Ok, so I've never been an audio guru or done anything more than throw in some aftermarket speakers to replace @!#$ty factory ones in all my cars. That process has suited me just fine and sounded great to my likings. I am also assuming here that a marine stereo setup is just like a cars, but requires waterproof or marine rated equipment.

Well, cruising at 40-50mph in my boat with friends the lousy (2) factory speakers mounted in the rear of my boat absolutely suck, and one is already blown out. All I know about them is they were made in ... dun dun dun da... china. The wind and engine noise drown out any music that is being played. I am planning on ripping all of that garbage out and starting fresh with a better head unit. This is what I would like to do, I am not sure how to go about doing it....

Install 4 6.5" speakers inside the boat itself... Looking at these....

Kicker KM6000

Then installing 4 more up on my wakeboard tower in this so I can hear them while boarding...



Soo.... I need to run 6-8 speakers with enough power to make them loud enough to hear while running the boat and wakeboarding behind the boat.


I obviously will need an Amp... (4-channel would be my guess) but I have no idea when it comes to these things. Do I need 2 amp's or can I run all the speakers off just 1?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Since most amps run down to 2Ω, you can parallel 2 speakers to each channel of a 4 channel amp.

I like to do it like so:

channel 1 - Both left tower
channel 2 - Both right tower
channel 3 - Both left in-boat speakers
channel 4 - Both right in-boat speakers.

1/2 are run off the front output of the deck, 3/4 off the rear. That way you can use the fader on the deck to fade from tower to in-boat or both

if you want enough power to hear the music as your wakeboarding 50' behind the boat you may want to look into two. might look over your charging system as well. may need to up it or add another battery.

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Definitely look into an extra battery or two, especially if youre going to be sitting a lot. Nothing worse than having a dead battery in the middle of a lake.

maybe even a battery isolator, one battery to run the boat and 1 or 2 to run the system




click sig for my car audio videos

I was planning on the extra battery for sure as I have plenty of room in the engine bay on either side of the motor and a great place to mount the amp.

Recommendation on wattage of the 4-channel Amp, or should I run 2 2-channel amps or 2 4-channel amps (one for tower and one for in boat speakers?)

I'll probably will run them in parallel like mentioned above, thanks for that.

The Kicker ZXM350.4 would be my choice. As far as marine amps go.

id probably look at seperate amps for each and wire them so you can just flip a switch to turn the tower speakers off.

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I just checked on this for @!#$s and giggles, and have some good news Cody! When it comes down to the in-boat 6.5's, let me know. Rainbow actually offers a 6.5" Marine speakers that I can get to you cheaper than those Kickers, and I can assure you Rainbow is a much higher grade of speaker. If you want something that will sound great and last, for about $110 a pair(shipping included), I can get them to you.




On the other hand....you have other fingers.

"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.

for that price id definatly go the rainbow route over kicker.

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I would too. Also, if you want some loudness, look into some 2x6 horns. They're waterproof and inexpensive.

Hey Cody, just wondering what you decided to do with the boat's audio, if anything yet.


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.

Sorry don't frequent the .org much anymore. I've never heard of "rainbow" speakers before. I haven't gone any further with anything as of yet, decided I needed a vacation from work to relax a bit which is killing my tax return. Can you shoot me some info on these rainbow speakers?

Ask and ye shall receive: http://rainbowcaraudio.com/co650wp.html

It's a higher end German car audio company that's been around for a very long time. The every day Joe hasn't heard of brands like Rainbow and Micro Precision the way they every day driver hasn't heard of Pagani or Ariel


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.

50w max?.... Yea, looking for something much more powerful. I'm not afraid to spend some money on quality. I've been getting steered towards Wetsounds. For $300 bucks I can get some nice speakers for in the boat, think I am going to work on the in boat speakers first. Cutting a 5" hole in my boat is going to be a fear to over come...

For the love of Christ don't be one of those stupid @!#$ that blares there @!#$ty ass music so every one else around them has to hear it. Seriously not everyone wants to go to the lake to hear your music be considerate to others and deal with only being able to hear it in your own boat. You should be paying attention to what your doing while boarding anyways and not listening to music.


Disclaimer: Dey see me Trollin' Dey hatin' for trollin dey trying to catch me ridin dirty.

You realize peak power handling ratings mean almost nothing, and the difference in volume(especially in a boat) between the kickers and those is going to be inaudible? AND the difference in quality actually IS noticeable I've handled Kicker products and I've been proudly using, selling, and installing Rainbow products for years. But if you're one of those people hung up on the advertising saying big peak power handling numbers, nothing I can do for you out of any honest, high end brand.


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.