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Old     (fullspeed)      Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Cruz County CA       04-11-2012, 1:25 PM Reply   
I just added a Syn 4 to my Malibu VLX running my tower speakers. So far I am happy. Now I am thinking of getting rid of my other kicker amps which are a zx650.4 and kicker zx700.1 and going with a Syn 6. I have 2 pairs of 6x9 polks db and 2 pairs of 6.5 polk db's and one 12": solo barric sub. What are your thoughts? I wanted to get rid of the kicker amps and combine the two amps with one. I figure the Syn 6 can run it all.
Old     (bendow)      Join Date: Sep 2005       04-11-2012, 3:21 PM Reply   
The Syn 6 is a really nice amp, but a bit pricey @ $899. You can get the same amp (ARC KS 900.6) for a couple hundred less. At any rate, I don't see the point in swapping for either the Syn 6 or KS. You'll be giving the speakers half the power you are now, and the sub around 100w less.
Old     (chpthril)      Join Date: Oct 2007       04-11-2012, 4:46 PM Reply   
I have a feeling that if the Solo 12 was on the zx700.1, then its a dual 4 ohm wired in parallel to 2 ohm. If so, you will not be able to wire it bridged on the Syn-6 in that same configuration. You would need a dual 2 ohm, wired in series at 4 ohm, in order to bridge it on chnls 5/6 of the Syn-6 in order to get the amp's 600W.

As far as your in-boats, it would be a noticeable decrease to pull them off the zx650.4.

If you are looking for a uniform look, then get another Syn-4 for the in-boats and a Syn-1 for the sub. Although this will cost more then the Syn-6.
Old     (fullspeed)      Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Cruz County CA       04-12-2012, 9:49 AM Reply   
Off the subject. What size speaker wire would you guys recommend. The insallers that did the system on my boat used the wrong size power, ground and I also think they skimped on the speaker wire too. It looks really thin.
Old     (bendow)      Join Date: Sep 2005       04-12-2012, 6:20 PM Reply   
You should run 0 gauge power and ground to a distribution block. Get real 0 gauge wire like stinger or knu. You'll want a 300 amp anl fuse on the power close to the battery. The distribution block needs 1 0ga input with 3 4ga outputs to each amp, and should be fused with 100 amp anl fuses on each output.

The speaker wire will be fine on 12 or 14 gauge wire. Monoprice.com sells quality speaker wire for cheap, don't buy into the hyped up overpriced speaker wire BS.
Old     (chpthril)      Join Date: Oct 2007       04-13-2012, 7:16 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by fullspeed View Post
Off the subject. What size speaker wire would you guys recommend. The insallers that did the system on my boat used the wrong size power, ground and I also think they skimped on the speaker wire too. It looks really thin.
For the Rez-10, go with 12ga if you are pulling new wire. For the in-boats, 14ga is more then plenty and 12ga for the sub.

For the amps POS and GND: The max load that those amps could ever pull is about 235A. So if you want to run a trunk line to a couple of distrobution blocks, then 1/0 for the trunk line with a 200A fuse or breaker at the battery. Then 4ga to each amp from the blocks. For those short 4ga runs, additional fusing, like a fused distrobution block, would be redundant and not needed. You can just go with a pair of non-fused blocks. If you are going to run dedicated 4ga for each amp, then a fused distro-block on the B+ side, close to the battery, with 80A fuses will do you. The 100A you have picked up will be fine as that length of 4ga will carry more then 100A with no problem. What we want to avoid is having the circuit protection being able to carry more load then the cable. The fuse or breaker needs to be the weakest link in the chain and only needs to carry the potential current draw of the load without exceeding the capacity of the cabling.
Old     (bendow)      Join Date: Sep 2005       04-13-2012, 10:42 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by chpthril View Post
For those short 4ga runs, additional fusing, like a fused distrobution block, would be redundant and not needed.
I politely disagree. Any time you reduce wire size, you should absolutely install a fuse. A distribution block without fuses is a grounding block.
Old     (chpthril)      Join Date: Oct 2007       04-13-2012, 11:10 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by bendow View Post
I politely disagree. Any time you reduce wire size, you should absolutely install a fuse. A distribution block without fuses is a grounding block.
Distribution blocks do not have polarity until you terminate it to either the B+ or GND side of the source. So a non-fused distrobution block is just a distrobution block.

In most cases, you can calculate the current carrying capacity of the short run and it will safely carry the load the main circuit protection. But this back to using the appropriate sized circuit protection on the trunk line and not over-fusing it.

Now, is there anything wrong with using a redundant (they are redundant when the amps have thier own internal fusing) fused block....nope. They can actually add a nice touch to the install, especially when a GND/Fused distrobution combo is used. Add a little extra bling and go with one that incorporates a volt meter.
Old     (david_e_m)      Join Date: Jul 2008       04-13-2012, 11:22 AM Reply   
I would be open minded on the fuse issue depending on the circumstances. If the reduction to a smaller cable includes a protracted run then I think you must add the appropriate fusing at the point of reduction. However, most boats feature a long 7 or 8 foot minimum primary run and 1 to 2.5 foot maximum extensions of lower gauge cable at the amp panel. So if the master fuse/breaker will blow/trip based on the current flowing through the comparably short length of the lower gauge extension then the redundancy is unnecessary and I would rather avoid the extra resistance of the additional terminations and contacts points. Resistance of any size cable is accumulative so factor that into the fusing/gauge/distance equation. The one decision that really bothers me though is when a fused distribution block is used as a replacement for a master fuse as close to the battery source as possible. That would be a major mistake under any circumstances as your fundamental goal in fusing is to protect the boat and occupants in the event of a boating accident. Once a system gets past a certain power level you might also consider splitting the primary runs into two and using independent fusing/breakers at the battery source.

David
Earmark Marine
Old     (fullspeed)      Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Cruz County CA       04-12-2012, 6:36 PM Reply   
I just ordered true 4 gauge wire for each amp with inline fuses 100 amp so I am good there. I am going straight from a distribution block that attatches to the battery post off my Kinetic HC 2400 watt battery and I am ordering one more Kinetic HC2400 to make a bank out of the two batteries. This will give me a ton of power with a 256 AH just for the stereo amps. The boat runs off two interstate rv/marine batteries on a pergo switch, but the boat alternator will not be connected to the bank at. I have a lake house so I will just plug my boat in after every outing or at night to charge the Kinetics. I might buy more wetsound amps, maybe a syn4 like TigeMike said and keep the ZX700.1 for the sub.

By the way I use monoprice.com all the time. Great deal on TV wall mount brackets.

Thanks for the advice.

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