amplifier direction question

[pmkkdx]

update ... ordered the JL Audio 700w 5 channel marine amp, switched the interior cabin speakers and subwoofer to that amp and moved the tower speakers over to the Memphis 600w 4 channel (the good amp). After a little tuning, sounds great! I know I am probably going to need to update the "good" amp at some point and possibly update the speakers on the tower but the shear costs will have to do in stages as my financial adviser (wife) recommended we space it out.

thanks for all the input and PMs ... very very helpful and cleared my mind on path forward.

[TolCarMan]

update ... ordered the JL Audio 700w 5 channel marine amp, switched the interior cabin speakers and subwoofer to that amp and moved the tower speakers over to the Memphis 600w 4 channel (the good amp). After a little tuning, sounds great! I know I am probably going to need to update the "good" amp at some point and possibly update the speakers on the tower but the shear costs will have to do in stages as my financial adviser (wife) recommended we space it out.

thanks for all the input and PMs ... very very helpful and cleared my mind on path forward.

Good decision! I swear by JL everything... It's all I run in my boats!

[swatguy]

That’s great choice on the amp. How do you have the tower speakers wired to the Memphis 4 Channel?

[pmkkdx]

That’s great choice on the amp. How do you have the tower speakers wired to the Memphis 4 Channel?

that's a total kludge as the stereo guy checked the tower speakers and they appear to be wired as 8 ohm, his meter was reading 7.7 to about 9.1 and needless to say, all three guys at that shop were trying to figure that out since they should be 4 ohm speakers. I didn't check to see how he connected those, so not totally sure. Why I suspect I will be upgrading that amp and speakers at some point in the not to distant future.

[swatguy]

Yea that’s precisely the reason I asked . I am not sure how those got wired to an 8ohm load. I mean I know how they are ( in series ) , but the normal configuration ( 2 4ohm speakers wired in parallel) should’ve been what those read.

The only way the Memphis amp remotely comes close to being able to power those is if you actually use all 4 channels and wire each speaker/driver to its own channel. That, could work , not ideal but usable . That gives you 75watts to each driver. With an 8ohm load you’re not getting anywhere near the required power no matter how you configure them on the Memphis amp. Wiring each set of pods in parallel, and then finding a decent (2)channel amp is the optimal configuration. You could find a midrange (2)channel D class,with proper power for 180.00 if you needed to stay on a budget.

[Elberoth]

that's a total kludge as the stereo guy checked the tower speakers and they appear to be wired as 8 ohm, his meter was reading 7.7 to about 9.1 and needless to say, all three guys at that shop were trying to figure that out since they should be 4 ohm speakers. I didn't check to see how he connected those, so not totally sure. Why I suspect I will be upgrading that amp and speakers at some point in the not to distant future.

Are you sure the guy has masured the speaker impedance, not DC resistance ? Two different things, both giving readings in Ohm.

Did you check the label on the back of the drive units ? Most of the speakers have their impedance indicated on the back label.

[pmkkdx]

swatguy, on your point about finding a decent 2 channel amp ... would that be in addition to the Memphis amp or as a replacement? That was another reason I was thinking I will need to upgrade that amp and possibly the tower speakers ...

Elberoth, no clue on what he was measuring, that's way outside my league. After checking down at the amp, we disconnected the the connector at the tower pivot (by windshield) to verify whatever he was measuring with his meter, same reading. He pulled two other guys out of the shop to consult. I would think he knew what he was doing since he owns a sound shop, but that might not be the case.

[MLA]

Are there 2 or 4 pair of tower speaker wires at the amp?

[pmkkdx]

I honestly don't know. I do know that the connector at the tower pivot was only a 4 pin connector that drives a pair (2) speakers (each speaker has a tweeter). There is another set of wires going down the opposite leg of the tower with connector for the other pair (2) speakers. It appears that the wiring of the pairs happens up in the speaker housings as there is a cross over between the housings with only one set of wires coming out and into the tower..

[MLA]

Sounds like each pair is wired in series. In this case, just bridge each pair on 2 chnls the 4 chnl amp.

[pmkkdx]

I will try to look closer this weekend to see how it's wired. They sound pretty good but don't seem to be near as loud as they were on the old trashed amp.

[Rossterman]

The D rated amps generate way less heat and are more economical regarding power consumption vs. class A/B. I have the same boat (2001 205V) with 4 kicker HLCD speakers on the tower, 4 in cabin polk ultra marine, and 2 subs (10” polk in sealed box and bazooka tube w/ 8” polk sub) . Polks marine rated class D amps (and their clones PPI and NVX) get stellar reviews from the folks doing testing on a number of car audio sites and make tons of power. Considering the 5 channel is under $200 they are hard to beat pricewise too. Take a look at them when you are ready to upgrade amps next time. Also, as others have stated, use standoffs to allow airflow behind the amp. I’ve had zero issues with overheating and we regulary have jacket and clothing tossed in there restricting air flow. I believe polk is no longer selling them so I just ordered the NVX clone for my truck stereo project

[swatguy]

The amp I recommended would have replaced the Memphis . The NVX Marine line mentioned above is what I woulda referred you to if you wanted to keep it budget friendly. It really boils down to how those speakers are configured and wired to get you dialed in.

[pmkkdx]

I'm down in my back again and couldn't crawl around to check out wiring.

My son came over for mother's day and checked a bit. Said the sub and interior cabin speakers sounded great, better than we have had since purchase of the boat 10 years ago. But he did say one of the tower pair was not working properly, 1 was only putting out a little sound and the other nothing. I will need to get this checked out since it was working before we laid the tower down to put back in the garage.

[pmkkdx]

grrr, checked everything I could, took back to the shop to check, everything checks out and appears that one side of a pair of my tower speakers is dead or at least not working. So yesterday, I dove into trying to see if I could disassembly to find the issue ... but I can find no way to dissemble these cans to gain access to the speaker or wiring inside.

have any of you ever disassembled speakers like these and know of any tricks to remove the grills? Could these grills just pop out with some pressure as there are no screws anywhere on the outside of the cans (other than little screws holding on the 5 decorative blades)