Stereo Ugrade Question
 

I have a 2001 Islander 292 with twin 350's and dual batteries. I want to add a couple of subs and replace the stock clarion's with some good speakers with amps to power this sufficiently. Question is how much power can I add without a) adding a battery and b) upgrading alternators? or do I need to worry about it? Thanks for all replies.

You should be good if you keep it to 2 or less good amps. I would suggest getting a mono digital amp for the subs because it will draw less power and is more effecient. If you see any power drain when at large volumes you may have to add a capacitor but you should be fine.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. What maximum power would you go for?

I'm running a PPI 600 watt 2 channel pushing the two 12" PPI subs under the rear bench and a PPI 200 watt 4 channel running a set of MB Quart seperates and Pioneer 3 ways. I have two deep cycle marine batteries running through an isolator switch so I don't kill both batteries while I'm chillin bumpin the jams at full blast all day!;) :D

This is my 3rd system in this boat (Due to theft:mad: ) I've run all sorts of different configurations but this one seems to work the best. Buy quality stuff and you'll be happy.

Tank

I've got a Kicker DX700 (digital 700 watts at 2 ohm) for the subs and a Kicker 4x55 for the cockpits 4 speakers. My Sony CDX-MP70 powers the two cabin speakers just fine. My criteria was to have extremely clean sound that I could hear at full throttle and I get it with no problem.

You don't necessarily need "marine" speaker or amps unless you plan on getting them wet... so just keep that in mind. Also keep in mind to have good ventilation wherever you place the amps because that can and will get hot if you crank it.

Good luck!

Tank - question about your subs. How hard was it to mount them under the rear seat. I've seen pics and stuff of some but never really knew how hard it is to do. Do you just cut the holes in it and slap the subs in?

sound
 

The only difference between marine amplifiers and non marine is that the circuit boards are conformal coated to prevent oxidation. The coating is available from electronic supply houses and a 16 oz can can do about 10 amplfiers. 99% of the time it is not needed, but I spec this as part my design to insure that the product goes beyond its warranty period.
My thoughts on capacitors.... Stiffening caps can and do improve sound quality on amplifiers that have power supplies that are non regulated.These pwm (pulse width modulated) supplies are input voltage sensitive and as the input voltage drops sound quality depreciates. Inversly the more power that is available the better the sound quality.The capacitor is there to provide that extra voltage when the input voltage drops in the power supply. My thought is why spend extra money for a cap...just buy a better amp with a big supply in it. Better grade amplifiers have regulated supplies and as long as your input voltage is at 12v or more they produce full power. When an alternator see a discharged capacitor it sees it as a dead short and can cause damage to the alternator. The better quality caps have a protection circuit in them to prevent damaging the alternator.
Marine Speakers are generally housed with a non metalic basket. The stamped steel baskets are painted or powdered coated but has a tendancy for the finish to wear off and leave rust stains. The steel has less tendancy to flex and generally has better sound quality and a lower price.

thats my .02 worth

When too much is not enough, more is better, and excessive is just right!

97BossHammer

Here is mine 2 10" Kickers under the rear seat. This is a 25 Outlaw though. It was a piece of cake, I had someone do it for me. Really I watched them do it, its pretty simple.

Another of the boxes they built on the back of them.

I dont have boxes built in for my 12's. The first set I bought were a set of Kicker free airs. They sounded AWESOME!! Then I had some JL W2's, They didn't work as good. Now I have the PPI's. they are adiquit but I would really like to get free airs again. I just let the seat act as the box. It is not hard to install at all and I did it myself. Just cut the holes and slap 'em in. If you're going to go with the box. That gets tricky.

Tank

Yeah I was thinking free airs myself, cool. Hmmmm what to do if it rains?

Free air woofers
 

The reason your JL's did not work is that they have a low "Q" and were designed to work in small sealed boxes. Kicker and other companies have woofers designed to run "free air" and have a high "Q". One item you will notice is that free air drivers have a very stiff suspension and it takes alot of power to drive them. Try moving the cone before you install it and as hard as you have to work to move that cone so does your amplifier. You can and will get more acurate response with woofers in a box than a free air design. FYI...When installing in a free air design- adding items like dock line, fenders, etc will change the sound characteristics when placed inside the seat box.

Sounds like Baja 2700 really knows what he's doing. It's not hard to build boxes. Most speakers come with instructions on how to make them. If you do not want to build them then find flat front boxes and bolt them in.

You'll be infinitely more happy.

FYI I mounted my Subs in the FRONT of my boat and used the dead area in the bow for boxes. Works great unless your trying to take a nap.

sound
 

After 25 years of designing 12 volt amplifiers you learn a few things about sound. I like your idea of running the woofers up front since they are less likely to be sun or water damaged. At these low frequencies sound is not directional and you are less likely to experience null points. (areas that you walk into and there is very little bass) Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them.

When too much is not enough, more is better and excessive is just right!

I have a stupid question to you guys with these huge a$$ boat stereos. Are these stereos loud enough to play and actually hear while your running the boat or do you only use them while anchored? I only have the stock clarion radio/cd player in my boat and have only used it 2 or 3 times. No way it could ever be heard while running.

I have about 1,000 watts. I gave up on trying to listen while running a while ago. Better to hear the engines and what they're doing.

All I hear is wind and superchargers.:D :D :D

can you hear it
 

I did 4 10 inch woofers each with 500 watts on them, and 4 6.5 inch coaxials in the interior and at 70+ mph I can hear it but I prefer the sound of the 502. In fact when I built the motor I threw the captains call in a box!

Re: can you hear it
 

What coaxials did you use?

I can hear every beat with mine. No matter what the speed. But you had better be ready to hit the volume when you get to the no wake zone.

Re: can you hear it
 

I agree with 2700.

Even if I could play music loud enough to hear when running, I wouldn't do it. When running, I want to hear the engines in order to detect any little hickup with them.

I have GIL dry pipes hooked to a blown 650HP and I can hear the music over the motor, but I'm like most, I like to hear the motor when I'm running.

I don't run my boat in the rain so it's never been an issue, and storage during rain hasn't ever been an issue either.

When you're talking about longevity and reliability I just look at it as if something goes out then I'll have to replace it, it's just how things go dealing with boat stereos.

Tank

coaxial speakers
 

Use the CFA 600 CONCEPT coaxials they are about 2db more effecient than the factory Clarions and bolt right in check out www.conceptcaraudiovideo.com