upgrading stereo... have some questions

[saskyrider]

Hello all, i recently purchased an 06 Mobius LSV and want to upgrade the stereo some. Current set up is 4 Roswell cans with Phoenix Gold speakers, 6 factory speakers in boat and 1 12" JL Audio sub. The sub has it's own amp and the tower speakers are running off the other, the factory speakers are running off the deck.

Here's what i want to do.....

-Add another 12" sub
-upgrade the factory speakers in boat (and have them running off an amp
-replace the tower speakers with better quality ones

the tower speakers will come last and will not necc. happen this winter as they do put out a good sound, but in the future i want to upgrade them as well.

Am i going to need 3 amps for all these speakers???

and lastly i want to upgrade the Kenwood deck to a deck that has an ipod hookup.

i know that there are many choices i'd just like to hear some opinions....

thanks

geoff

[lewisb13]

Im just going to speak about the cabin speakers. For starters, no matter what head unit you get and what speakers you get, youre going to want to have an amp. You should also probably be running 2 group 27 batteries at this point if youre not already. I bet 80% of the people on this site that have upgraded their speakers have gone with the polk db651. They are pretty much bolt ons, depending on the year of your boat. Your stock head unit will only put out 50Wx4 peak and I think its something like 18-22W RMS. So that means that currently the 4 cabin speakers are running on 2 channels in parallel at a 2ohm load and your bow speakers are running on 2 channels at a 4 ohm load. My suggestion is to get a 6 channel amp. If you're looking for "competition" sound then the polks arent what you want and you probably want to look into Exile or Wet Sounds. I just installed the polks in my boat with no amp, just to hear how they sound and they are night and day difference over the stock kenwoods, and thats WITHOUT an amp. Just think, your stock bow speakers are getting 18-22W RMS and these polks can handle 65W RMS and 180W peak, you do the math. Crutchfield is having a sale right now for $50 a pair and free shipping. If you search, "db651" on this forum, youll get a ton of information.

[EarmarkMarine]

Geoff,
There are a few methods to cleanly add ipod to your deck if its changer or Sirius ready. However there are other reasons to upgrade also.

Eight out of ten octaves of your music will be the sole domain of your in-boat coaxials so if there is any area that deserves the best then this is it. Keep Focal, Bullet HollowPoint, Wetsounds, Exile, JL Audio and Polk MMs in the mix for the better sounding speakers. The Polk dBs are definitely a good choice in the under $100 category.

From your description of the future system it sounds like you will need three independent amplifiers simply because its going to be difficult to get the right power configurations in multi-channel amplifiers.

I don't get why you would be adding a second 12-inch subwoofer. I would first look at why your existing sub amp, woofer, power delivery, tuning and more importantly sub enclosure is not getting the job done. A single 12 or 13-inch sub done right should have the capacity to jackhammer your boat into submission (play on words) not to mention disassemble the boat. Usually we are having to gain down a really powerful 12 from its full potential in order to not excite every part on the boat.

David
Earmark Marine

[saskyrider]

Morning David... thanks for that.... maybe i just need to do some tweaking on the sub. It was a custom inclosure that the previous owner had made at a stereo shop in Edmonton so i'm assuming it would be made to spec as there is lots of room left where it mounts. I'm def. not looking at a competition stereo and the DB651's were something i was already looking into. As for getting the Ipod hookup... that would be great if i didn't have to change out the head unit as this would be the only reason right now i'd want to.

I am running dual batteries already as well...

[saskyrider]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/JL-AUDIO-M6450-6-Channel-Class-A-B-MARINE-AMPLIFIER-NEW-/110563887209?pt=Car_Amplifiers


how would this work for running the Polk Db's???

Geoff

[lewisb13]

Thats the exact amp Im going to buy. Also check out the M600.6

[you da man]

Keep in mind for the tower speakers that should get speakers for what you do the most behind your boat. If you surf you don't need HLCD type speakers as they will not sound that great at the short surf distance. If you're planning on wakeboarding most of the time by all means get the HLCD speakers. I agree with David with the sub. David and I chose a 10" JL Audio sub in a sealed enclosure in my boat. It is more than enough bass as it is adequately powered as well. Also, you haven't mentioned an EQ or the boats ability to isolate the different zones so you might want to look at a WS420 or line drivers

[saskyrider]

pulling the kids on the tube and wakeboarding will be the 2 things the boat is used for most right now... surfing will be a close third to these to... i would prefer to have the clearer sound for the wakeboarding right now....

couple more questions....

what are HLCD's??

Line drivers??

thanks

geoff

[EarmarkMarine]

HLCD= horn loaded compression driver. Been around since the 20's, when I was riding shotgun on the Wells Fargo stagecoach line. Used in theaters and large arenas, auditoriums, etc, to project sound over greater distances. This is in contrast to a conventional car-type or in-boat speaker that is primarily designed to be heard within a 5-foot proximity.

Line Driver= a low current amplifier that supplements the RCA preamp output of your source unit and serves to offset the gain losses over long distances,
compensates for gain losses when dividing preouts among multiple amplifier inputs, preserves the dynamic range (contrast and clarity in your music, not necessarily volume) and can lower the noise floor. In this application many line drivers feature individual volume knobs for controlling individual zones such as 'in-boat' or 'tower'.

David
Earmark Marine

[EarmarkMarine]

I might add that the line driver or EQ zone controls are positioned conveniently for the driver under the helm. Source unit faders and controls are not much use if they are buried in a menu and slow to access or are positioned on the port side of the boat.

David
Earmark Marine

[you da man]

I'm glad you wrote that David, would've been hard on my iphone

[saskyrider]

again thanks david for the quick replies and excellent explanations... I need to get the model # off the amps i have then i'll shoot you an email..

thanks

geoff

[cab13367]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/JL-AUDIO-M6450-6-Channel-Class-A-B-MARINE-AMPLIFIER-NEW-/110563887209?pt=Car_Amplifiers


how would this work for running the Polk Db's???

Geoff

Geoff,

I have the JL M6600 running my 6 Polk db651 cabin speakers and they sound great. Crisp, clear sound and plenty of volume even while pulling a wakeboarder.

Hearing music while wakeboarding is not a priority for me so I have 4 db651's in cans on the tower. I also have a 12" Exile DVC 4 ohm sub that I configure at 2 ohms. I run the tower speakers and the sub with one amp - the Kicker ZX700.5.

All the full range speakers are running at 4 ohms to optimize sound quality, minimize current draw, and maximize amplifier life. I do have the sub set up at 2 ohms to maximize power output from sub channel of the amp.

Al

[saskyrider]

Hi Al, thanks very much for your setup info.. i have some reading to do... lol!!

geoff

[jmvotto]

Geoff,
I have a similar setup as cab, I have the jl 6600m ( great sound) running my cabins, bows and sub off of the 5&6 channel Its a 10" polk momo plenty for me. i have 6 polk db651 in the boat. great setup for the 50.00 price. I have on the tower two 6.5 krypt HLCD's powered by a kicker 450.2 and they sound great close and far. I have the westound 420 eq that will easily dial in the hlcd's when surfing or hanging out and control in boat vs tower volume. I also put a pac lc1 attenuator on the bow speakers to dial those back, when us adults act like teenagers and the younings in the bow cover there ears;). and if your deck has a round din plug for a cd changer, you can add an ipod to the HU for around 20 to 30 bucks. from best buy

david from earmark can hook you up with lots of stuff as well. his online store has tons of cool stuff..

[NewmbaTX]

I thought this very issue through as well when I got my Moomba. I would have to say, and have not seen a reply from him yet, but wait and talk with Brian at Exile. I have 4 XM7 towers with a 1000w Harpoon amp, SX65 cabins on a Xi800.4 and 12inch sub on a 1500w monoblock amp. All this on a Kenwood Kmr440u headunit, throttlebox, pac1 volume control for cabins and a sub control. I have to say this is the LOUDEST AND CLEAREST sound you will get for your money!!! And I can't think of anything more I could add or want to improve on it.