# Marine amps vs car amps?



## vageta (Oct 11, 2006)

I was just wondering if there is any fundamental differences between a marine amp and a car amp. Seem to both operate on 12v, just that the marine ones are built to handle that environment better. I found a nice little clarion on craigslist (APX400.4m) that looks almost identical to the APX400.4 car version but I'm just wondering if the heat sink and waterproofing is the only difference.


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

The internals should be the exact same. I was considering a pdx for my sub amp for a while, but I really wanted to get the marine version, it looks so much nicer to me. But,it's hard to find the same deals on marine gear. If you found a good deal on a marine amp, buy it.


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## sublime_ac (Jun 30, 2009)

I have done three boat installs with car gear and no problems.. I would be cautious about placement regardless, you dont want ANY amp getting wet...


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## Ziggy (Nov 29, 2007)

In a boat environment, there's condensation issues as well -not just splash water.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Looks like a lot of marine grade stuff uses glass epoxy boards, which may be more resilient to corrosion.


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## sublime_ac (Jun 30, 2009)

fourthmeal said:


> Looks like a lot of marine grade stuff uses glass epoxy boards, which may be more resilient to corrosion.


Car audio gear is designed for moisture as well, the stuff is in a car for christ's sake.. I never had a problem with my boat installs, but placement of the gear to avoid moisture as much as possible along with the fact that the owners of these boats were meticulous boat owners that kept them clean / dry as possible helped I am sure.

Here is a boat version of the arc mini to check out:

http://www.wetsounds.com/pages/products/SYNMICRO.html


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## bikerider (Dec 28, 2008)

I use a Cadence marine amp (SQA-4) in my car, no issues whatsoever. It is identical to the "car" version of the same amp except for cosmetics (white/silver to match boats) and the sealed board. I don't care about the cosmetics since no one sees it in the trunk. Plus for $80 I think it is a fine value in a 60X4 amp.


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## SPAZ (Jan 7, 2009)

My cousin has been using car audio stuff on his boat for 10 years now and never a problem. Car audio is basically the same as marine only cheaper.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

here ya go....



chad said:


> This may have been asked before but the marine amps... what's the primary differences?





msmith said:


> As for the marine amps... powdercoated heat sinks (instead of anodyzed), aluminum end plates and bottom plates (instead of steel), stainless-steel hardware (instead of steel). Other than that, they are the same.


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## boostedturbotom (Apr 18, 2009)

I know its a oldie post but I'm also in the same situation and was interested in spraying a car amp for marine use ? Any updates I really rather stay away from spending the extra dough on marine amp if I can get away with marinizing a car amp , also xtra dough were in need for sweet marine JL 7.7 let me know ... Thx !


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