WS420 vs Clarion EQS746

I have a Clarion EQS746 in my boat right now and I have been really happy with it. I love having all the controls right at my finger tips.

The link below was one I made right after buying it last fall.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showt...rproof+clarion

Well, I knew it was just a matter of time. I didn't mount it under the dash like I wanted and it got wet today. It quit working and now I am trying to decide if the WS420 is worth the extra $$.

I can probably dry this out and it will keep working but today it barely got wet and then we didn't have any tunes the rest of the day.

So, how much more waterproof is the WS420?

Does anyone miss having 7 bands instead of just 4? (I think I will...)

I read an earlier thread that you loose the sub (because it is wired with the in-boats) on the WS420 if you fade to the towers. (I don't like that...with the Clarion I can keep the sub pumping with the fader set to mostly the tower speakers.) I do have a sub control on my amp (Cadence SQA-1), will that allow me to keep the sub at a decent level somehow if we are just running the towers?

I know the other features are nice - separate in-boat and tower tone adjustment, the tower mic and the 420 link (we will probably never use that though, no one on our lake has Wetsounds equipment). Just trying to justify the extra $$...

get a 420. never heard of anyone being even slightly disappointed. mount it under the dash or flush in the throttle area. you can find some good pics of mounting locations on their site. i have one and wouldn't live without one now. plus it's a marine specific company with great products. it's still electronic so as i've been told, you get what you put in it so if that's water be prepared for malfunction, although mine has never messed up in the 2 plus years i've had it and my boat lives on the trailer in a city that gets more rain than seattle

If you liked the Clarion, I would stay with it. The WS can go bad as well from water and $50 and a few plugs is a lot easier to deal with than the price for a WS420 if you are happy with your current set up.

If you go with the WS, I would change the mounting location so direct water contact does not occur.

I pulled the cover off it and put a hair dryer to it then left a fan blowing on it all night. This morning it was back to working again.

I think I will stick with the Clarion for now. I can almost buy 6 of them for the price of one WS420.....And I agree, the WS420 (as any piece of electronic equipment) won't react well with water.

It is mostly mounted under the dash but the knobs are out and the whole thing angles back so any water that hits it can run down the top and even in the holes on the top of the cover (gain adjustment and low frequency switch openings). I may put some tape over the holes and try to push it back in a little more.

There is no comparison from a Clarion eq to a 420. They're not even in the same category.

You don't "lose the sub", and it does'nt "fade to the towers". And you won't notice a difference in the eq section by losing 3 bands.

John, maybe I stated that incorrectly...since there are 2 volumes and not a "fader".

But from what I understand, if you turn down the "volume" to the in-boats you also turn down the volume to the sub. So you can't run the sub when you are only using the tower speakers. And, we do that all the time.

Major design flaw of the 420 IMO.

I want to clarify my other post. In no way am I trying to compare a 50EQ to the WS-420. But, sometimes if it is working the way you want with the cheaper item then go with it.

6 for the price of one is hard to beat.

Coat the board with waterproofing... You can get the stuff at radio shack..

I'll mention a few things here.

1) If you're happy with the Clarion stay with the Clarion.
2) Subwoofer on WS - I understand why they made the decision to tie the sub to the inboats because a booming subwoofer with no in boats is going to sound like poop to the people in the boat. That said, if you have a mono amp with a dedicated bass knob, don't use the WS EQ and just use the amplifiers knob and you'll have full control all the time. I understand that defeats the purpose of an all in one EQ but it is an option.
3) While overall a satisfied customer I am still also slightly disappointed. No matter how isolated that thing is I can't get the hiss to go away. The gains on the amps and EQ are all low. If I take the deck out of the picture I get the same noise. It's not loud enough that anyone else has ever mentioned it but I hear it.

I'd agree with some here. Personally I love to run the interiors low, crank the subs and tower when someone is riding. Much easier on people in the boat and still sounds great for rider. If Wetsounds ever changes this I'll be onboard.

I think I would also prefer the separate fader and volume knob setup on the Clarion over the WS420 inner / outer volume knob with no fader...Seems like it would be easier to turn the volume up and down keeping the system balanced.

I have the WS 420 and really like it but I concurr with others here that not seperating the sub is a mistake. Sometimes I feel like I had more control of the sound with just my deck. I do love the seperate EQ's, the line driver and the mic though. So for me the pros out weigh the cons. I may run the sub off my RVC to see how I like that, I installed the seperate volume control so I may as well.

The easiest solution for turning down the interiors while maintaining the tower and sub would be to install a PAC LC-1 or something similar on the output of the EQ to the interiors and just turn that just as you would the fader.

I have a pair of the Clarions stacked, one for tower and one for boat and see no reason to upgrade to 420. Its not worht the $ to me for the mic which would be the major difference. I too want to keep the sub hitting while I turn down the boat speakers, and run the tower full on...

420 is also a 12v line driver which makes a huge difference. i agree with the pac if all you want is volume control.

Originally Posted by mojo

420 is also a 12v line driver which makes a huge difference. i agree with the pac if all you want is volume control.

The old ones were 12v and adjustable. If you buy a new one today it's 5v and not adjustable.

Clarion has 7 volt pre out so even if you compare to the older 12 volt 420, not that big of a difference IMHO

I think the useable voltages are very comparabe, you'd get nothing but a bunch of noise out of the 420 if you set it above 6 or 7 volts.

^^^Maybe why they did away with the early 12 volt 420 and only offer the 5 volt now...

Without a doubt.

If you also want to add automatic volume control to your set up, consider using The Boost Box, but ask your local dealer/installer about "remoting the knob." We have special instructions available to allow a dealer/installer to mount the unit way up under the dash or other inboard compartment well out of the way of any risk of water (or the more dreaded salt water!).

Then the only electronic part exposed to some possible water is the control knob/LED (which is one combined light kit/ knob), and if for some reason this gets corroded out (which i haven't seen happen yet), the knob is a far cry cheaper/easier to replace.

I don't know if WS420 comes with instructions for a user to do the same, but I would assume it would be possible. That way you'd have 6 dual-dial knobs on your front panel, but the box itself (and precious electronics) could be hidden elsewhere away from water.

If you're hard core, you could also drop by Fry's and pick up some clear conformal coating spray and go to town on the circuit card. Normally we DO NOT recommend completely blocking all holes in the box (in order to prevent water entry). What can happen in this scenario is very similar to lots of military equipment, humidity (which is almost impossible to completely block out) will get into the enclosure, and then will condense into liquid water once inside, and build up over time. "holes" in the enclosure allow this liquid water to eventually evaporate, and can also help prevent condensation in the first place.

Just a suggestion.

Braon

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