Speaker, amp wiring advice needed

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=88276
Printed Date: May 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Topic: Speaker, amp wiring advice needed

Posted By: razzman
Subject: Speaker, amp wiring advice needed
Date Posted: January 03, 2007 at 11:41 AM

New guy here. I'd searched the archives but couldn't find anything that matches what I'm trying to do so i hope someone can help me here. I'm doing a new boat system and I'm not sure how to wire the speakers/sub. I have bought everything but the amps, I'm trying to keep this system affordable as i don't know how long I'll have the boat. Here's the plan:

Profile California AP1040 amps (2) (80x4 rms/160x4 peak/225x2 bridged @ 4ohms, Profile's numbers)
6 Rockford Fosgate Power T162C (6.5 power coaxial, 75 rms/150 peak) speakers
Rockford Punch Z3410 10" sub (150 rms/400 peak @ 4ohms)
Rockford's recommendation for the sealed sub box is .75 cf and i got a very well made one that is .79 cf.
Pioneer DEH-4800MP HU w/ 3 sets of pre-outs (F/R/Sub)

The problem is i'm not familar with all the wiring tips and tricks. So i've got a few questions.

1) Can i wire all six coaxial speakers (75 rms/150 peak @ 4 ohms) into one amp? Can i split two pairs of speakers at the pre-outs (front or rear) with a Y adapter? Or should I parallel/series wire two pairs of them instead? Four speakers are in the boat and two are on the tower up high. I'm not concerned about speaker fading in the boat i just don't want to degrade the sound or blow the speakers. I would like to be able to shut off the tower speakers at will. Or should i have dedicated channels to each speaker?

2) I was also told that bridging two channels at the amp is less effective for the sub (and doesn't sound as good) as a dedicated mono amp to the sub. Should i run a dedicated mono amp for the sub close to the rms of the sub (150w) ? Or is bridging two channels (225w X 2 @ 4 ohms) for the amp ok while running a pair of the RF's on the other two channels?

Here's basic diagram of what i was going to do. If there's a better way I'm open to all suggestions!

posted_image

I also intend to run a two battery setup with an isolator as well as upgrade to a 100 amp marine altenator just for the record.

Thanks guys for the help, and i apologize for the long newb post. Any suggestions or recommendations are greatly appreciated! I'm new to this and a slight bit confused if you haven't noticed!

Replies:

Posted By: geepherder
Date Posted: January 03, 2007 at 7:43 PM

The simplest option would be to wire the front/rear speakers to deck power, and only use seperate amps for the tower speakers and sub. You could put a switch inline on the amp's turn on lead, so you could switch the tower speakers on/off at will. There's nothing wrong with bridging 2 channels of an amp while running the other 2 in stereo, as long as it gives you what you want. However, if you want to switch the tower speakers independent of the sub, use 2 amps.

-------------
My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.

Posted By: razzman
Date Posted: January 03, 2007 at 8:27 PM

Originally i was going to do just that. However the Rockford Powers sound so much better with some power going to them and the pioneed HU is something like 22 rms. That's why I'm wondering if i can parallel wire the four cabin speakers into two channels and the two towers into the other two. Then i could have a dedicated amp for the sub. I had planned on using PAC LC-1's to modulate the power to the cabin four so i wouldn't blow them out. I'm not worried about how complicated it is to wire, just have it sound right. In a boat, especially a tournement ski boat you need power or the sound washes out with all the noise around you.

Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: January 03, 2007 at 9:39 PM

Add another stereo amplifier instead. Probably best, though, is to run the speakers on the 4 channel amp and buy a separate amp for the sub. You're asking too much out of that Profile.

Not quite...wait a minute...you've got 6 coaxials and a sub...

Run 4 coaxials off the Profile amp. Use a stereo amp for the other two coaxials and a mono amp for the sub, or another 4 channel amp for the other two and the sub. Use your amplifiers to their ability, not their disability. The key is what you said here, "I'm not worried about how complicated it is to wire, just have it sound right."

Amplifiers can be a cheap commodity in 12 volt audio, as you can attest to with that Profile amp.

-------------
Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.