Reddit mentions of Kenwood 1177524 Compact Automotive/Marine Amplifier Class D Kac-M1824BT, 180W RMS, 400W PMPO, 4 Channel

So I bought a used 2008 pontoon last year, and decided to do a budget update to get her ready for the new season. Tried to keep it under $1000, but the last minute decision to get a new Bimini put the project over that.
For those curious, here are the materials I used.
60' of .030 black aluminum paneling: $295 from Pontoonfence.com

Nav Lights:$20
Docking Lights: $30. I'm keeping an eye on these. Some reviews complained of them not being waterproof. I ran a bead of silicone around the lens and where the wires enter the body. Hoping they hold up.
Waterproof LED Strip Lights $40 for two sets. I'm really happy with these.
LED RGB control wires $9

Polk DB651 6.5" Speakers $118 ($59/pair)
Kenwood Marine Bluetooth Amplifier $135
Pyle Marine speaker wire $9
Engine Parts (Plugs, Impeller, Lube) $40
Power wash rental: $30

Misc expenses (mounting tape, nonskid tape, screws, bolts, etc) ~$100

Replacement Bimini and boot from restorepontoon.com $219
Total: $1,045

Kenwood 1177524 Compact Automotive/Marine Amplifier Class D Kac-M1824BT, 180W RMS, 400W PMPO, 4 Channel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UTXQL74/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9EIyCbTV64W3B

You could even splice it in to your existing wiring. Tuck it up under the dash or somewhere out of site. Turn on the factory stereo for cassette tapes, leave it off and crank up the bluetooth if you're feeling digital.

Depends on what you want, I have a 16' SmokerCraft and didn't really want to install speakers into the sides or floors because in most locations it would take up the little storage space I have.

I ended up ordering two pairs of these speakers and mounting them on the deck (two on the stern deck on each side, and one on the bow in deck in the center)

Then I mounted this Kenwood bluetooth amplifier under my dash and installed the remote on my dash (I actually made a custom dash to rearrange gauges and support a Lowrance unit, so I added a spot for the remote)


I don't have any good pictures that show the speakers, so I will try and snag one or two when I get home from work if you'd like. This setup has been awesome so far and for the price of the speakers they actually sound perfect (for the use case). You won't be able to hear very well while driving, but for trolling/floating/etc. they are perfect

I've got my eye on a weather-resistant amplifier, and replacements for the 4 factory speakers in hand.

I just want a basic system up and running and not looking to put a lot of money into the amp. Both had good ratings on Amazon. Can you recommend something better in the sub-$150 range? I was considering this Kenwood but thought it might be underpowered for the setup. https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-Compact-Automotive-Marine-Amplifier/dp/B00UTXQL74/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1491949249&sr=1-7&keywords=class+d+4+channel+amplifier+car&refinements=p_72%3A1248879011

Thoughts?

I have this in one of my XJ’s the control head can be mounted nearly anywhere. You can make a radio delete plate and use it for switches or gauges.

Kenwood RCM1824BT

Or there’s these things that will pop into a contura switch hole. You have to supply your own amp though.

Bluetooth Switch

I can try to take pictures. It might be a couple days, since I probably don't want to disassemble it tonight when I get home later, and it'll already be dark out.

Anyway, I have this amp. It has a Bluetooth receiver directly in it, so that's just what I connect my phone to. It was pretty easy to follow the wiring diagram and unwind the stock speaker wire from the old stereo adapter into this.

Once I had the new harness all wired up, underneath the steering wheel (in a 98 TJ, at least) is a plastic panel that's 3-4 screws to come undone. It slides off to reveal a metal panel that protects the underside of the steering wheel, which is another 4-6 screws, I think. With that off, I played with the steering column to make sure all the moving elements were self contained, and then zip tied the amp to the bottom of the column itself.

Screwing in the metal plate secured it pretty thoroughly and the whole thing is invisible behind the plastic cover plate (I was able to run the wires behind the dash from where the stereo used to be and it comes with a wired remote which I ran in the opposite direction (it sits on the top of my dash center column, by the middle fan vents, but that was easier to put there since I have a big gap where the old stereo used to be).

The remote's buttons are big and squishy, which makes it super easy to control the volume and playing. For more detailed controls, I have the phone mounted in the spot where the old stereo was, and I can either use voice controls or pick it up if I need to.

I upgraded the speakers (fronts and in the soundbar) at the same time and it puts out more power than I need. I'd be a bit worried about it blowing stock speakers on my 98.

This amp is designed for a boat, so if you want to connect a standard car stereo head unit, you need to convert those wires to RCA inputs, which is doable, but you could probably find a more traditional car amp that supports Bluetooth if you looked around.