# Quality amplifiers for boat



## sOlar (Mar 15, 2011)

Building stereo for my boat, my power needs are as follows:

-4x100-150w at 4ohm for in boat speakers(can run 2x250 at 2 ohm if needed)
-2x~300w at 4ohm for tower speakers
-2x~600w at 3ohm for JL 13tw5s

Now I've narrowed it down a bit to 3 well known quality brands that give me these rough power figures. Ive been out of the game for a while & welcome any other recommendations that meet these requirements. Must be class D or similarly efficient, will be run off 2 dedicated Odysseys. 

JL HD1200/1
JL HD600/4

2 x Exile Javelin

2 x Hertz HDP4

Budget is roughly $1500-$2000. Welcome to suggestions or a vote for any of these 3. Exile is well respected in the boating forums but the 2 dealers I've talked to suggest they are low quality..


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

Might want to look at clarion marine new line. Class d. 6 channel and can be bridged to staggered 4 chan and the other 4 chan puts out over 100 watts a channel.

Clarion XC6610 6-Channel XC Series 750W Marine Amplfiier


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## 555nova (Apr 12, 2014)

The wet sounds amps are really nice.


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## sOlar (Mar 15, 2011)

I should mention that the amps don't need to be marine certified, they will be mounted in the observer compartment, out of the elements.

Wetsounds makes nice equipment, a friend has a few of the SD line but they're $1200/each ish & would need 3 to get the power where I want it.. I haven't looked much at their other lines & am not really sure what the differences are, I may call them this week & see what they say


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## 555nova (Apr 12, 2014)

You could run everything off a syn6 and a syn4. Use the syn6 to power the in boat speakers in 2ohm and bridge the other 4 channels for the subs. Use the syn4 bridged to each tower speaker.

I have a couple buddies that use the JL amps and the are really nice also.


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## sOlar (Mar 15, 2011)

I like that idea however it would only adequately power one of the subs. 

Another question I had, the difficulty I'm having with most setups is when bridging channels, they only recommend 4 ohm load minimum. Would I be okay running a 3 ohm load on a bridged channel? My local dealer is confident the Hertz amps wouldn't have a problem with it


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## Bob Morrow (May 4, 2009)

You might want to look at the ARC Audio XDi line of amps for your marine system. Some of the most efficient, best sounding amps out there! They have a very small footprint and match your power requirements perfectly too. Check out the XDi1200.6. This amp could easily run your entire system!


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## sOlar (Mar 15, 2011)

You're right, I could run ch5+6 at 2 ohm & power my 4 in boats, and bridge 1-4 to power my 2 towers. To adequately power the subs I'm thinking 2 xdi 1100.1s? Strapped? 

I don't know the how well the tw5s take power, anyone have any experience? I bought them as spares for my truck almost 2 years ago & am just now getting around to using them


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## Bob Morrow (May 4, 2009)

That system would kick ass!!


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## qwertydude (Dec 22, 2008)

If it's going in an ocean going vessel you should still make it a priority to get a dedicated marine amplifier. The difference isn't just white paint, although the white paint is there because normal anodized aluminum amps are prone to corrode quite badly just from the salt air.

And marine models have coated circuit boards further needed because lead free solders used nowadays to make RoHS electronics tends to corrode more than leaded solders.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

JL Audio has a Marine amplifier lineup, also a speaker line....


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

I'd hesitate on the jl class d amps, seen a few do really bad things when heated up, and on a boat out for hours that could really become an issue.


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## sOlar (Mar 15, 2011)

Yeah were talking 8-10 hours playing time.. not sure what I was thinking but I would need 2 of the 600/4s to get the power I need, that would put me into the $2500 range so JL is out for me.

I will give JL's marine speaker line a good look, as well as Exile & Wetsounds

Understood, but where I am mounting them they will see no more moisture than your average car trunk. It's a wake boarding boat, freshwater only.

I like the Arcs but I'm gonna go with 2 Exile Javelins. The boating forums have nothing but positive reviews on their gear & the simplicity of only having 2 amps is nice. Also being $800 less than any other option so far makes it an easy choice, if I'm not happy I think I will go with Arc audio.


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## mmiller (Mar 7, 2008)

Lycancatt said:


> I'd hesitate on the jl class d amps, seen a few do really bad things when heated up, and on a boat out for hours that could really become an issue.




What have been these said issues? Myself and dozens of people have ran the HD amps without any issue at all... Barely Luke warm. There was a small batch of 750/1's that were recalled by JL audio, that they rectified. I've never heard of any issue otherwise.


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## darinof (Feb 6, 2009)

I have alpines PDX amplifiers on my boat. But if I have to redo it now I'll be using ARC XDi1200.6 or Zed leviathan


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