Im looking for a little sound in my boat. I currently have 4 polk 5-1/4's. I want to add an amp for those and a sub and an amp for the sub. Im into spending alot of money and it doesnt have to be the best, so what is a decent brand amp and sub for the money. Also is the amp for the 5-1/4's the same type of amp as for a sub?

Two ways to go here. Get an amp for the speakers and a separate amp for the sub, or get a 6 channel amp like the JL e6450 and bridge 5&amp;6 for the sub. <BR> <BR>If you want seperate amps and a really big thumping sub, get a regular 4 channel amp and a Class D sub amp. <BR> <BR>If you are looking for clean sound with defined bass use the 6 channel with a 10-12" 4 ohm sub that can see the cabin. JL, Polk etc are reasonable subs. It really depends what you want though. <BR> <BR>My personal preference is clean sound at middle volumes. I like being able to high pass my small speakers as they have crappy bass response and make up the thump with a small sub low passed. A 6-channel amp would do this fine for my purposes and that is my eventual upgrade. <BR> <BR>You can do this with a 4 channel amp as well, but you will have better results with a 6 channel or two amp setup. Also think about your boat's electrical capacity. For a big mean system you will need many batteries and an HO alternator with upgraded power wiring.

Thanks flux. With subs, where are the best place to mount? I was thinking somewhere near where the drives feet would be.

That seems to be the best location, in the kick panel of the boat. It takes some customization though. You will get the best sound from this location.

Wow, great topic. I have been having a hard time finding much information about boat stereo. I went to a couple of shops in my area (Santa Rosa) to get an estimate, and they wanted soooo much money to add some tower speakers and a sub to my 6 speaker (6 1/2 Sony Xplod speakers with a 4/3 channel Sony Xplod amp) factory setup that I just couldn't believe it. They also said I wouldn't be able to use the current alternator in the boat and would need a $650 upgrade there just to get started. By the time they were done I needed the entire boat rewired, all new speakers, 2 tower enclosures and a 12" sub with a new 5 channel amp, new head unit, extra battery and $7,000. I wouldn't even spend that much on my home stereo AND I LIVE THERE. <BR> <BR>So I bought four kicker KS65s in AudioFormz Illusion X compatible enclosures, connected them in series to two channels of my current amp (and disconnected two of the six factory speakers) I have the tower speakers on the rear fade and the boat speakers (dash and front) on the front. I used the amp's high pass, gain and low pass filters to balance it all out and it sounds decent. However, I need mo bass. I checked with Malibu directly and they say I have a 90 amp alternator already. I've got two deep cycle batteries and a selector switch. I could try a sub with an enclosure box under the passenger side of the cockpit (where the batteries reside) and cut out a port in the passthru between the back and front of the boat to let the bass out, and could get another amp to power it, but how do I control the volume and balance for the bass and how do I hook both amps up to the head unit. I've looked at lots of web sites and they are either all fluff or too technical for doing it yourself. Any suggestions appreciated.

Shannon, <BR> <BR>did you end up getting the 175xt? hit me up.. I have some stereo stuff for sale for that boat <BR> <BR><a href="mailto:extremeisaac@yahoo.com">extremeisaac@ yahoo.com</a>

Shannon, <BR> <BR>I have the same boat and under the drivers and passenger consoles there is a board/enclosure already there. You just have to cut out a 10 or 12" whol there for a sub and dig out the foam. I was talking to another guy on here with the same boat that did it and he said it was perfect for a sub. I would recommend 1 sub under one of the sides and mounting the amp under the other side

Good idea issac, thanks. So u dig out just enough foam to fit the rear of the speaker in? Does that mean i dont need a box?!!

you dont need a box, but you do need to dig out most of the foam.. the foam is a little hard, you want to get out enough to have about .8 volume inside.