Need advice on an upgrade!

[Eastern shore wake]

Hi, I am looking for some advice on a stereo upgrade I just stated. Here is the background. I have a 2004 22V with what I think at the time was Tige's premium sound package. I have the Clarion CMD6 head unit, a Clarion APX 480M amp powering my 4 rear speakers and a subwoofer (speakers are 6 “Sony’s with separate tweeters..sub is a Sony as well), a Clarion APX 280M amp powering the tower speakers (not sure of brand) and 2 bow speakers (again the 6” Sony’s). We have liked the sound system but as my kids have gotten serious about wakeboarding we were looking to get tower speakers which you could hear from 80 ft back.

Ok so that is background. Two events happened to get me going down the upgrade path. A buddy of mine had a pair of Krypt 8” HCDL speakers he had to sell quickly (OK…I know that Wetsounds or Exile are the names to buy but the price was unbeatable on the Krypts and did see some decent posts about them on Wakeworld). The second event was that my Clarion APX 480M has died.

Here are my questions.
• The Krypts need 150W each so I think I need a separate AMP for them. My buddy recommended the ARC Audio KS300.2 which he says is a class h and will be much more efficient in driving these speakers than class Ds, etc. Says it costs more upfront but will pay off for you on the water. What do you think?

• Also I now think I may need to be able to control volume on the tower speakers separately from rest of system (unlike my current setup). What do you think? How do I best do this?

• I need to replace the Clarion 480XM. I could still have the 280M running just the bow speakers if I did a separate amp for the tower speakers. This is a dumb question I know but can I run 3 amps through my head unit? Will this work? Is there a way to only have 2 amps? One for the Towers and one for everything else?

Anyway, would love to get your thoughts and recommendations. Like everyone else I am very budget driven on this so cost is definitely a factor. Thanks!!

Eastern Shore Wake

[chpthril]

Below in red

Hi, I am looking for some advice on a stereo upgrade I just stated. Here is the background. I have a 2004 22V with what I think at the time was Tige's premium sound package. I have the Clarion CMD6 head unit, a Clarion APX 480M amp powering my 4 rear speakers and a subwoofer (speakers are 6 “Sony’s with separate tweeters..sub is a Sony as well), a Clarion APX 280M amp powering the tower speakers (not sure of brand) and 2 bow speakers (again the 6” Sony’s). We have liked the sound system but as my kids have gotten serious about wakeboarding we were looking to get tower speakers which you could hear from 80 ft back.

Ok so that is background. Two events happened to get me going down the upgrade path. A buddy of mine had a pair of Krypt 8” HCDL speakers he had to sell quickly (OK…I know that Wetsounds or Exile are the names to buy but the price was unbeatable on the Krypts and did see some decent posts about them on Wakeworld). The second event was that my Clarion APX 480M has died.

Here are my questions.
• The Krypts need 150W each so I think I need a separate AMP for them. My buddy recommended the ARC Audio KS300.2 which he says is a class h and will be much more efficient in driving these speakers than class Ds, etc. Says it costs more upfront but will pay off for you on the water. What do you think? Going the efficiency route is never a bad thing. Good question on which is more efficient, class G/H or D, I cant answer that. From what I understand, the Krypts like 200+ watts rms, so dont hesitate to go with any good 2 chnl amp with a 4 Ohm spec of 200 watts. Unless you are running 3+ amps and want to spend hours upon hours in the party cove blasting the system, I wouldnt limit my options to just super efficient class H amps.

• Also I now think I may need to be able to control volume on the tower speakers separately from rest of system (unlike my current setup). What do you think? How do I best do this? lots of options here. The simple a free option is to simply use the fade dial on the head-unit to bring doen the cabin or the tower. Next would be something like Kicker's new ZXM-RLC Dual-Zone remote level controller or their KQ9 EQ. The KQ9 will give you fade control at you fingers as well as sub level control and an Equalizer + line level. Going up the price scale would be the Wet sounds WS-420.

• I need to replace the Clarion 480XM. I could still have the 280M running just the bow speakers if I did a separate amp for the tower speakers. This is a dumb question I know but can I run 3 amps through my head unit? Will this work? Is there a way to only have 2 amps? One for the Towers and one for everything else? I can not believe that someone wired the 2 tower speakers and the 2 bow speakers on a single 2 chnl amp Ok, the apx480 is dead, so it's out of the picture. The apx280 will not cut the mustard on the krypts, so I would yank it as well. There are plenty of options out there that will allow you to run all 6 cabin speakers and sub on 1 5 or 6 chnl Hybrid amp. This will give a clean and uncluttered 2 amp install.

Anyway, would love to get your thoughts and recommendations. Like everyone else I am very budget driven on this so cost is definitely a factor. Thanks!!

Eastern Shore Wake

[Eastern shore wake]

Thank you Chpthril! I very much appreciate your reply and the good information. As we don't spend alot of time in the "party cove" will look at alternatives to run the Krypts. I did want to ask if you had any recommendations for alternatives to the Arc KS300.2 for the Krypts and/or recommendations for an amp that would run the 6 boat speakers and the sub (do away with the 280 as you suggested and have a 2 amp set-up).

Thanks!!!

[chpthril]

Thank you Chpthril! I very much appreciate your reply and the good information. As we don't spend alot of time in the "party cove" will look at alternatives to run the Krypts. I did want to ask if you had any recommendations for alternatives to the Arc KS300.2 for the Krypts and/or recommendations for an amp that would run the 6 boat speakers and the sub (do away with the 280 as you suggested and have a 2 amp set-up).

Thanks!!!

For the cabin and amp setup, my go-to amp would be the Kicker 700.5 (can be found in the zx, xm, and no the new for 2010 zxm). This will power all six of the in-boats perfectly and supply either 210 watts or 420 watts to the sub depending on whether it's a 4 ohm or 2 ohm.

If you can find one, the Kicker zx550.2 will do 205 watts rms to each of your Krypts. Otherwise, the Kicker zx/zxm 450.2 will deliver a respectable 150 watts to each.

There are cheaper options if the budget it real tight, but you tend to sacrifice some sound quality with them.

[Eastern shore wake]

Thanks again Chpthril! I will look into the Kickers you recommended. One final question. Is it worth it to get the "marine" version or is the car version ok? They are protected but I do store my boat outside and can get humid. Again, would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks!!!

[chpthril]

Thanks again Chpthril! I will look into the Kickers you recommended. One final question. Is it worth it to get the "marine" version or is the car version ok? They are protected but I do store my boat outside and can get humid. Again, would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks!!!

A marine grade amp definitely has it's advantages, but is not always necessary for a fresh water trailer boat. Even with a marine grade amp, care needs to be taken when choosing the install location.

[Eastern shore wake]

Thanks you again Chpthril! Will let you know how it all turns out.

Eastern Shore Wake

[Eastern shore wake]

Chpthril I want to thank you again and confirm I took your advice and got the Kicker ZXM700.5 and ZXM450.2. I went with the marine units to be a bit safer. Ordered yesterday and cannot wait for arrival. Did want to ask if there is any new wiring I should do for these. Both recommend a "4 guage" wiring kit but I am assuming that Tige would have used these in 04 when doing the initial setup. Do you if this is the case? Any other wiring updates I should consider?
Thanks!

[chpthril]

Chpthril I want to thank you again and confirm I took your advice and got the Kicker ZXM700.5 and ZXM450.2. I went with the marine units to be a bit safer. Ordered yesterday and cannot wait for arrival. Did want to ask if there is any new wiring I should do for these. Both recommend a "4 guage" wiring kit but I am assuming that Tige would have used these in 04 when doing the initial setup. Do you if this is the case? Any other wiring updates I should consider?
Thanks!

I doubt your boat is pre-wired for amps. Automotive amp install kits are worthless for boats. If I where to have sold them to you, I would have recommended 1/0 gauge wire for the trunk line from the battery to the amp's install area, then a pair of non-fused distribution blocks with 4ga from them to each amp. For circuit protection, a 150A manual-reset marine circuit breaker is recommended.

For the speakers, 12ga wire is perfect.