Marine amplifier

(zorro) · (zorro) **Join Date: Jan 2005** 11-09-2005, 1:55 AM

Would you recommend a marine amplififer or a normal car amplifier for a boat sound system?

(acurtis_ttu) · (acurtis_ttu) **Join Date: May 2004** 11-09-2005, 5:46 AM

car amplifier.

(mikeski) · (mikeski) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 11-09-2005, 11:30 AM

Depends...

Car amps work fine if they are kept dry. If they get exposed to the elements they die much quicker than a marine rated amp. If you are running in salt I would probably recommend a marine amp. If you can keep it dry than I would say a car amp is probably fine. I run car amps.

(rodmcinnis) · (rodmcinnis) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 11-09-2005, 11:33 AM

do they even make a "marine" amp?

(zorro) · (zorro) **Join Date: Jan 2005** 11-09-2005, 12:30 PM

Hello Mike,
Yes I use the boat in a salt water environment but I believe I could keep it fairly dry. What bothers me is humidity that is present under the boat cover. What do you think about it? Would it be detrimental for a car amp or not?

(acurtis_ttu) · (acurtis_ttu) **Join Date: May 2004** 11-09-2005, 12:31 PM

http://marine.jlaudio.com/

One good reason why not to use it , is the technology is usually quite a few years behind the car audio products.

(mikeski) · (mikeski) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 11-09-2005, 3:04 PM

Luca,

When I was running in salt the common practice was to blast everything with fresh water after every day. To find a mounting place that wouldn't get blasted with fresh water it probably wouldn't get enough circulation for cooling.

To answer Rod's question. Yes, they actually do make marine amplifiers. They just epoxy coat the circuit boards and plate the connections a little better. Not much different from a technology standpoint, as Adam mentioned, maybe a couple years behind.

In the mainstream marketplace there is not a huge demand for high output marine amplifiers. In reality it's a very small niche market. I believe that Clarion, JL, and Infinity all make marine specific amps.

Most of today's (new school) amps are sourced from China with less than ideal fabrication standards. On the flip side they are fairly cheap. I am using a couple HiFonics car amps right now, they are cheap and seem to do a decent job. They are somewhat disposable, probably not a bad choice if you budget a replacement every 3 or 4 years. The car amp should live through the humidity.

(ktmwakeboarder)

Diamond makes 'marine' amps... its their lower class amps however