need your input on amp selection!

[drew11]

i just purchased my first tige boat about a month ago and im going to have to buy new amps to get the stereo working. i took it to the local stereo shop and he told me $700 for a new amp! it was a JL 5 channel amp. i dont know anything about stereo so i feel like this guy was just tryn to rip me off. i have 10 speakers total; 5 flush mounted under seats, 1 sub, 4 tower speakers. what is the most cost efficient way to get these speakers working? how many amps do i need? how many channels should the amps be? any input on how the best way is or how your boat is hooked up would be appreciated

[dingleberry]

There are several contributors on here who can make suggestions, but they will need to know the specs of the speakers you will be driving. If you know the speaker model numbers or specs (recommended RMS, etc.), post them up.

Also - congrats on your purchase, and post some pics of her

[drew11]

im not sure about the specs but ill check it out today when i go to the lake and post em up tonight

[chpthril]

i just purchased my first tige boat about a month ago and im going to have to buy new amps to get the stereo working. i took it to the local stereo shop and he told me $700 for a new amp! it was a JL 5 channel amp. i dont know anything about stereo so i feel like this guy was just tryn to rip me off. i have 10 speakers total; 5 flush mounted under seats, 1 sub, 4 tower speakers. what is the most cost efficient way to get these speakers working? how many amps do i need? how many channels should the amps be? any input on how the best way is or how your boat is hooked up would be appreciated

Your boat should have 6 in the interior.....look up under the helm for one hiding.

A five chnl amp is a great amp for power 4-6 in-boat speakers and sub, but you really need a dedicated amp for the tower speakers. A 2 or 4 chnl can do the job just fine, just need to get the right one.

We really need to know a little about the equipment first, in order to say that that amp is the right fit or not. It will power 4-6 in-boats just fine, and will drive the right sub nicely as well. Knowing what sub you have will also help us predict how well that sub will perform on that amp.

Tower speaker, we really do need to know what you got. Post a pic if needed. Someone will recognize what you have an we can get to specs together and make a suggestion.

[drew11]

My cd player and all my boat speakers are clarion and the sub is clarion cm 2503-ret 300w. The tower speakers are jensen. I'm pretty sure they super low quality junk speakers, but i do plan on up grading them to something decent by next summer. Looks like for now i will have to settle for just one amp to power the speakers in the boat and hook up the tower with an amp and new speakers next summer.

[chpthril]

Which JL 5-chnl did you get? One will only deliver 300W to the sub, that it. But the other would deliver 500W, allowing for an upgrade later.

IF you wanted to roll with a single amp for now, here is how I would do it:

Pair in bow wired to head-unit
left main cabin in-boats on amp chnl 1, right main cabin in-boats on chnl 2, left tower pair on chnl 3 and right tower pair on chnl 4. Sub on chnl 5.

Or, source some previously enjoyed amps off craigslist for this season, and save up for the ground-up redo next spring.

[drew11]

I havent bought a sub yet. Im still tryn to figure out the best way to do this deal. So the jl 5 channel 500w would be the best option to go with? Thanks a lot for all the help!

[chpthril]

I havent bought a sub yet. Im still tryn to figure out the best way to do this deal. So the jl 5 channel 500w would be the best option to go with? Thanks a lot for all the help!

Within the JL lineup, the 900/5 will give the power to upgrade your sub later. 500W to a sub will not kill fish or ripple the water, but it will be a great sounding sub to compliment 6 in-boats. Another amp that falls right in line with that JL, is the Kicker IX1000.5.

When yur ready to upgrade the tower, choose the speakers and amp at the same time.

[ds@earmark]

In my opinion the JL Audio HD900/5 may be the most sophisticated multi-channel amplifier available today. Being strictly requlated, it will deliver its full rated power with any voltage supply down to 11 volts so in comparison to most other amplifiers it will perform much stronger than its power ratings. However, to run optimumly you only want to use the HD900/5 if you are running either four or eight in-boat fullrange speakers. Six coaxials will create a power drop on all four highpass channels if any two of the highpass channels are run at a two-ohm load.
So also look into the JL Audio XD700/5 which is a great amplifier.

David
Earmark Marine

[drew11]

Is the jl xd 700/5 amp a marine amp? Would it matter if its not?

[ds@earmark]

The M700/5 is the marinized version of the XD700/5 which basically costs the same as the automotive version so if you have any concerns about the importance of having a marine amp you will not have to pay a premium in this case.

David
Earmark Marine