Outback stereo upgrade?

[Elevated1]

I want to start upgrading my 2008 outback v. I would like to start with increasing sound quality and loudness and adding bass. Tower speakers will be next year. I have the basic six speakers and amp. I would like recomendations for sub, and pre built sub box, and amp to power. Also to replace factory speakers with something better. Thanks for help. If you have an outback and have pics your system that would be very helpfull.

[jmvotto]

which speakers do you have now. the kenwoods or kickers. most have upgraded to the polk db 651 and made a big improvement in sound over the kenwoods, they kickers are probely fine. i added a sub to the kick panel, 10" polk momo, and two krypt 6.5 hlcd's on the tower. I have a jl m6600 powering the cabins and a kicker 450.2 for the towers. i also added the wetsounds 420 eq for in boat vs tower control.

check the audio threads, lots of mods and ideas,

[patricioroel]

What is the size on the factory kenwood speakers?

I want to install Fusion speakers, what do you think about them?

[mcdye]

What is the size on the factory kenwood speakers?

I want to install Fusion speakers, what do you think about them?

The kenwoods are 6.5, i did the Polk swap out a notciable change. sorry cant speak about the fusions.

[jmvotto]

What is the size on the factory kenwood speakers?

I want to install Fusion speakers, what do you think about them?

not sure fusion has a direct replacement , i see they have 6" 7" and and 6.5" economy version. If you have the Kickers stay with them. If you have the kenwoods cahnge out to the polks, alpine or kickers.

my .02

[sandm]

^^ good advice. most on here are either in the polk db651's or the exile/bullet variants for in-boat sounds. the polks are a great upgrade for the $$ and you won't find anyone on here talking bad about them...

lots of advice on subs on here. seems a lot are running kicker and polks with outstanding results. exile seems to be a new player with a great speaker as well..

brian from exile and phil from kicker can answer specific questions on their products, all great and david from earmark in texas can hook you up on product.

[Brianinpdx]

Elevated1 -

A lot of poeople get overwhelmed when they look at the whole stereo system on the boat all at once. Looking at the goals up front will help put things together from an installation point of view. So many people have done and redone their stereo's and chalk it up to "lessons" learned. Below are some tips to help you out.

Here's a few good general recommendations
- Make sure you look at the backbone of your stereo... The power/ground cables, distribution blocks, fusing, perko switch etc. Often times these need to be upgraded before all the fancy stereo gear goes in.

- Break apart your upgrades by: cabin setup, then sub setup, then tower setup. If your starting from scratch, I'd probably do these upgrades in that order also.

- Awhile back we did a "Tech N Tune" for moomba guys and addressed system design. It's a great video series if you have the time to watch. If you have time check out this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nn4eGY9UwY&feature=related)

- Buy good solid gear that will last. You get what you pay for.

- Listen to others first hand experiences. They are often the most telling.

Here's a few Exile specific recommendations:
Cabin setup
- Exile SX65's + XI800.4 is hard to beat.

Sub setup
- Exile Stage 1,2,3 subwoofer. We manufacture a loaded enclosure that drops into your helm area so its boat specific and fits like a glove. It's pretty cool.

Moomba enclosure video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8DUDbDEako)

Tower setup
-XM7's + harpoon amplifier. There is a lot of info on out there on this configuration.

here's a link to Mike Mandleys Moomba setup. Nice video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NZYZcVkXUc&feature=related)

Hope all this info helps.

-Brian
Exile Audio

[thesack]

I would take a look at the Exile SX65s to replace your current factory speakers. I just replaced my Kenwood factory speakers last week with them, and put about 25 hours on them over the weekend on a slight vacation. They are a great sounding speaker and are able to be abused aka played at extremely high volumes.

[Brianinpdx]

Sack - I was wondering how your install went. The sx65 must have made a MAJOR improvement in your setup.

How was the fit?

Brian

[thesack]

The fit is great. Didn't end up needing rings for them to fit, which amazed me. Just need to get things tuned a little better, but I think my deck dying is affecting that right now though.

[EarmarkMarine]

Elevated1,
The place to begin at this point is to maintain what you have and add what you lack. There are more linear in-boat speakers than the factory but once you add a subwoofer you will find the following changes.
* The bottom two octaves, once instated and properly powered, will add a great deal of fullness and perception of volume.
* When you convert your existing amplifier and coaxial speakers to highpass, narrow their bandwidth and responsibilities, the result will be much cleaner and substantially louder. Even plain speakers come to life.

Add a quality waterproof bass-reflex sub enclosure with a corresponding 10-inch driver plus a good monoblock amplifier.
You won't believe how dramatically different your system will sound with this easy and inexpensive upgrade. I would look at changing your in-boat speakers after acquiring your tower speakers in case you want to run a consistent cosmetic scheme.

David
Earmark Marine

[Elevated1]

Thanks for the excellent advice. I do have kickers for cabin speakers curently. I think I would like to start with the sub and amp. I only have a single battery now. Should I upgrade too two batteries and a switch first before going with the sub and amp? I will buy only quality parts. I hate having that if I only would have spent more money feeling. I will check out the exile site. Sounds like they have some nice products. Again thanks and I will check out the video link posted.

[Elevated1]

Watched the first 3 vids. Great info, very helpfull.

[EarmarkMarine]

Elevated1,
A second battery is less about your system usage while underway when you are primarily powered by the alternator.
If you play your system at rest then a second battery and switch becomes mandatory.
The second (dedicated stereo) battery must be a true deep cycle rather than a cranking/starting or dual purpose model.

Btw, we do the audio and lighting work for our local Supra/Moomba dealership so we are very familiar with these boats.

David
Earmark Marine