Stereo install questions

I'd use a dremel if you have one to cut open the dash.

No idea what's up with the second pic.

JPASS wrote: I'd use a dremel if you have one to cut open the dash.

Sorry JP but I do not feel the Dremel would work very well. Due to the rotation of the bit, the bit will want to walk sideways and not in the straight line needed. I like Joel's idea of using the muti tool.

SWANY wrote: I used the multi tool and it worked great.

Joel,
I sure hope you buy quality tool and you have a Fein rather than one of the cheap imitations made in China!

the thing, anybody?
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8122pbrainard wrote: Sorry JP but I do not feel the Dremel would work very well. Due to the rotation of the bit, the bit will want to walk sideways and not in the straight line needed. I like Joel's idea of using the muti tool.

They make cut off wheels that allow for straight cuts if the rotary bit doesn't work for ya.

8122pbrainard wrote: I'm very aware of the cut off wheels and in fact always have a bulk pack of the wheels on hand. Do you know they are not designed for aluminum? In fact, there aren't many hard abrasive wheels that are made for aluminum. They load up and EXPLODE!!!! Yes, the cut off wheels are fiber reinforced so the chances are less but, I have had them break apart on me and that was on steel. Have you ever see a 24" dia. wheel break on you? I have and thankfully the guard was in place. All this is why I didn't even consider the cut off wheel route.

I didn't know the dash was made of Al. That changes everything. I would have used a 4" grinder, jig saw (after taping off the dash so as not to scratch the surrounding metal) or a body saw then. Dremel definitely would not be a good idea.

I thought the dash was plastic like on my '92.

OK, I may have a dumb question, Any help would be appreciated I know hardly nothing about audio. But I have a fusion radio in my boat with (4) 6" fusion speakers in the boat, and a single 10" sub. In addition i have 4 tower speakers. I dont know what the max watts are for these but I know nothing about amps and what to buy. Do i need a 4 channel amp or a two channel amp? or a 5 channel amp What is a class D amp. I have been directed in all directions. Thank you

H2oXtremes wrote: OK, I may have a dumb question, Any help would be appreciated I know hardly nothing about audio. But I have a fusion radio in my boat with (4) 6" fusion speakers in the boat, and a single 10" sub. In addition i have 4 tower speakers. I dont know what the max watts are for these but I know nothing about amps and what to buy. Do i need a 4 channel amp or a two channel amp? or a 5 channel amp What is a class D amp. I have been directed in all directions. Thank you

Helpful to know what boat you have and what your intentions are (i.e. upgrading, etc.)

A Class D amp will be the most efficient (as compared to a Class AB) and draw less power. Class D's are typically smaller than a Class AB for a given power output. In terms of sound quality either a D or AB will sound the same in a boat application. I personally would go Class D.

I honestly don't know much about Fusion products so im on their site now, but I'm guessing you have something similar to this for the amp. I would keep that amp for the sub.

there are two sets of speakers on fusion's website. 150-watt and 200-watt at 6". the grills are different, so that will help determine which watt speakers you have. I would guess too that the cabin speakers are connected directly to the head unit.

which model head unit? how did you connect the tower speakers? Are two tower speakers in one enclosure or each speaker has it's own enclosure? Do each of the tower speakers have their own wire pair?

If you get me all the model #s or pics, I might be able to draw up a schematic for you.

option 1: 500 to 1000 watt 4-channel amp with signal from zone 3 output. each speaker gets it's own channel. easy (you will probably have to split the signal for channels 1/3 (left) and 2/4 (right). each channel keeps its power at 4 ohms.

Option 2: 500 to 1000 watt 2 channel amp that can handle a 2 ohm load with the signal from zone 3 output. Then run each side of the tower (2 speakers per side) in parallel to the amp. You will get more power out of it.

Option 3: If the 2-channel amp is bridgeable, you could run each side in series, then parallel the two sides into the bridged channel thus keeping the ohms at 4 and utilizing all the power from the amp, but you lose L/R (if that matters to you on a tower setup) each side would be 8 ohms x 2, but then run in parallel would bring it back to 4 ohms. Here is another good site that helps explain this.

I hope it is obvious, you will just keep the subwoofer configured the way it is currently.

i like easy. I would go with option 1 myself.

as you can see from the diagrams below, you could wire it to the head unit...but what fun would that be? And i am guessing that you wired each tower speaker in parallel with the corresponding cabin speaker, which is why things were distorted, so running in parallel probably isn't your best option even though it says it can.

of course if im completely off the mark, let me know.

the wiring diagrams came from the ip600 manual off the fusion website.


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http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2064KX8K5/Kicker-40KX800-5.html?tp=35808

since the amp says its rated at 100w x 4 @ 2 ohms...I would probably just run your left side cabin in parallel off ch1, right side cabin in parallel off ch2, tower left side (two cans in parallel) on ch3, and tower right side (two cans in parallel) on ch4. If you don't want to run individual cables down the tower, parallel the cans on the tower (connect the speaker terminals together v connecting two wires to one terminal at the amp). Then hook up the sub to the sub port. Downside...you now have an amp to possibly put in your car or sell on ebay. Upside, you can probably use the power from the original sub amp for the new amp provided it is big enough gauge (speaking of which, what gauge power/ground wire are you using? Here is a chart for amps and distance from batt)

this will maintain your left/right stereo pair (no need to maintain front/back)

****Scratch this: also, you will want to use the zone 1 and zone 2 line level outputs into the new amp, which means you should cap off the speaker lines out of the head unit. What I like to do, is cut flush ends, then use a single piece of heat shrink to protect them, but keep the pairs together (note, there will be space between each end so they don't touch)

Looking at the ip600 manual, there is not a line level output for zones 1 and 2, and unfortunately there is not a high impedance input on the kicker amp. SOOOOO, you will need to do a two way split (or Y-splitter) to "amp 1" and "amp 2" into the new amp. You should still be able to use the sub out of the HU to the sub in of the kicker. you will still want to cap off the speaker lines from the HU.


or you could just use the HU for cabin, and the amp for tower & sub. I'd rather just have all speakers off the amp myself, but you won't be able to turn off zones if everything is off the amp

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