Wetsounds SYN amps

Anyone out there running these yet? I just got my SYN2 today to power my 80s, will be adding another pair of 80s or 60s in the near future, anyways the speakers are screamin, cant wait to get it on the water so the amp can run at full power with 14 volts.

Profile says you live in Arizona. I'm curious to see how these amps dissapate heat. The technology used is ultra effeciaeent, but still want some real world testing before I buy. Please give updates when you can.

I installed two Syn6 and have had no problems.

Sam, I can tell that just in the 15 minutes I had the system on in my driveway last night my JL G4500 was getting hot and the SYN wasnt even warm yet. The JL amp is running my 4 interior JL componets at 4ohm stereo, so I think the SYN amps will do well at dissapateing the heat.

good god those amps are farking expensive, these things are for a boat not a SQ car. I like wetsounds, I own a set of pro80s, but they are too freaking expensive

I am running the syn 1,2,4,& 6 I think they are awsome. The amps are so versiltle and easy to ajust. Great power and cool looking.

^^^ you need to just throw in a Syn Micro so you got the whole line up covered

How much do they cost. I haven't seen pricing anywhere.

The whole line is somewhere between 800-1200 each if I remember correctly.

Damn

The MSRP on the Syn 2 and 4 are $600.00, the Syn 1 is $800.00, and the Syn6 is $1000.00

I like the wetsounds stuff and I think they're doing great stuff for the boat sound industry but I gotz one word for you guys " ZAPCO".

the syn amps msrp are as follows

Syn micro $439
Syn 2 $559
Sun 4 $599
Syn 1 $799
Syn 6 $999

Shawn, if you like zapco, you will love the syn amps, we worked with Robert zeff on the design of our amps, who was the z in zapco. Robert zeff started zapco and sold it off and now does engineering and design work.

The syn amps are full stainless, conformal coated true marine amps and class h swiching so they are more effcient with less current draw.

The syn6 is also low pass or high pass and chs 5-6. So it is very flexible.

Tim
Wet Sounds

Sound like really nice amps but you sure are proud of those suckers. If Shawn does in fact own all of those he dropped 3k on em assuming the retail price.

(Message edited by hate&pain on October 03, 2008)

Steve, you need to get off the computer and get to the lake!

Tim- Those sound like some nice amps.
Hate- I have all Zapco amps, 8 of them to be exact, close to 6,500$.

Dude, I know your boat is retarded. All you excavator's throw money at your toys. I have a few friends in that business and all of them have expensive toy's.

Hate- You ought to see one of my backhoes (the first one I bought back in 03'), it has 2-8" woofs JL,6- Infinity mids & highs, DVD, 1,800 watts Zapco, sounds bitchin!

Tim, since you mention Zeff, what's the difference between a Syn 1 and Arc 1000.1, etc. The specs look SO similar.

That's some funny schitt right there. Ya got the golf cart? My friends see who can make the best golf cart's with 20's and fiber glassed in RF 12's with Focal seperates and train horns. It's retarded!

That's cause ARC Audio makes them.

Tim,
I was out at Ky Boatworks yesterday ordering my 09 Xstar. We got to the stereo and I am once again going with 4 pro 80's, and the ws420. When we were looking at the amps, they seemed TINY and light. How are you getting power out of those things? Will the syn 4 power 4 pro 80's?
Mike

^^^ lol, it's called technology. Ever heard of a laptop

have you ever listened to the speakers on a laptop?
Seriously, 2 things seem to be true when building a loud stereo on a boat. The speakers are heavy because you need Large Magnets, and the High current amps are heavy. The syn 4 had 25 amp fuses. My big amps on my 06,07,08 were all 80 amp fuses I think!

research full range clas d and class H amps...I think that's what they are using. They don't draw the power traditional class AB or even D amps draw.

the amps are using class h, so they are more efficient as mentioned, giving a ton of power in a smaller footprint with less current draw, the class h in some cases are twice as efficient as a traditional class ab.

The class h gives the small size and low current draw as well as less heat since it is a switching amplifier, like a full range class d but the class h still maintains the sound quality of a class an, where some of the full range class d have less than desirable sq

For 2 pairs of 80's I would run the syn2 as it is 200x2 at 4 ohms
and 350x2 at 2 ohms so one or two pairs is right on and close to the rms ratings, since it is a class h, you can run it in 2 ohms all day long with no heat worries

If you look at the syn6, this amp is very unique as it is the only amp around that can do high pass and low pass or all high pass having a smaller 4 Ch section with a larger 2 Ch section. As others are sub only on the larger sections or they are the same power across the board

So you can run inboats and subs, in boats and towers or towers only

So think about doing a pair of 80's with a pair of mb-8's off the syn6 in 4 Ch mode. Giving 200x2 to the 80's and 155x2 to the mb-8. We have done quite a few of this set up lately and it is amazing

Tim
Wet Sounds

What setup would you recommend on running the whole boat (in-boat, tower, and sub) off of the syn6? Is there a good way to do this?

i am running 2 pro 80s on a syn4 bridged full range and 2 mb8 off a syn2 on full range sound is perfect... i started with 4 pro 80's the horns were very loud when surfing, but now with both, it is perfect skiing or surfing, my last boat i had 4 jl amps. they were always hot and ran down 4 optimas very quick. 4syns with more power on 3 blue tops all day with no heat or fading.... and they look pimp in the boat...

i am running 2 pro 80s on a syn4 bridged full range and 2 mb8 off a syn2 on full range sound is perfect... i started with 4 pro 80's the horns were very loud when surfing, but now with both, it is perfect skiing or surfing, my last boat i had 4 jl amps. they were always hot and ran down 4 optimas very quick. 4syns with more power on 3 blue tops all day with no heat or fading.... and they look pimp in the boat...

I would also be interested what you would use for the whole boat. For example tower= pro60's and MB8's, boat= XS-650 x4, and a XS-12 for sub.

i have 8 650s and 1 xxx12'' and 10'' free air with 2'80 and 2 mb 8s

Tim quick question about the amps. At what input voltage is the rated power accomplished, and at what input voltage do the amps start to loose power. These are engineered for the marine industry so hopefully they require no more than 12v to reach rated power. Say the power supply drops off to 11.5v, how is the ouput effected? Thanks.

Nu bu,as an FYI if your power supply is at a constant 11.5 your batteries are dead....if you just seeing dips to 11.5 your batteries are discharged fairly fast. Resting voltage for a good battery @ 100% should be 12.4-12.7.

I'm pretty sure that's what I said, thanks for the clarification. Show me a boat that has a system playing that's seeing 12.7 v, doesn't happen voltage is always around 12 with the stereo blasting and dips below when running subs.

I think nubus real question is are the power supplies regulated or unregulated.

According to the ARC website, they are regulated but there is no mention about how "Tightly".

don't be fooled. they are ARC Audio amps with a wetsounds logo on it.

"they are ARC Audio amps with a wetsounds logo on it"

wow let see what Tim has to say about that! I am sure they are wetsounds amps not just labels.Tim?

My system is around 13.8 when "cranked", but I only have about 2500 watts RMS and junk kinetic batteries.

Wetsounds are definitely not ARC.

John: "junk kinetic batteries". you don't like your kinetic battery's or they just happen to be messed up?

"My system is around 13.8 when "cranked""

With the boat off? I'm gonna have to call B.S.

(Message edited by 05mobiuslsv on October 09, 2008)

Sorry, I don't crank the stereo when the boat is off, the resting voltage is about 12-12.4

Some people on WW call the kinetic's junk, just messin.

The product lines line up perfectly, specs and all, between the SYN line and the ARC Audio KAR series. Hell the manuals are the same when you download them too...

"Wetsounds are definitely not ARC"

Care to elaborate John, or is that just your guess.

Considering that the wetsounds amps are class H, and knowing that the KAR series were either class AB, maybe D, and they experiemented with class T......they can't be identical.

(Message edited by wake1823 on October 09, 2008)

Sam makes a good point. I don't know any amp manufacturer that is producing class H technology for this type of market (car/boat). I believe class H amp are used quite a bit in pro audio setups? Only a few companies ( eclipse, alpine, jl audio) are just getting the class D full range amps out.

Um, ARC KAR series is a Class G/H amp!!

KAR 300.2: http://www.arcaudio.com/product-pdf/KS300_24_manual.pdf

KAR 1000.1: http://www.arcaudio.com/product-pdf/KS_mono_manual.pdf

If Tim decided to go with Arc Audio, more power to him. Why reinvent the wheel??



(Message edited by dabell on October 09, 2008)

nu bu what amps did Tim have in his boat before the Wetsounds came out? That could be your answer.

I had heard that they were working with Audison. The answer to Ewings question is Hertz, which I believe is the same company as Audison.

^^^yep sounds right

Does it really matter?

nubu I thought you were a JL man anyway

Good catch, I haven't been to the arc audio website in a while. Arc audio had the KAR series a few years ago using class T then stopped it for a couple of years...apparently it's back again.

They look exactly like Arc's amps, but with a stainless cover and coated water resistant electronics. I suspect there are differences like that, but the specs are the same.

Yes it is.. I happen to have three of those Arc Audio KAR amps. 2 - 300.2's and 1 1000.1

John I a man for whatever benefits me the most. If something else works better I'm always trying new stuff. Given how expensive the audison stuff is I really doubt that's who is producing the wetsouds stuff. Besides he said he was working with Zep on the line and Zep was working with ARC. I'm betting it's ARC.

Interesting...someone at Wetsounds told me otherwise.

I just got off the phone with a dealer for wetsounds and arc and he said the wetsounds are built on the same platform. They are just made more waterproof.

geesh...I am thinking that wetsounds makes arc audio stuff. That will be my new angle as I go down in flames...I am starting to feel like Joe's dad.

Wow, go out of town for a few days and this thread blows up.

Let me set everything straight for ya'll.

First. Brian Loren. Why don't you tell people who you really are? It is sad on this site that there are so many people who hide behind their keyboard with hidden agendas. As with Brian, his is to bash us anytime he can. Many people on this site are connected with our competition and are on here for nothing more than to talk smack. If you read the posts from Brain from day one. There has not been a single positive post or any value in anything.

So Brian, you are wrong. Way wrong.

We are the leader in wakeboard tower speakers. IMHO. We have also launched a full line of in boat speakers and subwoofers that represent amazing performance and higher power handling than what has been on the market and making a name for ourselves in that are as well.

Obviously the next step is amps to power our speakers.

We have been working on our amplifiers for 2 years. We have had 2 different engineering/manufacturing companies working with us. One being Audison/Hertz and one being Arc Audio-Robert Zeff. We made the decision to move forward with the Zeff designed platform.

Arc Audio builds amplifiers for themselves and other companies. You just don't know who because they will look different. We choose to codevolp and share a platform with the class H and class G/H platforms because it is such an amazing platform and is the perfect design for marine use. Which is why you will see similarities on the platform. We have an agreement on this as it makes a lot of sense to co develop the platforms. Arc's business is car audio and higher end car audio. Ours is only marine audio. Sure, many of the wakeworld guys will know arc as guys that are into audio are familiar with the brand. But mainstream customers will not be as familiar with the brand so there will be less crossover in mainstream markets.

Our SYN4 is a higher powered 4 ch that does 125x4. So we choose to make some changes to the power supply and upped the rail voltage to get some more power to better match our application with the speakers.

The SYN6 is 100% unique to us. We designed a front end from the ground up giving the amplifier the ability to run high pass or low pass on chs 5/6. Making this amplifier more flexible than anything else on the market. The arc 6 ch is designed for a car audio 5.1 system as it is only built to run car speakers with a sub or can run a 5.1 system. Completely different front ends.

We also designed a completely different shroud (heat sink cover) These amps have forced fan cooling. Air is sucked across the output devices and forced down the center of the amp into the heatsink. The arc amp has small holes on the sides. We looked at the marine applications and see that most of the amps will be mounted horizontally. So with holes on the sides in a horizontal application. It would be more likely for moisture to get into the amp. So we built the shroud on ours with the vents on 45 degree angles. So there is less worries. We also did it this way as in a boat. Most amps will be right next to each other. With the arc amps and the vents on the side. You have to leave some room for the air. With the SYN amps. You can bolt the amps right up next to each other because the venting is coming from the 45 degree section.

We also make this a true marine amp. The boards are conformal coated. All the metal parts are zinc plated and powder coated and the shroud is full polished stainless with all stainless hardware.

Now onto the questions:

Jon, There is a couple ways to do this. It would depend on what types of speakers you have on the tower. If you are running something like a regular can with a car audio speaker or one of our XS650 speakers in it. You can do it. A dealer of ours did a boat with 4 XS650 in the boat, 4 XS650 on the tower and a 15 inch sub all off one. Boat sounded great. 2 pairs on chs 1/2, 2 pairs (tower) on chs 3/4 and sub bridged on chs 5/6.

There is also ways to do more depending on if you wanted to wire the in boats in series etc...I would not recommend it if running a pro audio tower speaker as you will not have the power you need.

Tate, you could go nuts and do a SYN6 in 4 ch mode on the Double Up and another SYN6 on the inboats and sub. Or you could do a SYN4 on the Double Up and a SYN4 on the inboats and sub.

nubu, the ratings are CEA2006 ratings. They are at 14.4. BUT, the SYN1 and SYN6 are regulated amps. As the SYN1 has automatic impedance tracking on it so you must use a regulated power supply, the SYN6 has 2 different sets of voltage needs as it has a smaller 4 ch section and a larger 2 ch section so that amp is regulated as well. So at 12.5 volts, you will be getting the same or within a few watts of the 14.4 rating. Which you will never hear one way or the other. The SYN Micro, SYN2 and SYN4 are unregulated as they are a more straight forward design. So at 12.5 volts, you will be around 15% to 20% less power.

We decided to rate the amplifiers on the CEA2006 spec as that has been accepted as a solid industry standard. There are so many BS watts floating around these days.

They are also microprocessor controlled for under and over voltage, thermal and short. So if you battery drops too low, the amp will protect itself. Where many amps can get damaged in this aspect.

I hope that clears everything up. Also, people had said in the past at how hard it was to run the 3-Some. The SYN6 was designed around the ability to power the 3-Some. It can turn into a 3 ch amp and will do 200x2 and 600x1. It has sum mono for the single 485. It is an amazing package.

Tim
Wet Sounds

it would of been a lot easier if we all would of waited for Tim. Tim, shame on you for going out of town. J/K

Well, don't I feel foolish.

Thanks for the clarification Tim.

(Message edited by johnsvt on October 09, 2008)

Thanks for stealing my thunder Tim I was just about to say that!

Well now if that dosent clear a few things up..

Thanks Tim! Awesome explanations!

I've said it before around here many times. The guys at Wetsounds go way above and beyond. So willing to help and spend time to explain things. More companies should operate this way.

Thanks Tim that's about as clear an explanation as a guy could ask for.

I guess that Brian Loren guy won't be posting up on this thread again...lol

Ya... Brian has been called out.
Tim, do you know who he is or who he reps for?
Let us know if you do. I get tired of people trashing others for personal gain. If I were going to pick on any company on these forums, I would NOT trash Wetsounds! I have never read a complaint that was not addressed imediatley by Tim. I am on my 3rd quad set of pro 80's and I could not be happier with them. If only they could be GelCoated Metalflake to match my boats!