Looks like my power amp took a crap. Protect light stays on, and speakers work ok on their own. Power and ground are good, straight off battery.

Looking for a replacement, in the 4x200w range. What's good in marine-quality audio amps these days?

While we're at it, has anyone played with MP3 players on their boats? I just bought my wife a RIO with a 20g hard drive for xmas... are any of the component manufacurers using this technology in mobile audio? Hard drives and offshores may not be a good combo.

Burning CD's would be ok too, seeing you can get a few hours of music on a single disk.

What's the latest-and-greatest?

Thanks,
Brian

Give me a call. I have many blowout deals on brand new Rockford Fosgate and other amps.

Andy Buzz
Buzz-Off Alarm Systems
Maximum Audio
(813)882-8477

I just run my amp's in the cabin, haven't had any corossion problems *yet*.
for amps:
JL is the best, but by far the most expensive. Anything JL is prettymuch the best.
PPI (Precision Power) is almost as good, That's what I run.
Fosgate is good too, never ran it though.

Just don't buy Sony Xplod! Their decks are ok, but that's about it.

On decks, I don't know of any marinized Mp3 or harddrive based decks, and unless you have it in the cabin, the water could pose a problem. The harddrive would probabily be ok, Today's harddrives are to the point that they can withstand several hundred G's of shock without any major damage. Friend of mine jogs every day with an Ipod with no problems... That's not offshore pounding, but still.

Either way, check Ebay. You can get the best prices there by far.... (You could also probabily sell your old amp there for $10 or $20 to someone who wants it for parts)
~Paul

I have had good luck with Rockfords. Just take your RIO and bring it in the boat. It will be fine/

Jon

Here is my advice: Precision Power. They are one of the most durable amps out there. They are reasonable efficient, and don't tend to overheat. I have installed many of them in boats and rarely had any difficulty with them. They are pricey though.

Steer clear of Xtant amplifiers. They suck in a marine environment.

Rockfords (while they are good) are known to be current hogs. They would not be my first choice, although if you can get a screamin' deal on them...they wouldnt be bad.

Look into a company called Crossfire. US designs built in Korea with US parts. These things are awesome for boats. Innexpensive, powerful, and durable. These are great amps. And let's face it, most boat stereos dont get used all that often, so why dump a ton of money into amps that will only fire up 20 times a year?

I used to sell all of the above...I will be installing Crossfire amps in my boat when the time comes.

P4-33

See

www.ssiamerica.com

When it comes to mobile audio, I believe you get what you pay for. I did a lot of shopping and researching amplifier specs, and unless you are willing to spend big big bucks, PPI is hard to beat.

There is a lot of crap out there with 500 watts/ch ratings for $200. These are usually peak power ratings at some horrible harmonic distortion level. Sony Xplode is a good example. Some of the cheaper Rockford Fosgate stuff is another. Don't get me wrong. They may be OK amps but their power ratings are very misleading.

PPI rates their amps very conservatively. You can buy a 50 watt/ch PPI amp that sounds way way better than most other 200watt/ch amps.

I got mine new in the box (not a refurb) from an internet retailer for about 1/2 the cost charged at a local dealer. The drawback is that the internet retailer will likely not be an authorized dealer so warranty work may be a lost cause. It is mounted in my cabin so I don't worry about exposure to the elements.