Easiest way to add/amplify music at the helm

[fraserjr]

@Mainah, I am actually struggling with the decision on how to pair the speakers. My biggest thing is being able to hear the music at the helm while cruising but I also have kids and a wife who likely don't want to get blasted by "noise" when I want to hear it. (Maybe I should just invest in headphones at this point ) Most of the time, my wife is toward the back of the cabin, holding our youngest and our oldest daughter will switch from the bow to the back of the cabin depending on how her mood suits her. This almost makes me think that I have the mid-cabin and swim platform speakers paired and then pair the cabin and bow speakers. But that just seems totally asinine when thinking about it rationally. If I had the money I would get an EQ and zone it all out, but I just can't justify the cost.

And I appreciate the additional thoughts on the amp, right now I haven't found a better option that pairs as well as the MB Quart one does, so I will likely give it a shot.

 

[Mainah]

@fraserjr - you bring up an interesting conundrum. I can't say for certain that you will be able to hear the music at causing speed without all 6 speakers being amped up together. I have never tried just turning up the speakers I installed in the helm area (6x9s for me). The total of all of the speakers certainly helps fill things in. No doubt that the additional speakers you are adding will help you hear the music but the question of where to allow the balance still remains. This is very much a personal preference thing and will only be the different between one set of rca cables or two and then how to connect them and amp settings. Might as well just get two pairs of RCA cables so you can play around with it.

 

[fraserjr]

@fraserjr - you bring up an interesting conundrum. I can't say for certain that you will be able to hear the music at causing speed without all 6 speakers being amped up together. I have never tried just turning up the speakers I installed in the helm area (6x9s for me). The total of all of the speakers certainly helps fill things in. No doubt that the additional speakers you are adding will help you hear the music but the question of where to allow the balance still remains. This is very much a personal preference thing and will only be the different between one set of rca cables or two and then how to connect them and amp settings. Might as well just get two pairs of RCA cables so you can play around with it.

OK, to your point I think I will just have to try one way and then switch it around to see what works best. Given that, I will probably start with all of the cabin speakers wired to the amp and leave the stern speakers and tower tweeters on the HU for the time being.

Does anyone know if it is possible to remove the port seat grab handle without taking the boat half apart? Since the speakers will hopefully be installed in roughly the same location, I figured I could stick a screwdriver through where the grab handle bolts-in and see what kind of depth I have.

 

[fraserjr]

I was able to get out onto the boat today and do some work. The biggest thing was I was able to do was cut the port side hole for the mid-cabin speaker and to my luck found out there was plenty of depth for it. Hopefully I will be able to be able to get to the other side this week. Thanks for all of the suggestions on tools, etc. Everything is going smoothly so far.

Pics:

 

[Drift Away]

I was able to get out onto the boat today and do some work. The biggest thing was I was able to do was cut the port side hole for the mid-cabin speaker and to my luck found out there was plenty of depth for it. Hopefully I will be able to be able to get to the other side this week. Thanks for all of the suggestions on tools, etc. Everything is going smoothly so far.

Pics:
View attachment 49990 View attachment 49991

What size speaker is that? How many inch are behind there?

 

[fraserjr]

What size speaker is that? How many inch are behind there?

It is the 6 1/2" Polk db651's.

As for the depth, there is anywhere from 2-3/4" to 3.5" depending on where you measure. The hull wall is not completely flat back there, hence the difference.

I also measured the other side by drilling out one of the rivets for the passenger capacity placard and its about the same depth. Hoping to cut that hole this week.

 

[Drift Away]

It is the 6 1/2" Polk db651's.

As for the depth, there is anywhere from 2-3/4" to 3.5" depending on where you measure. The hull wall is not completely flat back there, hence the difference.

I also measured the other side by drilling out one of the rivets for the passenger capacity placard and its about the same depth. Hoping to cut that hole this week.

Thats over on the passanger side right? I need to find a spot to move my JL 6.5 off the swim deck so i can add my 7.7 back there

 

[Mainah]

I would never have thought you could get a db651 in there without a bezel or spacer. That is awesome and I am kicking myself.

 

[fraserjr]

Got back out on the boat today to do some work on this project. Got the Port side hole drilled for the mid-cabin speaker and ran a few speaker wires. Again, plenty of room to house the speaker without the need of a bezel. I am hoping to run the rest of the speaker wire this weekend and get everything cleaned up. Pics below.

Also, for those who are itching to do some work on the boat but it may be getting a bit cold out. I have been dragging a small plug-in heater out with me. The boat actually heats up pretty quickly with the cover on, to the point that I was sweating and had to start taking layers off. Just a thought for those with mods waiting for spring.

 

[Mainah]

That is awesome. Getting the speaker closer to the ear is much more efficient. You are making me consider cutting a door into my shrink wrap to stick a inside micrometer up there to verify the same depth on my boat. I would love to mount speakers there.

 

[swatski]

@fraserjr That is AWESOME. The hole you cut for those DBs 651 is 5", correct?

--

 

[fraserjr]

@fraserjr That is AWESOME. The hole you cut for those DBs 651 is 5", correct?
--

Yes, I used the 5" hole cutter that came in a kit from Habor Freight.

 

[Rod5]

This is really Awesome! Do yo have a pic of the exact port side location you chose? And don't be stingy please.

 

[fraserjr]

This is really Awesome! Do yo have a pic of the exact port side location you chose? And don't be stingy please.

Did you see the other pictures earlier in the thread? I will be back out on the boat today and can take some more pictures and/or measurements if you want. Honestly, you can put the speaker anywhere in that general location. I thought about going higher but then decided to keep it at the same height as the other speakers on the boat for uniformity.

EDIT: Here are the pictures from the finished install. Just need to wire up the amp and I will be done with this project and on to the next!

 

[fraserjr]

Here are the updated pics with the speakers installed. I think they look pretty good and honestly think the E-series should come with them standard.

 

[Rod5]

That's a great install! My bad I didnt realize some of your earlier shots were of the port side...

 

[gobecauseyoucan]

Very nice job with your install,,, looks like a factory perfect fit. I like this option instead of tower speakers, much more stealth. I'm trading in my 2013 212x for a new 2016 242 Limited S at my favorite dealer this week. Going to install a JL amp and JL MX650 throughout the boat and want a pair here. They are 2 3/4 inches deep. Is there enough depth there for these and is there any additional depth by adjusting the location in any direction from yours. This looks great in your pictures. Thanks

 

[Mainah]

Very nice job with your install,,, looks like a factory perfect fit. I like this option instead of tower speakers, much more stealth. I'm trading in my 2013 212x for a new 2016 242 Limited S at my favorite dealer this week. Going to install a JL amp and JL MX650 throughout the boat and want a pair here. They are 2 3/4 inches deep. Is there enough depth there for these and is there any additional depth by adjusting the location in any direction from yours. This looks great in your pictures. Thanks

Make sure you leave at least a 1/4 inch between the the closest point of the back of the magnet and anything behind it. The magnet impacting something behind it due to oscillation induced deflection would sound horrible.

 

[Drift Away]

Very nice job with your install,,, looks like a factory perfect fit. I like this option instead of tower speakers, much more stealth. I'm trading in my 2013 212x for a new 2016 242 Limited S at my favorite dealer this week. Going to install a JL amp and JL MX650 throughout the boat and want a pair here. They are 2 3/4 inches deep. Is there enough depth there for these and is there any additional depth by adjusting the location in any direction from yours. This looks great in your pictures. Thanks

I do like this look as well but i did not have the stones to try it on my SX240. I put the JL 7.7 on the swim deck and added another set of JL 6.5's on the inside and another 10" sub.

 

[fraserjr]

Very nice job with your install,,, looks like a factory perfect fit. I like this option instead of tower speakers, much more stealth. I'm trading in my 2013 212x for a new 2016 242 Limited S at my favorite dealer this week. Going to install a JL amp and JL MX650 throughout the boat and want a pair here. They are 2 3/4 inches deep. Is there enough depth there for these and is there any additional depth by adjusting the location in any direction from yours. This looks great in your pictures. Thanks

I think it would be a little close. To @Mainah's point, you probably want a little extra space back there to prevent the magnet from hitting the outer hull. Even before I starting drilling into the sides I had bought two 1/2" spacers just in case I needed them. Luckily as you can see, I didn't have to use them but I was prepared to just in case. As for positioning there was over 3" in some places but then you had screws from the rub rail and other things poking in from the outside.

I think if you were willing to use a spacer as I was you could get away with it and may even be able to do it without one. I would think a 1/2" spacer would be all you would need and I don't think it would really look bad at all. Just my 2 cents.