2001rotax800 said:
Thank you niceguymr, Here are the componets I am lookng at, and yes you are correct on my plan.
Speakers:
http://www.outdoorspeakerdepot.com/arch ... tdoor.html
Radio:
http://www.islandmarineelectronics.com/ ... _1747.html
Amp would be what i could find as long as it matched the speakers, I was leaning torwarsd 400 watss so I would have some "headroom" with it, Thanks.,
Without actually hearing the speakers, they look fine. I've never actually heard of that brand nor do I know anything about their quality, but that doesn't mean much b/c there are lots that I don't know about. What I can tell you is that when you go with lesser known products, you're taking a risk. Just make sure that wherever you buy them from has a reasonable return policy in case you turn out not to like them. One brand of outdoor speaker that I am more familiar with and could highly recommend are the Polk Audio speakers. You can find great deals on them from time to time at NewEggg.com. But please don't misunderstand me - I'm not trying to steer you away from those speakers - just encouraging you to make an informed decision. Look for reviews whenever possible but take even those with a grain of salt.
As for the radio, I kinda see where you're going with this. You like the look, style, features, and function of the marine radios -and possibly feel they go well for your system b/c of the outdoorsy nature. Let me just say that while you will certainly be able to achieve what you want, you'd be able to do it much better with a home electronics system. It might now have all the cool looking style and some of the bells & whistles of the radio you mentioned, but the sound quality will be much better. Marine audio electornics such as the one you mentioned are designed to power marine type speakers - which are simply weatherized car stereo speakers - different from the OSD ARC1s that you mentioned above. The best thing for the speakers you mentioned above would be a home audio receiver in the 50-100 watt RMS range. And by the way, I see the specs on those speakers is 150 watts. B/c it doesn't say the words RMS or 'Continuous Power', you must assume that it's referring to peak power and that the speaker's true handling capability is only about maybe 50-75 watts RMS (or continuous) On the flip side, a receiver that's rated at 50-75 watts RMS would be perfect for speakers like this. Oh, and not to confuse you furthere, but all these number and their relativity to eachother changes when you go from home electronics to marine electronics and switching from 4 ohms to 8 ohms. It can be really complicated, I know.
So back to that Jensen Receiver... Just to run that system, you'll need a way to convert 12VDC to 110VAC. And you'll need to do this for the amp that you're considering as well. This throws things into your setup that you really don't need unless you are dead set on this particular type and style of equipment. Quite frankly, it's hard for me to advise you on using this type of electronics set up b/c I would NEVER advise anyone to do it unless they happen to have no money at ll and this equipment was a gift that they had to us. Then I'd figure out a way to make it work - or convince them to sell it and use it to buy better equipment. I'm really sorry to say that there's really no reason to be putting a boat stereo system in you cabana/bar house area unless you simply have no other choice. Between what you'd spend on the power convereter, amplifier, you could end up with a good quality, better sounding system using a nice home stereo receiver. Allow me to make just one recommendation (purely as an example)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6882115146
This Yamaha Receiver will give you EVERYTHING YOU NEED in terms of stereo, radio, multiple source inputs so you can listen to an IPOD, TV, CD, Whatever you want - EVEN YOUR LAPTOP. I has a build in HIGH QUALITY amplifier with enough power that will blow the sound quality away with what you're currently looking at. The list of features goes on and on.
You can keep this stereo inside the cabana or safely enclosed behind the bar and connect whatever you want to it. You can have the volume control mounted separately as I mentioned in my previous post and you can put that anywhere you want. And that's all you'd need.
Don't minsunderstand me - I'm not pushing you to this one receiver. There are dozens of other brands of similarly equiped units that will deliver you similar performance. You can go down in quality significantly and still do better than the 'marine' system you're looking at. And of course, you can go waaaaayyy much better too. And with this home receiver type set up, you don't have to worry about power conversion, or buying a separate amp. It's all built in and it's better.
So here's my recommendation, however feel free to get as much feedback from other people as you can. I might also recommend you check out AVSForum.com which specializes on all things audio/video related. They will dive much deeper into you request and possibly confuse you more, but they know what they speak of.
So again, my recommendation is the following:
1) Pick your speakers - whichever they are, make sure you're happy with the sound
2) Buy a Home Stereo Receiver - Sony, Yamaha, Denon, Whatever. Spend a few hundred and you'll never look back
3) Get the oudoor volume controls and run the wires from your receiver to it, and from it to the speakers.
Badabing! You're set.