Stereo Newb - Kicker Sub and Amp

[ryan_8099]

We are looking at doing a budget stereo upgrade. Looking at possibly buying a Kicker ZX 700.5 off Ian on the forum. We currently just have the 4 inboat kicker speakers with no amp.

Looking to add the amp and a sub.

First of all - Will a second battery be absolutely required for this setup? (We are thinking that we will add another battery anyway as we like to sit with the boat off on the water and listen to music)

Second - What/If any materials or extra equipment will we have to purchase to connect speakers to the amp/head unit

Third - Opinions on subs, Looking at the KM10 subbox, only curious to how that mounts or buying a KM10 and then creating a custom box (no experience doing this) If anyone has any used subs for sale that might work for us I would definitely be interested for the right price :)

[KG's Supra24]

1. I personally don't think it is required but for peace of mind it would be nice. It isn't too difficult

2. see below ...
A. You will need 2 power/ground wire (4 awg) from battery to amp. You will also want an inline fuse for one of those lines
B. You will need 12 awg speaker wire to run from your amp to your sub. Depending on the location of your current equipment, it may be easiest to just rewire all the in boat speakers as well. You could buy a large roll to do it all
C. You will need RCA's to stretch from head unit to amps. Also a remote wire to span the same distance.

3. Don't know but I have a 10" Kenwood Excelon I'd consider selling for the right price :)

Someone with more knowledge can chime in on more specifics. Some info that might help them ...
1. Where is your head unit?
2. Where do you plan to put the amp?
3. Where is your battery?
4. Where are you wanting to put the sub?

[sandm]

if you're hu is in the jockey box, this would be cake. if it's in the dash, you will need to run rca's to the amp location.
most put it in the pass. storage cubby. assuming your battery is there as well, that will be a pretty simple install.

need to answer kg's questions above and you will get very detailed answers..

the kenwood sub would be a good choice for an entry level sub and should sound good in the right box. under the drivers dash in the front of the footwell is typically the location of choice...

[ryan_8099]

1. I personally don't think it is required but for peace of mind it would be nice. It isn't too difficult

2. see below ...
A. You will need 2 power/ground wire (4 awg) from battery to amp. You will also want an inline fuse for one of those lines
B. You will need 12 awg speaker wire to run from your amp to your sub. Depending on the location of your current equipment, it may be easiest to just rewire all the in boat speakers as well. You could buy a large roll to do it all
C. You will need RCA's to stretch from head unit to amps. Also a remote wire to span the same distance.

3. Don't know but I have a 10" Kenwood Excelon I'd consider selling for the right price :)

Someone with more knowledge can chime in on more specifics. Some info that might help them ...
1. Where is your head unit?
2. Where do you plan to put the amp?
3. Where is your battery?
4. Where are you wanting to put the sub?

Thanks for the info. Do you know the model number on the sub, looking up 10" Kenwood Excelon produced many results with varying price ranges.

1. Head unit is to the right of the steering wheel, so in the general dash area.
2. I was thinking of putting the amp under the glove box storage (where I've seen most people put it) and drill it to a panel installed in there? (Would a better place be by the drivers feet for ease of access to head unit?)
3. Battery #1 is in the Port rear seating area. Under the very back corner seat cushion. Battery #2 am planning on running everything under the seats passed the cooler to under the glove box storage by the amp
4. Sub by drivers feet

[sandm]

you will either have to run new speaker wire(recommended) or splice into the wires at the hu and run them to the new amp location. I'd personally mount it as far out of the way into the pass. compartment as you can. possibly against the seatback at the front of it. keeps water from finding it. you will also have to run rca's to the amp location. if you have the center locker, it's pretty easy to run it under the floor, or run it around the bow of the boat against the underside of the seat bases.
good location for the extra battery and that will make a short run for the amp power.

personally, if I was doing this, I'd run enough rca for an upgrade later incase you get the bug to do boat/sub/tower speakers. sub under drivers dash is the easiest and probably the best location. ensure you do the research and either buy a prefab box from one of the audio vendors on here, or look at the home-built systems for how to ensure your box is both sonically sound and won't be destroyed the first season by some water...

that kicker amp and a sub in a good box will make a nice system. def. improvements over what you have :)

[bergermaister]

To maximize storage and keep good airflow I'd suggest building a board to mount it/them under the glovebox on the side wall - keep the amps a few inches off the floor. Hide all your wiring behind the board. If you're getting water that far up inside I'd say the amps are probably the least of your worries!

13184131851318613187

With your playpen front end and big basement locker storage there is a support beam that runs across near the front if it's like mine. This makes a good anchor point for any wiring or looms that you need to go from one side to the other that is out of sight and fairly protected.

I have my sub speaker wire, sub input control, ipod aux cable to name a few hidden along there. Soon to be a bunch of RCAs for the Krypt EQ install as well. My HU is in the glovebox though.

Happy to help!

[ryan_8099]

Thanks, I was definitely worried about the wiring from the head unit to the amp, but it makes sense to go around the front if possible. I think new speaker wire will be the best bet too, I don't think it is too expensive, just hoping it isn't a pain to push the wire around everywhere. I will have to draw up a diagram to make sure I understand all of the wiring. TBH I have never even seen an amp in real life. I'd prefer to probably just buy a prefab box to save the hassle of figuring out exactly how it needs to be made.

[bergermaister]

Boat was the first "major" stereo install I've ever done. Done a few simple automotive ones prior to that and did my own truck last winter - 2 amps, sub, door speakers & deck. Wiring that was a MAJOR pain compared to the boat!

Honestly running the wires in the boat is the easy part, it's the tucking them away and hiding them or tying them up/down so it's all nice and neat/clean that is the hard part.

Ah ha - from my ballast install. Here's a quick shot of that cross support. Behind the hoses going across you can see where wiring is routed and tacked up in there...

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/P1060984.jpg

[KG's Supra24]

Thanks for the info. Do you know the model number on the sub, looking up 10" Kenwood Excelon produced many results with varying price ranges.


I will try to remember to check tonight.

I concur with Sandm. I would just run all new speaker wire from speakers to amp in passenger cubby. You could just buy one big roll of 12 awg and use the same wiring to all speakers. That will also future proof your wiring in case you upgrade later down the road.

Most of your PITA costs are going to come at the battery. You need to make friends with someone that has access to heavy gauge wiring being that your batteries are going to be separated.

Someone with more technical knowledge than me will have to advise if the battery banks should be close together. (It sounded like you weren't going to relocate battery 1)

Wiring the battery will be the hardest part. As far as amps go, with your setup it should be pretty straight forward. You have 5 pos/neg on the amp and 5 speakers.

Do you have the playpen or walkthrough bow?

[ryan_8099]

Do you have the playpen or walkthrough bow?

Playpen. No, unfortunately we won't be moving battery #1. That is where the dealer located it when they did the ballast. We were expecting the passenger cubby, but I guess we weren't clear. Maybe they will be able to help us out with the heavy guage wire.

[ryan_8099]

13188

Here is my first draft of the wiring. I was bored and needed to have a visual :) Let me know if I missed anything. Have started scoping out the products:
4 Guage Power - 2x (still looking for better deal) http://www.amazon.com/Lanzar-LQ44-Contaq-Gauge-Power/dp/B0007L8ANQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327022329&sr=8-2
100 ft 12 AWG speaker wire (thinking 50 wouldn't be enough)- http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2789&seq=1&format=2
35 ft RCA - http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021814&p_id=2867&seq=1&format=2
Remote Wire - http://www.amazon.com/18ga-Remote-Wire-Amplifer-Installs/dp/B000C7GIBQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1327023065&sr=1-1

Few more questions
1. Power to head unit provided by amp, correct?
2. What is the remote wire, does that just power everything on when the head unit is powered on?
3. I am assuming the 12 awg is good since some of the nicer speakers have those as inputs and you can just add the caps/plugs to them?

Berg- do you run the front bow speakers and right speaker through those holes in the basement? Why 2 cable organizers in that picture? Not enough room, do they run to the same place? Hard to picture where that hole comes up to since I haven't seen our boat in awhile. Does it come up by the drivers feet?

What kind of material did you use to create the mount for the amps? Was the carpet available locally somewhere? Did you just screw the mounted board then to what is there? Have to make sure the screws aren't too long I suppose.

BTW Ian if you read this your PM mailbox is full

Thanks all!

[Mikey]

I've put off building my system now for too long . I have a question refering to the Kicker KM10 sub box mentioned above. Has anyone ,got or using one and how do you like it?My local dealers never carry them and only want to order one in. I want to hear and or compare it to other subs. Its actually the box i'm interested in for simplicity reasons as i'm pretty sure the actual sub could be removed and upgraded,with another 10 inch sub. But is this necessary and or a simple way to go without buiding a custom box? I'm not a real Bass hound so ,not looking for a real hard pounding sub ,just something to compliment the rest of the on board system. Tower is not an issue as well as we are primarily skiers and tunes are on during Rest stops and downtime . Not while skiing.Any comments..

[KG's Supra24]

The drawing looks good. Do you plan on using a perko or just increasing your battery bank size? I think you can do either but I'd verify with someone that you don't need to throw in a perko for some reason. Someone else will have to answer on thickness of run you will have to make. I would typically say 0 awg but maybe you can get away with something smaller since it is such a long run?

1. Power to headunit is off the little block thing under the helm. It will remain the same and untouched. The only thing you will do at the headunit is disconnect all the speaker wires and plug in RCA's. You may want to post up your head unit. I'm not certain if you need multiple RCA runs. I also haven't looked at the amp. The headunit might have a remote wire location?
2. Yes, that's all it does. Real small wire.
3. 12 awg basically future proofs you for future upgrades. If you are going to wire it, might as well do it right once. You would probably be fine with 14 or 16

I can't see burg's pic from this reply screen so this is from memory ... but could those be ballast hoses? If you look at the back of the locker you can see he has run the wiring along the lip. That is how I did mine as well, along the lip of the playpen.

I used birch plywood and sprayed rubber truckbed coating on it. There are other options. I picked up the carpet from Lowe's. I think most people are cutting a small hole in the carpet, wood gluing a post, then screwing to the post. I, personally, would drill into the outside hull. Local shop around here did that for an X2 and the screw went through!!

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[KG's Supra24]

Thanks for the info. Do you know the model number on the sub, looking up 10" Kenwood Excelon produced many results with varying price ranges.


Kenwood KFC-XW1002DVC - 250 rms dual voice coil

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_14951_Kenwood_Excelon_KFC-XW1002DVC.aspx

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[KG's Supra24]

I, personally, would drill into the outside hull. Local shop around here did that for an X2 and the screw went through!!

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*wouldn't

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[dusty2221]

Very important correction, lol.

[Hoopskier]

Ryan, I think you will find that putting a stereo in a boat is easier than a car, at least in my opinion. You dont have to remove door panel and such. I cant help much with the second battery idea, I only run one battery in my boat.

4 guage power and ground wires-with appropriate fuse holder- Good
35 ft RCA wires- pretty long if you are able to go directly across the boat, might want to measure that prior to ordering, also maybe look for a 4 channel RCA wire. such as http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38867_Stinger-SI4412.html?from=3-700-53
12 guage speaker wire, in my opinion might be a little overkill, I used 16 gauge in my application but to each their own- just bought local at wally world, I used 100 ft to run 6 speakers, you may be able to use less.
Remote turn on wire- 18 gauge. can buy local at fleet farm or similar place. When powered supplied by HU, tells that amp to turn on.

Bergs pics look like ballast hoses, but if you look behind the hoses you can see the wires.

For mounting, I also used the seat back in the observer storage area. I used a standard peice of 1/2" plywood, painted it, and covered it in marine grade vinyl.

Here is a pic of my setup in my Outback, different boat, different amp, but gives you an idea.
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/hoopskier/001-1.jpg

[bergermaister]

I'll do my best here...


Berg- do you run the front bow speakers and right speaker through those holes in the basement?

Mine came with 4 cheapo Pioneers already there. I just used the existing speaker wires - they don't run under the belly but around the front of the boat instead. I believe both of them on the starboard side run up the full length around the bow and back to the glovebox area.


Why 2 cable organizers in that picture? Not enough room, do they run to the same place? Hard to picture where that hole comes up to since I haven't seen our boat in awhile.

Good eye. First had run my sub speaker wire and the bass remote control wire. Those are in one organizer. Couple years later I ran the 1/8" mini cable for my ipod hookup (got tired of reaching over to the glovebox to mess with it). Decided it would be easier to add another organizer instead of pulling that one apart to slip in one more wire. I believe that was a 12ft cable and I had some room to spare. For RCA's I'd guess you would be fine with 15-20ft but always good to measure first. I'll have to do the same myself in a few months.


Does it come up by the drivers feet?
Yes, the wires slip out by the drivers feet but it is way up under the helm and pretty much out of site behind my subwoofer enclosure. No drilling required there - there is enough play between the carpeted panels the wiring will slide right through. Can kind of see it back there-

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/P1070062.jpg



What kind of material did you use to create the mount for the amps?
I used 3/4" MDF sheeting - waterproof sealed with Thompsons. I had some left over from my subwoofer box build. Probably overkill but it is what I had.


Was the carpet available locally somewhere?
Ebay - got a silver marine grade carpet (kinda light duty) that was a very very close match. I bought a few yards of it for around $30 shipped. Covered the amp racks and the subwoofer box. I bought it by the yard at 6ft wide. Just search up "boat marine carpet".


Did you just screw the mounted board then to what is there? Have to make sure the screws aren't too long I suppose.

This part was a bit tricky. I did NOT screw into the hull wall at all. I used 2-3 L-shaped galvanized brackets across the bottom that screw into the boards and into the floor. Tucked in tight so they are almost invisible. The center amp actually holds the two separate boards together and covers the seam pretty well. Another L-shaped bracket for the front that anchors into the vent wall. On the top I fashioned a brace about 3/4" wide by 6" long (just basic sheet metal, painted) that screws down on the board on one end and anchors to one of the bolts on the cleat on that side. Used the existing nut and bolt there on the cleat where it comes through to the inside.

Probably kind of hard to visualize that ^. I'll see if I have any pics floating around. I tell ya though - it's rock solid. Doesn't bounce around at all.

[bergermaister]

Few of the brackets I mounted on the bottom of the amp racks and then to the floor of the boat. Note these are the brass looking ones - don't use them! Go galvanized if you do something like this.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/P1020950.jpg

Can see the hidden power distribution going on there too.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/P1020958.jpg

So when the amps are mounted in the compartment against the wall, this is all that sticks out on the bottom and I anchored that into the floor. Screw it down tight into the carpet so it crushes down good so no sharp corners.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/P1020951.jpg

Here you can see the top angle bracket in the right corner. Couldn't find a better way to hide that...

On the center amp there, the black bracket mounted by it's top left corner is the sheet metal piece I mentioned. It goes straight up and fastens to the cleat hardware.

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/P1020977.jpg

There's actually the third amp off to the left that isn't visible unless you stuff your head in there and look back.

I wasn't quite done wiring here but pretty close. One thing I really like about the Kicker amps. Power wires on one end, signal and speaker wires on the other end. Easy to keep them separated and avoid interference.

Does that help some?

[ian ashton]

BTW Ian if you read this your PM mailbox is full

Thanks all!

Sorry about that! I have cleaned it, resend please :)

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[ryan_8099]

Do you plan on using a perko or just increasing your battery bank size?

Going to go Perko switch with ACR. Just not sure how we want to wire it quite yet. Do you want to PM me how much you want for that sub? I think I will probably just end up buying a 10" sub box for it then. I really think it will look better than the KM10 box.


Berg - Thanks, that info definitely helps.

Hoopskier - Thanks for the picture of your install, that give us another option.

Now I just wish it was warm enough to work on this in the garage. Currently -5 here!

[KG's Supra24]

Let me do some looking on the cost of the sub. I haven't look at anything and been swamped this morning. If you have an idea in mind, though, shoot me a PM.

As far as sub goes, the box doesn't necessarily have to be pretty bc you can build a fascia, false wall. Below is mine, there is a box behind it that isn't the best looking but the carpeted wall makes it look factory ...

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i401/kwgarner24/2011-05-17_19-48-48_77.jpg

[wolfeman131]

I cringe every time I see that pic KG with the screw gun on the vinyl! I can just see on of my kids sitting on it and driving the bit right through it.

[New Guy]

Ryan if you ever need a hand hit me up I will come over some time and give you a hand. I am really happy with a kicker 10' L5 under the helm.

Here is a a couple pictures of my install, I am ripping it all apart this winter and cleaning things up. https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?15895-My-humble-stereo

[KG's Supra24]

I cringe every time I see that pic KG with the screw gun on the vinyl! I can just see on of my kids sitting on it and driving the bit right through it.

My daughter gave up being a "helper" when the temps dropped. She also isn't a fan of working on the stereo bc it prevents her from listening to it while working. Kids these days are so fair weather :D

[kaneboats]

My daughter left her car parked behind my truck for sale a couple of days ago. She claims it was out of gas and would not start. I dumped a couple gallons from the gas can in there and hopped in to run over and fill it for her. It wouldn't turn over. What the heck? I look under the hood and her battery cables are filthy. I had told her to clean the connections a month before when I was under there. She never did it. She could have been calling me from the mall, stuck in the parking lot. Instead, it's dead blocking me in so I had to take care of it. I thought about just shoving it down the driveway into the street. Anyway I clean the negative connection but I couldn't get the positive one off. The bolt on the post-clamp connection was frozen solid. I worked it, sprayed it, everything but it wouldn't budge. Finally I cut the dang thing off, cleaned everything and found a new connector in my "everything" box in the garage. I made a new cable end that bolts to the old cable. So about an hour and a half has gone by and she comes home in Mom's car and is now going to assist me. She pulls the truck next to her car so we can jump it and it fires right up. She gets some gas money from me an hops in and takes off with tunes blasting. By then I forgot where I was going in the first place so I pick up all the tools, put everything away and go in the house. I open the fridge to grab a beer and then it hits me where I was going. We're out of beer.

[bergermaister]

I am ripping it all apart this winter and cleaning things up.

What the... why N.G.?

Kane, I can so relate...

http://farm2.rawsignal.com/images/2/2008/2/3eb95cca-d88f-4ee3-8e9f-dd13bbabad82.jpg

[KG's Supra24]

Kane, that story makes my day better!!

[ryan_8099]

Ryan if you ever need a hand hit me up I will come over some time and give you a hand. I am really happy with a kicker 10' L5 under the helm.

Here is a a couple pictures of my install, I am ripping it all apart this winter and cleaning things up. https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?15895-My-humble-stereo

Thanks for the offer, it is definitely going to be awhile until I get started on this. I like the look of the L5 and the price is pretty solid. I will have to see how easy it is to buy a box for a square sub, haven't looked yet. A 10" round box was only like $40

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882586377

Also enjoyed that story. Sounds like something you would see on a tv sitcom

[New Guy]

No problem.

[KG's Supra24]

I think the Kicker 700.5 is going to be short of supplying the power a solobaric is going to need. Def a good sub though.

PM coming your way ....

[MLA]

I've put off building my system now for too long . I have a question referring to the Kicker KM10 sub box mentioned above. Has anyone ,got or using one and how do you like it?My local dealers never carry them and only want to order one in. I want to hear and or compare it to other subs. Its actually the box i'm interested in for simplicity reasons as i'm pretty sure the actual sub could be removed and upgraded,with another 10 inch sub. But is this necessary and or a simple way to go without buiding a custom box? I'm not a real Bass hound so ,not looking for a real hard pounding sub ,just something to compliment the rest of the on board system. Tower is not an issue as well as we are primarily skiers and tunes are on during Rest stops and downtime . Not while skiing.Any comments..

Mikey,

I dont want to take this thread too far off topic, but I did want to reply in regards to the Kicker KM and SKM 10" sub. I dont want to interject my personal feeling, but IMO, this is a very nice sub. It very musical and compliments a moderately powered 4-6 in-boat setup. Ive used both the KM10 in my custom built enclosures as well as the SKM10 in its own enclosure. I just had one leave last week that was driven by a 300W rms amp in a closed bow Boomerang. Customer was very pleased. I wish you could both get a listen to it as well as compare it to other 10" subs in the same power handling arena. You truly need to be the judge.

2nd, I would not go with the SKM10 with the hopes of swapping the sub out later. The KM10 is somewhat recessed into the enclosure, so its constructed to fit both the OD and mounting cut out of the KM10. I would suggest the KM10 and building your own enclosure if this was your future possible plan. Even then, the future upgrade would be like buying a car to fit a set of wheels and tires you already have. When the time to upgrade comes, you very well may end up having to build a new enclosure specifically for the new sub.

[MLA]

I think the Kicker 700.5 is going to be short of supplying the power a solobaric is going to need. Def a good sub though.

PM coming your way ....

An L5 10" or the new L3 10" or 12" are spot on for the 420W rms of the zxm700.5. Sealed or ported...id rock'm all day long.

[KG's Supra24]

An L5 10" or the new L3 10" or 12" are spot on for the 420W rms of the zxm700.5. Sealed or ported...id rock'm all day long.

My fault on the misinformation.

MLA, help me out on my understanding because I'm still learning

4 ohms: 70 watts x 4 chan. + 210 watts x 1 Class D Sub channel: This is the scenario I was working from. Can you drop the ohm load to 2 for just the sub channel? If so, that doesn't necessarily double the output, right?

2 ohms: 85 watts x 4 chan. + 420 watts x 1 Class D Sub channel: This one confuses me completely

4 ohms (bridged): 130 watts x 2 chan. + 420 watts x 1 chan. (2 ohms sub channel, 210 watts @ 4 ohms): This is the way you get the 420 watts of power to the sub, right? But when you are bridged can you show a 2 ohm load to the 130 x 2? Because you will have 4 speakers on those 2 channels.

Maybe I just don't understand dual voice coil at all. If you have 2 voice coils at 2 ohms each, do you not have to take your amp readings from a 4 ohm standpoint? Taking them from a 2 ohm listing and x 2 gives you a 1 ohm load, no?

[MLA]

My fault on the misinformation.

MLA, help me out on my understanding because I'm still learning

4 ohms: 70 watts x 4 chan. + 210 watts x 1 Class D Sub channel: This is the scenario I was working from. Can you drop the ohm load to 2 for just the sub channel? If so, that doesn't necessarily double the output, right?

2 ohms: 85 watts x 4 chan. + 420 watts x 1 Class D Sub channel: This one confuses me completely

4 ohms (bridged): 130 watts x 2 chan. + 420 watts x 1 chan. (2 ohms sub channel, 210 watts @ 4 ohms): This is the way you get the 420 watts of power to the sub, right? But when you are bridged can you show a 2 ohm load to the 130 x 2? Because you will have 4 speakers on those 2 channels.

Maybe I just don't understand dual voice coil at all. If you have 2 voice coils at 2 ohms each, do you not have to take your amp readings from a 4 ohm standpoint? Taking them from a 2 ohm listing and x 2 gives you a 1 ohm load, no?

Ok, lets just focus on the Class-D mono sub chnl. If a 4 Ohm speaker load is wired to the chnl # 5, the chnl will deliver 210 watts RMS (root mean sq.) other wise called continuous power. A dual voice coil basically has two sets of windings and each needs to be powered.

If a 2 Ohm speaker load is wired, then the chnl will deliver 420 watts RMS. So, this amp can run a moderate 4 Ohm single voice coil @ 210, like the KM10, or a higher power handling 4 Ohm dual voice coil sub like an L3 or a CVR.

Most typical DVC subs come in the 2 ohm or 4 ohm configuration. With a dual 4, we wire the coils + to + and - to - and we get 2 Ohm and receive 420W. A dual 2 ohm can be wired in series (coil 1 + to amp, coil 2 - to amp and coil 1 - to coil 2 +). This nets us 4 ohm and allows up to bridge the sub on a 2 chnl amp. Or, we can wire it in parallel for a 1 Ohm load for a mono amp. Just keep in mind, that not all mono amp are stable with a 1 ohm load. Too low an ohm load causes problems.

The loads placed on the sub chnl has no bearing on the out put of the 4 full-range chnls and vise-verse. A single 4 ohm in-boat speaker wired to one of the 4 full-range chnl will net 70W to that speaker. Wiring two 4 ohm speakers in parallel is a 2 ohm load, and the chnl output is now 85W. This 85W is then divided by the two similar speakers with each netting 42.5. Bridging a 4 ohm speaker across two chnls is equal to each chnl "seeing" a 2 ohm load as the 4 ohm bridged load is divided internally. I think the bridged output of the 700.5 is 170, but im not sure as ive never used it bridged. I always use it for 4-6 in-boats, but have used it for a pair of tower speakers and a sub.

[KG's Supra24]

So for my understanding ... The kicker L5 is a dual 4 ohm, that means we will be presenting a 2 ohm load to the 5th channel. Can the other 4 channels see a 4 ohm load or do you have to keep it at the 2 ohm load?

Also, I guess the Kicker 700.5 is different from most amps in the fact that it will double the power at a 2 ohm load compared to a 4 ohm load? Typically I see the 2 ohm load being 1.75 x greater than the 4 ohm.

EDIT: I appreciate the education.

[KG's Supra24]

The loads placed on the sub chnl has no bearing on the out put of the 4 full-range chnls and vise-verse.

I think that answer solved my confusion. Sounds like you can have the best of both worlds.

I also didn't completely understand how the DVC worked.

[New Guy]

Yeah pretty much. How I am running my 700.5 is a 10" L5 DVC 4ohm in parallel +to+ -to- to show the amp a 2ohm load. The cabins are on the rest of the amp. Basically think of it as two amp a class AB for cabins and a class D for the sub channel.

MLA maybe you can help me out here I am running the Polk MM651's which are a 2.7ohm load I currently don't have my bows hooked up because I don't know how to present the amp with the correct load. Is there a way to run six of them off of the AB amp and still get enough power to them? I'm thinking it would be ++- and --+ is that correct?

Sorry for the threadjack Ryan.

[MLA]

I think that answer solved my confusion. Sounds like you can have the best of both worlds.

I also didn't completely understand how the DVC worked.

The Class-D sub chnl will handle a 2 or 4 Ohm load independently of the other 4. The 4 Class-A/B Full-range chnls will handle a 2 or 4 ohm load regardless of what load is placed on the sub chnl.

A DVC sub, think it as having to speaker motors driving a single woofer cone. Each coil has its own impedance and its own set of + and - terminals. Each coil needs to be powered for the sub to work. Having two coils allows us to configure a single sub in two was to better fit the amps power rating. It also allows for wiring multiple subs to a single amp so that we can keep the amps load with in its comfortable operating range. Most all of Kicker's DVC subs come in either a dual 2 or dual 4. This lets you go with the best configuration for the amp thats going to be used.

The sun chnl doubles it power from 4 ohm to 2 ohm, but the class-A/B full-range chnls do not on this amp. A lot of mono amps do double the power when going from 4 to 2. Some full-range amps do and some dont. Its not a rule of thumb for full-range.

Im glad to help, any time!

[MLA]

Yeah pretty much. How I am running my 700.5 is a 10" L5 DVC 4ohm in parallel +to+ -to- to show the amp a 2ohm load. The cabins are on the rest of the amp. Basically think of it as two amp a class AB for cabins and a class D for the sub channel.

MLA maybe you can help me out here I am running the Polk MM651's which are a 2.7ohm load I currently don't have my bows hooked up because I don't know how to present the amp with the correct load. Is there a way to run six of them off of the AB amp and still get enough power to them? I'm thinking it would be ++- and --+ is that correct?

Sorry for the threadjack Ryan.

Mark,

You would need to wire the port side main cabin pair in series and connect to chnl-3 and then do the same with the starboard side pair and wire them to chnl-4. Then wire the bows to chnls 1 and 2. This will present a 5.4 Ohm load on the amp's chnls 3 and 4. This will net about 30W to each. This is a bit light, but doable impedance wise. The bow pair would be 2x the power, so it would be a noticeable volume difference, so you would want to adjust back the bow.

If it where me, I would leave the 4 main cabins as they are = each speaker on its own chnl, and install a small 2 chnl just for the bow pair.

[New Guy]

Ok that is what I was afraid of. Thanks