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New Stereo Advice Request

Old 12-27-2002, 11:32 AM
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I put together my system last year which includes
Sony CD head unit with access tech wired remote, 4 Kicker marine 6.5" speakers, an 8" Bazooka sub, a 50X4 clarion amp and a fosgate 160s amp for the sub. Everything bought cheap and totaled around $750.
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Old 12-27-2002, 12:41 PM
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Face it, everyone plays the stereo loud when we are running. Loud means you are using the maximum power available. The problem is, in a 100 watt amp there is only 70 watts that is really usable before distortion starts to set in. Distortion is what blows speakers, not total power. A small amp of 45 watts is more dangerous to a speaker than a 100 watt amp is & the speaker will live longer and sound better with the larger amp. Also do not undersize the wiring going to the amp or speakers. A wire that may carry 5-10 amps may need to carry instantanious current surges far greater on the "sub" side of the system. Subs will consume 80% of the available power, leaving little for the mid & hi range speakers. This is why "seperates"- tweeters, mids & woofers and bi-amping/tri-amping is so popular. Bi-amping is usually sufficient for most of us using a seperate amp for the subs only and the head unit or smaller amp for the mids & hi's.
A small tutorial from an ex-sound production guy.....
Oh yeh, I nearly forgot... buying 100 watt speakers to replace 40 watt speakers will not make a system louder or better !

Last edited by blown formula; 12-27-2002 at 01:00 PM.
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Old 12-27-2002, 01:24 PM
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Default Re: New Stereo Advice Request

Originally posted by MikeBaja232
want to replace the head unit, add a power amp and probably a sub. I'm going to stay with my current speakers at the moment
If it were me and I were going to upgrade in a couple stages, I'd do the amp & speakers first, and replace the head unit last unless it is just total junk.

If you get a new amp, chances are your stock speakers won't be able to handle it and could even damage the amp. You'll get the most sound improvent (quality & volume) by running your existing head unit into a quality new amp and speakers. The next step would be a sub & amp, then the head unit last.

And I would think you'd need a minimum of 45 watts RMS per speaker to even hear the thing at WOT. Maybe a little less if you have a windshield I guess.
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Old 12-27-2002, 01:37 PM
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"...Maybe a little less if you have a windshield I guess".

That brought a little chuckle...
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Old 12-27-2002, 02:01 PM
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I've got the Clarion CMAS-2 receiver in my boat. It comes with a wired remote. It is a Marine unit, but is NOT waterproof. It is a standard size unit and 45watts x 4. That = an RMS of 23 watts x 4. I was very impressed with the it. I'm not even running an amp. I have 4 Babb 6x9's that I got from Audiofn(thanks Jon). It sounds excellent and people can't believe that I don't have an amp and sub hidden somewhere.
Best part is the head unit with remote is $299.99 at Overtons.
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Old 12-27-2002, 05:48 PM
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Be careful on the amp you buy , Just make sure it is rated rms and not peak
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Old 12-27-2002, 06:28 PM
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Griff glad you are happy with it. Sorry it took so long to get ya the stuff

Amps are rated in so many different ways that even those of us in the industy have a hard time figureing it out.

First there is regulated power supplies: These will put out the same power out of the amp regardless of voltage into the amp.

Second NON-Regulated power supplies. These will put out more power as the voltage goes up. Competition cars will often times run at 18 volts or more!!! Of course the inverse is if you turn off your engines you can loose 20% of the output capability of the amp.

There is what we call RMS Power: What the amp will put out all day long

There is Peak output: Often times what I call (and others) the IHBL (if hit by lightning) rating. This rating is what the cheaper amps use to make it sound like you are getting a good deal. Often times a 25 watt competition amp will blow away a 600 watt peak rated amp.

There is the rating at a given ohm load.

Then to top it all off there is the rating at a given distortion level. This distortion level is chosen often times by the builder and you will find that the more "quality" builders are much more strict about the level that the amp "fails".

For boats IMHO the regulated power supplies are better along with a VERY efficient power supply. The efficiency of the power supplie is the second most importand thing. The more efficient it is the longer your battery will last with out the engine running. From there it all depends

Jon
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Old 12-27-2002, 07:24 PM
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I have deals on Rockford Fosgate, BAAB speakers, Bazooka tubes, Rockford tubes, and more. The deals that I have are leftovers from a factory authorized tent sale that we held at my Tampa store last week. I have deals that are too low for me to print on an ad bearing the vendors name per our dealer agreement. Everything is brand new and A quality. Simply email the model you need pricing on to [email protected] or call me at my office at (813)882-8477 Monday thru Saturday 9 to 6 EST

If you are looking for a deal, now is the time to take advantage of end of year deals on car, marine and home audio products.

Andy Buzz
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Old 12-27-2002, 08:39 PM
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Default Sony CDX-CA700X

For Christmas, my wife bought me a Sony CDX-CA700X. It was very reasonable.
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Old 12-27-2002, 08:40 PM
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Anyone know a CD player that dosent seem to stop playing cds right after 2 seasons? The jensen is dead
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