Cadence Amp and Wetsounds - stereo issue

[TRO]

Howdy y'all. I posted my stereo issue on WW, but didn't get any responses, so I figured i'd try here before having to call manufacturers, etc.

the other day, my tower speakers were cutting in and out after sitting with the engine off for only a short while. it was about 93 outside. the WS-420 was flickering and at one point, the tower speakers would not work at all. I switched the battery switch to the 2nd battery and the tower speakers worked fine. so i thought it was a battery issue. however, i hooked the battery up to the charger when i got back home and it was barely drained. I have 2 XS batteries which are almost brand new, hooked to a 2 bank inboard charger

i have a cadence amp (ZRS 3002) pushing the 2 485's and the stock clarion (APX 480m) pushing the boat ws 650's (6). the in boats worked with no problem while this was happening.

so, after reading numerous threads on here, i've narrowed it down to 2 potential problems:

1. amp to the tower speakers got too hot (i have it mounted against the wall in the bow wing seat area and had that compartment packed with stuff, although nothing was touching the amp, i've never had that much stuff in there.

2. tower amp was not getting enough volts - i have the WS-420 power and ground wires tied into the amp's screw terminals for the power and ground connections coming from the boat batteries.

anyone have any thoughts?

[tazz3069]

My buddy has the same setup. I was told that his amp does not have enough power for the WS. I heard that the WS need a grip load of power in order for them to properly work.

[TRO]

the cadence amp was playing perfect powering the tower 485's before i put the WS-420 in and the new batteries. it was even playing perfectly after those 2 installations for a while and just started acting up lately.

[Mikeski]

what was your battery voltage? My guess is that it was below 11.5 causing your issues. You are running blind if you do not have a good digital voltage gauge for your stereo battery bank. I look at this gauge more than any other gauge on my boat.


The square box is my digital voltmeter for my stereo dedicated battery bank.

[TRO]

i don't know what the voltage is. i don't have a gauge. the batteries i'm running the stereo off of are not a dedicated battery bank. they are the stock setup with 2 batteries in the stock locations which also start the boat, run the boat, etc. both batteries are hooked to the stock 1,2,all switch. i usually leave the switch on a single battery while sitting still and running the stereo.

[Mikeski]

Low voltage, almost certainly.

[Cam003]

i have had the same problem and its the batteries. i dont know what XS batteries are but it sounds like you need something with more amp hours. i am adding a third battery to my setup instead of cutting into the floor to enlarge the stock holes. if the 420n is flickering(i bet when the bass hits) then your voltage is most certainly low. it may have run well for a few weeks or even months but once you drain those things down a few times they dont react well.

[TRO]

i don't have any bass really. i don't have a sub. only the inboats and the tower speakers. the WS-420 is flickering like there is a short or loose connection. I talked with Gyver over at Wetsounds and he gave me some things to check for. I'm going to look into those and go from there.

Thanks for all the info guys.

[TRO]

well. i think i resolved the WS-420 flickering issue and the amp cutting out issue. only problem now is one of my 485's isn't working properly. it only plays at like 5% of the volume of the other one.

i took it off the tower and i'm going to take it up to Wetsounds tommorow and see if they can figure out what is wrong with it.

[TRO]

after talking with the Wetsounds guys, it sounds like i might have an issue with my setup and amp as opposed to speaker.

[tazz3069]

That amp does not have enough power for those speakers.

[TRO]

it will do 300x2 at 4 ohms. it does have enough power and would scream them before i put the ws-420 in. they were crazy loud.

the 485s are RMS 300 watts and 600 PEAK watts.

i think i've actually seen guys recommend a SYN 4 on 2 485's and that's only 250 watts to each.

[wetsounds1]

tro,

did you get it all working?

The 300x2 is the min RMS rating. The SYN-4 is 400x2 in 2 ch mode. So really great fit for the 485 pair

We do have guys running dual SYN-2's. which is 700x1 per speaker. Tons of power. The 485's can handle some juice. But when running this much power, you have to be very careful.

So right now, you are at the min RMS rating. But there is more on tap if you ever decide to change out the amp

Tim
Wet Sounds

[TRO]

Tim:

yah, y'all's amps rock and i definitely think i'll upgrade to a SYN 4 in the future.

I haven't got it figured out yet, but I'm narrowing down the possible issues. I visited with Gyver at your shop today and he tested out my PRO485. it powered up fine under yall's test apparatus so we're thinking the wiring might be the issue. He took the time to discuss my setup with me and he went over some of the potential problem areas for me to check.

he was super helpful and i think we'll figure it out soon. i appreciate all yall's help. your customer service rocks!

by the way, that black big truck rig yall have at the shop is sick! is that your daily driver to the office?

-Jeremy

[wetsounds1]

Thanks! Glad he is getting you fixed up.

The monster truck is Brett's daily driver! And our rig for shows. The dump bed is full of speakers so we can provide audio at an event.

Tim
Wet Sounds