Stereo Help

General Boats and Motors
1

I’m wanting to install a stereo on the boat and I’ve got a few questions for someone who’s got answers.

First, will I have any problem just mounting speakers directly inside the console. I don’t want to get to running wires around the boat too much and thought I might could put 2 speakers facing forward and two facing back towards me and that would be adequate.

Second, what size speakers should I be looking at. I don’t need to blast my tunes but I do want to be able to hear them when I’m running. 4"'s seem pretty standard but I also see a fair number of 6" out there.

Third, I think I should be able to buy a fairly inexpensive stereo that would push the 4 speakers but I wouldn’t mind someone verifying that for me.

Fourth, if anyone could recommend a package that they’re happy with I’d appreciate it. The only thing I’m particular about is I’d like one with a USB port on it so I can load music onto a thumb drive and just plug it directly in. Any ideas?

2

First off, eBay is your friend… you can get some really nice stuff for a whole heap cheaper than if you bought from West Marine, Overtons, Crutchfield, etc…

Go with at least 6.5" speakers–there’s a ton out there to choose from in every price range. If you have room, go for 6x9… it really makes a big difference. Since you’re not planning on running an amp, you probably don’t need to go high-end like with stuff like Memphis or JL audio. I’ve got a pair of infinity marine 6x9’s ($100 shipped) on the side of mu console (runing from a 60x2 JBL amp) that I am extremely satisfied with, but I’ve heard similar speakers running off the head unit and they sound good as well.

Smaller speakers are not necessarily going to be quieter than bigger ones as much as they will not produce as low of frenquencies, which means puny sound.

As far as the stereo goes, I have really enjoyed the two Clarion I’ve had (first one died when boat got, ahem swampped), and I had it pushing 4 5.25" speakers, which it did well (17W RMS, 50W peak).& I could hear it while running. Plus, the sound quality was better than some of the other units I’ve heard.

I just bought a splashproof Clarion CMD4 (old model, refurb) for a buddy of mine for $140 shipped off eBay, and I’ve got a Clarion M455 (Same guts basically, not splashproof) that I paid $100 for. They do not have USB ports, but both have AUX IN, which makes it easy to connect anything from an iPod to a cell phone with .MP3 capability.
I’m not up with what is super new, but I can’t recall a marine radio with a USB port, and it seems like the USB port itself would be a weak point for water to seep in and fry the whole thing. Fusion makes a radio with a built in waterproof iPod slot, but it’s quite pricy.

As far as speaker placement goes, if you really want to hear it while running, I’d put two on the side of the console and two facing back. You won’t be able to hear the front ones as well while running, and my side-mounted speakers fill the boat with sound well (mounted

3

I agree with what Rebel said, also look at Jensen’s MSR3007 head unit and 4 6.5" Infinity speakers and you be jammin. I do not know of any units that have USB to connect to a thumb (Flash) drive.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. FISH 24/7---- 25 Grady w/ a couple of Gas Guzzling 175 Johnsons “O-SEA-D” the old “Havanadaydream”

4

If you already have an ipod or mp3 player, all you need is an amp and speakers. You can use your mp3 player as your head unit. I have a little 2 gig mp3 player with an FM tuner that works great.

5

Aquatic AV makes a bulletproof marine deck. Not many people have heard about them, but I have one of their first head units in my boat and it has been in there for four years and gets covered with water everytime I get back home and wash the boat. I’ve put in several and none of them have ever had any problems. Infinity marine speakers are some of the best, I’ve had those in my boat for four years also, still sound great. Ebay is definitly your best bet on those, ebay will more than likely save you about 60$ a pair.

205 Scout Sportfish
150 Yamaha 4-stroke

6

I would just get HAVANADAYDREAM to install it all for you. We are pretty ■■■■ pleased with his work!

R.D.S. IV
21’ SeaPro CC
150 2-stroke

7
quote:
Originally posted by jerseydevil

If you already have an ipod or mp3 player, all you need is an amp and speakers. You can use your mp3 player as your head unit. I have a little 2 gig mp3 player with an FM tuner that works great.

I like that idea. All I’m ever going to use it for is playing mp3’s anyway. I don’t even really need the radio. Could I mount an auxiliary jack in the console and mount the amp inside and then run the speakers off of that. Would I come out cheaper buying the amp? I would imagine that it would sound better overall. Thoughts?

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke

8
quote:
Originally posted by jerseydevil

If you already have an ipod or mp3 player, all you need is an amp and speakers. You can use your mp3 player as your head unit. I have a little 2 gig mp3 player with an FM tuner that works great.

One more question…Say I wanted 6 speakers…2 up front, one on each side, and two facing back. What size amp would I need to push those?

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke

9

wouldnt go any smaller than 5 1/4" for the speakers, you want to be able to move some air. with the amp. if you are only using a MP3 player, your sound quality will be best if the signal is going straight from the mp3 player to the amp using a Y-cable. thats what i used in my truck before some crack head on ashe st broke in and jacked all my stuff.

oh, if the speakers are going to be exposed alot (salt and sun), i would steer away from speakers that are 2 or 3 ways. the tweeters are not really made to take the same abuse that the woofers are. different materials. i have used both the marine Infinity Kappas (3-ways)and the JBL’s with no tweeters. The JBL’s have been submerged multiple times, and the infinity’s have been taken care of. The JBL’s are still being used a few years later, the infinity’s…well, they have been in the trash for at least six months now. and they were off a 20 dual console that never got wet.

10

What kind of sound quality do you get out of speakers that are not 2 way?

I found this in about 30 sec. of searching http://www.rocktheboataudio.com/html/32289.html

So I can just mount this in my console and then plug it directly into the amp and do away with the actual receiver all together. I think that is a fantastic idea. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do that.

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke

11

7.7 JL’s with n amp. You will certainly hear them under way. If you don’t run an amp then chances are you will not hear them without damaging them.

“Plan like you will live forever but live like you will die tomorrow.”

12

that would work perfect marionRE. all you have to do is adjust your gain levels on the amp so that at the highest volume on your mp3 player will not cause the speakers to distort at all. your speakers should never distort if properly powered and with the amp properly adjusted. the JBL’s without the tweeters sound great for not having the tweeters, and you dont have to worry about taking alot of care with them. they are cheaper too. bottom line is both infinity and jbl are pretty much the same thing, both manufacture/designed by Harmon/Kardon. both excellent brands, i just don t think that inifinity offers a non 2 or 3-way marine speaker. also, does your console close or is it open? this will greatly effect the sound quality. the speakers need a somewhat sealed enclosure so they can have air to push against. this will keep them from distorting and accidental overpowering. when you are looking at speakers and amps, try to match the RMS wattage for each speaker with the RMS (continuous power) on the amp. its better to have a little more power than you need than not enough. peak wattage is not a huge concern.

JBL speaker: [http://www.jbl.com/car/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=MS6100&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA&cat=MAR&ser=MRN][/url]

AMP: [http://www.jbl.com/car/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=MA6004&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA&cat=MAR&ser=MRN][/url]

ebay amp good deal: [http://old.charlestonfishing.com/forum/post.asp?method=Reply&TOPIC_ID=82545&FORUM_ID=47][/url]

13

So if I wanted to go with those JBL’s and I just wanted 4 speakers a 200 watt 4 channel amp would work.

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke

14

yep…and if you ever wanted to upgrade speakers, you would have enough power left in that amp to do it.

15
quote:
Originally posted by MarionRE

So if I wanted to go with those JBL’s and I just wanted 4 speakers a 200 watt 4 channel amp would work.

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke

Be careful… that JBL dual-cone jobs are only rated for 35W RMS–in other words they’re pretty much made to be run on head unit power only. The JBL amp, at 60W RMS, will lilely shread them in no time. Plus, the lack of tweeter is not the only difference between the dual-cone and two-way speakers: The two-way ones will handle more power… and the tweeter design (at least on my infinity’s) is simple enought to where I don’t imagine it’ll be a weak point for water damage. The fact that the two-way handles significantly more power means it had a bigger voice coil, bigger magnet, etc and will sound better at all frequencies, not just the high end.

Also, since you’re not going to have a fader with just the MP3 player, I’d just get the JBL 2-channel amp and run two sets of speakers of each channel… that amp pushes 80W into two ohms (or 40W RMS per speaker) which will be plenty. then you don’t have to worry about Y-ing off your RCA cables, pulling too much signal from your MP3 player, etc… I’d only mess with the four channel if you wanted to add a sub.

I picked up a nice flush-mount AUX in jack that split into two gold-plated RCA’s… look into one of those to to make it clean… and don’t forget you’ll need to run the power-on lead to the amp from a switch somewhere…

Baker
Old, beat up 17’ McKee

EDIT: Also, here’s a pretty dinky kit Poly-Planar makes, but I like how it includes a seperate flush-mount volume knob so you don’t have to rely on the MP3 player volume control…

http://www.polyplanar.com/productSingle.aspx?prt=MP3-KIT_A

16

I’ve never tried it, but yeah, you could just run your ipod straight to the amp.

Warning: Get an otterbox for your ipod. I ruined on on Morris last year and spent the money to get one for my new ipod. I got some tiny bungie chords for the back and strap it to the t-top. http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3214231&CAWELAID=255670754

If you’re on a budget, here is a sample system I would run:

amp: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_12253_JBL+Marine+MA6004.html
Side Speakers: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_2252_Bazooka+MAC8002W.html

facing speakers: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_12254_JBL+Marine+MS6200.html

330 bucks and it would be loud.

Not trying to promote that website, either. Its just one I found with a good selection.

I am sold on these JBL 6.5s. Best value speaker out there. I like how the tweeter is totally separate from the woofer. Be careful with an amp on these though-they only handle 60 watts.

Run a high-pass on the 6.5s to a certain extent and run the 8s with no crossover. Wire it straight 4 ohms - not a high end amp, so you don’t want to stress it.

You don’t realize the difference in volume from when you’re sitting in idle verses running at cruise. You want to get some sound directed at you. Side note-the best speakers for running is the bazooka wakeboard speakers mounted under a t-top…incredible.

17

Ok…hopefully one more question. I ordered a 4 channel amp. Can I use the flush mount RCA cables I mentioned above and then split the L and R? Will this work?

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke

18
quote:
Originally posted by MarionRE

Ok…hopefully one more question. I ordered a 4 channel amp. Can I use the flush mount RCA cables I mentioned above and then split the L and R? Will this work?

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke

Yeah, it’ll work fine. Even though it “splits” the signal from the MP3 player, you’ll be able to dial it in with the sensitivity adjustment on the amp. Good to go.

Baker
Old, beat up 17’ McKee

19

do not order four mids as someone suggested above. That is stupid. It will sound like ****. Imagine if you turned your treble all the way down in your car, then but the mids all the way up. It would sound bad.

If you have a tall t-top, I would buy two bazooka wakeboard speakers and be done with it…if you want to keep it simple without hacking your console with a dremel tool. You could bridge that four channel amp you bought and push the hell out of them…or just keep it really simple and get a two channel amp. Just another option.

20

ok, I’ve got most of my gear in and I’m ready to start the install. Quick question. I got the amp that 00shotgun recommended. It’s a JBL 320 Watt deal. The instructions say to run power directly to the battery and then the remote control wire to the accessory switch. I would much rather run the power directly off of that switch instead. Can I do that?

The amp pulls a max of 50 amps. The guy at West Marine said that I should be fine because I would probably never be turning it up loud enough to pull anywhere close to those amps but I’m not so sure. I’ve got a breaker on the accessory switches but I’m not sure what their limit is either. He said 30 amps but I just don’t know. I would rather not run the power all the way back through the boat to the battery but will if I have to.

Any help?

Key West Sportsman 186
Yamaha 150 4 Stroke