Upgrading 232 Limited S sound system...need help

[merlinjet]

Why not a Kicker or Rockford Fosgate amp?

Yes, I have looked at those as well but the problem is trying connect the speakers I have selected to a single amp. They only offer 5 or 6 channels max. Maybe, given the power requirements of the speakers, I have go with two amps. But, as I said, I don't know enough about this stuff to efficiently align speakers with amps. I was trying to avoid the two amp route for cost and power consumption considerations. I understand parallel wiring and bridging, 2 vs 4 ohms, etc., I just need some help applying that to my particular application.

 

[BlkGS]

You want two 4 channel amps. Use RCA splitters to get all the amp inputs you need. Wire everything up like normal, except bridge the sub onto the rear channels of an amp (basically positive on one side, negative on thebother).

I'm gonna be honest, you've designed an expensive stereo. You've got a lot of speakers and a lot of power needs. It is going to be expensive to power no matter what. If cost is a concern, buy the rockville amp as it's pretty cheap, and use it while you save for nicer amps. Either that, or buy 1 nice kicker 4ch amp, and only power the subs and towers off it, and run the insides off the deck.

 

[merlinjet]

I'm gonna be honest, you've designed an expensive stereo. You've got a lot of speakers and a lot of power needs. It is going to be expensive to power no matter what.

Agreed...kinda want my cake and eat, too. Anyway, do you think I could put decent power to this set up with two Polk 4000.4 amps? Also, I failed to include in the original post I have two internal tweeters in the tower to power as well, but I'm considering maybe not worrying about them as they may be little value added in the end game.

 

[merlinjet]

Ok, settling in on reality here, I've come up with a new plan:

Replace existing Seaworthys with Kicker 6.5"s in the cabin and bow and add the Kicker IB Sub. These would all be powered by a Polk 5000.5 amp.

Add 2 x Kicker 8" cans to the tower powered by a Polk 2000.2 amp.

All these controlled from an Exile ZLD 3 zone controller with BT receiver. This makes the replacing the HU/remote a waste of time and money.

The Kicker 8" replacement I planned for the rear cabin 6.5"s became a real pain trying to match amps to their power demand (150w) and integrate them with the bow 6'5"s as a zone. So, I'm going the KISS route and sticking with 6.5"s for now all around; will add 2 more 6.5"s midship next year, maybe. Now I'll have 3 zones; cabin, tower, sub, all managed from the ZLD. All this comes in right about at my budget...includes some refurb stuff from Polk but I'm OK with that.

Any thoughts?

 

[BlkGS]

I'm not a huge Polk fan. We picked them up at Best Buy while i worked there in college. They were cheap, but noisy, not really reliable, and never really lived up to their ratings IMO. This was like 10 years ago, but i wouldnt use them.

In my experience, the power side of the system is more important than speakers. You are better off buying nice amps and cheap speakers IMO.

 

[merlinjet]

In my experience, the power side of the system is more important than speakers. You are better off buying nice amps and cheap speakers IMO.

Thx, @BlkGS, The more research I do the more I'm coming to that conclusion. I'm currently seeing what kind of higher end equipment I can find in the refurb market.

 

[merlinjet]

Here's my final setup:

2 x Kicker 6.5" (cabin)
4 x Kicker 8" (2 in the cabin, 2 in tower cans)
1 x Kicker 10" Freeair Sub

JLM300/3 (tower and sub)

JL M400/4 (4 cabin)

Exile ZLD MKII controller w/ BT

Got some good deals on refurb equipment so I was able to stay within budget.