2v vs 4v pre amp

I have done a little research, but it is hard to find reliable sources on the net and the guys at best buy have no idea what they are talking about so I now turn to you all. Right now I have an amp powering a sub and an amp for the 4 boat speakers. I am going to add tower speakers with an amp for them by the end of the summer. Right now I am looking for a new deck. I want one with 2-3 pre-amp outputs, some form of an input, and if it was marine audio that would be even better!

First question is in regards to the pre-amp outputs. I have herd that 4v outputs are better than 2v but how big of a difference does it make?

Second, where can I find car audio cables, amps, cd decks for less money?

Get 4v, cleaner output and easier on your amps. I like Sonicelectronix.com, Woofersetc.com, these have been probably the best places I've bought from.

There are sometimes when more is not necessarily better, this is one of those times. If you overdrive an amplifier input section it will distort. You only need enough voltage to drive the amplifier to it's maximum without driving distortion into the input stage. You need to match the levels for best performance.

In boats we tend to have more amplifiers than most cars. We also may have longer wire runs between the head unit and amps. This can cause a weak signal and distortion from a head unit that is not capable of putting out an adequate signal.

second answer e-bay.

Mike so you agree with my statement, or could you translate your response into an answer?

4V output should give you a better Signal to Noise ratio than a 2V output. Most decent car audio amplifiers should be able to handle 7-9V inputs without overdriving the input stage.

To make a long story short go with the 4V outputs or get an equalizer with higher output voltage.