Hey Wetsounds! WS-420 Question

I'll do my best here to try and provide all the information and make it clear.

I had my buddy install the WS-420 in my boat so I could have all the benefits it provides. ie the ability to independently adjust towers from interior and the ability to yell at tubers from a 100 yards away.lol.

I have about a 3 year old Sony Marine deck http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=14678. I have a Hifonics Zeus 5 channel 1000watt amp as well as a 200watt Clarion Mono Amp. The Tower speakers are the older Kicker KB6000.

Originally we tried putting the tower speakers alone on the Clarion Amp but it didn't really make a difference.

On the Hifonics Amp are:
The 2 pairs of cabin speakers share a channel.
The Sub on another Channel
The Tower speakers on another channel.

Clarion Amp:
Currently has the bow speakers on them.

Because the deck only has 2 sets of pre-outs 1 set of RCA's has 2 "Y" splitters to share a channel to the Clarion Amp. I don't remember what channels share...I believe interior share with bow speakers on the Clarion Amp.

Ultimately the issue I am having is I just can't get the tower speakers to go really loud. The interior speakers go just as loud if not louder when playing with the volume on the EQ itself. Are the older Kicker KB6000 the problem or is it gain/power/setup issues.

One minor issue I am also having is when I flip the switch on my tower lights I can hear a click in the speakers. The lights are grounded and powered on a different switch.

Any insight would be much appreciated. If you need more details or better explanations I will try my best.

The whole idea of the WS-420 is that you only need a deck with one pair of pre-outs.

Why would you not just run a pair of your preouts from your deck to the WS-420.

Then from your WS-420 runs RCA's from the tower output to the input on the amp that powers the Tower Speakers.

Then from your WS-420 Boat Speakers output to the input on the amp that runs your Boat Speakers...

Then from your WS-420 Subwoofer Output to the input on the amp that runs your Subwoofers...

This way you have the signal input controls on the top of your WS-420... and then on the front you can control the x-over points and volumes to each of the zones...


I have one..havent hooked it up yet...

I'm not sure I get it. With the WS-420 you just need one pre-out from your deck to the ws420. Then you run the RCAs from the WS-420 to your amps.

Maybe I am just not understanding what you wrote. Where are the y-splitters?

(damn, he beat me^^^)

(Message edited by tlatoani on June 24, 2008)

Dave,

So it the Clarion a true mono block? If so that would mean it is low pass only.

HeHateMe is correct. You only need one RCA to the WS420.

An rca for the tower, one for the inboats and one for the sub. Since you are running an additional amp to the in boats. You would use the Y splitter at the amps from the in boat rca.

Check that and check the clarion and make sure it is not a true mono block sub amp.

If it is a sub amp. I would get a more powerful amp for the towers. Use the 5 ch for the inboats and sub.

As for the settings here is a step by step for you.

Setting up a system using the WS 420

1) Unplug all the RCA’s from your amps. Turn all the amp gains down.

2) Turn the radio up to find the maximum volume. Set the system with the head unit volume at 85% of max. This is the loudest the radio should ever go. Radios will create distortion the higher the volume is turned up. Which will create distortion on the output signal before reaching the amps. So find a safe easy to remember volume. If the head unit is 35. Max should be 30. If the head unit is 40. Maximum should be 30 to 35 and so on.

3) Once you have found the maximum volume set point. Turn the radio back down. Use a test CD that you are familiar with for tuning. Something that has highs and lows and vocals.

4) Make sure the settings on the radio are flat. You should not tune a system with the treble or bass up.

5) On the top of the WS 420. Set the gains at the mid level. Make sure to adjust both the main gain and the aux gain. Set them both to this mid level. This is the level where most systems will be. The WS 420 has the ability to provide more voltage if there are long rca runs but most boats will be in the middle as this is a safe setting.

6) Make sure all the eq adjustments are flat. Right in the middle. Plug in all the rcas from the eq to the amps.

7) Plug in just the RCA’s for the in boat speakers amp. Set the high pass crossover at around 80HZ to 100HZ.

8) Turn the radio up to the max safe level found in step 2. Turn the eq up to about ¾ of max volume.

9) Slowly turn the gain up until you hear the speakers distort. Slowly back off the gain from that point a small amount until you hear the speakers play as loud as they can with no distortion.

10) Unplug the RCA’s from that amp and plug the RCA’s into the amp running the tower speakers. Set the high pass crossover on the amp for the tower speakers at 80HZ to 100HZ.

11) Slowly turn the gain up until you hear the speakers distort. Slowly back off the gain from that point a small amount until you hear the speakers play as loud as they can with no distortion.

12) Unplug the RCA’s from that amp and plug the RCA’s into the amp running the subwoofer. Set the low pass crossover on the amp for the subwoofer at 80HZ. On the WS 420. Turn the bass level to max. The ring is a frequency adjustment. All the way down to the left is 30 HZ. You will want to put this around 60 to 80HZ. So about ¼ of the way up.

13) Slowly turn the gain up until you hear the speakers distort. Slowly back off the gain from that point a small amount until you hear the speakers play as loud as they can with no distortion.

14) Turn the radio back down and plug in all RCA’s and do a final check with everything playing. You should now have the gains set at “unity” Meaning they are all at the same level and you are matched across the board.

15) Note that you can adjust the high pass and low pass filters to tailor the sound to each boat. As you can set the high pass higher to get more volume but at the expense of losing some low end mid bass.

16) You can then fine tune the sound on the eq as well. Using the knobs and rings. Most systems will not need much in terms of boost.

17) You can then leave the eq volume set and use the radio as the main volume. And then turn the in boats down with the towers up or vice versa depending on you goals.


As for the lights. In boats it is very hard to keep popping and clicking. You can try a new ground for the eq. Make sure the EQ is grounded at the same place as the radio and the amps.

Hope this helps

Tim
Wet Sounds

"As for the lights. In boats it is very hard to keep popping and clicking. You can try a new ground for the eq. Make sure the EQ is grounded at the same place as the radio and the amps. "

If this doesn't work , use a capacitor, go to radio shack ask them what size or ask an EE person. They will be able to tell you. You can also just use a "bass blocker" wired inline. Make sure you hook it up corectly ( polarity ) or the cap will explode.

I know what I am doing today!

ok so I went home and looked at everything. Here is how everything sits as of now.

There is only 1 set of RCA's from deck to WS-420.

RCA lead from ws-420 sub out to Hiphonics amp for sub
RCA lead from Tower on ws-420 to tower channel on Hiphonics Amp
RCA from Boat on ws-420 through 2 "Y" splitters to share 1- channel on Hiponics which has both pairs of cabin speakers with the second set of RCA's running over to the Clarion 200w APX201.2 which has the bow speakers connected to it.

Sorry the Clarion Amp is a 2 channel not Mono.

CLARION® 200W POWER AMP

If it's clear crisp sound or ground shaking bass you desire, Clarion delivers with the APX201.2 200 watt power system.
The bass extender control provides more boom when you need it.
MOSFET power supply offers continuous reliable power for long periods of listening.
Speaker level inputs offer easy integration with any system.
Use the APX201.2 as a 2 channel amp to add more power to your existing speaker system or in bridge mode to deliver up to 230 watts of thumping power to a sub woofer.
Features:
Continuous average power output 50W X 2 into 4 ohms or 110W X 2 into 2 ohms
Bridgeable 2/1 channel operation
Bass extender control
Adjustable 55Hz-5.5kHz high/low pass crossover
MOSFET power supply
Mixed Mode Operation
Speaker level inputs
Double sided glass epoxy PC board
Paintable heat syncs

(Message edited by bcrider on June 24, 2008)

OK. So after looking at the specs. The Hifonics looks like 4x55 plus 200. And the clarion is 50x2.

So with those amps, there doesn't seem like you have a lot of options in terms of changing the way you have it wired in order to get much more power.

As you could bridge the 55x4 of the Hifonics in 2 ch mode just on the towers. And then run the clarion on 2 pairs of in boats but that leaves one pair in the bow with no amp power.

So if you are looking for more output. Maybe use the Hifonics on the inboats and subs and get a new 2 ch for the tower with some more power and sell the Clarion. Or get another clarion just like it and bridge each one on the towers. So they would each run 4 ohms mono.

But overall looks to be set up correct. Sounds like just a power situation.

Tim
Wet Sounds

That's pretty much what I figured it would end up being.

If I was to go out and purchase an additional amp what would you suggest I buy. 2 channel, 4 channel, how many watts?

Thanks for all your help Tim. Hopefully there will be a pair of Pro 60's in my future......next year.

(Message edited by BCRider on June 24, 2008)

Damn... if you are wanting a powerhouse amp... I have a Zapco DC 1000.4 Amp... for cheap....

i just got my ws-420 in yesterday and i have the same deck as Dave, do i hook-up the rca's from the eq to the deck through the front or the rear outputs or does it matter?

alsteadez, It doesn't matter. Just make sure the deck is set on the fade the right direction either front or rear.

Dave, No problem at all. It really depends on what you plan to do with a new amp. If you plan on adding a pair of PRO 60's next year, then get an amp that has 150 x2 or 200x2.

Tim
Wet Sounds

Tim, Is the install of the ws420 something a novice like myself can do? It does'nt look that complicatied unless one has problems and it then would seem better to let a pro do it. I have one but my installer, not a dealer, did'nt want to take it on. I'm in GA the atl area and Hate, hate, hate the gainsville dealer. But I want to rock my 420. For the record I tried to get both the JL300/2 install for my pair of 485s but I was told it was to much power. So I tried it with one amp split 150/150 and its......ok. You were right and someone else was mistaken about the pwer requirements.

Any ideas?

Aqua,

Shoot me an e mail. Let me know which dealer you are refering to. Yeah 485 needs 300/2 per. I want to make sure we get you hooked up. We have other dealers.

It is not hard to install but getting the entire system set up noise free is the hard part. We have sold a ton. The only issues with noise come from customer installs. Have not had many issues at all with dealer installs. So it may be easier to just have a dealer do it from the start.

Tim
Wet Sounds

Tim, you want to actually set the fader Front or Rear depending on the input used or just leave it at 0? I have the CMD5 and have it connected off of the Front, volume set at 30 and no Fader, Bass, Treble, etc settings.

Thats perfect.

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