Power efficient Bass - What is a good combo for low power?

[qwiketz 10+ year member]

Hi all,

First of all, this is for a boat, so I'm looking for high output that doesn't need a ton of power since it'll be running off a battery not hooked up to an engine (such as when we're sitting on the beach). I can probably afford 2.5= 3, maybe approaching 4 cubic feet tops if it made sense. So, I'm really after good driver sensativity combined with an enclosure design to get the most out of it. Thoughts?

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[Lasherž]

Hi all,

First of all, this is for a boat, so I'm looking for high output that doesn't need a ton of power since it'll be running off a battery not hooked up to an engine (such as when we're sitting on the beach). I can probably afford 2.5= 3, maybe approaching 4 cubic feet tops if it made sense. So, I'm really after good driver sensativity combined with an enclosure design to get the most out of it. Thoughts?

Well first off you're going to want class D for sure, that's where the efficiency is, besides that it really just comes down to having a well tuned enclosure with a pretty broad resonance curve if you want volume for less power. You might end up needing more than one battery depending on how high your power is going. How much time did you want to spend with the engine off at a time? What's the power rating and type of the battery? It would s uck to not be able to start your boat on the water because some music. Are you looking for advice on an amp and subs or just subs since you're talking about space and drivers?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Hi all,

First of all, this is for a boat, so I'm looking for high output that doesn't need a ton of power since it'll be running off a battery not hooked up to an engine (such as when we're sitting on the beach). I can probably afford 2.5= 3, maybe approaching 4 cubic feet tops if it made sense. So, I'm really after good driver sensativity combined with an enclosure design to get the most out of it. Thoughts?

horn loaded enclosure or 1/2 wave transmission line and a full bridge class D amp like taramps or banda they are usually above 80% efficiency with their sub 1000 watt amps.. You'll want marine grade subs unless its inside the boat cabin sealed away from the environment.

 

[Bobbytwonames 5,000+ posts]

Hi all,

First of all, this is for a boat, so I'm looking for high output that doesn't need a ton of power since it'll be running off a battery not hooked up to an engine (such as when we're sitting on the beach). I can probably afford 2.5= 3, maybe approaching 4 cubic feet tops if it made sense. So, I'm really after good driver sensativity combined with an enclosure design to get the most out of it. Thoughts?

Make sure you run a battery isolator. Isolate the system on one battery so you never kill the battery that starts the boat. It sounds like 2-10''s or 1-12 would work in the room that you have.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

The Banda mini amp for 99$ looks very promising for such a project. Small enough that you can put it absolutely anywhere (keep it dry!), efficient, and makes rated power. Go over to partsexpress and check out the Dayton lineup. Known for being good performance and reasonable price. You could probably get a single 15" in 4 cube airspace, ported would get you more output and you could get some decent rumble off of 250W or so.

 

[OldFartAudio]

Are you mounting the sub into the bulkhead or using an enclosure?

 

[qwiketz 10+ year member]

hi guys. The boat actually has 2 batteries with a selector switch so that I don't kill the battery to run the boat. Yes, I'll go class d for sure on the amp. I was thinking about something in the 500 watt range. The boat will be in Havasu which gets up to about 115 (we don't go out beyond normally). Do I need to make sure that the amp I pickup has a fan? I know they say class d doesn't generate taht much heat but this is a really hot environment.

The boat has a mid cuddy where the amp and sub will go to keep them out of the elements. It's a freshwater boat, so no salt either.

Are there any horns on the smaller size that might work? I know I might need more volume though.

 

[qwiketz 10+ year member]

about the enclosure versus bulkhead. There is currently one into the bulkhead but I'm thinking that to really get much out of this, I'm going to need a box or a big woofer. Thoughts?

 

[Lasherž]

hi guys. The boat actually has 2 batteries with a selector switch so that I don't kill the battery to run the boat. Yes, I'll go class d for sure on the amp. I was thinking about something in the 500 watt range. The boat will be in Havasu which gets up to about 115 (we don't go out beyond normally). Do I need to make sure that the amp I pickup has a fan? I know they say class d doesn't generate taht much heat but this is a really hot environment.

The boat has a mid cuddy where the amp and sub will go to keep them out of the elements. It's a freshwater boat, so no salt either.

Are there any horns on the smaller size that might work? I know I might need more volume though.

You shouldn't ever need a fan with class D amps, the good ones are made out of aluminum and radiate through their entire chassis, but just as importantly they're 75-90% efficient which means very low heat. I would keep the sun from beating down directly on a black amp, but so long as it's shaded it's fine. It should be anyways if it's not marine rated, you'll want to keep it well protected from potential water ingress. I'd recommend taramps for cheap efficient power, or if price isn't a big limitation then something marine rated is preferable like this

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_575PM500X1/Rockford-Fosgate-PM500X1BD.html?tp=61752

These are quite bulky and can handle a lot of heat abuse. Technically BD, but that's just marketing for class D with some filtering.

 

[qwiketz 10+ year member]

hi guys. Thought I'd check in. This was a new boat purchase. Here's what I have currently.

so currently there is a jl audio 500 watt mono marine amp running at 4 ohms driving 1 12" jl audio marine driver. The driver is setup as infinite baffle and actually sounds pretty good. The compartment it's in is actually pretty air tight so it sounds much better and goes louder than I thought it would.

I could add a 2nd 12" woofer in the opposite side and run the amp at 2 ohms.. I wouldn't have to add any equipment to get a few more db's but should I leave it as is and run it at 4 ohms or push it at 2? I know the amp will do it all day long but as mentioned, it's going to be in a hot, hot environment. Thoughts?