Amp for Wetsound REV 8

[Mastercraftdave]

The dealer is adding the (4) REV 8's to my X45's tower in exchange for the Mastercraft cans that it came with. He is using the stock amp that comes with the boat and I know that will be underpowering the speakers because i had the Double up system on my previous boat.

Does anyone know the proper amp to power there speakers. Im pretty sure the amp that comes with the boat is only a 400/4 JL amp but I could be wrong.

What size would be ideal and would be able to power these without over heating and shutting off. I would like to run @ 4ohm to keep this from happening so I know that I will need a bigger wattage amp. Any suggestions?

[rgardjr1]

Originally Posted by Mastercraftdave

The dealer is adding the (4) REV 8's to my X45's tower in exchange for the Mastercraft cans that it came with. He is using the stock amp that comes with the boat and I know that will be underpowering the speakers because i had the Double up system on my previous boat.

Does anyone know the proper amp to power there speakers. Im pretty sure the amp that comes with the boat is only a 400/4 JL amp but I could be wrong.

What size would be ideal and would be able to power these without over heating and shutting off. I would like to run @ 4ohm to keep this from happening so I know that I will need a bigger wattage amp. Any suggestions?

Tim White posted this over at the WakeWorld forums:

"A good match for two pairs of REV 8 is a SYN-2. 200x2 to a single pair and 350x2 at 2 ohms so net of 175 to each. However as my tech support mentioned if you are looking for the highest performance from them, then Dual SYN-4 is in order for 400x2 and 400x2. But some are wanting great all around sound and a good balance. And a SYN-2 will get it done. I heard a boat that had a pair of REV 10 and pair of REV 8 all off a SYN-2. And normally i would not mix the sizes and i would have said it was not enough power. But man the boat sounded awesome and it all just worked. All that heard it were blown away.

So if you look at the specs the REV 8 RMS is 200. Good match for the SYN-2. And the REV 10 is 300 RMS. So it really likes the SYN-4 on each pair.

Tim
Wet Sounds"

[EarmarkMarine]

175 to 200 watts to each REV8 would be perfect. So a Wetsounds SYN2 will deliver 175 to each of four speakers. If you want to maintain what you have add a second JL Audio 400/4. Bridging those eight channels into four will deliver 200 watts to each of four REV8s.

David
Earmark Marine

[EarmarkMarine]

Btw, I'm not worried about either of the above amplifier scenarios going into thermal protection unless you can't hear hard clipping on your own. If that is a problem then the selection of four channel amplifiers that run an 'honest' 200 watts per channel at a 4-ohm load is going to be narrow. An alternative could be dual 2-channel amplifiers bridged with two speakers in series on each channel. The 8-ohm bridged power and thermal stability will be identical to 4-ohm stereo.

David
Earmark Marine

[swatguy]

I had a syn 2 on my rev 8's because the syn 4 were backorder last summer fir a bit. However I will tell you that the Syn 4 is the way to go for sure. When tuned properly it makes those 8' s scream. You won't have to worry about damaging the speaker at all with the 4 as long as they are tuned properly. Bridge the Syn 4 to the 2 Rev 8's and be done. The Syn 4 will give you way more performance than the price difference between the Syn 2 so its a no brainer. Depending on who you ask at Wetsounds they will also suggest the Syn 4 over the Syn 2 in order to really take advantage.

[Mastercraftdave]

Originally Posted by EarmarkMarine

175 to 200 watts to each REV8 would be perfect. So a Wetsounds SYN2 will deliver 175 to each of four speakers. If you want to maintain what you have add a second JL Audio 400/4. Bridging those eight channels into four will deliver 200 watts to each of four REV8s.

David
Earmark Marine

Thanks for the help. I wish I lived closer to where your shop is because people in Lousisana just dont know much about boat audio. I always see pictures of stereo installs that yall do and needless to sat its some amazing work.

[willyt]

If they wanted to run 2 pair of rev8's at 4ohms why not buy 2 syn2's?

[rgardjr1]

Originally Posted by willyt

If they wanted to run 2 pair of rev8's at 4ohms why not buy 2 syn2's?

It's certainly an option. With 4 Rev 8s looks like you would end up with the following:

One Syn 2:
2x350 at 2 Ohm = 175 Watts/Speaker

One Syn 4:
4x125 at 4 Ohm = 125 Watts/Speaker

2 Syn 2s:
2x200 at 4 Ohm = 200 Watts/Speaker

2 Syn 4s:
2x400 at 4 Ohm = 400 Watts/Speaker

Not sure about the original concern of running a 2 Ohm load to the amp, but the Wetsound's amps should handle the 2 Ohm load without any problem. Looks like the one amp WS solution would be the Syn 2. Looks like the 2 amp WS solution would be 2 Syn 4s. My understanding is that the Class H WS amps are more efficient than the traditional AB amps. I'm sure David could address this much better than myself.

[Mastercraftdave]

Originally Posted by rgardjr1

Not sure about the original concern of running a 2 Ohm load to the amp, but the Wetsound's amps should handle the 2 Ohm load without any problem. Looks like the one amp WS solution would be the Syn 2. Looks like the 2 amp WS solution would be 2 Syn 4s. My understanding is that the Class H WS amps are more efficient than the traditional AB amps. I'm sure David could address this much better than myself.

Thanks for the input into my situation. The reason that I was concerned about this is due to the heat that is produced during the different ohm loads. On my last boat I had problems with my amps overheating so I ended up running them at four ohms and they didnt heat up as much.


I will be getting the boat next week and the four REV are hopoked up to the 400/4. I plan to find an amp to run the tower speaker and then with the 400/4 I was going to use it to power the sub to get it more power and then use the 6ch amp to run the inside speakers and get more power to them because I have been told they are heavily under powered. I only want to run three amps as im not looking to have more that two batteries.

Besides the SYN 2, what amp (etc JL, Kicker) could I run to the speakers to get the most power out of them. Looking for the best options here so im open to anything as far as amp set ups.

Thanks again for the help

[EarmarkMarine]

The number of amplifiers will have zero impact on the current draw. Only the collective power plus the amplifier efficiency will impact the current draw. In fact, it would be possible to have more amplifiers producing the identical power operating at a higher and more efficient impedance load and drawing less current.
Here are a couple of choices:
Wetsounds Syn2. 2-ohm load. 700 total watts. Very good Class H efficiency. Lowest cost.
Dual JL Audio XD400/4 (same as M400/4). Bridged equivalent of 2-ohm load. 800 total watts. Excellent Class D efficiency. Super small footprint so two of these are no larger than most two-channel amplifiers. Highest cost. But the lowest cost if combined with your existing 400/4.
JL Audio HD750/1 (same as MHD750/1). Series/parallel combination for a final 4-ohm load. 750 watts that is strictly regulated so it is equal to a 20 percent larger unregulated amplifier with a 12.5 volt supply. Excellent Class D efficiency. Second highest cost.

David
Earmark Marine