Stereo Installed

[spharis]

Ohms law, a calculator, and the specs on those amps.....that's about it.

I am soooooo glad they didn't talk you into a capacitor. Most good installers will not.

[Coach]

Ohms law, a calculator, and the specs on those amps.....that's about it.

I am soooooo glad they didn't talk you into a capacitor. Most good installers will not.

I chose the shop because they are boat owners and do over 200 boats a year. The do a ton of Malibu but are the in house shop for eliminator boats. They do very good work and don't try to sell you more than what is necessary to meet your needs.

[spharis]

Well, judging by the pics, and the finish, that is top notch.

[Domsz06]

spharis,

so you have 4 batteries or three total batteries? they are wired in series correct, and what gauge do you have running those three batteries together? I need to do a set up like that so I don't stress my batteries and alt so much. I'm just running two right now, use one for the music start the boat for 5-10 minutes at the top and bottom of the hour and it keeps everything nice, unless I turn it up real loud.

I have a similar setup to yours in terms of total watts and amps.

thanks for the info.

[Coach]

spharis,

so you have 4 batteries or three total batteries? they are wired in series correct, and what gauge do you have running those three batteries together? I need to do a set up like that so I don't stress my batteries and alt so much. I'm just running two right now, use one for the music start the boat for 5-10 minutes at the top and bottom of the hour and it keeps everything nice, unless I turn it up real loud.

I have a similar setup to yours in terms of total watts and amps.

thanks for the info.

I have 4 total batteries. 1 starting and 3 2150's for the stereo. They used 0 gage for the batteries. I think they are in series but not 100% There is a few things they are going to finish up in the next few weeks. They still need to install the pac controlers and fix the fader on the tower. They were out of all of the Pac controlers for the amps and I need to get the bimini done and a few items fixed at the Tige Dealer. So I am taking it in after Christmas to finish up a few minor items. I will have more definative answers then.

[chpthril]

The batteries are wire parallel.

Parallel stacks the AMP's
Series stacks the Voltage

[Coach]

The batteries are wire parallel.

Parallel stacks the AMP's
Series stacks the Voltage

Thanks. That is good to know.

When you run 4 speaker off of one channel do you do it in parallel or series. Doesn't parallel create more resitance?

[chpthril]

Speakers should be run parallel, don't know that i've ever seen them in series.
series increases resistance, paralell drops resistance
Example= two 4ohm coils in parallel = 2 ohms total

[spharis]

Thanks. That is good to know.

When you run 4 speaker off of one channel do you do it in parallel or series. Doesn't parallel create more resitance?

It depends on the drivers and the amp:

For example....lets say you have a 2channel amp that is 2 ohm stable. It puts out 50W pc @4ohm, and 80W pc @ 2 ohm. Then you can wire your drivers parallel to drop the load to 2 ohm and increase the over efficiency of the circuit.

Lets say you have an amp that is 2 ohm stable, and you have 2 dual 2 ohm drivers. You can run the coils in series, and the drivers in parallel to keep the circuit @ 2 ohm.

You could also wire them to give a .5 load or a 8ohm load. It gets easy to match everything up, but its important to know what you want before you begin. There are times when you want to run different ways for whatever reason.

If you are super interested in audio and how it works, check out www.bcae1.com

More info there than I would ever want to type.

spharis,

so you have 4 batteries or three total batteries? they are wired in series correct, and what gauge do you have running those three batteries together? I need to do a set up like that so I don't stress my batteries and alt so much. I'm just running two right now, use one for the music start the boat for 5-10 minutes at the top and bottom of the hour and it keeps everything nice, unless I turn it up real loud.

I have a similar setup to yours in terms of total watts and amps.

thanks for the info.

I only have 1 battery right now. I will only have 2 once I get finished with my partial refirb. I think you were asking Coach. Before you decide what gauge wire to use, you need to know the total max load of your system. From there you can determine what gauge and how large to fuse. Your other option is to wire it large, and fuse to the wire size.....I do not recommend this, but many audio guys do. I don't like fusing to wire....I don't feel it as safe. Do you know your amp models and the distance from your amps to your batteries. A shorter run can have a smaller AWG that the longer.

Funny story, I had a comp 12 that was taking 1400watts.....the wire would start to get soft and malleable, and it was turning into a resistor, or a filament vs. a conductor. I had too long of a run for the gauge. I had to run 10AWG wire to the sub.....many amps can be wired off the same thing.

[chpthril]

Once again 'Rain spharis' chimes in with a killer explanation. Thanks for the link, that is some great info

[Domsz06]

thanks for the info. Those batteries looked like they were run in series, but I can wire in parrell. I have three amps, but don't know the total size of each off the top of my head. Have the stock clarion, ppi (HUGE) and rockford.

I right now run to my batteries in the back. I tend to use 2 gauge as of now, or it may be four. I'll get back with you when I get my boat out here to confirm my gear, so you can help me with my exact set up. I have always gone big wire, so it runs cool. Hate a fire hazard.

[bschmaus]

Killer stuff on this thread. I am looking for the complete stereo for my boat and this thread has helped out greatly. I am looking at POLK and FOCAL--does anyone know about there quality?

[Domsz06]

Heard good things about POLK. In todays age, they are all so good. All I know is NVS is the best I have heard from tower speakers.

[Coach]

Killer stuff on this thread. I am looking for the complete stereo for my boat and this thread has helped out greatly. I am looking at POLK and FOCAL--does anyone know about there quality?

Polk is very good. I looked at Kicker and Polk both because they are rated marine grade with their speakers. These are the regular speakers not any special marine speakers. I have also had very good luck with Crossfire speakers and amps in the past. They also were overbuilt and held up well in the marine environment.

[Domsz06]

best amp I have ever had is my ppi amps, but heard the switched makers and are not as good. Way underrated and just AWESOME!