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I'm looking to add a little power to the stock stereo in a 2002 Ultra. I'm in no way looking for a water thumper, just something I can hear when I'm beached. The boat has 4 6x9 Pioneers and 2 6" Alpines. I'm not really interested in adding a sub right now because I can get pretty good Bass out of the rear 6x9's.
1. What do I need for an amp, is 300 watts over 4 channels enough or do I need to go bigger?
2. Do I need more than one amp?
I'm looking to do this on the cheap side, any thoughts on what minimum I can get away with?
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The less money you add to an Ultra the better off you are. Just joking. PO. All you need to do is buy a an amp like you said and the 300w amp is probably over kill for average 6/9's and 6" speakers. 50w/4channels is more like it. $150-$200 at Good Guys, Best Buy, Circuit City and then find out if your stereo has RCA Cables or you may need a high low converter to make it work. $40-$75 max. Then install. Piece of cake.
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you will need a 6 channel amp 1 for each speaker or you could go with a couple of them as long as you have on channel per speaker. i would look at your speakers and see what there max power handling capacity is and do not exceed it or you will be replacing them.
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FYI, the more amps that sucker pulls down at HO the less time your battery will last.
I got a 4 x 60 and it sounds really good. I think it pulls 30 amps at WOT. My battery lasts for more than 4 hours.
I noticed that the same amp 4 x 100 pulls 80 amps at WOT. I wonder how much less the battery would last?
I would get the 4 x 50 or 4 x 60.
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You should call Martin at Advanced Audio. He does the majority of the stereo work for Ultra. He knows what works best in those boats and is very fair as far as price is concerned. If you want, I'm sure he will just offer you some free advice and point you in the correct direction.
The number to Advanced Audio is 619 590 9123.
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UltraHavaTrash:
I'm looking to add a little power to the stock stereo in a 2002 Ultra. I'm in no way looking for a water thumper, just something I can hear when I'm beached. The boat has 4 6x9 Pioneers and 2 6" Alpines. I'm not really interested in adding a sub right now because I can get pretty good Bass out of the rear 6x9's.
1. What do I need for an amp, is 300 watts over 4 channels enough or do I need to go bigger?
2. Do I need more than one amp?
I'm looking to do this on the cheap side, any thoughts on what minimum I can get away with? This is an easy upgrade. I'm assuming your STOCK stereo in your Ultra is an aftermarket(Sony, Kenwood, etc.). Even if it isn't, you can buy an amp with speaker level connections. When I first did mine, I had a decent Pioneer head unit. I hooked up a 5 channel Alpine. I have 4 6x9's, 2 6 1/2", and 1 10" sub. I hooked up the 4 6x9's to 4 channels of the amp, the 10" sub to the amp, and ran the 6 1/2" speakers to the head unit. The amp was 4x75 watts + 180 watts for the 5th channel. Trust me, this was a good way to start, and easy. I've since added a second amp just for the sub, and replaced the 5 channel amp with a better 4 channel one for the 6x9's. Whatever you do, don't penny pinch on the amp or the wiring. Buy quality shit, it makes a huge difference. Hope this helps. Good luck, have fun.
HOOTER
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UltraHavaTrash:
The boat has 4 6x9 Pioneers and 2 6" Alpines. I'm not really interested in adding a sub right now because I can get pretty good Bass out of the rear 6x9's.What's powering the 3pr of speakers now?
Does your deck have preamp outputs?
UltraHavaTrash:
1. What do I need for an amp, is 300 watts over 4 channels enough or do I need to go bigger?I'd try to match the amp's RMS power to your speaker's RMS power.. 45x4 - 75x4 will be just fine..
UltraHavaTrash:
2. Do I need more than one amp?Not necessarily, but it really depends on what the configuration what your interpetation of "just wanting to hear it when beached" is...
UltraHavaTrash:
I'm looking to do this on the cheap side, any thoughts on what minimum I can get away with? In order to give any additional information or equiptment recomendations, we really need to know more about your setup...Model of deck and speakers would be nice...
Hooter system is a great example!
If you have a rear preout, another possible option is to run the 6x9's parallel off a P180.2(JBL, great watt per dollar value :) ) and the 6's off the headunit.
If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you could probably do the 2ch for around 200 or so...160 amp and 40 for wiring, fuse, and RCA's..
[ September 25, 2003, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: ROZ ]
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I'd try to match up the rms watt ratings of your speakers to an amp that provides each speaker that amount of power.
More power reduces the chances you will drive the amp into clipping.
What many people do is turn up the system to a point that the amp is clipping and sending distorted signals to the speakers. The more power you have, the less chance you will clip the amp.
And if you decide not to turn the volume up big time on a high power amp, the amp will not be working hard. It will live longer.
Always better to have more horsepower than not enough!
