2017 212 ls speaker wire

[Jeff L]

Does anyone know what gauge wire the stock speakers run off?

 

[JDRacing]

I"m pretty sure my '18 212X, as it came stock, used 16 gauge for the cabin speakers and 12 gauge for the sub. When I upgraded and rewired, I used 14 for the 6.5's in the cabin and on the swim deck, kept the 12 gauge for the sub, and used 12 gauge for the Rev 8's that I added to the tower.

Jeff

 

[Jeff L]

I"m pretty sure my '18 212X, as it came stock, used 16 gauge for the cabin speakers and 12 gauge for the sub. When I upgraded and rewired, I used 14 for the 6.5's in the cabin and on the swim deck, kept the 12 gauge for the sub, and used 12 gauge for the Rev 8's that I added to the tower.

Jeff

Thank you. Not sure how or if it matters going from 16 to 18?

 

[Dave burke]

Pretty sure my 2017 212X is 14 gauge for the speakers and 12 gauge for the sub. Like @JDRacing, I rewired last year using Knuknocepts 14 for speakers and 12 for the sub. Much better wire than the factory stuff.

 

[Dave burke]

I wouldn’t run less than 14 for the speakers. Everything I’ve read confirms that. And you should using marine wire.

I’m self taught with a lot of help from this forum. The real expert are people like @Mainah, @swatski, @Cambo and others

 

[Jeff L]

I wouldn’t run less than 14 for the speakers. Everything I’ve read confirms that. And you should using marine wire.

I’m self taught with a lot of help from this forum. The real expert are people like @Mainah, @swatski, @Cambo and others

I’m new to all this. Any reason 18 wouldn’t be good?

 

[JDRacing]

Yes, you're restricting the ability of the current your amp is capable of delivering to actuate the voice coils in the speakers as they were designed to move. Think of it as water through a hose. If you use a 1/4" hose you will not move the same volume of water as 1/2" hose assuming the the same pressure in each hose. In this analogy, voltage is the pressure, and current is the water moving under that pressure.

A high powered amp with speaker wiring that is too small to handle the wattage (voltage x current) the amp produces defeats the purpose of a high powered amp.

I agree with the comment that 14 gauge marine grade (tinned copper) speaker wire is appropriate for quality 6.5 inch coax speakers and a quality amp.

18 gauge is too small for the volume levels you'll want available on your boat IMO.

Just to make sure, since you commented that you were new to this, you understand the wire gets smaller in diameter as the gauge size number gets higher, right? 18 gauge is substantially smaller than 12 gauge or 14 gauge. Like shotguns.

Jeff

 

[Jeff L]

Yes, you're restricting the ability of the current your amp is capable of delivering to actuate the voice coils in the speakers as they were designed to move. Think of it as water through a hose. If you use a 1/4" hose you will not move the same volume of water as 1/2" hose assuming the the same pressure in each hose. In this analogy, voltage is the pressure, and current is the water moving under that pressure.

A high powered amp with speaker wiring that is too small to handle the wattage (voltage x current) the amp produces defeats the purpose of a high powered amp.

I agree with the comment that 14 gauge marine grade (tinned copper) speaker wire is appropriate for quality 6.5 inch coax speakers and a quality amp.

18 gauge is too small for the volume levels you'll want available on your boat IMO.

Just to make sure, since you commented that you were new to this, you understand the wore gets smaller in diameter as the gauge size number gets higher, right? 18 gauge is substantially smaller than 12 gauge or 14 gauge. Like shotguns.

Jeff

Thanks for the explanation. So i guess the recommendation is to run all new wire?

 

[JDRacing]

I don't know that you've provided enough information for that recommendation at this point. What speakers and amps do you currently have and what are you adding to your system?

Jeff

 

[Jeff L]

Thanks for the explanation. So i guess the recommendation is to run all new wire?

I had to get new connectors (spade) because my new speakers have a different size prong. I’m using this with the existing speaker wire.

I don't know that you've provided enough information for that recommendation at this point. What speakers and amps do you currently have and what are you adding to your system?

Jeff

I’m replacing my stock speakers (Polk) with 6.5’s JL. M600 JL amp. I was planning on using my existing speaker wire

 

[Dave burke]

I added more amps, 2 more speakers and a better sub. I ran all new wire.

Not sure that there’s a rule for when you should run new wire but I think that most people that do significant upgrades run new wire.

I don’t think the factory wire on the 2017s is marine oxygen free wire so you’ll get better long term reliability if you run new wire

 

[JDRacing]

My guess is that you'll be ok with the stock wire. It is at least 16 gauge and may be 14. On the '17 LS, there's no sub, right? 4 speakers in the cabin and two on the swim deck?

I don't know if Yamaha ran any of your speakers in series on the LS. They did on my 2018 212X and it was a mess. That's why I rewired everything.

 

[tdonoughue]

@Jeff L , what they say is exactly correct--you should have better wire. I have no doubts it will work better.

However, on my '12, I put in Polks and a JL M600 and kept the stock wiring to the speakers (mostly because I'm lazy, a bit because I'm cheap and lots because the right wire is expensive!). I like good music, but don't blow out speakers or anything. I have had no issues.

So, practically speaking, I would put in what you have with the wires you have. The next time you have another chunk of money to throw at the sound system, buy some wire... in the interest of continuing improvement.

My 2 pennies (worth everything you paid for it).

 

[mark_m]

Goto tinnedmarinewire.com and get yourself some quality wire. I did this for my SX230 upgrade and I haven’t looked back.

 

[JDRacing]

One more point. I looked more closely at the picture in your first post. The purple wire has the word "series" on it. And it looks like the same OEM wire that was in my boat.

You probably want to rewire your new speakers and amp to get rid of that series setup. Depending how your new amp is rated, you will either want to run one speaker per channel or 2 speakers per channel in parallel. I would not use that series setup, which provides an 8 ohm load to your new JL amp (which it is probably not rated for). Even if your new amp is rated for an 8 ohm load, all you are doing is decreasing your output with a series setup.

As others have noted, suggest you buy some good marine grade 14 gauge speaker wire and rewire your new setup.

Jeff

 

[Jeff L]

So here's my concerns so far;
The existing speaker wire size is unknown. Most likely 16 or 18 based on everything I've heard from the forum and from the dealer. I had to buy new spade connectors (ancor SPK1614, blue) since the JL's are different size than the Polk. From everyone I talk to, it shouldn't be a problem connecting the existing speaker wire to the 16-14 connectors, even if the existing speaker wire is 18 ga. My thinking is, I'd rather have a larger diameter (16-14) connector than get the 22-18 connector. I'll just make sure it's crimped good.

It appears the swim deck speakers and the cabin speakers are run together based on the color of the wire (green on left, purple on right)

My guess is that you'll be ok with the stock wire. It is at least 16 gauge and may be 14. On the '17 LS, there's no sub, right? 4 speakers in the cabin and two on the swim deck?

I don't know if Yamaha ran any of your speakers in series on the LS. They did on my 2018 212X and it was a mess. That's why I rewired everything.

correct, no sub, no amp, 6 speakers total (2 bow, 2 cabin, 2 swim deck). the cabin and swim deck are on the same series

 

[Dave burke]

Totally agree with @JDRacing. I have a 2017 212X which has 3 pairs of Polks (bow, rear cabin and swim platform) as well as a soundbar on the tower. All my speakers were wired in series so the power going to each speaker was pretty low. Once I rewired, the soundbar in particular was MUCH louder and sounded much better.

I started by trying to see if I could run just a few extra wires to be able to run in parallel but eventually concluded that it was easier (and better) to run all new wires.

I also added amps and moved them under the helm.

 

[Jeff L]

what I need to figure out is which speaker wires to cut. I mistakenly didn't take a picture of the bow speakers, but that won't be a problem. So, green, purple & whatever color the bow speakers are, correct?

 

[Jeff L]

@Jeff L , what they say is exactly correct--you should have better wire. I have no doubts it will work better.

However, on my '12, I put in Polks and a JL M600 and kept the stock wiring to the speakers (mostly because I'm lazy, a bit because I'm cheap and lots because the right wire is expensive!). I like good music, but don't blow out speakers or anything. I have had no issues.

So, practically speaking, I would put in what you have with the wires you have. The next time you have another chunk of money to throw at the sound system, buy some wire... in the interest of continuing improvement.

My 2 pennies (worth everything you paid for it).

@tdonoughue thank you! I too am being lazy & cheap. One day I'll run new wire (maybe lol)

 

[Dave burke]

what I need to figure out is which speaker wires to cut. I mistakenly didn't take a picture of the bow speakers, but that won't be a problem. So, green, purple & whatever color the bow speakers are, correct?

Not following you, why do you want to cut wire?