stereo installs........

I took a picture of the inside of the Kenwood head unit that I removed from my boat. This was not a marine unit. It was installed at the marina where my buddy bought the boat. He told me he paid $900.00 for this system in '93. The speakers were marine but the surrounds had fallen apart anyway from the exposure to the sun.





this was in a "protective case" in the dash. it did hold up for about 12 years...

Ryan, If you do go with non-marine amps, be sure that the chasis and hardware is not going to rust...

randy boat dr.........yesi have roughly 500 for the equipment not counting a perko wires etc labor.........so i guess im doing it cheap, but i know it can be done.........space is a concern asi posted before...........would love to push 2 12" or 2-10" but on my 94 cb im limited on room.....so that said i think id like to go with one 12" in either a ported or sealed box.....i understand its not gonna be devastating ba$$ or the best quality, and only gonna last 4-5 years......thats moree than plenty!!!!!by then i will have a newer boat(hopefully!).....i already have 4 new polk db650 insides, two new marine batts, and a new marine kenwood headunit 45x4 amps........how important is marine amps?.........i see alot of people(most) running non-marine amps and subs...yes i have been doing a little homework and found out most people are spending more than id ever spend! 1500++ that being said heres my idea......
polk audio db series 12"-80.00...or
polk audio momo 12" sub-100.00
ported or sealed box 25.00-30.00
ma audio ma1889i amp mnoblock 800 watts rms-2 ohms 400 watts -4 ohms..100.00
.....and a 2 channel blaupunkt tha2125 amp to power my insides....total.......90.00..thatsonly roughly 320 bucks.......so i theres still money to upgrade 2 a four channel amp for my insides, and maybe even 2 marine amps.....i see they go for 120-160 in my case......im looking at a website called sonic electronix.........thank you guys for all the input.....

Boat Dr is right on the money. Do it right the first time. I wouldn't put anything together with th intention of it only lasting 4 or 5 years. I agree 100% with SkiPA. use what you have for now and you can always upgrade easily later. I'm using my head unit (52Wx4)to power the same Polk speakers you have. I am blown away by how these things sound! I was planning to add an amp to power them at a later date but honestly after reading all the input from SkiPA, Boat Dr and the rest I am somewhat concerned about how much more power would be needed. I want to still be able to run the stereo with the engine off for a reasonable amount of time. I don't want any more than two batteries on board. I need to have room to store stuff. The only thing I will change on my set up is replacing th P.O.S 8" powered Bazooka, but when I do I probably won't over do it and will look for something efficient. I would rather have a system with good tight ba$$ that sounds good and doesn't require 16 batteries. Maybe on a pontoon...

with all that said this is my opinion take it for what it's worth.

1. Buy Marine stuff for your boat. This stuff is engineered for the boat environment circuit board are coated, terminals are gold plated, chasis and baskets will not rust, etc. etc.

2. An off the shelf subwoofer enclosure will not hold up for more than one season and maybe not even that. These things are made from fiber board. I don't think they will hold up around the water. A plain plywood box would work better.

3. Do what you can with what you have. You can always add stuff on later. We can put it together with this in mind.

4. Take your time shopping. research this stuff and Listen to what other people with experience tell you. Froogle is a great tool for comparing prices once you know what you want.

Ryan,

Sure, I will still help you. I would still urge you to choose at least a marine sub. The one with the "cellulose fiber" (paper) cone is not going to hold up for long IMO.

ok ok....im done looking ...ithink.......heres what i came up with.tell me what you think

12" polk db marine sub-75.00 shipped

box- 35.00

clarion 4 channel apx480 marine amp. 180.00
shipped..will power 4 polk db650 insides

bazooka maa1500 monoblock amp to power the polk sub-145.00 shipped...total $435.00...sound good???......everything match up pretty good?...thanks, ryan

SKI79PA,
That's a neat install you've done there.!

Did you use fibre gla$$ for the outer (hull side) wall.

What was the purpose for the spacers.?

to clean up my last post...thats 500 for the sub sub box and the 2 amps.....i undertsnad im going to have wires dist. block fuses labor perko switch etc on top of that!

Ryan,

MDF = Medium Density Fiberboard.

MDF+H2O=

I think we should take Eric up on his offer. I would like to meet him and maybe he can explain how to check my alignment. I'm still a little puzzled on that I will try to get a list of items we will need together tomorrow.

How far are is the Battery/Batteries away from the amps?

I have three amps that im not using that I will sell cheap!!

Alpine 2/3/4-model# 3527 ,it kicks a$$
rockford punch 45.2 sub amp (made in USA)
Jenson 100w x 4

Yes my MDF box turned into a sponge and fell apart in about two weeks, you can resin coat it but will still have small holes in it..

Eric I figured out what the feeler gauge is. I'm just not sure where/how to use it

Resin coated MDF will hold up fine. I made speaker brackets that sit out in the middle of the boat that get sprayed, splashed and rained on and are still rock hard. I imagine your sub box will be up under the dash away from direct water contact anyhow, should be fine.

What's with all the periods...................?

hollywood......bad habit,really cant tell ya why, just me thinking too fast?? randy- sure i can always resin coat it later(before i drop the boat in the water). i think im gonna go with the setup that i described above...thanks for finding that bazooka amp cheaper.the clarion one you found is a refurb, not too keen on that. id rather pay the 30-40 extra for a brand new one. the battery on my 94 is in the floor, same as yours?. i was going to add a perko and the extra marine battery i have sittin in my basement(new)..randy whats wrong with your alignment? beent drive shaft, or steering alignment?........(hollywood) see i did it again!!

Randy, i am not a electrical eng. nor have have i looked at the draw of all the components involved here,2 amps sub and the head unit, am i missing something? But that seems like a awful high draw for the stuff he listed, but maybe ?????
Perko#8503DP, this one has a feild wire to prevent damage to the alternator if you turn it off with the motor running.Don't see one that has any ref. to a distributer ,
Wire it as batt.#1 and Batt#2, Batt#2 powers the stereo,amps,etc. turn switch to ALL and it charges both Batts.When engine is stopped turn switch to Batt.#2 Blast till you drop or run out of beer. Turn switch to Batt.#1 start motor,flip to All and you charge up both batts,...............boat dr

Ok, all fixed, sorry that was probably confusing...

Ryan, BTW, Nothing wrong with my alignment,that I know of, just reading here that it should be checked periodically.