how to get the best performance from my system
how to get the best performance from my system
here's the situation... for a couple of years my boat system consisted of a zx500 running 4 2way 6" speakers (on the wakeboard tower) and an M50 running 2 12" soundsteam spl's. That system rocked and was more than enough for a while. late last summer i came across an M100, a bass cube and lpl. seeing as i had all this extra equiptment i decided to add 2 more 6" 2ways in the cockpit area of the boat (same speakers as on the tower). I re-did the whole set up. Now the M100 runs the subs with the bass cube and lpl. The zx500 still runs the tower speakers and the M50 now runs the 2 additional cockpit speakers. Turns out I am less than impressed. It's actually louder with the original setup then it is after adding the M100. This leads me to believe that maybe I don't have enough power to run all 3 amps. My boat has a 70 amp alternator and 1 deep cycle battery. i'm thinking that by adding a second battery and possibly installing a couple of 500k farad caps i might be noticeably better off. would this make much of a difference or am i better off trying to get more amps out of my alternator? any input is much appreciated.
Last edited by Hoser on Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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wash with gasoline
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its always better to get power straight from the alternator in my opinion. as far as i know deep cycle batterys are not meant to put out lots of power at once, im not sure of a good way to explain but they are more of a tractor than a race car. im sure doubling the batts would help. caps are a bandaid, ive had them help in systems under 1000 watts. but they just level things out as your battery dies, ie instead of your headlights dimming everytime the bass hits they just keep getting steadely dimmer until the car dies or the amps shut off 
im not sure how familiar you are with the base cubes but they have a adjustable subsonic filter and bass boost internaly that you might need to adjust to get the most out of it as well. also not sure what gauge wires you have running from the amps to the battery and how long they are? hope that gives you a start, i think im cooked for the night 
im not sure how familiar you are with the base cubes but they have a adjustable subsonic filter and bass boost internaly that you might need to adjust to get the most out of it as well. also not sure what gauge wires you have running from the amps to the battery and how long they are? hope that gives you a start, i think im cooked for the night dry with match
I'm using 4ga wire and it's about 15' long. I'm kind of baffled because the subs are louder running off the M50 than the M100. Maybe the the M100 is on it's way out? is there a way to test it? As far as the bass cube is concerned, i've tried bypassing it to see if it was the problem but it doesn't seem to make a difference as far as loudness goes.
you need to read the bass cube manual and make sure the unit is tuned and setup properly. It will make a difference if you do this. here's a start.http://download.phoenixphorum.com/Manua ... ecrets.pdf
also i think that the ZX500 on your subs would be a better way to go and use the M50,M100 for your other speakers, plus a 70amp alternator is woefully inadequate to power 3 amps.
also i think that the ZX500 on your subs would be a better way to go and use the M50,M100 for your other speakers, plus a 70amp alternator is woefully inadequate to power 3 amps.
screw car audio, I'd rather go fast....errr, wait a minute.
