Marine grade audio equipment

[jw1466]

I recently purchased some tower speakers that I need an amp for, I will need to replace the deck with one with pre-amp outputs, and I'm thinking about adding a small subwoofer with an amp for it as well. My question is, are marine grade components really necessary? The amps and sub will be mounted under the dash out of the way, and I have a good cover over the deck that pretty much stays closed the entire time as we use an iphone to control it through Bluetooth. The current deck that came with the boat has been in there for years and is not marine grade, and it works perfectly. The boat is stored indoors and covered. I'm just not sure if it' worth the extra $ to buy something that says marine on it when it really wont be exposed to much moisture or the elements. Should I stop being so cheap or do I have a point? Any advice would be appreciated!

[Zim]

Seems strange that a head unit doesn't have pre-amps. Have you confirmed that 100%?

Marine grade is just going to help if your boat is stored in humid conditions. If it sits under a cover in a field somewhere while you're not using it, I'd definitely get marine grade. If it sits in your garage and airs out after each use, you can probably get away with car audio equipment. Regardless of what you do, look at class D units to be most efficient.

[jw1466]

Yup, no pre amp outs. I thought pre-amps were pretty standard, but I was surprised when I started looking for a new deck that there are quite a few of them out there without them. So I have no way to add new speakers (the right way at least) with my existing deck.

That's about what I thought, but thanks for reassuring me. The boat is always stored in a garage and aired out to dry after use, and I think the exposure to moisture would be minimal while I'm using the boat with where I'm planning on mounting everything. If they get really wet I'll probably have a much bigger problem to worry about! I'll definitely look into class D, thanks for the reply!

[Wylietunes]

JW,

For a fresh water trailer boat thats allowed to air out after use, marine amps are not a must, but they certainly have their advantages. For those that have boats that live in a slip, especially a non-covered slip, marine equipment is suggested. The conformal coating stainless steel terminals, etc, will be a plus in resisting corrosion. But with any amp, the install location is the most important thing.

For in-boat and tower speakers, marine are a must IMO. For subs, rubber surrounds and composite cones go a long way.

In regards to the added cost, for an apples to apples, look at the cost difference between the Kicker KX800.5 auto amp and the KXM800.5 marine amp. IIRC, its less than $50.

[92SupraComp]

Class D amps can get pricey... A class A or even A/B is more than enough for some boat fun and much cheaper...

Hell, I did a total of $350 budget build 2 years ago for our CC. Sounds Great! two 6X9's in the front, two 4X10's in the rear, a Pyle marine head unit, a Crunch 1,600 watt ("rated") amp, 6 gauge wire from the battery, and connectors. All together, not just components, in $350. No sub, plenty of bass for us, play Bob Marley, Boston, Who, Dire Straits, etc, it all sounds great...

And, it gets louder and sounds MUCH nicer than the blose system in our 2007 Suburban. The blose system really is a joke if you ever have the chance of laughing at one!

[Zim]

Class A/B is fine, but they're not efficient. The extra money on the class D is worth it.

[wotan2525]

I agree. Class D are worth it. Runs longer on the same battery and runs cooler. My A/B amps always overheated (they're in a tight space below the glovebox, and I listen to my music LOUD for a LONG time.) Replaced with some cheap PPI class Ds. Take up less room, run cooler, put out more power.

The Kicker/Wet-Sounds Class D amps are expensive, yes. The WetSounds amps are just a clone of the ARC design with some waterproofing applied. There's a million companies that use these same boards in a different package.

[Wylietunes]

The WetSounds amps are just a clone of the ARC design with some waterproofing applied

Im guessing you are referring to the SYN series. This is not quite the case. The Syn series, with the exception of the Syn-6, is Class-G/H. The Syn-6 is A/B. Wet Sounds has two other amp lines, the HT and the SD, both are totally unique to Wet Sounds and are Class-D. The Syn series is not the Arc KAR series amps with a coated board. They do share the KAR chassis, but the board was designed by Tim White in collaboration with Robert Zeff. Not quite a Chevy Suburban/GMC Yukon XL thing.

[Sdc77]

Hi,
I have 2 car amps, a car subwoofer and a car CD player. Only my speakers (tower + inside of the boat) are marine grade. 3 years now on the boat, everthings works great !
I agree about class-D amps. My setup can draw about 100A at full power. I know because 40A fuses (2x) tends to break. Now with 2x60A no more break.
I just finished the same setup on a friend's boat, with 2 Ohms load, a sub etc. on Rockford car class-D amps, same power as my class A/B. With only 1x 60A fuse, no problem, and the amps stays cool. I gave him those models recommendation :

for the subwoofer : http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_67758_Rockford-Fosgate-R500X1D.html

for the speakers : http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_34761_Rockford-Fosgate-R400-4D.html

They do the job more than enough.

Don't waste your time and money with marine grades on hidden hardware. Put some grease on connectors after it is plugged and voilà :)

[jw1466]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys, y'all were a really big help! I decided to go with a bit of a hybrid system. Ended up with a Kenwood car deck, a Clarion car amp that says it's fit for marine use as well, and a marine bazooka powered 100w 10" sub.

Deck- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDCX597/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X597.html
Sub- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_204MBTA10/Bazooka-MBTA10100.html?showAll=N&search=Bazooka_MBTA10100&skipvs=T#customer-reviews-tab
Speaker Amp- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_020XC1410/Clarion-XC1410.html

I got the deck from Crutchfield and the sub and amp from Amazon. Got them for significantly lower through Amazon, Sub ended up being $206 and amp was $89.

Sdc77- Thanks for the suggestions, and I seriously considered both of those amps, but the 4-channell was a bit overpowering for the tower speakers I have on the way, and I couldn't pass up the cleanliness and ease, as well as the killer deal, of the Bazooka tube sub. Always heard great things about those. I'll keep y'all updated when everything gets installed. Still waiting on my tower package to come in, going on 2 months now. Looking more like mid to late June. So be aware if anyone is ordering from Aerial or H2O sports warehouse, they are pretty backed up.

Thanks again guys.

[Blackntan90]

Got 2 8" Bazookas ROCKIN' the trunk of my car! They really are nice for the size, and you can adjust the sound by placement of the tube! Love 'em!

[Sdc77]

The amp and sub should work good. Maybe the sub is a little bit expensive IMO, but it's a finished product, so it will do the job with no hand work arround. I personally will not go for less than 12 inch subwoffer in a boat, for the sound losses of the outside environment + engine/water noise.

I love the Kenwood sound, got one in my Lebaron conv, looked great, sounded great.

BUT, Kenwood car players are not compatible with Kenwood marine remotes. Pioneer's are as long as they have a jack hole on the back ! That's my configuration. I have a 120$ Pioneer car CD player (DEH-6300SD) with a wired marine remote (CD-MR70) : works great.

If you don't want a marine remote, then the Kenwood is a good choice, with many RCA.

[SquamInboards]

I have zero marine components in my boat's audio setup, and my boat sits at the dock with only its canvas cover, for about 8 months a year. I have had the same head unit, amp and sub for 9 years, I've replaced the speakers only once because they were old when I got the boat. The head unit is under cover in the glove box and the amp and sub are in the closed bow area. The speakers get splashed a lot but nothing more.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any marine audio component unless it was going to be exposed to the elements all the time. Maybe I've been really lucky?