Speakers

[SoTX]

I have a 2004 Outback and it has a Kenwood reciever/CD player. Now I want to put a couple of speakers up on the tower. I am completely illiterate when it comes to electronics especially stereo equipment. So, say I add four speakers to the top of the tower, do I need an amp and if so how big of one and where do you mount it and how do you run the wires through the tower to the speakers etc. etc.
Or basically what would work best with my Kenwood system for some boomin sounds.
Thanks
George

[lowdrag]

Yes, you definitely need an amp. A good place to mount it is underneath the observer seat. Nice dry area and it's close to the battery and to where you'll need to run the speaker wires throught the hull to the tower. Power depends a lot on speakers. Definitely don't skimp on the amp, you're much better off having too much power than too little. It's a lot easier to burn speakers up if your amp is under powered. If I were you I'd go to a local stereo shop to get a recommendation. The Kenwood deck should have RCA outputs you can run straight to the amp for the tower speakers and you can continue to run the factory speakers from the deck. Just make sure the amp you get has and adjustable gain on it so you can tune the tower speakers to match the loudness of the factory speakers.

As far as running the wires to the speakers, I've talked to guys who have done it but haven't gotten around to it yet. One suggestion I got was to order some wires that have a connector you can flush mount on the hull by the tower. You can then plug the harness into it that runs through the tower to the speakers. Drill the tower where the wires enter and exit and use a fish tape to run through it and pull the wires through.

[TheBeeZ]

An eaiser way to get the wiring harness inside the tube is to drill your hole in the tower. Take dental floss on the other end, put a shop vac over the hole you drilled and suck the floss through the hole you can then tie off the harness and pull it through. Use waxed floss, it is less likley to get cut by sharp edges.

[Yellowmobius]

My 2 cents,

I have installed 2 tower speakers, Kicker, paid $450 new for them and I would not do it again. They really don't add much to the sound inside the boat and if you are in a public area they just give the fishermen another excuse to bitch about boarders.
In additon they make the tower much heavier.

I would not do it again.

[MEDIC151]

I agree that it adds weight to the cage, but personally, I like the tunes when I am boarding. After adding the racks and boards up there, the extra weight is nominal. We also spend some time parked at an island, and I seem to always play DJ, which is fine with me since I get to choose the music. To answer the original question, yes you need an amp. The stock head unit will not supply enough power to get decent sound out of the added speakers and with the amp, it will allow you to adjust the speakers to avoid distortion. I added a 10" sub and all the bass comes from it, not the stock speakers. I also added a second battery just in case.

Medic

[BOOM-BA]

SoTX,
Yes get an amp! When you put tower speakers on it brings the sound out of the boat for all around to hear. You also need a sub, 10" or 12" your prefrence. When deciding on an amp think about how much sound you need and what you will be driving. A 4 or 5 channel amp is good for your mids and highs (in boat and tower speakers) and a single amp for you sub. This is a total of two amps....just depends on how much booom booom you want.

I have installed 4 tower speakers, 6x6 1/2" mid/highs in the boat (replaced factory) and a 12" sub with two amps. It sounds great! For my tower speakers, I drilled two small holes in the tower and fished the speaker wire down the tower with a small fish tape. It is a little tricky but realitivly easy. Your Kenwood player should drive everything very well.

[suvlako]

SoTx, after the speaker wire is run down the tower> How do you run the wires to the head unit/amp(without them being seen?)?

[noneya]

When I bought my boat I got them to run the speaker wire in the tower and put a hole in the top deck of the hull by the front foot of the tower, install a connector and a little metal cover. It looks just like the install for the tower light just on the other side of the boat.