CD players) for 20 years, you'd think th manufacturers would figure out that having an input on the front panel would be useful. I mean, my 10 year old Onkyo receiver at home has a gazillion different inputs; hell, my TV's got 4, including on on the front panel.

UNSANE

THANK YOU!!!!! As a concert guy we never under power speakers at all, in fact we go the other way by 50% to 100%! This is the biggest myth about audio and the one I get the most arguments on and it feels like I gotta beat this principle into peoples' heads, so it's refreshing to hear someone else state this as well!!! THANK YOU!!!

UNSANE

Let me know the model of the subs and their ohm rating, also if they're in cabinets or not. Also I know there are headunits out there that can deal with the Ipods but I can't think of any models off the top of my head but if it has an AUX input on the front, usually a 1/8 inch jack, then you're good.

Clay Washington

Since we're spending your money...

Start at the speakers and work backwards. You already have four in the cabin. They should be on their own 4-channel amp.

Next you will want four speakers and a subwoofer for the cockpit. Those four speakers need to be on an amp, and the subwoofer needs to be on a third amp.

Find a head unit that has two sets of "line outs" and even a sub out. That way you are not splitting your (single) signal between four sets of speakers. If necessary, you can wire the cabin speakers to the "front" and the cockpit speakers to the "rear", and use the fader control to send the sound to either the cabin or the cockpit (or both).

Now for power. Driving three amps will require more than one battery. Buy two "gel" batteries and connect them in parallel. You may want a third (lead) battery for emergencies. Connect them through a perko switch. Lead to "1", gels to "2". Never run on "both".

Wiring. If you want your system to work, don't skimp on the wiring. All of this new equipment won't work for crap unless you have high quality wiring in place. Pay special attention (and spend extra money) on the power wires from the battery to the amps.

Finally, alternator. You may want to upgrade your alternator. You probably have a 55 or 65 amp alternator. You might want to get a100+ amp alternator.

Good luck!

ratman

id be more worried about how to de tune those big motors than stereo right now

birdog

Then he would say..."Money is NO object" !!