stereo amp upgrade
 

Trying to put together my next stereo system and I am at a cross road on which amp I like better. I have it narrowed down to 3 amps, Polk PA-D, Alpine PDX and the Arc Audio XDI. I have picked these 3 amps not based on sound but by specs. Anyone running any of these amps. I will be running 4 pair of the JL 7.7 & 2 10" Alpine R subs.
I think......

I sell Alpine and Arc Audio. We've been VERY impressed with the Arc amps up to this point. The XDi is a great price point, and powerful.

Wet Sounds Hydro-Tech line is another one we sell, and sell a lot of.

you could run all those speakers off of one Wet Sounds SD6, and if you have the space put the JL8.8's they are a huge improvement over the 7.7's

THe SD6 would be great, but he mentioned entry-level amps, and the SD6 is far from that.

The XS-808 and XS-650 (in my book) are a better buy then the JL Audio speakers. Same or better quality, they just don't the hype that JL Audio does. There are a lot more options out there that are better than JL.

Never looked at the Wet Sounds before, holy crap they have some powerful amps.

I really like the Wetsounds amps but they are not built anywhere near as well as the JL products same for the speakers. If you don't boat in the salt then it doesn't matter but if you do nothing is better than JL. I have replaced two M600/6 with two SD6 amps and added some speakers to handle the additional power but if you take both apart the difference in quality is clear. I realize the SD6 is not entry level but neither is a 47 Lightning, and to only have one amp instead of two or three is much better.

yes that is why I switched, follow my advice you won't be sorry.

I have done several installs with the Alpine and they have been great. Sorry no experience with the others.

The only bad thing about Alpine is I would need 4 amps to do what I want and they don't have audio out ports.

Very hard to beat JL Audio.

Arc & Alpine are pretty close dollar for watt, which amp in your opinion is better.

I've got a pic of a JL 6.5 with rust around the tweeter in the grill. If I had access to my phone, I'd post it up. I'll try to remember this later. I've been installing Wet Sounds amps and speakers for 8 years. I've had a couple customers that just HAD to have JL, mostly only to add onto what they already had. The XS-650's and XS-808's sounded a lot better than the JL M Series by far. In most boats I use the Syndicate amps, sometimes the Sinister - depending on the customers budget. Over the years - in my area - JL is phased out. I do one boat (at a marina or in my shop), and the next guy dumps his JL's (that may have came OEM) for the Wet Sounds.

JL Audio reminds me of Blose. Whored out by Paul Harvey. I'm not saying they don't make quality amps and speakers, but people blindly buy them based on the name alone. The best option is to hear it for yourself.

I'm a dealer for Alpine, but have never sold their amps. I use a lot of Arc, but mostly the XDi series. Weve been very impressed with the newest generation of Arc's XDi line. A guy that helps me in the shop (has been in this industry since 1984) smiles and talks about how impressed with them he is. He was in car audio when Linear Power and Orion was hot. The Punch 150 was another one that was impressive, so for a dinosaur like my friend to say that about an entry level line - says a lot.

However, we sell those for most car installs. If you don't need a marine grade amp, Arc has the KS series also, lots of guys use those in wakeboat installs. The KS is designed by Robert Zeff. The Wet Sounds Syndicate line is also designed by him, has the same processor, but adds a coated board and stainless shroud. They've got a 300.2, 600.2, and 1200.1. I run a 300.2 and 1200.1 on my display.

Before I recommend what's best, I'd need to know your budget. I see above what you're powering, but like pstorti said, you mentioned entry level amps to go into a boat that's obviously above that level.

Wet sounds doesn't have a good mono amp for subs, do they? All I see is the HT 1 = 600 watts

Syn2 and SD2.

They had the Syn1 - 1000W mono @ 1 ohm, but discontinued it. A supplier issue I believe.

https://wetsounds.com/pages/products/SD2.html
1250W mono at 4 ohms

https://wetsounds.com/pages/products/SYN2_spec.html
700W mono at 4 ohms

Also, you can look at retail, but that's with anything else. A local dealer will be better for pricing those. I sell most of their products for a little less to local crowds.

My budget depends on how much I like something, with in reason.
Entry level amps, I have heard some kick a$$ Alpine systems and pretty sure Arc Audio isn't entry level.

The XDi is entry level. KS is the next step up.

I could name a hundred different combinations of amps between the brands......

SD4 to power the 4 pair of coax's, SD2 for the10's (that depends on the impedance of what you have though)
Syn4 and Syn2
(2) Arc 300.2's, 1 1200.1

I haven't seen much Arc audio or wet sounds where I live in Florida, that's not saying much, it just hasn't made it this far, don't even know of a dealer in my area. Not disagreeing with the above comments, but I have no issue with JL audio, several years of boating in fl sun and salt water, plus a 5 yr old and mine still sounds good.
Going to look into arc audio though, would love to see one and hear it play.

Punch class D marine amps. Small efficient clear and powerful

This statement surprises me, I have heard them all and the JL's destroy the others. I couldnt afford them but wish I could. If money were not an object I would only use jl speakers and amps. They simply sound way better in the open environment of a boat.

Thanks for the clarification on the Arc XDI, I was not aware this is their entry level amp.
Waves & Wheels @ LOTO uses Arc amps & they are well known for their installs.

Well, I guess at this point the only things I do know is;
I want to run 4 pair coax's 100 watt RMS range and 6.5" - 7.5" size.
2 - 10" subs sealed box 800 watt ea.??
1 amp to run 8 coax's @ 1.5 x speaker RMS (150 watts)
1 maybe 2 mono amps to run subs @ 1.5 x sub RMS (1200 watts) I do like the Alpine R series subs, they pound.
All this is giving me a head ach, good thing I live in Iowa & boating season is several months away.

I've heard of waves and wheels. You may stop in and see those guys if you're somewhat nearby.

Stimleck, I disagree. I've heard them both, and both have their high points, but I don't feel like the JL speakers sound better than the Wet Sounds 650 or 808. A lot goes in to how their powered, signal, etc. If the ones you heard weren't powered correctly, or had **** for signal, it may have given you that idea.

Here ya go:

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/...ce&oe=553106A6
https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/...6f&oe=55458328
https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/...83&oe=553B1DB2
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...5d9f786e0f2aa9

Whoever owns that Yellowfin is an animal :) I have had my 8.8's installed since they first came out and I use my boat almost every weekend in salt and they still look new. My 4 year old tweeters on my 7.7 components did die recently, one from corrosion and one I think was death by volume knob. I wonder how the Wetsounds would have looked with the same time and treatment?

I have a pair of the Rev410's and they do sound nice and they are extremely loud, (they should be with 585W each) but they don't sound as nice as the JL 8.8's up close. The other thing is since the have a horn they can't get washed with a hose, which is kind of a nuisance in a salt water environment.

Have you compared JL 8.8's and Wetsounds 808's in the same boat with the same power? Can you pm me your number, I'm curious about the Wetsounds 808's?

I do agree that JL has been resting on their laurels and are falling behind some of the competition, when it comes to big amps, tower speakers and marine subs. Which is sad they should make a marine W7AE version.

A better comparison of the JL 8.8's to something Wet Sounds in a can would be the Icon8's. The Rev410 are pretty impressive, but definitely a different purpose. They're built to be loud at 80' for wakeboarding.

I'll have to admit, death by volume does happen around here to :D

My old Supra that I sold a couple years ago still has the same system in it that it had when I sold it. At the time of sale, the install was 3 years old (other than the 6 Rev8's). It had 3 pair of XS-650's. As far as I know, everything is still good. When sold the 650's still looked new and sounded good. We don't have any salt here so I cant give a fair comparison. I do use the 650's a LOT in side by sides, and most have been underwater in the creek. I don't recommend it, but most have survived and still going.

I've had a few boats around here that I've added JL M Series speakers to. Those jobs included replacing amps, and adding 1 or 2 sets of speakers. They wanted the JL M's to match what was already in the boat - and most had the tweeter separated. 1 in particular is a Hustler Rockit that's for sale at LOTO now. Added a Syn4, Syn1, 1 set of M770's, and 3 XS10FA's under the bench. Amps and battery went underneath the cabin door. That boat sounded good, but I think it had more potential had we swapped the speakers.

I know all the guys at Wet Sounds and have been around them at SEMA and some other trade shows. All are great guys with a passion for this industry. Everything is designed and engineered in the states. When you dial their telephone number, you get an answer. That means a lot right there. I'm a small dealer in KY, but they still treat me like the guys that have million dollar stores.....

I'll PM my number....

I can definitely vouch for the guys at wetsounds, great guys all around. I've had wetsounds in every boat I've had up unitl the current Skater and have loved every one of them. I've probably installed 20 sets of XS650's in other friends boats and not one person has been disapointed, like most speakers in that caliber they do like power but when you give it to them they come alive. In a wakeboat I had with 4 or 5 sets of them I could turn off the subs and for a lot of music wouldn't even miss them their midbase was so good. That said I've got JL7.7's in the skater, because that's what was in it when I got it, and I'm very happy with them as well. Thet Rev 410 is a beast but like Jonyb said it's nto designed to listen to up close, but if you can get it above the boat and cranking they will hear you a half mile away and be singing the lyrics with you.

I've also heard great things about the Alpine and Arc amps, if you want a lot of good reading on their pros and cons go to one of the wakeboard forum sites, wakeworld, or malibucrew, those guys are audio fanatics and have tried just about everything. When they start builds they start in the 4K watt range, my last wakeboat was in the 6k watt range lol

My personal opinion is that unless you run in a harsh marine environment and expose the amps to the salt you really don't need marine amps, install them in the cabin and don't pile wet towels on them and you'll be fine.

can also vouch for Jonyb, I've got stuff from him in the past and always been very pleased.

What amp would you guys reccomend for 4 alpine m700s? I run a mb quart now and Sony head unit but want to change both of this this year.

Jonyb, I'm an hour south of you and looking for a good head unit with wired remote. Let me know what you have please.

The amp depends on what you're budget is. I've got 3 Wet Sounds amps that would be great, but there's also future upgrades like adding more speakers or subs to keep in mind. The Arc amps are doing well, and that may be an option, I've also started stocking the Alpine amps recently and plan to try them out.

For a head unit, I keep the Clarion CMD8 and M303 in stock, along with the MW1 wired display remote.

PM me if you want my number, you can call anytime.

Here's a small part of my display - Clarion and Wet Sounds on this one:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...16df9dd4d50480

Jonyb may I ask a question on the cmd 8...I am having a hell of time with the sub output..I can get it to work but is seem's so sloppy is the word or muted...soft is what I am trying to describe have you had any of the same issue's at all. Don't get me wrong I really like the head unit it takes a pounding and runs with no issues and look's great at the same time.

I should say this is in direct comparison to a pioneer dvd player I had in the boat the sub crossover was outstanding.....just the rest of it was not such a good ideal..

jonyb, that's a pretty nice display of wet sounds audio, but you know the icing on the cake would be if you had some JL 7.7 or 8.8 on display.....:party-smiley-004:
For those of us that don't know are you a marine dealer / repair or audio shop??

Waves&Wheels uses Arc and Mosconi amps. Just depends if you want something mild or wild :drink:

Have you adjusted the sub volume control? I can't remember exactly but you may have to turn the sub output on, then adjust the level. I'll check tomorrow when I get to the shop.

haha, but it sounds 10X better with the Rev10's in there! :D I'm a mobile electronics shop, our specialty is marine audio and lighting. For 8 years without a storefront our business has been word of mouth and referrals throughout the Western KY area.

I use Focal/Gladen/Mosconi too, but that may changed soon after being treated the way we were by Orca Design at CES last week.

Anyone use Crescendo audio?

tru technology now theese are the amps to get boys .

Not sure what to make of you post, are you talking about Crescendo audio and are you being serious or sarcastic?
I have not heard much about Crescendo so I really don't know.

no . not anything but awsom top of the line amps like i stated ... tru technology amps out of california ... bad ass chit ..CLEAN and POWERFULL STUFF .... sound unbelievable ..

https://www.facebook.com/trulabs?fref=ts also if you get a chance to listen to some hertz audio speakers ... they sound incredible ... no marine stuff, but there built to tuff ..

Has anyone ever used the "Krypt" 6.5" speaker enclosure? Thinking about mounting some Wet Sounds SX650 in these enclosures, not sure if they would perform ok in these enclosures or not. Anyone ever done this?