5 Channel Marine Amplifiers

5 channel marine amps will offer the simplest installation if you are running 4-8 coaxial speakers and 1-2 subwoofers. We offer amps ranging from 600-1000 watts of RMS power and from top brands such as Rockford Fosgate, Kicker, and JL Audio. If you are looking to add high quality audio to your boatand you aren't running tower speakers, a 5 channel amplifier will provide an easy solution so that you can enjoy your favorite tunes while out on the water. For the money, the Rockford Fosgate 5 channel marine amps are tough to beat. They are powerful, loud, and affordable.

It all depends on your amplifier. Most 5 channel marine amplifiers are 2 ohm stable for the speakers and either 1 or 2 ohm stable for the subwoofer. Without getting completely crazy with the wiring, you can power 8 speakers and 4 subwoofers off of a single, 5 channel marine amplifier. This assumes that the full range channels for the speakers are 2 ohm stable and the subwoofer output is 1 ohm stable. You could wire 8 speakers in parallel off of the 4 speakers channels, and then run four, four-ohm SVC subwoofers off of the subwoofer channel. You would be dilluting the power to the subwoofers, but it COULD be done with a single amplifier.

Yes. All of the 5 channel marine amplifiers that we offer have switchable inputs. This let's you select whether you have 2 channel, 4 channel, or 5 channel inputs going into the 5 channel marine amp. If you set the selectable input switch at 2, the amplifier takes the left and right input signal and sends it to all 4 speakers. It then takes the sub-bass frequencies from the speakers, sums it, and sends just the bass frequencies to the subwoofer channel. This allows you to run a 5 channel marine amplifier on your boat, even if you only have 2 channel zone pre-outs. If you have 4 channel pre-outs but no subwoofer pre-out, the same thing is true. It takes the audio signal from the 4 speakers, sums it, filters out the high frequency signal that the subwoofer can't play, and sends that to the subwoofer. If your marine radio has 2 channel pre-outs and a subwoofer, you will want to set it to 5 channel inputs, but then use "Y" RCA cables to send the audio signal to both the front and rear inputs.

Some 5 channel marine amps, like the Kicker KXMA800.5 come with a bass knob included. In the case of that Kicker amp, the bass knob is wireless and connected via Bluetooth. If your amplifier does not include a bass knob, we recommend adding one. Since no two recordings are the exact same and the production levels vary among artists, songs, and albums, we recommend using a bass knob the quicly and easily control the bass output while on your boat. If you are litening to some country music, Alan Jackson is going to have more bass in the recording than George Strait. If you listen to hip-hop, you definitely want a bass knob, and if you listen to classic rock, the amount of bass in the recordings is all over the place. Adding a bass knob to your 5 channel marine amplifier let's you adjust hte subwoofer output so that it sounds correct with the perfect amount of bass for each song.

In my not so humble opinion, the best 5 channel marine amplifier is the Rockford Fosgate TM1000x5ad. This amplifier has constant power circuits for both the full range and the subwoofer channels. You get 100+ watts of raw, Rockford power to each speaker at all impedances at rated power. This is the equivalent to 200 watts at 2 ohms on most amplifiers, making this an 800 watt amplifier for the speakers. The subwoofer channel puts out 600 watts at both 2 and 1 ohm. If we are conservative, that is an additional 600 watts RMS, taking the subwoofer power at face value. If we measured the output of the TM1000x5ad like most other amplifiers, even other Rockford Fosgate 5 channel marine amps, this would be a 1400 watt amp. Now let's take into consideration that it uses an unregulated power supply and we know it is putting out more power than it's actual rating.. Marine amplifier dyno sites like Willitson Audio labs dyno'd the amplifier at 150 watts per channel at 4 ohms for the speakers and up to 821 watts to the subwoofer.

The number of RCA cables you need will depend on your marine radio. On most amplifiers, you can actually get away with no RCA cables if the amplifier accepts high level inputs. If you are going to use RCA cables from the low level outputs, you will need one two-channel marine RCA cable for each set of outputs. So if you have 1 pair of outputs, that is 1 cable. If you have 2 pairs of outputs, like front and rear, that is two RCA cables. If you have 2 pairs of output and a subwoofer output, you will need 3, two channel RCA cables, or you can use a 4 channel and a 2 channel.

Where you set the crossovers on your 5 channel marine amplifier will depend on your speakers, your subwoofer, and your personal preference. There are two goals in setting the crossovers, you want to help prevent your speakers from blowing and you want it to sound good to YOUR ear. It doesn't matter if I think it sounds great but you don't. It's your boat. With that being said, a good starting point is 80Hz. Set the subwoofer to low-pass at 80 Hz, and set your speakers to high pass at 80 Hz. In theory, you are telling your speakers to not play below 80 Hz and your subwoofer to not play above 80 Hz. There is a slope to that crossover point so it isn't immmediate, it is more of a slope. That should be a good starting point. Depending on your amp, your speakers, and your subwoofer, you can adjust as necessary to make sure you like the sound.

For all of the 5 channel marine amplifiers, we recommend using 4 AWG power and ground cable. We are big fans of the Stinger SEA4247 and SEA4243. They both use siamese wire where the yellow and red cables are attached like speaker wire. Because of this, the power and ground cables are the same length and it make it easy to make the run from both the negative and positive terminals on your battery to the amplifier(s).