rhetorical question on amp placement

so as I browse through all the audio threads that seem to keep popping up and all the "pretty" install pics that I see around the web, one question keeps coming up..

why do you install the amps in the compartment out in the open mounted like a car with lighting and easy to view??

with storage so tight on a boat and most everyone using automotive amps and not true "marine" amps, I would think you want them buried in as far out of the way place as you can find so that they do not ever come in contact with that wet lifejacket that gets stored in a cubby for the trip home, or a damp towel, etc..
I see more mounted out in direct view in that cubby behind the passenger, and they look cool, but I stuffed mine as far back in that cubby as possible, hard to see, and even harder to ever come in contact with anything remotely wet..

thoughts??

Bling factor. Pimp Points :cool:

For us i make all the wet stuff, vests towels all that gear stays in the rear compartments. Only thing allowed in my cubby is back packs. Purses and dry towels at the start of the day.

After its wet it goes in the Bow to dry in the sun or lays on the sun deck till its dry.

I don't put any wet stuff in there either. You do want to keep them where you can reach them to make adjustments though.

I did the same as you. I even moved my 2 batteries back further to act as another barrier and free up some more storage space.

smaller boats like mine, you can't get to it to install it way back in there. If you have some ideas or pics i am all ears as i amp redoing my amp install this week.

I would think that once you have amps set, you never touch them again, at least I haven't unless changing something within the components of the system.

I guess I can understand the bling factor, as I had big systems in my past imports and a couple of mini trucks back in the day, but I guess I see a boat as more a family and close friend thing and I really don't try to show them the bling, unlike cars where you might go to a show and open it up for all to see.
not too often(as a matter of fact, never) have I had someone roll up to me on the lake and want to start talking stereo installs :)

Well i'm with you on that one sandm, i want them out of my way for storage. I get it though, some people like to show their stuff off and there's nothing wrong with that. I just don't like sacraficing space for pimp value. Especially with a wife that brings everything but the kitchen sink! :p

I put my wet stuff in a back locker that is towel lined and pull it all out at the end of the day to dry. My front storage is always packed. Two batts shoved up side by side as far as they will go, two platic bins full of snacks to feed the hords and womens bags, clothing, etc. GEEZ!

you know, you would think that recreating on the water in the sun should lend itself to the least amount of clothing, but seems that I'm always packing extra clothes for something or another...
guess it's a good thing there is storage on these :)

Mine were installed in the place that is most appropriate. I mean.......Where would you suggest that they be mounted?? There are 4 of them, and they are difficult to find a place to mount them out of the way. Really, you think that after your amps are "set", that you will never have to monkey with them again??!! Seriously, if someone wanted their amps to be seen they would be mounted out in the open........but let's face it.......their really isn't such a thing as a "marine" grade amp. They are all susceptible to damage by water.

I guess your thread just rubbed me the wrong way with the idea that anyone with the amps mounted in the storage under the passenger seat must be sticking them out in the open for the pimp value. I don't know how John could have mounted mine anywhere else where they would be mostly out of the way, and still accessible. I personally think that it is important to mount them in a place where they are a person can get to them. You never know when one of them might have a problem, need to be replaced or adjusted.

Just my 2c

jmvotto, I just installed an amp andtower speakers in our 08 OBV (sorry, no pics, I'll try to get some this weekend). It doesn't look half as nice as what the other folks on here do, but its not too bad I guess. I cut a piece of plywood, 3M spray glued on some carpet I had left over from waverunner trailer bunks, attached the amp to that and then attached the board to the support structure behind the passenger seat and under the dash and to the floor. It's "right there" when you open the seat and limits the space, but it's easy access. It's a Kicker MX350.4 which is a marine amp so not to afraid of it getting splashed, though I don't expect that to happen.

sandm,

When I did my install, a priority was to minimize lost storage space so I mounted my two amps and two batteries as far forward in the cubby as possible (see pic below). I never put anything wet in there so that's not an issue. All the wet stuff goes in the rear lockers as my ballast bags don't fill them all the way so there is always plenty of room back there for the wet stuff.

I did mount one amp upside down so that I could easily access the adjustment knobs. I wanted to tune them after they were all installed, not prior to, and it also allows me to make some minor adjustments as needed.

I do see some big system installs that take up most of the room in there and it leaves me shaking my head. But hey, if you want big sound, all the stuff has to go somewhere. And when you spend all that money, you want to be able to see all that cool equipment! I totally understand that even though my system is nowhere as big as some of the others on here :)

Al

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...s/IMG_5793.jpg

BTW, you sure got a lot of responses to your rhetorical question :)

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Originally Posted by jclevoy

Mine were installed in the place that is most appropriate. I mean.......Where would you suggest that they be mounted?? There are 4 of them, and they are difficult to find a place to mount them out of the way. Really, you think that after your amps are "set", that you will never have to monkey with them again??!! Seriously, if someone wanted their amps to be seen they would be mounted out in the open........but let's face it.......their really isn't such a thing as a "marine" grade amp. They are all susceptible to damage by water.

I guess your thread just rubbed me the wrong way with the idea that anyone with the amps mounted in the storage under the passenger seat must be sticking them out in the open for the pimp value. I don't know how John could have mounted mine anywhere else where they would be mostly out of the way, and still accessible. I personally think that it is important to mount them in a place where they are a person can get to them. You never know when one of them might have a problem, need to be replaced or adjusted.

Just my 2c

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Easy there JC, nobody was slamming the install methods, especially yours as it's a very clean job. jonyb did a great job on it and sandm was just asking a question is all. I think sandm's question was a valid one that he wanted opinions on. And let's face it some people do just that, for the pimp value, although nobody implied you did. Don't take away more from this than there really is is all.

yea, don't get the panties in a wad. to each his own for mounting options. just find it funny that some of the pics I see, and yes, jonyb does some superb installs, seeing all the amps mounted right as you open the seat and: 1-wasting valuable space, and 2-susceptible to getting wet just makes me scratch my head..

it would appear that the boating scene is still in it's infancy in regards to high end systems and it will be interesting to see what the aftermarket comes up with as it evolves, especially for those that need/want true control of the system, but want it in compact, efficient chassis that can be hidden out of the way. heard and not seen, not like kids should be :)

and fwiw, personally been into car audio for 22 years and imo once a system is set and tuned, really no reason to adjust again. agree with access to replace parts, but your adjustments should come from the head. again, imo..

btw, I, too chose to mount mine like cab. 3 real nice looking rockford fosgate units, but hidden way up in the front by the bow seat mounts, out of the way and really hidden..
was many hours and lots of advil for the sore back, but worth not losing any space over them..

Mine is also in the same spot as cab's, I put it there because its the easiest place to install, didn't require me to move/remove anything. When I add the tower amp I will probably re-install everything (again) behind that side cushion on the spotters seat.

I don't know about you guys, but in my boat that compartment is by far the 'wettest' part of the boat. Maybe the Outback DD having less freeboard is more prone to taking water in, and the fact that I leave mine in the water all the time might mean I get more water seepage from the cover or something...

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Originally Posted by BobP

jmvotto, I just installed an amp andtower speakers in our 08 OBV (sorry, no pics, I'll try to get some this weekend). It doesn't look half as nice as what the other folks on here do, but its not too bad I guess. I cut a piece of plywood, 3M spray glued on some carpet I had left over from waverunner trailer bunks, attached the amp to that and then attached the board to the support structure behind the passenger seat and under the dash and to the floor. It's "right there" when you open the seat and limits the space, but it's easy access. It's a Kicker MX350.4 which is a marine amp so not to afraid of it getting splashed, though I don't expect that to happen.

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Bob, i am going to do what you did withe the plywood , seal it and carpet it. Pics would be great though. I am jealous at how big the storage compartment is in the xlv and lsv. I had my eye on an all white and chrome 2010 lsv at the dealer;) my wife got me and our 07 obv out of there in a hurry LOL

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Originally Posted by jmvotto

my wife got me and our 07 obv out of there in a hurry LOL

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LOL! too funny! :p

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Originally Posted by Razzman

Easy there JC, nobody was slamming the install methods, especially yours as it's a very clean job. jonyb did a great job on it and sandm was just asking a question is all. I think sandm's question was a valid one that he wanted opinions on. And let's face it some people do just that, for the pimp value, although nobody implied you did. Don't take away more from this than there really is is all.

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Please forgive me. I didn't realize it when I was posting yesterday, but I was coming down with the flu. I guess I was just grumpy. Oops. Stayed in bed all day yesterday with a fever of 103.

You are forgiven jc, lol! Sorry to hear you got the flu, never fun that one is. That is a super clean install on your boat and i can't wait to hear a report from on the sound as sson as you can!

Jmvotto, hopefully I can grab some pics this weekend. We live in IL, but boat in MI (near Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids). I too am jealous of the space in the other boats. I'm not a big guy, but I had a heck of time working in that small cubby hole behind the seat.

For us with the OBV, we were up at the lake, kind of rainy day, starting thinking about how nice it would be to have an inboard rather than our I/O...based on what we like to do and the relatively small lake we are on. Got online, found a local dealer, had new boat within the week :) Financially not the best decision, but we don't regret it one bit, love the OBV.

I was going to ask you where the heck you go near Lockport.

Before we got a boat, we just had waverunners (still have, still fun...standups) we'd ride in Lake Michigan at Lake St. beach in Indiana. When we got our boat we took some trips, but mostly took it to the Kankakee river, 30 minutes south of us.

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Originally Posted by BobP

Jmvotto, hopefully I can grab some pics this weekend. We live in IL, but boat in MI (near Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids). I too am jealous of the space in the other boats. I'm not a big guy, but I had a heck of time working in that small cubby hole behind the seat.

For us with the OBV, we were up at the lake, kind of rainy day, starting thinking about how nice it would be to have an inboard rather than our I/O...based on what we like to do and the relatively small lake we are on. Got online, found a local dealer, had new boat within the week :) Financially not the best decision, but we don't regret it one bit, love the OBV.

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Bob, did you prime the wood with paint or sealer and if you did will the spray glue stick to it.?

My wife is from the Sturgis, Coldwater, Colon area in south central MI, so i know what you are talking about in the small lakes , there is or was a very talented rider on Long lake or plamer lake Chefwong who rides there i believe. small world

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Originally Posted by BobP

When we got our boat we took some trips, but mostly took it to the Kankakee river, 30 minutes south of us.

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I grew up on that river. Just looked and couldn't find any pics of it though. This is one of our first boat on the IL river down by Ottawa.

Wow, it is a small world. We are on Long Lake in Cloverdale, MI near Delton and Hastings, though I think it is different Long Lake from one you mentioned, there are a few Long Lakes.

And for the Kankakee, we would put in at the Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife area, nice ramp, no charge.

I did not prime or seal the board. I don't see that area ever getting wet enough to cause the board to warp or rot, but since it is right there, relatively easy to replace if it ever does happen. In my experience, there is a higher chance of it getting wet toward the back of the compartment (towards the bow) as water sometimes comes over the top of the bow when circling back to pick up boarders.

We used to rent a place up river from the Conservation Area past the railroad bridge when I was a kid. Everybody was scared to go up there but we had a jet. Later on we would knock a propeller off every summer when we ran outboards. Loved that river though.

Yeah, it gets shallow and rocky by that bridge, never went near it with our old boat...even with our standups we would never go all of the way to the bridge. It's a nice place to ride/boat, close to Chicago, aside from the floating logs and such after a big rain:(

Well, here are a couple of pics showing where I installed the amp for the tower speakers. Hoped to get the boat out this weekend, unfortunately that did not happen.