Rubicon 450's - How much power?

First off just wanted to say great site! I've been browsing around here quite a bit trying to answer my own questions and have spoken to a few of you out there and thanks in advance for being so helpful!

Question for anyone who owns or has experience with the Rubicon 450's...I have a pair on order and want to know any recommendations on amps to power these speakers.

I obviously don't have an unlimited budget, but want this setup to be right since I'll be spending so much money on the speakers. Thinking about spending in the $500 range on an amp.

Also, how about sub/amp combos? I'd like to get a sub, but am not sure whether I have room for it in my boat. If it isn't necessary, I'd rather save the $$$ if ya know what I mean. At the same time, if I'd be disappointed in the sound w/out a sub, then I'm going to find a way to make it work.

Finally, how many batteries are you running? I'd say 80% of the time I'll be listening to these speakers with the engine off hanging at a sandbar.

Thanks again for any input!!!
Craig

Go for the biggest four channel amp you can find and run it bridged, maybe an Orion, PPI or RF. At least 300 watts per pod.

Best bang for the buck with batteries is a pair of golf cart batts. My local costco has them for something like $60 each.

arc 2500, zapco 750, 1000.4, or 1100.1 (my setup) will rock them..

I am running a Zapco 750.2 to mine. May switch up to my 1000.4 for the tower. I am very happy with my set-up.

and "Yes", you DO need a sub. You will be MUCH happier with the sound.

Pair of golf carts and you wont know your missing anything till you listen to a boat with subs.

Hmmm golf cart batteries...Never thought of that. Any specific make/model/type that anyone uses that they are happy with?

Would just one golf cart battery do if I go w/out the sub? Or would I need two golf cart batteries just to power the 450's and amp.

Thanks for the input!!!

you need two; they are 6 volt batteries. I run the trojan t-105's, make sur eyou have the space for them they are roughly the same size as a standard battery withthe exception of their height; a few inches taller

Buzz,

by switching up to a 1000.4 for the tower you'd have to run it in bridged mode. Is the 1000.4 stable in bridged mode at 3ohms? I made this mistake when I bought an Avionixx 800.4 to power my Rubicon 450 tower speakers. It's 4 ohm stable in bridged, and I've got it running at 3 ohm. It works ok, but it gets hot. I worry it's going to burn up. However, Dave Couch - the Rubicon Engineer at skylon told me he runs a Directed 1000.4 amp for his 450's.

Why Skylon decided on 3ohm's I have no idea.

Hey CraigH - you're e-mail filtered to the bottom of my inbox - I forgot to respond to it. I'll hit you back later this morning.

Also - Yes you need a sub. I smoked my subwoofer and was with out it for a few weeks. Once I replaced it I realized how poor the Rubicons sound on their own. They still have excellent mid-bass performance down to 150hz. but that ~40hz-150hz is ohhhh-soooo-important!

(Message edited by yosquire on September 15, 2006)

I am running 250 RMS a side and they sound amazing...I get comments on them all the time! The only downfall is putting the tower up and down is now a 2 person job!!! lol

I have to put my tower up and down every use. I do it solo most of the time while waiting for people to show up. it sucks. I wear a weight belt now because the weight out in front of me by 6+ inches.

Swoop Tower+6 Lights & bar + 4 Bat Racks + 88lbs of Rubicons.

Nothing wrong with 3 ohm impedance. Similar to what JL Audio did with the dual voice coil 6 ohm subs. Allows you to bridge to 1 or 2 speakers at 3 or 6 ohms. JL Audios design was more for using 3 speaker applications in their specially designed enclosures that only housed 3 speakers.

I don't mind using bridging amps and low impedance for subwoofer applications... But I prefer to use higher impedances for mid to highs... for better kick and clarity.

i run 1000 to mine.sound awesome.

you could roll with 2 jl 3002/2's - one for each speaker....

the zapco's have symbilink which allows for remote volume to the amps without long rca's (symbilink is very cool and quiet)...

Is anyone using the Zapco 1000.4 amp with these speakers? Just curious if I may have problems due to the Rubicon 450's 3 ohm load. Thanks!

Or maybe the question I really want to ask - Those of you who have Rubicon 450's. What make/model amps are you using to push these speakers?

that amp should be money bridged right?
I am running a PG 500x4 bridged and it makes them thump....

craig,

the zapco 1000.4 is a very powerful amp (btw, i own one)

i would suspect it could run your tower speakers and a sub or a couple boat speakers in 4 channel mode no problem (it can run 2 ohms into 4 channels... though i would add a zapco internal fan)..

i "would guess" it will be okay bridged on a nominal 3 ohm load (not sure about the grey series..the older black series would go 2.67).... check with zapco, they are always more than helpfull.... let us know what happens..

When I looked up the Zapco 1000.4 on Zapco's website, it claims it's 4ohm stable when bridged. Though, I don't have enough expierience with amplifiers to know the pro's and con's of running them below the Manufacture's Specified Impedance level.

This continues my statement about "why did Skylon choose 3ohm?" Because, by choosing 3 ohm, you can not use 90% of the 4 channel amplifiers on the market because of their impedance stability -- (if you follow the manufacture specs.) In place, you have to find a really powerful 2 channel amp. Only a few 2 channel amps put out 800+ watts into a 3 ohm load on each channel or 800+ watts into a 6 ohm load bridged. Or, you wire them in parallel and drop the impeedance to 1.5ohm - once again, on most amps you're below the specified stability level.

(Message edited by yosquire on September 21, 2006)

it a "nominal" 3 ohm load... there is always a bit of wiggle room with zapco's - always check with zapco