need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

[rtaylorlude24]

Alright so I have a very nice non-marine sound system in my car. I am not looking to buy a marine sound system but instead i am looking to make a casing for my subwoofer and amplifier and then buy marine component speakers and a marine receiver. So I have a rather rare JL Audio W3 18" subwoofer with an excellent JL Audio 500 watt mono-block amp. Running wires and hooking it up is very self-explanatory, I do not need help with that part but I do need help with water proofing my stereo system so it doesn't get ruined. I was thinking for the amp to make a box out of plexiglas and calk the inside of it so it is water resistant then for the wires drill a couple holes in the plexiglas box for the amp and but some rubber stoppers in there. No for the subwoofer i was also thinking something along the lines of making a new box with some nice thick wood (which will also add weight to the front of my boat so that baby plains out better) and calking the inside of the wooden box for the subwoofer too. I have a 1984 baja the front is all hollow and is not an open bow. I am figuring that harnessing the subwoofer box and the amplifier box to my boat shouldn't be a problem either. Will someone please help me and give me some pointers. I know I should probably just spend the money and buy a whole marine audio system but I am a 22 year old college student that is strapped for cash.
Thanks,
Ryan

 

[flargin]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

Ryan,
I have trailer boats, but in a dry climate and both the head units and amps are non marine, with a simple slide down cover.. keeps the splashing off.

Speakers, get marine... they take a beating. heat, sun and water.. no way to waterproof them. i used to have a couple speakers in wood boxes. boxes did fine, cone died a lousy sounding death.

If this is a humid location, or on the water all the time... go with marine, I think you will need it.

Woofer.... you said it was rare... is that rare as in valuable or rare as in old, but good quality and not avail anymore. If valuable... DON'T put it in your boat, if the later, go for it.

All and all, you have to make the call. if you live in a humid location, if you box everything in you will overheat your stereo, put it in a box with holes, it will corrode anyway after a few years. If you go with "boxes" don't waterproof them, just make it so no rain/splash gets on them, if you try to make them waterproof, all you will really do is make it possible for water to get in, but not out.

You will need a lot of spare battery power to support that rig... have fun. sounds like what we used to do when we were 20'somthing... boat, 6 speakers 3 amps, lots of beer!

 

[slia67]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

Don't mount the amp in a plexiglass box, it needs to have air flow to cool it.

Your solution should be easy. Build a box for the sub and mount both the sub box and the amp in the cuddy. That way everything stays dry. A sub will produce non-directional bass from where ever it is mounted. If you are concerned, you could mount it so that it fires toward the cockpit.

When you install your amp make sure you have sufficient power and ground wires, taking into account the voltage drop for such a long run from the battery.

Good luck.

 

[rtaylorlude24]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

I mean this sub is rare as in newer and not many made, really expensive competition subwoofer and yes 22, lots of bass, lots of beer, and girls haha

 

[flargin]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

I mean this sub is rare as in newer and not many made, really expensive competition subwoofer

Sell this to a guy with a small car and a no need for hearing, with a lot of $$$$

Go buy a relatively inexpensive Amps & Subwoofer, and go find

lots of bass

and when you realized you chased them away with your kicken stereo, then start drinking...

lots of beer

and I will let you figure out what to do with the...

girls

Seriously. boats have really SH!TTY acoustics. they don't deserve rare, expensive gear. it will be:
1. Broken
2. destroyed by water
3. Stolen

Get good stuff, enjoy it, but don't waste your high end gear on your boat.

 

[AZSenza]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

I agree with Flargin, Get good stuff but not the best stuff. You'll be able to walk away from the boat easier at night! I have some nice stereo equipment, most of it marine but my amps are not and they are mounted under my dash, my sub is automotive, a real nice Memphis 12", its in a box under the port side dash. Neither of these places see water unless the boat goes under LOL. My head unit and all speakers are marine grade. I have very large wires, a few sizes larger than needed even for voltage drop and resistance-dont want overheated wires on a boat. I also have several fuse blocks along the routing, just in case. My last boat was all automotive. The head unit was in the glove box, amp under the dash and speakers in the side panels. Everything was great except the speakers!!! The first cheap ones went out after the first season, they got replaced with better ones with rubber surrounds, they lasted a few years till I sold it.

 

[TNBASSCAT]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

Sounds to me like you are on the right track. If you build a wooden box, use 3/4 inch mdf, and waterproof it with at least 2 good coats of fiberglass resin and hardener. If you go with 3-4 coats, you can sand it to a slick finish and paint it, if cosmetics are important to you. I believe "marine" speakers are over rated! most all mid to high quality speakers made now days have a poly cone and rubber surround, which is exactly what you will get in most marine grade speakers. Whatever you do, don't skimp on the wiring! I would probably go with a 4 gauge power wire and in-line fuse. I would highly recommend building your box so that the sub is 10" off the floor firing straight down!.......and just food for thought but there is a heck of a deal on ebay right now on a pair of 10" Polk Audio db1040DVC's for $109.99/pair brand new! My local audio retailer sells them for $115 each.
Anyway, good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[Great_Lakes_Mariner]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

If you are going to spend the money on making a Plexi box for your JL amp, then you have to put in two small fans, one on either side of the box. One will draw air in and over the amp and the second will draw the hot air, inside of the box, out. My one pointer with the sub is not to put it in the boat. Not because it is "rare" or "expensive", but rather because an 18" is not ideal for a marine application. There is a reason why not many manufactures deal with 18" subs anymore. 18" subs are big, heavy, and produce the "boomy bass". I would suggest one good 12" sub, maybe two depending on boat size. I would make the box out of 3/4" MDF and would certainly put some fiberglass inside. DO NOT mount the sub facing toward the floor, instead mount it facing the front of your boat, that way the sound waves reverberate from the front to the back. Same principal as in a car, you always face subs toward the back of the trunk. Larger bass waves produce more sound. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

[TNBASSCAT]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

If you are going to spend the money on making a Plexi box for your JL amp, then you have to put in two small fans, one on either side of the box. One will draw air in and over the amp and the second will draw the hot air, inside of the box, out. My one pointer with the sub is not to put it in the boat. Not because it is "rare" or "expensive", but rather because an 18" is not ideal for a marine application. There is a reason why not many manufactures deal with 18" subs anymore. 18" subs are big, heavy, and produce the "boomy bass". I would suggest one good 12" sub, maybe two depending on boat size. I would make the box out of 3/4" MDF and would certainly put some fiberglass inside. DO NOT mount the sub facing toward the floor, instead mount it facing the front of your boat, that way the sound waves reverberate from the front to the back. Same principal as in a car, you always face subs toward the back of the trunk. Larger bass waves produce more sound. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Tell ya what.......before you permantly mount your box, try facing the sub both toward the floor, and toward the front of the boat and tells us which one sounds better! The proof is in the puddin'!!!!!

 

[smarston]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

Alright so I have a very nice non-marine sound system in my car. I am not looking to buy a marine sound system but instead i am looking to make a casing for my subwoofer and amplifier and then buy marine component speakers and a marine receiver. So I have a rather rare JL Audio W3 18" subwoofer with an excellent JL Audio 500 watt mono-block amp. Running wires and hooking it up is very self-explanatory, I do not need help with that part but I do need help with water proofing my stereo system so it doesn't get ruined. I was thinking for the amp to make a box out of plexiglas and calk the inside of it so it is water resistant then for the wires drill a couple holes in the plexiglas box for the amp and but some rubber stoppers in there. No for the subwoofer i was also thinking something along the lines of making a new box with some nice thick wood (which will also add weight to the front of my boat so that baby plains out better) and calking the inside of the wooden box for the subwoofer too. I have a 1984 baja the front is all hollow and is not an open bow. I am figuring that harnessing the subwoofer box and the amplifier box to my boat shouldn't be a problem either. Will someone please help me and give me some pointers. I know I should probably just spend the money and buy a whole marine audio system but I am a 22 year old college student that is strapped for cash.
Thanks,
Ryan

A few questions for you. Do you trailer the boat or keep the boat in a slip or dock somewhere? If the boat is in the water in a climate that heats up and cools down a fair bit at night and your boat is in the water all the time, the condensation on the amplifier would kill it fast. If you are trailering the boat and keeping it dry mostly this is a non issue. The cuddy front, is it a doorway or wide open the full width of the boat. This will make a difference as far as which manner of mounting the sub will work best. Mounting a sub within 3-6 inches of a corner will increase the output of the sub by 9db, the equivalent of sending 8 times the amount of power to it. This method would work well if you have a doorway to the cuddy. You could mount the sub facing into the corner close to the seperator by the doorway. If you have a wide open cuddy, normally close to the bow so it fires into a "corner" type of area will work best. Just make sure when you set up the sub with the amp that you adjust the 2 crossovers on the amp, the subsonic and the regular crossover. You want the low pass to be set to somewhere between 45-55 hz, anything above that and the sub will sound very boomy. You also want to set the subsonic on that amp to 20 hz. This will prevent the sub from reproducing sounds below that, which you cannot hear and will vibrate screws and other parts of the boat loose pretty fast.

I don't think you will have issues with moisture if you mount the amp in the cabin. I would make sure the amp has open air, or if it is covered that it has strong ventaliation. The JL 500 watt mono block is a class D switching amplifier that will run very hot. If you do not give it strong airflow you will have overheating issues. The sub and amp will mate very well as they are both 500 watts rms rated items. A consideration is whether the sub is a D2 or a D4, and how you wire it will also cause the amp to run hotter. Another concern is to make sure the amp is mounted top to bottom, as this will increase its cooling efficency. If you have to mount it flat you can, just make sure it is never mounted upside down.

When you decide where to mount the sub make sure to make the box out of at least 1" mdf, and I would recommend putting a fiberglass seal on the outside of the box, as well as structural support inside the box. That 18 will move some serious air, and if the box flexes you will lose output and also sound quality. I had 2 rockford 18's in a car in the past and it was a hell of a thing to feel.

I focus a lot on cooling as I am in AZ and it is 118 degrees today, so here cooling is key for a boat system. For the record, most of the best marine systems I have installed in the last 18 years of doing it have been mostly made up of car and not marine audio components, just mounted in ways that work. It all depends on location, and whether or not moisture will get at them. If not as inside of the cuddy of the boat, making sure the area has strong airflow for cooling is more critical.

 

[bschatts]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

I just finished a project for teo 10" subs in seperate boxes. Used 3/4 mdf and then put two coats of duplicolor roll on truck bed liner. These babies are totally waterproof and have a cool textured rubber look. It only ran me $75 and no dealing with fiberglass either. One of my kids old stuffed animals even donated his internal organs for my polyfill!!!

 

[dezmond]

Re: need help installing amp and subwoofer in my baja

You have te remember you amo will need to be cooled as well. Building an enclosure for it could cause problems.. You need to make sure it can get some air as well.... Venting is very importand.

As for your sub, build a bandpass box for it. It will be bigger but at least it is enclosed inside and will POUND!!!!!

You could also mount your amp to the underside of the the cubby upfront... As for a deck you can use mobile if you want just get a sealed enclosure for it.

heres a question... How you gonna power all this? And for how long? Like 15 minutes?

Dezi