boat amplifier advice please

[JB25VIP]

I am thinking of installing a sub and an amp in my boat, what is everyone's position on marine amplifiers vs. car amps?

My main concern with a car amp is finding a place to put it so it won't get wet and won't be exposed to moisture especially when i have the cover on it and condensation forms in the boat sometimes.

anyone have any good tips on location of an amp?

I am also wondering what exactly is the advantage to the marine amp (They are expensive) is it made to hold up to condensation and not corrode?

Any advice is GREATLY APPRECIATED! thanks!

 

[Boatist]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

First I see no need for a amp on a boat except to turn the unit up so high you upset 99 percent of the people. Belive it or not most people do not want to here your radio.

The big difference between a marine amp and a auto amp is the Marine amp has a coating on the circuit boards to seal the unit from moisture. In a saltwater area I think it may be worth the extra money.

However on inland waters and trailers boats I think the auto units hold up well. Yes it need to be under the dash or in a closed compartment so it does not get rained on and actually wet. Auto units on the cold nights and foggy days also operate in a damp enviroment where the windows are fogging up and needing wipped or heater turned on them.

So if your inland and have a covered area to installed the auto nits work quite well, but please turn it down so I can not here it when your near me.

 

[JB25VIP]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

thanks for the help..........i'll make sure I keep it down for ya!

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

I just bought a Bazooka 8" with 100w built-in amp (E'bay 45.00) I'm going to stash it up under the jump seats or way forward in the ski locker I haven't decided yet, anyhow with the built-in amp it should be an easy hook up, I haven't tried it yet to even comment on how it's going to sound, but being my head unit has no external amp I'll more than likely have to turn the gain way down on the sub.

 

[ebry710]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

On a boat, always buy marine. One exception, it cheap enough to replace down the road.

I am looking at a marine stereo that will take an ipod and will use the stereo face to control it. Radio's and boats don't work. Cassettes and CD's are repetitive. Ipod or MP3 players on the boat seem to be the way to go.

When comes to amping up your stereo, remember water carries sound a long way.

 

[PondTunes]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

One other thing you might want to consider is that the connections on a marine amplifier are all stainless steel where as in a car amplifier they are not. The moisture will cause the screws to rust even in a boat shed/house under a cover. If you're going with a non marine amplifier I suggest using one you don't really care about and that wasn't very expensive. If you're buying new go ahead and spend the few extra dollars for one that won't care if it gets wet and won't leave you with corroded/rusted terminals in one season.

 

[AngelC]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

Hey JB25VIP,

I too am in the process of getting ready to install two amps and two 10"subs and two tower speakers. I have a clarion head unit and four 6.5 clarions and when we tube or ski we can't really here the music without it sounding distorted. This is why I choose to upgrade my sound system. I know that many people oppose to the loud sounds but as long as you give the respect you'll shall get the same back. Let me know how your install comes out? I'm still trying to figure out the way Im going to run wiring and installing subs. So if you have any ideas on that; I would appreciate your input also.

Angel

 

[PondTunes]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

Wiring is going to be different on every boat, the major difference between wiring up your amp in a boat vs in your car is the boat has no steel frame that is grounded.. This means wherever you place your amp you'll need to have enough ground wire to reach all the way back to the battery. People commonly use amp kits to install amps which include a primary, ground, signal & remote wire but the ground found in these kits is usually quite short.

Important:
Be sure to use a ground wire that is the same size as your primary wire. Never just run a smaller gauge wire to the ground!

As for installing your subs try to pick a location that is out of the way (which is sometimes quite hard to do on a boat) and if you're using your storage space place it somewhere someone isn't going to toss an anchor on top of it.

The second thing you need to think about is proper airspace for your subwoofer, if you just cut a hole in the seat bottom and install the sub be sure that the area inside is totally sealed off from the outside, even if you're using free-air subs (which most marine subs are) you need to ensure that there is no way the sound waves coming from the back of the sub can get around to the ones coming from the front of the sub... If the two waves are allowed to meet you will have extremely poor sound due to the waves canceling each other out.

Lastly if you build your own enclosure be sure to use proper materials, in the car stereo world it is perfectly acceptable to use MDF to build a box.. However on a boat where it is likely to get caught out in the rain, or splashed with water mdf will not hold up as it comes apart when wet.. Marine grade plywood is far a better choice than mdf but it as any other type of plywood tends to vibrate and resonate hurting the sound.. The material i've found that works the best is sold at lowes under the brand name Advantec, it's an engineered subfloor material that resembles OSB. The main difference is that Advantec will NOT absorb water or come apart when exposed to moisture, it also does not vibrate like traditional plywood and costs less too.

If you need assistance calculating proper enclosure size don't hesitate to let me know.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

I got around to installing my new used Bazooka, I mounted it in the ski locker to the underside of the deck as far forward as I could get it as not to take up any useable space, it sounds great adjusted bass to blend with the 2 6.5" rockford fosgates.
Hey Pond, I took a cardboard shipping tube 6" diam. and cut it to about 5" long epoxied a back onto it and coated the whole thing with epoxie, made two of these for my 6.5's and attached behind the gunwhales to enclose the area behind them, does this practice apply to a 3-way triax or am i just wasting time.

 

[AngelC]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

PondTunes,

Thanks for the info, I did'nt know about that plywood. I will definitly look that up. I will check it out at Lowes.

Thanks,
Angel

 

[JB25VIP]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

thanks pond good info...........i'll let everyone know whats up as my install progresses (its too Dammmmmm cold the be working on anything down here in texas! *garage has no heater!

 

[PondTunes]

Re: boat amplifier advice please

Hey Pond, I took a cardboard shipping tube 6" diam. and cut it to about 5" long epoxied a back onto it and coated the whole thing with epoxie, made two of these for my 6.5's and attached behind the gunwhales to enclose the area behind them, does this practice apply to a 3-way triax or am i just wasting time.

Don't know what size your triax's are but if you want to get any midbass at all out of them I think what you've done is a good idea. If they're 2" or so they aren't really producing much mid bass and i'd say forget about it you probably won't "hear" a difference.. If it's has a 5 or 6" woofer then by all means enclose them. It won't affect the tweeters really just that little bit of midbass that the larger cone produces.