Amp and cabim speaker question

i am totally new to the world of stereo, but have been trying to read forums and learn what is right and wrong with stereo setup on the forums. All the info that you guys provide can be a little overwhelming when trying to take it all in. I recently bought my first boat, a 2003 mobius. the cabin and tower speakers are all trashed (not even sure that they are marine), so i am looking to replace the cabin speakers and eliminate the tower for the moment to get me thru til i can do big project in winter. I read alot about the exile audio stuff on here and seems like the way to go, so i would like to replace all 6 cabin speakers with the sx65. currently it seems that the cabin is run off the head unit, so that wont do. there is a hifonics zx4400 4 channell amp running the tower and a sub (blown). It is 4 x 55 @ 4 ohm, 4 X 110 @ 2 ohm amp. what i am wondering is if i can wire all the cabin speakers off this amp to get me thru the summer and figure out the rest this winter, and if so what is the best way to wire them.

do you put both sets of rears on one channel with 2 sets of wires from the rear channels, or do you wire them to the positive of first, neg to pos of sec, and neg back to amp. this is the part that i am still somewhat confused on.

thanks for the help ahead of time and cant wait to see what these speakers sound like if i can make it work.

Lance

run the cabin speakers in parralel see below
http://www.termpro.com/articles/spkrz.html
your amp can handle it.

i hear the exile 6.5 cabin speakers are great. if your on a budget the polk db 6.5 sound great and are about half the price.

Your 4 chnl amp is basically divided into two 2 chnl amps. On "Amp-1" (chnls 1 and 2) you will want to wire the port bow to chnl-1 and stbd bow to chnl-2. On "Amp-2" (chnls 3 and 4), you will wire the two port side main cabin speakers + to + and - to - to chnl-3 and then do the same for the two stbd side main cabin speakers and connect them to chnl-4.

The above parallel (+ to +/- to -) connection can be done at the amp if you run a speaker wire pair from each speaker to the amp, or is can be done by running a speaker wire pair from the most rearward speaker to the mid-ship speaker and then one speaker wire pair from there to the amp. Regardless of what wire size comes with the speakers you choose, I would recommend 14ga wire for the interior. May be overkill for the 50W they will be receiving with your current amp, but it gives you the necessary gauge to upgrade the amp power at a later time.

There are lots of great sounding speakers out there, and hear are a few things to look for when choosing a marine in-boat: Sealed magnet (not exposed like a car speaker), grill mounted tweeter coax design with a continuous cone mid-bass driver. ( a pole mounted tweeter will allow moisture into the voice coil), stainless steel hardware, and UV resistant materials. Check out you local dealers so you can see and listen to whats out there.

The Polk dB coaxials mentioned above sound very good and are definitely the best under-$100-a-pair speakers you will find. They kind of own that price bracket. You certainly can't beat the value but you can get a much better sounding speaker.
I agree with MLAs comments about the construction of a true marinized speaker but have different or additional reasons for choosing a speaker without a post mounted tweeter. A speaker with a grill or bridge mounted tweeter will have a sealed and continuous midbass cone which translates to greater cone surface area, more midbass attack and deeper midbass extension. Many boaters prioritize the tower speakers and subwoofer and leave the in-boat speakers playing second fiddle. For me the quality of the in-boat coaxials is top priority in that they play a dominant 8 of 10 musical octaves (to the extent they are audible in a boat) and they are listened to in a five-foot proximity. They are the core and foundation of your system. A modest increase in your investment here can make a more profound impact in sound quality versus any other component.
Along those lines the JL Audio MX650 coaxial is now shipping with a titanium (charcoal) sport (spoked edgier design) grill.

David
Earmark Marine

Dillinle - Nice to hear your looking at putting an Exile stereo in your Moomba.

The SXT's will sound great on your tower and compliment the SXC in the cabin. You'll find many guys on here have first this gear on their boats and can give you some feedback.

Give us a call at the office 888-249-0970 and we can put you in contact with a local retailer and go over stereo configurations / wiring. I have a wiring chart I can send you that shows parallel wiring etc if your a DIY guy.

-Brian
Exile Audio

thx for the replies guys...will be giving you a call after the holiday!!