KT - Sorry your having so much trouble. I wouldn't start changing out gear all over the place unless you've just plained changed your mind on something. These are basic things that need to be addressed, not advanced ones. If you did opt to walk away from the installer your working with, I'd suggest you visit KingPin Marine Audio in Wilsonville. They are hands down, the most high tech retailer in the area and they scope all their installs in the final tune to eliminate amp clipping and over gain etc.

If you want to hash out some options with making it work with your current installer, let me know. I'll help out regardless of the brands involved.

@ the community: It's been said many times before and important to note, the execution of the whole install is just as important as the actual gear selected. This whole thread should not reflect in a poor way on any of the brands used in this boat. It's easy to arm chair QB stuff like this... but as the only industry person that has listened to this boat is me! Let me say clearly the problem is gain setup and /or a noisy source player. Lets all pitch in and help him get squared away.

-Brian