marine stereo amplifier

D

dlfish702

New Member
Oct 8, 2009
21
puerto rico
Boat Info
360 Sundancer 2005
Engines
8.1 Horizon Mercruiser V drives
Hi Gang,
I need to replace my clarion APX480M amplifier and I know they no longer make this model.
What is the best option to replace this?
I have a 360DA with 6 cockpit speakers and I know nothing about stereo equipment.
Thanks,
Doug
 
+1 on the JL amp. Make sure you have plenty of current ran to the amp. The JL calls for 4 gage wire for both the pos and neg. I know on my Sundeck I had to run new wires as the stock ones were too small.
 
A Kicker KXM400.4 would be a solid replacement for that Clarion. Its Class-D so its 50% more efficient than your old amp, marine, small footprint. For a step up in power, I would suggest the Wet Sounds HT-6. Marine as well and Class-D efficient. This 6 chnl could drive your 6 current speakers, as well as a mild sub-woofer.
 
This post is right up my alley. I also have a bum amp that needs replacement this Spring.
 
I have to ask, why are you replacing your amp? The reason I ask is I have the same boat as you and last year my sub stopped working. All other speakers work, and the fuses are fine on the amp. Can the amp go bad, but still get sound from the other speakers?
 
Georgia SeaDawg said:
I have to ask, why are you replacing your amp? The reason I ask is I have the same boat as you and last year my sub stopped working. All other speakers work, and the fuses are fine on the amp. Can the amp go bad, but still get sound from the other speakers?
Click to expand...
Yes. A 4 chnl amp is essentially two 2 chnl amps in a single chnl. One half can go bad, preventing output, while the other have operates as normal. You can also have a wiring issue or a failed sub.
 
Wylie_Tunes said:
Yes. A 4 chnl amp is essentially two 2 chnl amps in a single chnl. One half can go bad, preventing output, while the other have operates as normal. You can also have a wiring issue or a failed sub.
Click to expand...

While you are here Wylie, I have an early 2000s two channel Clarion amp where one channel won't kick on until the volume is increased to a certain level. On my previous boat I had the exact same symptom on a early 2000s Clarion 4 channel amp. What causes that and is it soon not going to turn on at all?
 
ZZ13 said:
While you are here Wylie, I have an early 2000s two channel Clarion amp where one channel won't kick on until the volume is increased to a certain level. On my previous boat I had the exact same symptom on a early 2000s Clarion 4 channel amp. What causes that and is it soon not going to turn on at all?
Click to expand...
This could be upstream from the source unit or generated inside the amp. Swap the left and right RCAs to see if the problem stays on the suspect side or moves, in other words follows the swapped rcas. If the problem stays on the same side, its the amp or speaker. if it moves, its upstream.
 
Amps are more than just channels and speaker quantity. First you need to make sure you have adequate power to your speakers. To know this, you need to know what olms the speakers are rated at, and how you have them wired. All amps have different watt ratings depending on the olm rating of the speakers combined. Nicer 6 inch speakers need 100 + watts a piece to sound good while the cheapies need 30-100. Just because the amp says 1000 watts, doesn't mean 6 speakers are getting 166 watts each. Google the amps ratings that you are running and check the olms of the speakers. It should say the watts at each olm. ie. 300watts x2 at 4olms or 400 x1 at 8olms.
 
Ok, I saw this thread while trying to determine a replacement for my blown Clarion APX480M amp for my 2005 SR Select. I'm looking for a plug and play quality replacement. Any fresh ideas since this thread was started?
 
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