My boat does not currently have an amplifier, only a head unit. I was thinking of adding a sub and a couple of other speakers. Should I do two 2 channel amps, or one 4 channel amp. I am not looking for extreme wattages, so which would be less taxing on the boat's alternator/electrical system?

most likely one 4 channel BUt you may be better off with two 2 channel amps if they can be run in three-way mode, hint-hint, add a sub

the 4 channel amp would definatley be better for what you're wanting to do. because you'll only be having to supply the power to run 1 amp instead of 2

Ordered a four channel. Two channels for the sub at 2 ohms, two for some tower speakers.

To get the most from your speakers you need to break the amps down. A 1 channel amp for the sub, 4 channel for the speakers inside the boat, and a 2 channel for the tower speakers. (assuming you have two tower speakers and four interior speakers). In other words, one channel for each speaker. The more you splice the less power you provide to the speakers. It's really not as expensive as it sounds, even for high quality. Shop ebay for the best deal.

Thanks for the replies. Obviously multiple dedicated amps would be the way to go to get the most out of my speakers, but I am just looking for the easiest/most cost efficient way to upgrade my stereo.

Stephen, <BR> <BR>The easiest and most cost efficient setup (most of the time) would be a 4 channel amp. You would bridge 2 channels of this amp to run the sub and run the remaining 2 channels in stereo for your other speakers. Keep in mind that most 4 channel amps are stable down to 2 ohms stereo or 4 ohm mono so look for a 4 ohm sub. If amperage draw is a concern, go with a class d amp for your sub. This type of amp is more efficient than most other class amps. However, class D amps are only recommended for sub bass applications so you would need a 2 amp setup for your complete system. Good luck! <BR> <BR>--Ronnie <BR><a href="http://www.audioformz.com" target="_blank">www.audioformz.com</a> <BR>

Is it alright to run 4 tower speakers off two channels of a 4 channel amp in 2 ohm or will the sound quality be much poorer?

anytime you bridge you take power from the speaker. Is it alright? yes. It all depends on what your trying to accomplish.

Josh said: <BR> <BR>"Anytime you bridge, you take power from the speaker" <BR> <BR>That's actually not true. For instance, let's say you have an amp that is 100x2 (a two channel amp). Normally, if you ran each channel to a speaker, they'd each be receiving 100 watts. However, if you bridge the channels and run the speakers in parrallel, it's very likely that the amp would be putting out 300x1. That is, there would be 300 watts split between the two speakers, or 150 watts per speaker. Often bridging is a way to give the speakers <i>extra</i> power, which is why people do it.

Darren, <BR> <BR>It's fine to run 4 speakers off 2 channels of an amplifier as long as the amp is stable into 2 ohm stereo. This is also assuming you are running 4 ohm speakers. Sound quality can suffer to an extent but in a marine audio environment, you will not hear a difference. You will also get more power from your amp when you bridge it down to 2 ohms. Keep in mind that your amplifier will draw more amps and run hotter though. That's the trade off. <BR> <BR>--Ronnie <BR><a href="http://www.audioformz.com" target="_blank">www.audioformz.com</a> <BR>

Here is a question for you guys. I have a Crunch NOXX P200.2 amp, which is a two channel amp. Is this a 400 watt amp at 4 ohms and 800 watt at 2 ohms? The amp says 800 watt. Is this correct? If I push two subs with this amp (no other speakers) bridged, what would be the wattage to each sub? <BR> <BR>BTW, if you guys are looking for stereo equipment, <a href="http://www.sounddomain.com" target="_blank">www.sounddomain.com</a> has some INSANE deals! Check 'em out.

Deafcon III's What kind of amp 2 or 4 ch, how many watts? <BR> <BR>I have a kicker 300.4 that i would like to use, but I don't think I can wire the speakers to get 300 watts out of the amp on four 4 ohm speakers. If I hook up each speaker to a channel they will only get 38X4 watts at 4 ohms. I can't run them in parallel and bridge because it is only stable at 4 ohm's in Mono. What would happen if i ran the wires in series to show an 8 ohm load? would i get more watage than running it as a 4 channel? or should i just get a 2 channel amp? <BR>

I'm having the same problem so I would be interested in opinions too. At this point I have given up and I am looking for a 500w x 1 amp and daisy chaining the four speakers for a 4ohm load

Nice name, Cunning hehehe <BR>How have you been running your's? <BR> <BR>I was thinking idealy to get a 400.2 kicker and run each set on one Channel at 2 ohms for 200W RMS per set. Will this work the best?

Right now I have a 6 x 40. I run a sub bridged on two channels, 4 cabin speakers run in parallel on two channels and will run the four tower spaekers on the other two channels bridged. Luckily my amp puts out close to 200w bridged. I want about 100-150w up there eventually but I dropped coin on the speakers and box so need to wait. <BR> <BR>400.2 should give you 100w per speaker (4 speakers, right). That should give you good sound. What type and size tower speakers?

Deafcon III's

Thanks guys.

You should be fine

So an amp bridged down to 2 ohm will draw more current and run hotter than in 4 ohm mode? I am doing a DVC 10" sub in my walkway (making it into a playpen/ballast area) and was going to use two 4 ohm channels for it untill I buy another sub, the other two channels will be used to power some tower speakers when I do a tower. I would like to know how to wire up multiple 4 ohm speakers using an amp bridged to 2 ohms.

first you need to know if the amp is capable of handling a 2 ohm load when bridged, most cant unless they are a "mono sub amp", alot of those are capable of running 1 ohm stable. I have a 4 channel running my tower off two but they are 8 ohm speakers so when in parrallel it is a 4 ohm load and the other 2 channels are bridged to a 4 ohm sub

Kicker recomends a 2 gauge power source for there 800.4, but i'm having trouble finding a kit biger than 4 gauge. is there somewhere. that sells 2 gauge wire cheap. or will 4 gauge be plenty?

Remember quys, when an amp is bridged in mono, or your using a mono amp, there is no "stereo" sound. Like Bob said, amps that have there bridged power rating at 4 ohms are internally loaded down so in most cases you cannot run a 2 ohm load when bridged. <BR> <BR>Matt, I have the same amp. If your power run is not too long you can get away with using 4 gauge.

4 gauge should be good to about 120 amps ( i dont think the 800.4 will be drawing that much) , take a look at the electrical section in the west marine catalog, it has a guide for cable size depending on legth/current and voltage drop

IF you still need a bigger wire, check local welding shops or go online. They sell all sizes and they are usually less than a dollar a foot.

Hey Guys how about this, I am looking to do the same thing as Steph, and also don't want to spend tons, I want good audio but it doesn't have to be the greatest. I have ordered an 04 wakesetter with the sony head unit and 4 speakers. I am thinking about a loud liquid sony tower speakers (Aprox $300), a sony 4 channel amp (XM-460 600w $150) and sony 12" sub and box ($40). I am thinking about running the amp to the Sub and the 2 tower speakers, and leaving the 4 boat speakers off the head unit. What do you all think?

i like the sony head unit since you can get the wired remote from access technologies but id stay away from their speakers and amps, ive got a sony head unit, sony 10" es sub (last sony sub was not es and it smoked in a year-i wont be buying another sony sub), my amps are RF

Hey Russ- <BR> <BR>Just a suggestion but if you can dig up a little more money I would suggest buying another amp that would power your sub exclusively. JBL makes good amps for subs and can be found on ebay for around $100. Not sure what your sony sub is rated at but you can look at the JBL 150.1 or the 300.1 to power it. <BR> <BR>Amping your speakers makes a world of difference. Your stock head unit may claim 40 watts per channel but the sound isn't clean. By buying a seperate amp for your sub you can do the following. <BR> <BR>Sony 4 channel amp off of the front rca ouputs of your head unit. run one channel to the four boat speakers in a daisy chain wiring. This makes the amp see two ohms and each speaker still gets 150 watts. wire the tower speakers off the other channel. <BR> <BR>hook up the sub amp on the rear channel rca's of your head unit. This will allow you to control the sub / boat speaker ration by adjusting the fader on your head unit. <BR> <BR>I'm not sure what kind of speakers are in your boat. So you might want to check out their rating before you do this. **If they are the standard cheap Marine speakers then the amp may be too powerful for them.** <BR> <BR>If you don't want to buy another amp then you need to decide what is more important. Hearing the music while you are riding or having a cleaner sound inside the boat. If you want to hear the music while riding then I would hook up the stereo the way you posted. If you want cleaner sound in the boat then wire the boat speakers off the amp and the tower speakers off the deck. <BR> <BR>I have tower speakers and although I can hear them the sound still isn't clean because of the boat noise and other sounds on the water. Yea if I had a bigger amp and another set of speakers it would be cleaner but I would be blasting the eardrums of the people in the boat.

Heres my take...I bought a wetbox tower speaker box (From Proflight)with 4 6x9's. Like I said before I have a 6x 40w Kicker amp. I never thought after hearing all the opinions, that I would be able to hear this set up while riding. Well, everyone was wrong....the amp says it puts out 115w-150w bridged and I daisy chained the speakers and I can hear them so clear behind the boat that I have decided against getting a second amp. So, to give some advice, I think the efficiency of the speakers are just as important as the power ratings on the amp.

Cunning- <BR> <BR>I don't doubt you can hear your tower speakers when you are riding. I have two 6X9's and I know if I added a couple more it would be a lot clearer. I am assuming russ is just putting up two 6 1/2" speakers on his tower as those seem to be the ones I have seen on ebay. 6 1/2" speakers don't have the same sound projection as 6X9's. If they are four 6X9's then yea he will probably hear them if they are amplified.