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Hi Guys, I just replaced the original stereo that came in my 1996 Unlimited 17. Went with a Jensen Marine unit I got from Bass Pro Shop. I only have the 2 speakers and went ahead and joined/wired both the Right Front and Rear wires from the unit togeather and like wise for the Left side.

If I remember correctly from my Grade 9 electronic's, it won't provide 100 watts per side (the unit is capable of 4x50 watts) but I'm wondering if I'm putting some unnecessary load on the unit by wiring it the way I did.

What do you think ??

Bruce

Cetainly 'out of the box' thinking. Still, it's very much like running two amplifiers to one speaker. Can't be good for the amps or the speaker. I'd wire it by the book, if the 50 per channel isn't enough get a bigger amp, or another set of speakers.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Do what the instructions on the head unit tell you to do. Some did suggest tying the front/rear together in that manner. Others do not and would cause harm to the unit if you did. Check with Jensen directly if you're not sure, or visit Crutchfield's website to see if they have info on that model.

As for what a head unit is 'rated' to provide, that's a whole other marketing boondoggle. Few 'ratings' actually make sense. In order to get 'decent' sound on a boat you may have to use a separate amplifier. You can start with just the head unit. But if you find you have to crank the volume up past 3/4 it's often better to use an amp. The idea being the amplifier circuit in the head unit will overheat and fail sooner if you have to crank it up all the time. Better to use just the line-out level signal from the head unit into an amp that's also running at only half it's maximum output most of the time. Generally, the cooler the amp circuits operate the longer their lifespan.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Hi Guys, thanks for the feedback, in fact I saw a thread on the Crutchfield's site that was talking about this exact topic. Two trains of thought, one like I have suggested above and one who strongly feels it should be strictly either the Front or the Rears.

To play it safe I changed my wiring over to using just the Front channels. As Bill has alluded to, it seems in some cases it's suggested other's it's not.

I wired my speakers in my previous boat like that and encountered no problems at all, it was an Alpine head unit. Perhaps over time the amplifier would suffer - don't know.

Thanks Again


Bruce

Now you've got me thinking... Maybe get an amp to power 2 or more speakers, then run all four channels (200W) going to a subwoofer. I'm thinking the subwoofer wouldn't be as sensitive to harmonic distortion either.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

There's lots of ways to wire up audio. If you've got speakers in the cabin you can probably get away with running them directly off the head unit. The space is small and enclosed, just like the interior of an automobile. Our 348 does it this way. Then it runs the line-level signal from the 'Rear' outputs of the head unit to an amplifier. That amp has outputs for both the speakers up on the radar arch AND the subwoofer mounted in the cockpit. If we want audio only down below we just use the 'Fader' setting on the head unit to the 'Front'. Vice versa if we want more/all audio to the exterior using the 'Rear' fader settings. Works pretty well.

At some point this season I'm considering the addition of two things, a volume control for the forward berth (it's tied to the main cabin) and possible a pair of speakers for the forward sunpad. That may or may not require a separate amp but I won't know until I try.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Hi Guys, just a quick update, I had my eye on a pair of Alpine SPS M600 6.5 inch Coxial speakers at the local stereo shop. The ones that came with the boat (Maxxima) didn't sound too bad at all but wanted something a little newer.

I decide to "pull the trigger" today and bought them, I saw them on a few Internet sites for a little cheaper but by the time I add the duty and local taxes when it shows up via UPS it was only $20.00 difference and at least this way the warranty is good just in case.

At any rate, I asked th boys in the shop about the idea of wiring the front and backs togeather when only using 2 speakers, like Bill had indicated earlier - some head units are ok to wire this way and others are not, their advice was to stick with either just the fronts or backs.

Didn't have a chance to install them, my daughter just had to have her room painted so spent the last 8 hours doing that. Going for a joy ride tomorrow so I'll install them early next week. I just hooked them up quickly to make sure they worked and they sounded pretty good just have to drill a few new screw holes and we are good to go as they are a little wider but no problem with the depth etc.

Take Care

Bruce