Cost for sub installation

[russellsmojo]

I would like to hear thoughts on what some stereo work should cost. Currently boat has wires ran for sub, amps installed, sub already purchased, and towers good to go. The project is purchase of ported 12 inch sub box, installing that under helm, installing EQ, hooking the stuff up and tuning.

My question is how many hours and how much per hour would be reasonable? or would a stereo place charge by the job?

[icemanftr]

$200. Only a couple hours work. But being a boat I'm sure they will try and rip you off. Have a stereo bud come over and have cold beer on hand.


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[dusty2221]

$200. Only a couple hours work. But being a boat I'm sure they will try and rip you off. Have a stereo bud come over and have cold beer on hand.


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Not even close, imo.

[russellsmojo]

Not even close, imo.

$1,000 more reasonable?

[KG's Supra24]

Yea, a shop isn't going to touch a boat for $200 this time of year. A custom fab box will cost over $200 before the labor.

$1,000 is closer but it may go higher than that. It's going to take more time than you think to do it right ... measuring the boat and making sure it fits, building a box to spec, ported means more math for correct tuning, waterproofed?, build out of a facade?, etc.

Then tuning will take at minimum an hour, probably 2.

My boat is going to Earmark at the end of the week ... I'd be ecstatic about a bill under $500.

It will vary by shop because their end result expectations will differ.

[KG's Supra24]

1 shop may take a prebuilt box, slide it in under the helm, hook up the wires, fiddle with gains and send you on your way.

Another shop will build the box to the manufacturer specs, waterproof the box, put feet in the floor to elevate the box off the ground, build out a facade, and spend some time tuning each piece of equipment in the line with digital tuning equipment.

This time of year you might also find a longer lead time than you would expect to get the boat in the shop.

[viking]

Ya I think $200 is very low. If I lived in Texas and close to Earmark I would just drop it off there! Or on East/West coast there are alot of experienced builders in marine applications.
Up here there are no Marine specific or experienced shops so on last boat I had a local shop (and friend of mine) build the sub enclosure and install.
Although it sounded great there were things I would have done alot differently and asked about but never got done.
So this time around I just did it all myself and did it right!! It's a ton of work to do it right but couldn't be happier with the results and had alot of extra coin in my pocket for other mods.

[russellsmojo]

Ya I think $200 is very low. If I lived in Texas and close to Earmark I would just drop it off there! Or on East/West coast there are alot of experienced builders in marine applications.
Up here there are no Marine specific or experienced shops so on last boat I had a local shop (and friend of mine) build the sub enclosure and install.
Although it sounded great there were things I would have done alot differently and asked about but never got done.
So this time around I just did it all myself and did it right!! It's a ton of work to do it right but couldn't be happier with the results and had alot of extra coin in my pocket for other mods.

I did it all except I know my knowledge (time to do it) ends at building custom box and tuning. It has been at shop and hope to pickup next week. Wanted a gauge on what to expect and then know what to push back on if too high.

[dusty2221]

Did they give you an idea on how many hours they have in the Box?

[russellsmojo]

Did they give you an idea on how many hours they have in the Box?

$300 is estimate for enclosure.

[KG's Supra24]

I'd think 75-100 as billable shop rate.

[dusty2221]

Is that a for a sealed box? Wood, waterproofed, etc?

[russellsmojo]

Is that a for a sealed box? Wood, waterproofed, etc?

Ported. Waterproof.

[icemanftr]

Lol $200 isn't off. I guess I read it wrong. Figured he was gonna buy a prefab box. Custom boxes are a rip imo when you can buy pre-fab even on Sonic electronix for relatively cheap shipped and get close to the same sound. Boats aren't SPL machines, so custom jibber jabber isn't necessary. I built mine out of 3/4 Mdf, ported and coated for less then $50. Can buy pre fab for same easily. Install is straight forward to any stereo guy, whether it's boat, car, or even home. If they won't give you a deal, go elsewhere. Shit even look on Craigslist. There are plenty of installers who worked at a lot of these shops that went on their own to make more money and their own hours. They will come to you and save you doh.

Me personally I don't pay anyone to do anything. I work hard for my money and don't like to waste it on things I can do myself or things that I can easily watch a tutorial. I'm a jack of all trades kind of guy, but I also hate seeing people who look like they have money get taken just because they have nice things.

No way it's worth a G. Shit if you lived by me I would do it for $100 and beer on the side. Because I love to do it, can bullshit about boats, and I get to help out another brother in boating community.


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[dusty2221]

I agree a DIY is much cheaper and the price of having a sub enclosure put in a boat is ridiculous.

However, there is no chance these two sound the same ....

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160116/2fc85791e49bc9828791516d59c9f8ff.jpg


http://images.sonicelectronix.com/images/2350435/big/bbx112bl.jpg

[viking]

Agreed. A pre-fab box isn't built or tuned specific for any particular sub. Nor is it built with the exact dimensions for the space available. The floor can be uneven or location can require funky angles to get a perfect fit. Can a prefab square box work in some, probably. But most likely built out of MDF (worst choice in marine imo). A custom box done right will utilize marine grade birch or similar. Also ported enclosure should be sealed on the inside as well because moisture WILL get in. Just my .02 but custom box done right is heads/tails better than a pre-fab box any day of the week and will fetch a higher price tag.

That being said - DIY the right way can still save coin

[russellsmojo]

Thanks for all the help. Sounds like 3 to 5 hours at $75 to $100 per hour plus cost of box. Can't wait to pick it up and get to using.

[David Analog]

I spent years in the audio industry, now retired, and am one of those people who is obsessed with the details and hyper-critical...in other words, I'm no bargain. I've had several vehicles professionally done in the past year. And I'm more than happy to have passed on the work to others even though I am more than capable of doing it myself. So I've been on both sides with both perspectives....business and consumer.
I think these types of questions are impossible to accurately answer because you don't know all the details pertaining to the execution. A $1000 bill at one shop could be a total bargain, or a total rip-off at another shop. And we simply don't have enough information.

You will find that people with limited knowledge of anything will tend to simplify any process and that forms their personal opinion of the value.
In contrast, those with considerably more knowledge and experience will consider many additional elements in their assessment of value. The difference in perception between a first-time consumer and a well-initiated consumer is vast. I'll gladly pay extra to get more. And I will absolutely avoid the cheapest because that means one thing 100% of the time.

[Connolly_Crew]

I would guess 4-5 hrs labor at 85/ hr plus box. That's a good price on a box for marine application btw. Especially ported. Let us know how it turns out!


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[russellsmojo]

Lol $200 isn't off. I guess I read it wrong. Figured he was gonna buy a prefab box. Custom boxes are a rip imo when you can buy pre-fab even on Sonic electronix for relatively cheap shipped and get close to the same sound. Boats aren't SPL machines, so custom jibber jabber isn't necessary. I built mine out of 3/4 Mdf, ported and coated for less then $50. Can buy pre fab for same easily. Install is straight forward to any stereo guy, whether it's boat, car, or even home. If they won't give you a deal, go elsewhere. Shit even look on Craigslist. There are plenty of installers who worked at a lot of these shops that went on their own to make more money and their own hours. They will come to you and save you doh.

Me personally I don't pay anyone to do anything. I work hard for my money and don't like to waste it on things I can do myself or things that I can easily watch a tutorial. I'm a jack of all trades kind of guy, but I also hate seeing people who look like they have money get taken just because they have nice things.

No way it's worth a G. Shit if you lived by me I would do it for $100 and beer on the side. Because I love to do it, can bullshit about boats, and I get to help out another brother in boating community.


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Iceman I wish you were closer! We think alike and would enjoy a beer and sub install. The mojo was making sub enclosure pretty difficult without removing foot rest. I simply ran out of hours and needed to finish. Plus, I had already invested some nice change in gear and wanted it to sound the best it could. I am always a diy first but waived the white flag on this one.

[dusty2221]

You made the right call. A poorly executed sub can ruin the effort already invested.

[David Analog]

Prefabricated ported enclosures are a bit of a joke. Sometimes you can be fortunate enough to find a sealed box that matches up to the parameters of your woofer. But a good match in an off-the-shelf ported enclosure is a 1 in 100 shot....and then finding one that is truly marinized is next to impossible....unless it is custom built for a specific subwoofer or two by a custom shop.
There are two important relationships in any ported enclosure. One is between the enclosure and the port. This one can often be close enough. The other is the relationship between the woofer and the enclosure. This one is almost never correct for the particular driver.

[russellsmojo]

To close this thread out I picked the boat up today and could not be happier. So glad I did not attempt the sub install and tuning myself. If you are in Dallas area I would highly recommend Scream Marine in Lewisville. If it would stop raining then I will get to test it out on the water, hoping for Friday. Its going to be a good test with new audio, new prop, new 1,100 rear sacs, and 750 bow sac.

[blackcup]

Post up some pix of the wake with those 1100s and the 750! I have the 900s and 650 on a 14 Mojo and was never super impressed with my wave.

[dusty2221]

Pics? I had guessed you might have Scream Marine doing the work, they are a popular choice.

[russellsmojo]

I will get some. I had to get home and put up in between rain showers today.