Amp for HLCD'S

[MLA]

I'm quite green on this , I'm just going to swap out the 4 tower speakers for the 4 or pair of hlcd's. With the kickers are you saying 2 horns and 2 mids? Right now I guess there are the little side tweeters off the speakers

What you have now is 2 pair of components: 2 mid-bass drivers and 2 tweeters.

The KM6500.2 setup comes with 2 6.5" mid-bass drivers and 2 HLCD horns. A mid and a horn get wired together on each side. In your case, the existing tweeter will become a dummy. its a great place to install a puck style LED.

[DOCDRS]

So there is no point to keeping my little side tweeters? sorry for asking stupid ? have not taken the grills off to see what there really is inside the cans. The hlcd's are prob about 2 weeks away. just trying to figure if and what kind of amp I should get. would my zx 250.2 be driving these tower speakers right now? boat is 3 hours away so I can't go out n check and never really took note when I installed my ws420

[MLA]

So there is no point to keeping my little side tweeters? sorry for asking stupid ? have not taken the grills off to see what there really is inside the cans. The hlcd's are prob about 2 weeks away. just trying to figure if and what kind of amp I should get. would my zx 250.2 be driving these tower speakers right now? boat is 3 hours away so I can't go out n check and never really took note when I installed my ws420

Anything wired up in those cans right now, will not be needed when you install the new KM6500.2's. I would just leave the tweeters be, or find some LED lights to drop in, but that would require another set of binding posts and more wire to be run up the tower.

The zx250 will not do the KM6500.2 justice. That amp will only deliver 85W to each side. You really, really, really need to invest in another that that will deliver adequate power to the KM6500.2

[New Guy]

I'm currently running the 6500.2's on a 650.4 with each wired to there own channel. The mids to the rear and the horns to the front. This has allowed be to balance the amps accordingly and I have been really happy with this setup.

If there is a better way to do it please let me know.

Thanks,
Mark

[mcdye]

I bet you can take the tweeter housing off. I have newer roswell speaker bar w/ phoenix audio speakers and the tweeter house is not there and there is a rubber plug there where they would go. I am interested in what your doing. I would like some hcld but want to keep the speaker bar.

[MLA]

I bet you can take the tweeter housing off. I have newer roswell speaker bar w/ phoenix audio speakers and the tweeter house is not there and there is a rubber plug there where they would go. I am interested in what your doing. I would like some hcld but want to keep the speaker bar.

Thats the exact application the Kicker KM6500.2 is designed for.

[EarmarkMarine]

I'm an advocate of Class D amplifiers. Kicker has fullrange Class D, so does Alpine and so does JL Audio. You can drive a single pair of KM6500.2 for as little as $250 with Class D power. Here are a few of the advantages.
A Class D amplifier is 60 percent more efficient than a Class AB amplifier. To put that into a little perspective consider this.
A Class AB amplifier will typically generate 250 percent more heat from the same supply current as compared to a Class D. And, a Class AB will typically generate 400 percent more heat relating to the identical output power as compared to a Class D.
A Class D amplifier will produce 60 percent more output power than a Class AB amplifier with the same available current.
A Class D amplifier will deliver 60 percent more play time at rest over a Class AB amplifier at the same output power with the same battery reserves. Or, the Class D amplifier will not cycle the batteries as deeply as a Class AB amplifier at the same output over the same duration. Shallower cycles promote extended battery longevity, even for deep cycle batteries.
Class AB amplifiers directly increase the current draw on the alternator and additionally increase the alternator draw due to the greater depletion of the batteries. A greater current draw on the alternator results in more internal alternator resistance which commands more horsepower. Alternators also run hotter with a full system of Class AB amplifiers than a full system of Class D amplifiers.
Class AB amplifiers consume substantially more current resulting in an increased voltage sag. Unregulated amplifiers drop in output power as the voltage decreases. For example, an unregulated amplifier that is rated at 14.4volts may drop 25 percent of its power as the voltage supply drops to 12.5 volts and the power loss increases as the voltage continues to fall.
Makes the small increase in admission cost of Class D seem minor for all the energy efficiency and performance advantages. Lower battery costs. Less fuel consumption. No need for alternator upgrades even on large systems. MUCH less waste do to heat generation. Higher power levels under adverse conditions. Better audio performance with less voltage sag. Longer play time at rest. Friendlier to the boat electronics.

David
Earmark Marine

[DOCDRS]

so whick kicker amps would fall into the class d category?

[DOCDRS]

so which kicker amps would fall into the class d category?

[brain_rinse]

I'm an advocate of Class D amplifiers. Kicker has fullrange Class D, so does Alpine and so does JL Audio. You can drive a single pair of KM6500.2 for as little as $250 with Class D power. Here are a few of the advantages.
A Class D amplifier is 60 percent more efficient than a Class AB amplifier. To put that into a little perspective consider this.
A Class AB amplifier will typically generate 250 percent more heat from the same supply current as compared to a Class D. And, a Class AB will typically generate 400 percent more heat relating to the identical output power as compared to a Class D.
A Class D amplifier will produce 60 percent more output power than a Class AB amplifier with the same available current.
A Class D amplifier will deliver 60 percent more play time at rest over a Class AB amplifier at the same output power with the same battery reserves. Or, the Class D amplifier will not cycle the batteries as deeply as a Class AB amplifier at the same output over the same duration. Shallower cycles promote extended battery longevity, even for deep cycle batteries.
Class AB amplifiers directly increase the current draw on the alternator and additionally increase the alternator draw due to the greater depletion of the batteries. A greater current draw on the alternator results in more internal alternator resistance which commands more horsepower. Alternators also run hotter with a full system of Class AB amplifiers than a full system of Class D amplifiers.
Class AB amplifiers consume substantially more current resulting in an increased voltage sag. Unregulated amplifiers drop in output power as the voltage decreases. For example, an unregulated amplifier that is rated at 14.4volts may drop 25 percent of its power as the voltage supply drops to 12.5 volts and the power loss increases as the voltage continues to fall.
Makes the small increase in admission cost of Class D seem minor for all the energy efficiency and performance advantages. Lower battery costs. Less fuel consumption. No need for alternator upgrades even on large systems. MUCH less waste do to heat generation. Higher power levels under adverse conditions. Better audio performance with less voltage sag. Longer play time at rest. Friendlier to the boat electronics.

David
Earmark Marine

Thanks for this post, David. I'll summarize: Class D rocks!