These Kenwood Amps are a fantastic value..

[WildCatFan54]

Am I being overly optimistic in trying to simplify the install of this Kenwood KAC-M3004 amp OR hopefully I am reading this correct? I have attached a couple images from the owners manual that came with the amp I received today. First question : Image #1 seems to indicate that a separate "power on wire" is NOT required for this model ? The way I read this only a positive wire from the battery (10 gauge) and a similar 10 gauge ground wire from battery negative post plus the RCA inputs from pre amp output are all that is needed ? I believe Kenwood calls this Auto Signal Sensing. That would leave connection labeled #4 in the second attachment unused ? Secondly : Should I still put an inline fuse on the positive wire from the battery being that the amp has a 30 amp fuse ( #1 on image #2) built in ? I will not be running a sub (at least on this amp) only six Polk MM651UMs , therefore plan to use only 10 gauge wire from the battery compartment to the helm area. Thanks all !

 

[Bruce]

@WildCatFan54, my understanding was that auto sensing works with high level (speaker output) signals connected to the amplifier but may not work if RCA cables are used for the signal.

10 gauge wire would be marginal at 10' of length. 8 gauge is preferable.

A fuse near the battery or distribution channel would protect your boat if the wires were somehow shorted before the amplifier.

 

[kthrash]

Put in a power distribution block at your helm.. fuse it there.

Use a power turn on lead that way the amp wont drain your battery if the auto sensing voltage crap doesnt work.

 

[WildCatFan54]

You guys are the BEST. Thats why I ask for a second / third opinion. Thanks

 

[zipper]

@WildCatFan54 I had a P-con wire in a bundle on the back of my kenwwood KMR-765-BT and connected it to the P-con connection on the amp. And I used RCA cables between the receiver and the amp.

 

[WildCatFan54]

thanks @zipper. I will carefully examine the factory wiring bundle in the helm area looking for a P-con wire before running another.

 

[VONCE]

From my experience with the "auto sensing" stuff: yeah, it works. Neat. However, sometimes it takes a while for the amp to turn off. That leads to unnecessary battery drain. When you hook up the remote wire, the powering on/off of the amp happens at the same time as the source of the remote (hooked to your stereo or a switched 12v source). You're already running RCAs from your stereo to the amp, so just include an additional wire for the remote when you fish the wires. Heck, I'm pretty sure you can buy RCA cables with the remote wire built in (it's usually a third wire between the two RCA cables), meaning you'd only have to fish one cable from the stereo!

Audiophiles, please correct me if I am wrong here, but yes, you need a fuse close to the battery on the power supply wiring. I'm pretty sure that fuse is to protect your cables and prevent a fire in the event of a short more than it is to protect your amp (which already has a fuse, like you said).

 

[swatski]

you need a fuse close to the battery on the power supply wiring

YES

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[SeanPC]

If I'm using 4 gauge wire rated at 150 amps from the battery to a distribution block, will a 100 amp circuit breaker suffice as a fuse between the battery and distribution block? Or do I need to use a fuse just above operating amperage (30 each amp, s0 a 60 amp fuse)?

 

[Bruce]

If I'm using 4 gauge wire rated at 150 amps from the battery to a distribution block, will a 100 amp circuit breaker suffice as a fuse between the battery and distribution block? Or do I need to use a fuse just above operating amperage (30 each amp, s0 a 60 amp fuse)?

A 100 amp fuse will be fine. The purpose of the fuse is not to protect the amps but to prevent fire.

 

[ToddW850]

I ordered the amp and it has arrived. Will be installing. This amp seems too good to be true, especially for the price. But I'm looking forward to putting it in.

 

[renrab]

I ordered the amp and it has arrived. Will be installing. This amp seems too good to be true, especially for the price. But I'm looking forward to putting it in.

I hooked up both amps last night to test before buttoning everything up. One of the open box amps had the gain cranked up, LOUD is all I can say

 

[ToddW850]

I hooked up both amps last night to test before buttoning everything up. One of the open box amps had the gain cranked up, LOUD is all I can say

Awesome! It certainly seems to get great reviews.

 

[Bruce]

The circuitry for Class D anplifiers is significantly improving and becoming more widely available. As this trend continues much of the "magic" engineering needed for manufacturing amplifiers will become less important. I expert that on a few years we will see amplifiers from value minded companies like MonoPrice that are equal in performance to JL and other high priced offerings.

 

[swatski]

The circuitry for Class D anplifiers is significantly improving and becoming more widely available. As this trend continues much of the "magic" engineering needed for manufacturing amplifiers will become less important. I expert that on a few years we will see amplifiers from value minded companies like MonoPrice that are equal in performance to JL and other high priced offerings.

Here is one good example of this trend:
http://www.nvx.com/mvpa4-4-channel-compact-car-amplifier-400w-rms/

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[captainhook]

Best Buy is having this on clearance for $65.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/kenwood-300w-class-d-bridgeable-multichannel-mosfet-amplifier-gray/3500108.p?skuId=3500108

Damn it! How did I miss this?? It's $200 now!

 

[scokill]

Well....I took the plunge on one of these amps for $120 on Amazon and all it can say is....I must have gotten a dud. It pops when starting up and is garbled and then actually works and sounds great. When I take the volume down to zero and move it then it pops again. Very annoying. I'll return this one and might give it another try. It also pops when turning off. I have turn-on wire instead of signal sensing and my JL amp that powers my towers and sub works perfectly. If it doesn't work like it does for most of you I'll likely just bit the bullet and go with the JD m400/4.

 

[firecap797]

Well....I took the plunge on one of these amps for $120 on Amazon and all it can say is....I must have gotten a dud. It pops when starting up and is garbled and then actually works and sounds great. When I take the volume down to zero and move it then it pops again. Very annoying. I'll return this one and might give it another try. It also pops when turning off. I have turn-on wire instead of signal sensing and my JL amp that powers my towers and sub works perfectly. If it doesn't work like it does for most of you I'll likely just bit the bullet and go with the JD m400/4.

Sorry to hear yours didn't work out. Mine don't pop at all. You must have gotten a bad one. The two that I have come on right away without any noise and are really loud when turned up. I need to tune them a little more. Right now they top out at 80% volume and start to distort just a bit, but I'm betting I can fix that by properly tuning them.

 

[scokill]

Sorry to hear yours didn't work out. Mine don't pop at all. You must have gotten a bad one. The two that I have come on right away without any noise and are really loud when turned up. I need to tune them a little more. Right now they top out at 80% volume and start to distort just a bit, but I'm betting I can fix that by properly tuning them.

I swapped the speaker level level inputs and used a line level from my aux out and it still popped when turning the volume. I thought the speaker level inputs might be the issue. I've never used speaker level but I know it's a common practice for car audio. I'd like to keep my 3 zones (4 if you count sub woofer dedicated channel) as I can control boat, tower, and sub speakers independently without an external device.

 

[ToddW850]

Partly finished. I need to add the 2 new speakers mid cabin, and I'm still waiting on that powered sub from Sonix Electronics.

I had a little trouble getting that 8 gauge wire under the terminals for the amps. I'll have to try and find some spade connectors and re do it, but it sound fabulous in my driveway and from 50 feet away.

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@firecap797 I love the clean look. Where did you get the power distribution box?