low_psi

I have 1 kicker L7 12" in a sealed box that is aprox 1.5 cubic feet (internal volume) and it blows away many systems with multiple subs. Have it mounted in a custom enclosure behind my port a potty.

Ported boxes are more efficient, for the frequency they are tuned for. A sealed box will require a bit more power, however is an easier choice as you don't have to tune the port for the music. Kicker, Rockford, jl, etc all make excellent "small enclosure" subs that handle tons of power. Also you stand a better chance of blowing a sub in a ported box. I am running a ken wood 1800 watt class D amp to my kicker l7. While I am sure ken wood has fudged those numbers a bit, this combo is a beast. It sounds good with all genres (rap, country, dance, rock, etc). It is the perfect compromise. Get a ported box tuned for low booming bass and it will sound mushy when listening to rock or heavy metal.....

Nightlife1970

I bet my 209 watt total watt system will give that sub a real hard run for it's money. Pretty sure sub wise 99 watts into three 12" will take ya...

http://s1087.photobucket.com/albums/...cpZZ1QQtppZZ16

Please don't take this as any kind of serious attempt at saying your system is not good........

the deep

iTrader: (8)

.....

Waveform

iTrader: (1)

I Prefer Tsunami or Kicker RCA's. As far as the rest of the wire, a good Flexible OFC cable will be good (kicker, Tsunami, Stinger, Streetwires, Rockford, KnuKoncepts), just make sure to oversize both power and especially ground wires; and I solder all terminal ends.

Easiest way to figure what kind of power your amp is actually capable of at max output, and therfore determine what size fusing and cabling you should use: Take the voltage it will be running at, multiply that by the amperage value of the fuse in the amplifier itself, then figure "most" amps are around 75% efficient. SO: 14.4v x 40amp fuse x .75%= 432 watts of total max power output. So obviously as voltage decreases and you try to keep the same volume going, amperage draw will increase (Volts X Amps X %) so, allways plan bigger power cabling than you need. So then also if your amp doesn't have any external fuses but you know it does 600w rms @ 2ohm, and your batteries run at 12.2V, and the amp is say 75% efficient, then it will require about 67 amps of current. So just add up the maximum current draw of all your amps, multiply that by 1.25 and use that as a safe value for your main fuse or breaker: Which is there to protect the wire and boat, and not meant to blow to protect an amp, thats what a fused distrobution block is for. These are just basic quick reference guides, to get more accurate calculations, look to the links below.

Here is a link to a basic industry Guide for Cable Sizing
Cable Sizing
Here are all the formulas you'll need(not the boat kind)
Ohm's Law



The deep: post up some pics of where you're gonna place everything.

the deep

iTrader: (8)

Thank you once again for the great info . I will post pics asap . Have a great Easter !!

low_psi

I would be more than happy to take that bet, ANYTIME you are Downriver (Sugar Island) stop in. I will only turn my volume up half way (you know to make things fair)

4 Kicker Marine 6.5 speakers in cockpit powered by Kicker 100.2 @ 2ohm load
2 DC Gold 6x9 speakers (transom mounted) powered by Kicker 250.2 @ 4 ohm load
1 Kicker L7 Dual (4ohm wired parallel) Voice Coil 12" sub powered by Kenwood 1800 (rated at 900watts x1 RMS @ 2ohm load) Not too sure how accurate Kenwood is with thier RMS numbers so to be safe lets cut that RMS power number in half and say 450 watts RMS.
2 Deka Group 31 AGM batteries (dedicated for stereo system only)

Yup, I'll put my money where my mouth is.

In case you are wondering why I am running such small power to cockpit speakers, we primarily use the stereo when backed up to beach so higher power is used for transom speakers.

bigrubbers4x4

Hello everyone. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sam, I am "the deep's" son that will be doing the install on his stereo system. I have a pretty good background with building stereo systems in cars and trucks. I have competed nationally in car stereo competitions with my S10 pickup and have won a few times. I have a Crossfire 1000d running 2 JL Audio 10W3's and a Crossfire 30HC running my JL component set and a Crossfire Equalizer and let me tell ya, it is loud and crystal clear and the 10's pound perfect in their ported box no matter what type of music I listen to. I have even helped in building a few world record holder DB drag cars that won Spring break nationals in Fl......yeeeeaaaarrrs ago like between 2001 -2003 time frame if memory serves me correctly. I am sure the records have been broken since then, this was with the cars with the 1" thick plexiglass windshields and full of speakers, amps and batteries. I have absolutely ZERO experience in an open cabin boat sound system so i am paying close attention to what you guys say so i dont do anything wrong in dads system or he might not let me ride on his Warlock anymore...... please keep the suggestions coming on the best route to go with his boat. he has the space to do a ported box in his boat and I am familiar with tuning the port for the best sound if thats the direction we end up going with the boxes. thanks for all the help guys, please keep the info coming!!!

ChargeIt

bigrub,
consider listening to music in a convertable while driving the highway or at a beach. Loud without distortion is what will sound best to most that dont drink wine on a boat.

Dont take this the wrong way but what kind of a budget is there? Looks like you will be putting in some good hours and $$ with construction then using 15 year old 10" subs and a $100 amp. I dont doubt you can do a lot with a little but for the same effort the system will sound a lot better with some more $.
If you can squeeze 12's, do it!
JL subs are accurate and hit low but fairly restrictive for the power consumed vs Kicker or RF in my experience. Of course the final sound also depends on the brand amp the sub is paired with.

Capacitors are a waste in most marine applications. There are no lights to worry about dimming. Music play is often with engine off where a cap again has zero value. Playing at high volumes while idling for long periods might be the only application where the cap might help protect the alt from burning up but even that is a bandaid.
As you know, more batteries are a stereo's best friend. Charge them every night.

If hearing the highs at speed or past the transom is an issue (just like a convertable or jeep) its because peizo tweeters are relatively cheap and intended to be accurate to about 10', that's all they need in a car.
Compression horn is the "next level". Check out Bullet HollowPoint or Krypt HLCD. Both sound great, project and not too harsh like some try to stereo type horns, IMO.

Sorry, I just spent another grand on the lows and grand on the highs but you sound like it might be of interest.

Nightlife1970

Hope you know I was only poking fun at you.

My system is RF head unit run to a G&S 3 way crossover. That runs to 3 Autoteck Mean Machine amplifiers. I have a model 44 running two sets of tweeters @ 2ohm, a model 66HC running two sets of 6.5" mids running at 2ohm and a model 99 running 3 Rockford 12" P-1's @ 1.2ohm nominal in a custom built enclosure if you looked at the link I had above.

Rated power of the amps is 209 watts, but these are old school comp amps so they are WAY under rated. Real world SPL system does 118db standing in the middle of the cockpit at head level. SPL compition number with mic right infront of woofers for short term burst 140db. Yes in flat water it makes it's own waves.

Nightlife1970

Boat sound and car sound are in alot of ways the same and in alot of ways very different. Get your mid/high speakers up as high as you can so they can be heard.

Ported boxes don't work as well in a boat as a car. You still get the gain in a ported box but not nearly as pronounced. I don't think you are looking for MAX SPL so go with a mid sized sealed box. It gives you the lower octave exstension and still has the power handling, saves you space and makes the box easier to build.