Final sound selection on sound system

[spharis]

I'm pretty sure they are. I am tired of hitting my TAPs and watching all my gauges drop off, and lights dim....You can eat up 65 amps pretty quick once you start adding things like capacitors, additional batteries, lighting, portable players, high output amplifiers (which can be 60A alone), etc. I am going to at least a 90. I am lucky in that I can use a one-wire, but I am unsure about the newer boats, they may have multiples.

Upgradin the alt for the stereo for most will not be a concern as the radio will be used more when docked than when running. It's the recharging that is slow going.....especially with 2 batteries and a capacitor.....all three are drains on the electrical system.

[Razzman]

OK so here's what I'm doing over the winter;

Just picked these up last night for $88 total for 2 pair, MSRP of $150 a pair! Rockford Fosgate T162C Power Co-axials, 75rms/150peak. Was gonna go with the RF marines like you guys but the wife nixed that deal, didn't like the looks, my reply was who cares! Unfortunately my boat doesn't have white glass seat bases so these would have to go on the black dash and side panels. She wants bling i guess. BTW, I aslo scored two tower speaker assemblies with Alpine speakers for nada, squat, zilch in great shape as well!



Head unit, Pioneer DEH-P4800MP. Got this as it does it all, MP3, CDR, iPod, blah blah. Found it on web for $99 new! MSRP of $150



And of course a remote to go with it;



Running two Profile AP1040 California amps, 1000W 4 CH Amplifier ~ 80rms x 4 / 160 peak x 4. One for in cabin speakers and the other split between two tower speakers / bridged for the sub. BTW, these are good quality, low cost amps that produce some clean undistorted sound, choice of cheap bastards everywhere! Got 'em for $90 apiece, MSRP of $159



Still haven't decided on the sub as of yet, i do know I'm going to run a 12", svc at 4ohms. Probably around 200rms, 400-500 peak. One question for you guys, sealed or ported? I know most use sealed subs on boats but some audio guys are telling me to run a ported sub as it will produce more bass for the open environment in a boat. In my case the sub will be shoved up under the closed bow in the open side in front of the helm.

[Moki]

Spharis,
I got it off of ebay for $86. It hasn't shipped yet, but I am assuming that it is going to be in good shape. Regarding the amp, I am pretty excited about it, it is built on the new IcePower chip that puts out high energy but very efficient. It is the XA5000 for the boat and sub and the XA 4000 for the tower speakers

XA 5000 http://www.eclipse-web.com/amp/xa5000.html
XA 4000 - http://www.eclipse-web.com/amp/xa4000.html

Here is where I bought it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Eclipse-XA5000-5...QQcmdZViewItem

Jeff,
I am going to try my current alternator and if it is has problems, then I will change it out. I think that your Pro 80s will rock. I may have to swap out one of my 485s for two Pro 80s.

[Jeff T]

Moki,

I have been trying to confirm exactly what amp rating my alternator has. I have the 05 315 Merc. I'm also trying to confirm what is in the the 06 22ve, 340 MP.

Any ideas?

[Moki]

Moki,

I have been trying to confirm exactly what amp rating my alternator has. I have the 05 315 Merc. I'm also trying to confirm what is in the the 06 22ve, 340 MP.

Any ideas?

Jeff, Sorry I don't. You may want to ask Lee. He is the all knowing Tige dealer.

[Moki]

Razzman,
That is going to be an awesome system at a great price. Nice deal on the amps and an awesome deal on the tower speakers. Regarding the sub, I am going to try it with just the compartment--no box. If it doesn't sound good, then I will go with ported or maybe even a passive radiator.

[spharis]

It is the XA5000 for the boat and sub and the XA 4000 for the tower speakers

At max output @ 14.4 volts in a 5 channel 4 ohm, the XA5000 will pull probably (this is estimating) 25-30A....
At max output @ 14.4 volts, the XA4000 in a 2channel 4ohm will pull 25-30A depending on the internal rail voltage, etc....

The XA5000 will need to produce 36A, and the 4000 49A to go max output, but I am sure there are some step up circuits in there.

All in all, figure them pulling 60A total at max power........big bass note....huge snare hit, and you only have 5A left on that 65A alternator....that is a huge current draw, and is bad on them.....you might want to upgrade at the end of the season next year, or start saving for one. It will make a difference in the sound you get out of your sub, and it will help the amps from clipping as they try to get more power. Undersupplying an amp will cause it to clip.

Some people will tell you to "just get a cap" or a capacitor. If an installer tells you that, go elsewhere. A cap is like a band-aid, water tank. It will store energy and release it when the amp draws some amperage, but you then need to fill it back up......it doesn't really solve the problem which in this case would be lack of flow. If you think of the electrical system as a water system, it will make more sense. Batteries are like huge storage tanks, but they only help the system run longer with the faucet off. They will also allow some output to trickle out as the pressure gets low, but they have to be refilled. A marine (deep cycle) is a very large tank with a small faucet that can be emptied over, and over; a starting battery is a very large tank with a very large faucet, that doesn't like to get emptied alot....it starts to lose capacity over time. A cap is like a mini-storage tank with a huge faucet on it. It can release a little water flow, really quickly, but it also has to be refilled. The thing doing all the filling is the alternator. The bigger the main faucet, the better your pressure will be.

[Razzman]

I'm thinking the ported would sound better but I'm not really sure. The problem i have is these so called "audio experts" are telling me to put the sub in a ported box tuned to 30-35hz. Well let me tell ya after i saw the formula to figure that out , well let's just say I'm no professor so i nixed that deal too! I've seen ready made boxes so maybe i'll just try one of those.

[spharis]

I can give you square box dimensions tuned to whatever you like if you give me the model of the sub you have, and the room ou have to work with......I prefer slotted ports over round, but in marine cases, they require a little more room.

I am thinking of doing a slot port firing into my walkthrough, to give it some loading. Kind of a hatchback effect.

[Razzman]

I can give you square box dimensions tuned to whatever you like if you give me the model of the sub you have, and the room ou have to work with......I prefer slotted ports over round, but in marine cases, they require a little more room.

I am thinking of doing a slot port firing into my walkthrough, to give it some loading. Kind of a hatchback effect.

I haven't decided on the sub as of yet. I've seen some really good deals on the web but not really being audio savvy i don't really know what to look for. Hell the last time i was into car audio we threw some 6x9's onto the rear deck and called it a day! LOL! Now there's so much involved that it's confusing! I'm not too worried about the size of the box as long as i can squeeze it under the dash which has an opening of 26wX13h, 2-3 more inches in height if i unbolt the steering box. Under the bow is loads of room once past the dash. Maybe a sealed box is the way to go if ported is bigger than that?

[spharis]

Ported will always be larger. Different for different subs. I was also looking at a pair of RLi - 8's.....kind of an underground sub. They use very minimal amounts of volume for max efficiency.
www.soundsplinter.com

[Moki]

At max output @ 14.4 volts in a 5 channel 4 ohm, the XA5000 will pull probably (this is estimating) 25-30A....
At max output @ 14.4 volts, the XA4000 in a 2channel 4ohm will pull 25-30A depending on the internal rail voltage, etc....

The XA5000 will need to produce 36A, and the 4000 49A to go max output, but I am sure there are some step up circuits in there.

All in all, figure them pulling 60A total at max power........big bass note....huge snare hit, and you only have 5A left on that 65A alternator....that is a huge current draw, and is bad on them.....you might want to upgrade at the end of the season next year, or start saving for one. It will make a difference in the sound you get out of your sub, and it will help the amps from clipping as they try to get more power. Undersupplying an amp will cause it to clip.

Some people will tell you to "just get a cap" or a capacitor. If an installer tells you that, go elsewhere. A cap is like a band-aid, water tank. It will store energy and release it when the amp draws some amperage, but you then need to fill it back up......it doesn't really solve the problem which in this case would be lack of flow. If you think of the electrical system as a water system, it will make more sense. Batteries are like huge storage tanks, but they only help the system run longer with the faucet off. They will also allow some output to trickle out as the pressure gets low, but they have to be refilled. A marine (deep cycle) is a very large tank with a small faucet that can be emptied over, and over; a starting battery is a very large tank with a very large faucet, that doesn't like to get emptied alot....it starts to lose capacity over time. A cap is like a mini-storage tank with a huge faucet on it. It can release a little water flow, really quickly, but it also has to be refilled. The thing doing all the filling is the alternator. The bigger the main faucet, the better your pressure will be.

Thou hast persuaded me to look into a new alternator.

[Coach]

Thou hast persuaded me to look into a new alternator.

What type of Alt are you talking about? The new Tige's have 90 Amp Alt. After talking to many stereo guys they will not touch the Alts on any newer boats because of all of the way the engines are tied in with the electical and the Alt. I have looked into high capacity Alt extensively and also looked at a dual Alt set up. Do you have something in mind as to what you want to do?

[Moki]

What type of Alt are you talking about? The new Tige's have 90 Amp Alt. After talking to many stereo guys they will not touch the Alts on any newer boats because of all of the way the engines are tied in with the electical and the Alt. I have looked into high capacity Alt extensively and also looked at a dual Alt set up. Do you have something in mind as to what you want to do?

If I have a 90 amp, then I will stay with that. If I have a 65 amp, then I will look to upgrade. It sounds like you are further ahead of the game than I am. I have not even looked into it yet. What is the issue of putting a high capacity alternator on a new boat?

[Jeff T]

The new Tige's have 90 Amp Alt.

How new is new? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I have the 90 amp.