running tower speakers and what amp

[fitzee]

i want to run 6 of the polk audio db series tower speakers and was wondering if anybody had any pictures of where to run the wire in the boat and tower and what the best amp would be to run 6 tower speakers in a 06 210 team thanks

[flaudia402]

Well you'll need to run 12 or 14 gauge wiring through your tower generally to the left hand side of the boat (opposite side of the driver) since that is where most of the storage space is to house your amp and wiring. Once you've fed it through there, the wires will emerge through the tower into that cubby storage space (I believe on the 210's you lift the seat and can access that space readily. Best amp to run it is personal preference. I don't know what those Polk's handle powerwise, but I'm guessing about 80 watts rms or so a piece (What my old Polks handled from the '06 TE Polk Tower set up). I would say either a 4 or 2 channel amplifier would suit you just fine -- between 500-600 watts or so. Splitting 3 of the DB's up and treating them as one module per se. Amplifier will be personal preference... a lot of guys (including myself) go Kicker since its reliable american made equipment, generally good customer service, and power ratings are great too...plus don't forget it is a boat, so water may or may not get to it...I wouldn't hurt as bad if I dropped $300 bucks down the drain as compared to $500+ (One of the reasons I went with a Kicker 850.4 for my tower set up, as compared to a Zapco 1000.1, and a Kicker 750.1 for my sub as compared to a JL1000.1). Then again, it is your money, but I don't see you spending big bucks for an amplifier to power those speakers. Their ratings just aren't high/demanding enough. They'll get the job done though! Good luck! :grin:

[Mikeski]

six speakers is always a challenge from an amplifier standpoint. You could always run a Clarion 480 and a Clarion 280 if you have the room on your amp rack.

To save wires you can run the speaker pairs in series then bridge the amplifiers.

www.bcae1.com

What's the plan for the boat speakers?

[EarmarkMarine]

Fritzee,

Three pair of 4-ohm speakers in parallel per channel would net 1.33 ohms.

The Boston Acoustics amplifiers are 1-ohm stereo stable and fan-cooled. They’re perfect for your application.

David E. M.

[fitzee]

thanks for the help i have one more question i'm only going to run 4 tower speakes now and keep two for spare will a clarion 480 be enough power for the polk db series speakers

thanks fitzee

[EarmarkMarine]

Fritzee,

The dB series are efficient. The APX480 will be fine whether you use all four channels with an eight-conductor tower harness, bridge the amp and series the speakers or just use two channels into two ohms parallel.

David E. M.

[fitzee]

do you sell what i need harness,amp, and what ever else i need to hook up the speakers and do you have any diagrams or pics to show me where to run the wire or harness in the tower thanks :shock: :???:

[Mikeski]

series the speakers up in the tower, then you only need a 4 conductor harness.

[Laptom]

EarmarkMarine or Mikeski... I'm currently running 4 towerspeakers in a parallel setup with a APX280 (2ohm stable). I have an APX480 collecting dust. Is there a way to connect 4 speakers to an APX480 with 2 wires and use the full power?

Does it work if I series the speakers in the tower and bridge the 4ch amp? What is a 4 conductor harness (4 wires?)?

Thanks..

[Laptom]

EarmarkMarine or Mikeski... I'm currently running 4 towerspeakers in a parallel setup with a APX280 (2ohm stable). I have an APX480 collecting dust. Is there a way to connect 4 speakers to an APX480 with 2 wires and use the full power?

By 2 wires I mean 2 positive and 2 negative wires.

[EarmarkMarine]

Laptom,

Yes, a four-conductor harness means two positives and two negatives.

A bridged 480 driving a series load of 8-ohms will deliver a little more power than your 280 driving a parallel load of 2-ohms, but, the difference in volume may be minimal.

If you cockpit MOMO speakers are wholly or partially driven by the source unit then you may want to put the 480 to use in reconfiguring the in-boat system.

David E. M.

[Laptom]

I hope there is no hijack to this post... But our Nautique is an original Team, so with a 480 powering 4 interior speaker in parallel driven by 2 channel, the sub bridged by the 2 other channels and a 280 powering the 4 towerspeakers...
I have a new 480 laying around collecting dust. Was thinking as a winterproject to put the 4 tower speakers by four conductor harness to the 480. Put the sub on the 280 and the 2 front speakers (now directly connected to the radio itself) to the 2 free channels on the excisting 480... I would really like to have a little more power to the towerspeakers...

[TravisFling]

Laptom - Your thinking here is correct. I would run all the boat speakers off of the 480, and the sub off of the 280. Could run in parallel and run 8 speakers off one 480, and the sub off of the 280, but I think the 280 is a pretty low powered amp and your sub could probably do with more. (?) To run all your top speakers in parallel/bridged to get the most power out of the amp run speakers 1 and 2 positive to positive of channel 1. Negatives to Channel 2 negative. Speakers 3 and 4 run the same, but to channels 3 and 4. same with the second amp for the tower speakers, unless you only have two tower speakers, then you can run the amp off channels 3 and 4 of the 480.