Sterio Upgrade - Amp & Sub: SubWoofer Design & Installation

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

Expanded:

With the new LifePo’s in, I am feeling confident that I now have enough power to up the performance of my Tunes. At this point, I am only looking to ad an amp and sub. Speakers – for another budget season….

Questions on adding an Amp/Sub:

Consensus Acknowledged: JL or WetSounds is the Best but pricey; Rockford Fosgate is solid; Kicker seems to have a higher failure rate, but most love the upgrade.

• Sub Location – I conclude either under the Helm or Swing Back – the bench seats do NOT work given the plastic seat encasement. Correct?
• Powered vs Passive – Most marine units are passive. I assume the 5 channel amp/passive sub is best, though recommendations pushed the 4 channel / powered amp – better heat diffusion, easier wiring, independent systems, expandable. Thoughts / experience? I assume in most cases turning off the radio will turn off the powered sub (I don’t need more switches to remember).
• 2 ohm vs 4 ohm. So the 2 ohm is louder/more strain on amp; 4 ohm will let the amp run cooler, some say better sound. Has anyone had issues with a 2 ohm Sub in constantly hot climates (110 degrees plus)? I assume these marine products have this figured out. Anyone regularly run in very hot weather (we do all summer long) and have any issues with their setup?
• Wiring: If I am just adding in the amp and leaving the existing RGB Kickers (2021), will I need to replace the speaker wires to really get the benefit of the amp?

Product Selection: - Though I included prices, the overall variance is not really a factor.

• Amp – Based on keeping my existing speakers, the following seemed to be the consensus on the best “Matched” Amps, depending on 5 or 4 channel, with the higher rated systems allowing for better speakers later. Has anyone used one of these with their existing Kickers with good results & reliability?
• Rockford Fosgate M2 750X 5Channel - $600
• Rockford Fosgate T400X4ad 4Channel- $500
• JL Audio XDM1000/5JL 5 Channel - $1,000
• JL Audio M400/ 4Channel - $500
• Note – seems the 750 or 1000 would allow a future speaker upgrade, and interestingly, because they are larger units, better suited for the heat, per my research.
• Subs: Research pushed the following 4 options with enclosed systems:
• Kicker Tube – 8” = 9x9x14 - cylinder shape- $400 – Passive.
• Smallest - seems this would tuck well into multiple spaces and can be mounted in either direction.
• Wet Sounds Zero – 8” = 18x14x9 -rectangle shape - $800 – Passive
• Concerned about the exposed speaker, largest.
• Wet Sounds Stealth – 8” = 10x10x11 – cube shaped - $700 – Powered
• Winner in size, but powered, need access to 2 sides, but then only a 4 channel amp?
• JL Audio – 10” = 18x13x7 = rectangle shape = $800 – Passive
• That is a lot of floor space, but the downfire mount looks appealing and save from the movement of “stuff”, you could toss stuff on top and not worry about it.
• There were some other cheaper options, but… you get what you pay for….

OTHER DETAILS / FYI for others:

No Tower, Ski Pole – so tower speakers are not an option.

I have the stock Rockford Fosgate PMX2 with 6 RGB Kickers (2 on back of SB). No objections to the sound when floating or cruising at 20, but when we are going up the lake at 30+ – I clearly don’t have the power needed to hear the music. Extensive reading and research (26 pages) suggest that if I am not an audiophile, then just getting a quality amp may solve my issue, and adding a Subwoofer will definitely take me to a new level of sound quality. YAY!

The Sub: I concluded there are two types, Infinite Baffle (“free air” install sub speaker into a large sealed cavity – ha, my Benny is stuffed full) or an Enclosed Sub (Sealed/Loaded (pre-wired / powered) or Ported (bigger boom, but needs space). I don’t have much room – so Sealed/Loaded is the answer.

You mean I can’t just cut a hole somewhere and mount the sub, geeze…Maybe I just bring my Klipsch’s on board?

THANK YOU, I appreciate any nuance or other details I should consider before spending those hard earned greenbacks.

 

[Seadoorxpguy]

So after going through all this having 6 speakers makes things complicated to get by with a solo amp and a sub. The 6 factory speakers only sound good when thrown into a trash can. I avoid wet sounds stuff. I don't love it from the experience I've had with it, and you pay a premium for it. I have 2 kicker 2 ohm 10" sub tubes on my boat currently. But i stepped up to run two amps. 1 pair of speakers bridged on a 5 ch amp with 1 sub on the 5th channel and 2 pairs of speakers and the 2nd sub on the other amp. I tried to run the swing back speakers off the head unit originally and interior speakers off the original 5ch am. The swing back speakers sounded like garbage, so once I knew I was adding another amp came the 2nd sub. One is under my helm the 2nd is under the interior seat behind the co captain seat. One of my friends who changed his roswell setup around a little because the OEM config leaves alot on the table added a 2nd amp to mirror my setup but did a surface mount in the removable panel that bolts in on the interior of the boat. Looks good and sounds great. Ill try to locate a pic.