Amp suggestions
 

I had an xtant 604 amp in my boat. All of a sudden one day someone let the smoke out of it.... Replacements are few and far between and apparently have a lot of gold in them judging by the prices people want. Can anyone make a suggestion for a good replacement? I'm near clueless on stereo parts other than wiring and installing.

Well we would need to know what speakers and how many you need to power.....

2 10" subs, (6) 6" round mb quartz speakers. Not sure models or ratings. I want something very close to what I had because it worked very well

I've been very happy with anything from JL that I have ever owned. I have a JL M600/6 pushing 8 polk 6.5's using 4 of the channels, and the other two channels are bridged for a single 10" sub

You were running all that off of a 4 channel 75 watt amp.

There is what looks like a nice one on Ebay for 250. Why not get that.

Otherwise I would suggest a major rewire of your system. As from what I would guess is they are running 2 channels of the amp on the Polks at 1.5 ohm and then the subs on the other 2 channels brideged at 2ohm. Most modern swtiching digital amps will not like that.

As in the newer class d amps? Ive abused a a/b jbl amp badly 4 spkr's on the front and two subs on the back bridged..it just pounded and pounded 2ohms on the front and 2 on the back

Only one I see on eBay is $350 plus $38 shipping, I would think there are newer more efficient options for $400

The xtant was a great amp......takes me to the days of punch, hifonics, linear power.....

I don't want this to be a rant.......so sorry if I end up on a soapbox.....

Consider the environment....

Motor noise
Wind noise
Water noise
Adjacent boater noise
Female noise....yours and others (skanks included)

What do you really care about sonic reproduction on a high "quality" level?

You want loud......right?

Forget brand....shop price.....alone based on rms, not peak.

Quick caveat....

Manufacturers use a 1k test tone @ 1w 1m ( one true watt of pure digital ac sine measured at 3.3' from the focused dispersion point) to archive the "peak" power rating.

Google 1k. Test tone......not pleasant at all. Same frequency my wife nags in......

Now to class "d".....

Popular definition is "digital"....

No.

Best explanation is "dirty"

Low efficiency but ultra robust MOSFETS do the job (handily) of supplying the output circuits with gobbs of dc current to the subs.

These amps suck for anything above a sub-bass utilization. They are awesome for bass! THD is significantly higher than a tradition A/AB/B/C amp.....but who cares? You can't hear it down there.

"Digital" amps in the 12v realm are few and far between. The limited that exist (real, not claimed...and don't start spewing CEA crap at me, I'm a founding member) are expensive in comparison to like power claims. Efficiency on these amps have astronomical power consumption to power output ability ratios, but do not have a current or future home in an environment we all use......

Please don't get me started on XM and SIRIUS "digital" radio......crok-o-sheet

The system sounded great at the docks, clean loud and crisp. I want quality sound not just real loud sony xplod style lol. But if the cheap high rms rating amps will work I'll look there. I found a good deal on a rockford fosgate r6004d that looks to spec the same as the xtant while reading quickly. I might have to do a few hours worth of reading this weekend.

You forgot to mention the limited freq range of mp3 files..data compression resonant freq using fiberglass...etc...etc...etc.

OK. So what'd be your pick for (4) 6.5" JL speakers and (1) 10" JL sub?

I'm currently eyeing an Alpine PDX-v9, $421 on Amazon.

MP3 is a thing of the past. A great intro to compressed music files without any other benefit..

Courtesy of built in pre/post processors, there is a very wide (depending on the nomeclacher) selection of restoration processors that make the lossy compression types of files actually sound "decent".....as in better than fm......but not much more. Still.....we're all "bangin around" in a boat.....so another who cares.....?

Awesome!

I digress....

Again....consider a life span of 2 yrs with ANY brand. He'll, even my preferred (jl) isn't made here anymore.

IMHO......

And quite educated......btw.....

Just buy some cheap azzzchit and beat tha he'll out of it. Keep this in mind......

As much as I hate to say it, Walmart has the best return policy out there. Buy whatever they sell with the extended warranty.....keep the receipt (better safe than.....)

When it lets the smoke out, or gets close to the end of warranty.....smoke it and return it for new.

At the end, efficiency and sq should not be a consideration when shopping for a boat hi-fi system....that is....unless you have more money than brains.....

With all of that said......

I have XES M1 amps in the cabin (4)
Clarion source in cabin with 3 external remotes
All jl seps

So yeah....I'm a hypocrite

Better buy that before I do!!!!!!

So I can buy a less expensive car amp at wally world and when it goes bad just trade it in on a new one??

I would suggest PPI a600.2 for the highs that you have listed, great quality, not a power hog, and very dependable. Not the new PPI, the old school A600.2 are great amps. and look good as well. Precision Power. this amp should run you about 200.00/250.00 and guarantee you will be very happy with it's performance.

I know old school PPI speaks for itself. The 1985 graphics I'm not such a fan of, but need a good 4 channel soon myself!


http://m.ebay.com/itm/171297559823?nav=SEARCH

Go for it, I searched 4 times yesterday and that never came up so I ordered the Rockford for $189 free shipping.

Good Choice!!!!

The PDX amps are excellent.

My Autoteks are 20 years old. Spent all but 4 years of their life in boats. Still banging out the tunes.

I just had a JL Audio M1000/6 amp installed in my boat. Head unit is the Fusion IP700 and the speakers are 2 JL Audio 770's, 2 JL Audio 880's and 2 JL Audio 10' subs.

I'm certainly no stereo expert.... but can't imagine needing anything else. No words can explain how happy we are with the system. It just ROCKS!!!!!!! :D

My motto is still the same. When I'm listening to Led Zepplin, so are my neighbors!!


:party-smiley-048::party-smiley-048::party-smiley-048::party-smiley-048::party-smiley-048:

A/B http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-JB...item1e89d2c48b

D http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...APPA-FOUR.html

Wanna play high roller..http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Jmk4yCB...-A3000GTi.html

Oh,, audio amp! Was thinking Asian Massage Parlor!! :daz:

Plzzz you must be a rookie at this.....a c-note get's all you could dream of...that is unless your a pigeon..or something like that.

JL MHD-900/5 or as mentioned the Alpine PDV-V9.. Both good choices, they get hot cause they are small, so make sure you put them in a spot where they can get plenty of ventilation...

I'm very happy with my Arc amps Waves & Wheels used in my boat. The push all my Focals very well and are very efficient.

What's the word on the new Rockford PBR amps? Has anyone tried them yet?

Jl

I finally bought one, and this thing is really cool. I can't wait to hear it.

Im running 4 MTX 7.7 coax's and 2 mtx 10" sub's, all marine speakers in my little resin bucket pushed by a genuine old school hifonics zues 5 channel. The gains are not cranked. Im half deaf and have hearing aids. WITHOUT my hearing aids I have yet to really turn it past half volume out of fear my head will explode and it will shake the gelcoat off the glass.

Then I added some M650's for the front and M770's for under the rear bench, because the 8.8's wouldn't quite fit.

I giggle when i see guys spending big bucks on their topshelf speakers, top shelf amps, because they want "sound quality". Then proceed to use a half azz headphone cable from their iphone to the head unit, playing compressed mp3 files , or satellite radio, etc

Theres nothing acoustical about the cockpit of a boat. Id be dammed if i am gonna spend 300 bucks for a pair of 6.5 coaxials, and install them in the gunwale with infinite enclosure volume.

When you look at some of the best sounding, expensive home audio speakers, emphasis is based on the enclosure design, internal crossovers, cabinet construction, and of course driver material.

Best advice i have, get decent quality speakers, coupled to a good amp with plenty of power. Do not underpower the speakers. Thats worse than overpowering them. In a boat all you can ask for is LOUD without distorting. That itself though, doesnt define sound "quality".

shhh don't tell them that.

I only have about $1000 in my whole system.

Three amps, crossover, head unit, 3 sets of 6.5", three 12" subs, plus wire and materials.

Oh....and don't get me started on wire!!!!!!

What a big batch of snake oil there.......

Tell us about wire!

You mean you dont need 6 gauge speaker wire when the driver is 4ft from the amp?

The best is oxygen free, zero-g, virgin vagina lining for wire jacket and ONLY dead sperm whale blow hole for the shielding.

Crimps, splices and connections need be kept to a minimum to prevent parasitic loss and increase resistance, but when necessary, the toenail clippings of a genuine leprechaun can be used for direct and in-line splice, but the use of a unicorn horn is absolutely mandatory when crimping.....otherwise negative ions can enter the virgin vagina lining and make a mess of all your hard work!!!!!!