New guy stereo help.....2014 SAN 230

[Jeff88]

Just picked up a 2014 230 with two Rev 8 wet sounds tower speakers. It has the preview and the additional stock amp.....what's my best option to add additional speakers? Should I just pick up two more Rev 8s? I mechanically inclined but how hard is it to bolt up two more and wire them up? Thanks for any help.

[MLA]

Tower is likely prewired for that 2nd pair, so thats the easy part. That 2nd set of wires is not likely wired to amp though, so you would need to find them and wire them. IIRC, the factory tower amp would have been the polk PA4000.4. Totally wrong amp for two pair of Rev-8. I would confirm the tower amp before speculating any more.

[Jeff88]

Tower is likely prewired for that 2nd pair, so thats the easy part. That 2nd set of wires is not likely wired to amp though, so you would need to find them and wire them. IIRC, the factory tower amp would have been the polk PA4000.4. Totally wrong amp for two pair of Rev-8. I would confirm the tower amp before speculating any more.

You are correct. It's the Polk model and it is prewired. What are my best options?

[MLA]

Best option...............Wet Sounds SD-2. Solid option, Wet Sounds Syn-2. If still in stock, dual HT-4's

[Truekaotik]

Arc 600.2... That's all I can think to add..

[Jeff88]

So are you guys saying pick up the extra two Rev8s and then replace the stock Polk tower amp with a single Arc 600.2? I had Arc products in my old boat and they are very nice. Pricey. Can I get away with running the extra set of Revs on the stock amp for now if I don't want to blow the budget right away? Upgrade later?

[Truekaotik]

Arc was actually just a added suggestion to MLA's post. You will need to decide what you want to spend, All amplifiers mentioned will run them properly. As for if the Polk will work, I won't say no but, it's very light power.

[MLA]

So are you guys saying pick up the extra two Rev8s and then replace the stock Polk tower amp with a single Arc 600.2? I had Arc products in my old boat and they are very nice. Pricey. Can I get away with running the extra set of Revs on the stock amp for now if I don't want to blow the budget right away? Upgrade later?

If you want the most out of the tower speaker investment, a new is a must. The current amp is going to deliver about 1/2 of what I would like to feed a Rev-8.

[David Analog]

Jeff,
On 4-ohm tower speakers in order to get the most power per dollar, the norm is to use a moderate bridged 4-channel amplifier to a single pair or a large stereo 2-channel amplifier to dual pair. These configurations are typically where the right balance of power is most affordable. You have to look at the differences in power between 4-ohm stereo, 2-ohm stereo, and 4-ohm bridged, to find an ideal match-up with your tower speakers. Not always, but a majority of the time, a 4-channel amplifier is under-powered and not the best match-up with four 4-ohm tower speakers.

[Jeff88]

Thanks for the info guys. Couple more questions as I'm trying to learn/understand all this. My boat is still at the dealer so I won't get it until April sometime. What are the chances the two Rev 8s are bridged on the stock Polk Amp already?

And if I add the additional pair of Rev 8s with an SD2, to wire them in series at 2ohms, two wires in each terminal? And what order do they go in?

Any reason to do a Rev410 over a pair of 8s?

[MLA]

They may be bridged, but that doesnt help as you would need more amp chnls if adding a 2nd pair.

They would be wired in parallel in order to get a 2 ohm per chnl load. Yes, 2 wires in each terminal.

If you bridged the Rev-8 on the D4000.4 and then added a rev-410 and its own amp like a Syn-2, that would work ok.

[Truekaotik]

Thanks for the info guys. Couple more questions as I'm trying to learn/understand all this. My boat is still at the dealer so I won't get it until April sometime. What are the chances the two Rev 8s are bridged on the stock Polk Amp already?

And if I add the additional pair of Rev 8s with an SD2, to wire them in series at 2ohms, two wires in each terminal? And what order do they go in?

Any reason to do a Rev410 over a pair of 8s?

Honestly?
The Rev410 will dominate the show with the proper wattage and the 8's will become like back up dancers to it. If you have the real estate for it, that or a pair of Rev10's is better than adding 8's.

[David Analog]

I totally agree with the above that when mixing 8s and 10s, that the 10s will dominate the show. And normally I don't recommend mixing because you double the quantity of speakers and double the amplification without getting near the +6 dB results that you would get by running four 10s versus two 10s mixed with two 8s.
Now there is an approach when it can work out. A center Rev410 can be the speaker that provides the main projection and amplitude behind the boat. Rev8s to the outside on swivel brackets can be fanned out wide specifically to enhance the dispersion outside the wake. Fanning the speakers out also eliminates a lot of the off-axis comb filtering you get with a four speaker horizontal array. Comb filtering is described as speakers erratically summing and cancelling due to off-axis distance differences at the point of perception. So this technique can offer a more uniform sound across the entire left to right span. The objective here would be one that is a little different than just achieving max output.