Economical subwoofer?

[ptige]

So I don't have the killer stereo system like a lot of guys on this site seem to. Just a regular head unit driving 4 kicker cabin speakers, and two infinity tower speakers using their talkback amp. However I've been searching the threads looking for the most economical way to add a subwoofer. Is a wetsounds sx-10fa cut into the helm wall under the steering wheel (with no box) the best idea? Just a simple amp under there also? Thanks for any ideas.

[boardman74]

Don't get me wrong I love my wetsounds gear and am adding more.....but wetsounds and economical don't go well together!! LOL I know there are cheaper subs out there if your looking economical.

I think from most of the reading I've done a sealed enclosure will sound better than just in the helm wall. If you search there are some really cool ones on here people designed. I'm not sure if the cut perforation is there on an 07 like it is in the current boats. If you open the access panel(under the helm) and feel behind where the sub would mount you will feel the cut out lines if its there. That is an easy place to put it, but probably not room for an amp in there. The amps are usually mounted under the observer seat.

[chpthril]

P,

The Wet Sounds XS-10fa is a true IB sub. Its designed to run infinite-baffle where the large compartment is its enclosure. The Tige boats are ideal for IB installs because of the solid wall that divides the main cabin from the mid-ship locker. An IB install is certainly a more simple install, but not necessarily economical considering there are decent 10 or 12 inch subs in the $100 range and then $50 for materials to build an enclosure.

[ptige]

Thanks for the feedback. Number one concern is cost but the second concern is space. I don't think I could sacrifice the space needed for an enclosure so I'm leaning toward an IB model.

[Duncan]

Thanks for the feedback. Number one concern is cost but the second concern is space. I don't think I could sacrifice the space needed for an enclosure so I'm leaning toward an IB model.

I have a WS XS10FA I will let go cheap. PM me.

[kx250frider617]

As long as you get a woofer with a rubber surround and a composite cone, you should be fine for marine applications. I feel the best bang for the buck subwoofer is the Alpine type R series subwoofers. You can find them for cheap online and they are rated for 500 watts RMS but can handle alot more and alot less. I have personal experience running them at 1000 watts rms off a kicker amp, 500 rms off an alpine mrp-m500 amp and 250 Rms. I have Type R's in my truck. They sound LOUD and good. As long as your box is sealed and waterproof, your sub will be fine. I have a cheap JL w1 in my tige and that boat is in salt water 99%, it has been drenched in rain, and over powered and it still running strong.

Wetsounds is the top dog in marine how JL is in the automotive. However, I feel people think that wetsounds is the only option. My current system (very budget friendly) includes a cheap sony headunit (non-marine), 6 alpine marine 6 1/2's, a jl 10" w1, a pioneer 4ch amp (non-marine), 4 7" alpine marine coaxials on the tower, and a rockford 2ch amp (non- marine).

People would shoot me down for installing all that in a boat but in reality, I run my boat in salt water and its stored outside and it is all still working like new for the past 3 years.

For the best results, I would just build a box for the sub. Free air is very convenient, but if not done correctly, it won't even sound like its there.

[chpthril]

Thanks for the feedback. Number one concern is cost but the second concern is space. I don't think I could sacrifice the space needed for an enclosure so I'm leaning toward an IB model.

If budget is number one, then go with a mild 10" in an enclosure and feed it with 200-250 watts rms. This can be done for relatively inexpensive. There are tons of 10" woofers that can be done well in as little as a .8 ft3 enclosure. a 18"W x 15"H x 10"D will net you right at 1.0 ft3. This should fit through the bow access and not eat up all the storage in the STBD mid-ship locker.

[chpthril]

If you really want to keep this on a tight budget and make some great improvements, I would get a full-range Class-D 4 chnl amp that will drive your 4 in-boats on two chnls and drive the sub on the other 2 chnls. or, go with a 5 chnl that will drive 2-3 pair of in-boats on chnls 1-4 and drive a sub on chnl 5.

Adding an amp to the in-boats, plus a sub, will be a huge improvement over what you have now. Unless you are a bass head and drive an 85 Caprice Classic pumpin nothing but bass, feeding the in-boats with some external power will be a plus.

[kx250frider617]

If you really want to keep this on a tight budget and make some great improvements, I would get a full-range Class-D 4 chnl amp that will drive your 4 in-boats on two chnls and drive the sub on the other 2 chnls. or, go with a 5 chnl that will drive 2-3 pair of in-boats on chnls 1-4 and drive a sub on chnl 5.

Adding an amp to the in-boats, plus a sub, will be a huge improvement over what you have now. Unless you are a bass head and drive an 85 Caprice Classic pumpin nothing but bass, feeding the in-boats with some external power will be a plus.

Here is the amp I have!!
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-GM-D8604.html

It is 1ohm stable and I have 3 pairs of Alpine 6.5's on channels 1/2 and my sub on 3/4. According to paper thats a respectable 40w per 6.5 (they are rated at 35rms) and 300 for the sub. I have played it loud and for hours in high heat and it has never went into protection mode, even at the 1.3333 ohms its wired down to.

[chpthril]

Here is the amp I have!!
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-GM-D8604.html

It is 1ohm stable and I have 3 pairs of Alpine 6.5's on channels 1/2 and my sub on 3/4. According to paper thats a respectable 40w per 6.5 (they are rated at 35rms) and 300 for the sub. I have played it loud and for hours in high heat and it has never went into protection mode, even at the 1.3333 ohms its wired down to.

Can I make a suggestion? If you look at the 1 ohm x 4 spec, there is a significant drop from the 2 ohm x 4 output. There is also a decline in sound quality as the impedance is lowered. Also, efficiency is not linear to load, so the consumption goes up as the load increases. 2 amps driving the same number of speakers will consume less battery Ah, while supplying more watts rms then your current configuration. Another bit of info, that 40W rms that your in-boats are seeing no is at 14.5v, which we rarely even see with the engine running, so its actuall a little less then that. With the engine off, consider about a 25% drop in that watts RMS. At that point, there output is not much above what a head-unit would drive them to. If you were to pick up a dedicated sub amp so you could run all 6 in-boats off the GM-D8604, you should see some improvement.

You would see 100W rms to the bow pair, and 75 each to the 2 pair on the main cabin.

[kx250frider617]

Yes I agree with you but at the time I had the money to just buy one amp haha.

One question though, I had a Alpine Pdx 5 in the beginning that a shop installed. They accidentally pulled the speedo tube and water poured all over it and fried it. The shop left me dead in the water!!! But that amp was something like 100w per ch and 300 for the sub. It was wired so 4 cabin speakers and the sub were powered by it and the bow speakers off the head unit. They were getting considerably more power but my current cheap amp honestly sounds just as good and just as loud.

Would it be that the speakers are rated at such low power that anything over the recommended 35rms is just wasted overkill? That is one thing i never understood. Same with my subs in my car. I had both subs wired to 500rms each but I recently wired them to 250 each (went from 2 amps to 1) and I honestly can't hear a difference.