2016 AR240 JL Audio upgrade

[mark_m]

Ha ok. I guess they are easy to lose.

Yep. I think I left the earmark instructions at my in laws when I was cutting in the woofer. Good thing I retained for the coaxials

 

[Derek Fosbury]

Thanks for the various responses, very helpful. Will be going with 1 10" M sub to start driven off the 800/8, then add a second sub later and a second amp to be dedicated to the subs. As stated in other threads though, I have to keep the "visible" upgrades spread out over time (as I'm sure a lot of you can relate to ), so there will be a time lag from single sub to dual sub.

 

[SierraWhiskey]

Emilio22, I'm curious about the end results of your upgrade. Did it meet or exceed your expectations? In hindsight, would you do anything different?
Im going to upgrade my system as well, but have only purchased Rockford Fosgate M282B-Wake M2 8 inch tower speakers. I still need to buy the amp and subwoofer, and am contemplating adding a set of speakers at the helm because I can only hear the damn tweeters buzzing above my head while underway. One additional question: I assume your AR240 has the same speakers as the 242Limited-S. The sound seems pretty good out of my stock speakers so I curious why you changed these out. I'm not an audiophile, but love loud thumping sound, so is this something you would recommend? My thought was to add the tower speakers for skiers/tubers, add a sub for more base, and possibly 2 additional speakers for the helm, as well as an amp to power the tower and subs. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

 

[swatski]

Emilio22, I'm curious about the end results of your upgrade. Did it meet or exceed your expectations? In hindsight, would you do anything different?
Im going to upgrade my system as well, but have only purchased Rockford Fosgate M282B-Wake M2 8 inch tower speakers. I still need to buy the amp and subwoofer, and am contemplating adding a set of speakers at the helm because I can only hear the damn tweeters buzzing above my head while underway. One additional question: I assume your AR240 has the same speakers as the 242Limited-S. The sound seems pretty good out of my stock speakers so I curious why you changed these out. I'm not an audiophile, but love loud thumping sound, so is this something you would recommend? My thought was to add the tower speakers for skiers/tubers, add a sub for more base, and possibly 2 additional speakers for the helm, as well as an amp to power the tower and subs. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

@SierraWhiskey AR240s come stock with those ridiculous trashworthy white speakers (which are embarrassingly bad). I believe that your boat comes stock with Polk DB651s, which are probably the most popular speaker upgrade here; when amplified those DBs are pretty impressive!

--

 

[SierraWhiskey]

Thank you Swatski. I didn't realize the AR240 came with different speakers. I was doing some reading yesterday in jetboaters.net, as well as other reviews online. It seems one of the best rated speakers is the Polk mm651's, which are an upgrade over the DB651's. The DB's received pretty good reviews also, but as you noted in your post above, that was "when amplified". I thought my boat came with an amplifier, so I'm not sure if I'm already at max performance with them or not. I do not feel they have very good base, but I'm going to add a sub and new amp to power them and the tower speakers I mentioned above. I'm considering upgrading the DB's to the mm's as they are relatively inexpensive at roughly $119 per pair and I believe they are direct fit replacements. I need to add a pair in the mid-cabin because I can't hear anything underway other than that annoying tweeter buzzing above my head from the tower tweeters.

I have been reviewing the speaker upgrade threads, but haven't been able to find the specifics I'm looking for. I may start a new thread asking for advice on this.

 

[MattFX4]

Thank you Swatski. I didn't realize the AR240 came with different speakers. I was doing some reading yesterday in jetboaters.net, as well as other reviews online. It seems one of the best rated speakers is the Polk mm651's, which are an upgrade over the DB651's. The DB's received pretty good reviews also, but as you noted in your post above, that was "when amplified". I thought my boat came with an amplifier, so I'm not sure if I'm already at max performance with them or not. I do not feel they have very good base, but I'm going to add a sub and new amp to power them and the tower speakers I mentioned above. I'm considering upgrading the DB's to the mm's as they are relatively inexpensive at roughly $119 per pair and I believe they are direct fit replacements. I need to add a pair in the mid-cabin because I can't hear anything underway other than that annoying tweeter buzzing above my head from the tower tweeters.

I have been reviewing the speaker upgrade threads, but haven't been able to find the specifics I'm looking for. I may start a new thread asking for advice on this.

Sierra, did you buy your boat new? If so it doesn't have an amp unless you had the dealer install. I replaced the db651's in my boat with JL audio mx650's, and added two additional speakers mid cabin next to driver and passenger seat. I powered them with a JL audio m800 amp and they sound great. I have no issues at all hearing them while running full speed. I also added a m10ib5 sub and m200 amp to push it. Huge upgrade over the factory system.

 

[Ronnie]

I powered the stock speakers in my 2010 LS with a generic amp for a little over a season and thought they sounded pretty good, until one of the speakers blew. Ended up replacing them with used Polks I got from someone here. I'm happy with them but honestly can't tell the difference from an audio perspective. I'm not one to turn the music up very high or very often though just wanted the music to sound clearer at cruising speeds. Without the amp the sound was terrible at crusing speeds.

The speakers are interchangeable body size wise but the mounting holes don't line up perfectly between the stock seaworthy and stock polk speakers, at least they didn't for me. note that on previous boats Yamaha often drilled more than one set of mounting holes for each speaker so you may not be able to cover all of the original screw holes with the grills on the Polks speakers.

If the tower speakers aren't sounding they way you want they are upgrade able as well. I can't remember the brand (possibly Polks) but recall they stuck out about a 1/2" from the surface of the tower and were / are inexpensive.

 

[SierraWhiskey]

Sierra, did you buy your boat new? If so it doesn't have an amp unless you had the dealer install. I replaced the db651's in my boat with JL audio mx650's, and added two additional speakers mid cabin next to driver and passenger seat. I powered them with a JL audio m800 amp and they sound great. I have no issues at all hearing them while running full speed. I also added a m10ib5 sub and m200 amp to push it. Huge upgrade over the factory system.

MattFX4, thank you for the response. I did purchase the boat new and you are correct it does not have an amp. For some reason I thought it did, but I just double checked the spec and will blame this error on a significant hangover. I will definitely add the mid cabin speakers, a sub, and need to figure out the amp or amps I will need. I know you put in 2 amps, but wondering if they have a single unit that would do the job. I would really like the ability to adjust the volumes separately for 1. Main cabin, 2. Bow, 3. Swim platform, 4. Tower speakers, 5. Sub. I would like all speakers, including swim platform, connected to the amp(s) and think I will disconnect the tweeters as I do not see them providing a benefit. Feel free to correct me on that if you believe it is a mistake.

Right now, I have already purchased the Rockford Fossgate M282B-Wake M2 8 inch tower speakers but have not installed. I was going to have the marina install these as well as purchase the sub and amp(s) from them but they only carry certain brands/models, which is why I bought the Rockford Fossgates myself. Now I may just order everything myself and try to do this on my own or have a local radio shop install. Not sure if this is over my head to try myself.

The must haves before we go out on the water next spring are the tower speakers, amp and sub. As I mentioned earlier, I would like to also upgrade the stock Polk DB speakers with new MM speakers, but I can do this anytime and evaluate the sound of the existing speakers once the amp/sub are added.

 

[SierraWhiskey]

I powered the stock speakers in my 2010 LS with a generic amp for a little over a season and thought they sounded pretty good, until one of the speakers blew. Ended up replacing them with used Polks I got from someone here. I'm happy with them but honestly can't tell the difference from an audio perspective. I'm not one to turn the music up very high or very often though just wanted the music to sound clearer at cruising speeds. Without the amp the sound was terrible at crusing speeds.

The speakers are interchangeable body size wise but the mounting holes don't line up perfectly between the stock seaworthy and stock polk speakers, at least they didn't for me. note that on previous boats Yamaha often drilled more than one set of mounting holes for each speaker so you may not be able to cover all of the original screw holes with the grills on the Polks speakers.

If the tower speakers aren't sounding they way you want they are upgrade able as well. I can't remember the brand (possibly Polks) but recall they stuck out about a 1/2" from the surface of the tower and were / are inexpensive.

Thanks for the info Ronnie. I assumed since they were both Polk 6.5 inch speakers they would be interchangeable. I haven't installed the tower speakers yet, as I still need to purchase the amp and sub, plus figure out if I will have the Yamaha dealer install, a local radio shop, or myself.

 

[Flower]

View attachment 38273 View attachment 38274 View attachment 38275 I ended up using a jig saw for the sub. It wasn't that bad other than messy, the vacuum only does so much

I like the GPS location in the pictures. What bracket did you use? Where did you get it?

 

[MattFX4]

MattFX4, thank you for the response. I did purchase the boat new and you are correct it does not have an amp. For some reason I thought it did, but I just double checked the spec and will blame this error on a significant hangover. I will definitely add the mid cabin speakers, a sub, and need to figure out the amp or amps I will need. I know you put in 2 amps, but wondering if they have a single unit that would do the job. I would really like the ability to adjust the volumes separately for 1. Main cabin, 2. Bow, 3. Swim platform, 4. Tower speakers, 5. Sub. I would like all speakers, including swim platform, connected to the amp(s) and think I will disconnect the tweeters as I do not see them providing a benefit. Feel free to correct me on that if you believe it is a mistake.

Right now, I have already purchased the Rockford Fossgate M282B-Wake M2 8 inch tower speakers but have not installed. I was going to have the marina install these as well as purchase the sub and amp(s) from them but they only carry certain brands/models, which is why I bought the Rockford Fossgates myself. Now I may just order everything myself and try to do this on my own or have a local radio shop install. Not sure if this is over my head to try myself.

The must haves before we go out on the water next spring are the tower speakers, amp and sub. As I mentioned earlier, I would like to also upgrade the stock Polk DB speakers with new MM speakers, but I can do this anytime and evaluate the sound of the existing speakers once the amp/sub are added.

You will probably have to go with 2 amps. First of all I recommend running additional speaker wires to swim deck and rear cabin. The swim deck speakers are wired in series with the rear cabin speakers from the factory. I recommend an 8 channel amp so all 8 speakers (6 factory + 2 additional you plan to add) have their own channel. Then you could probably get away with 1 more amp to power sub and tower speakers. I have a Wetsounds WS420 Equalizer that I haven't installed yet, but will give me zone control you mentioned. It will give me ability to control boat speakers, tower, and sub seperately. Not sure how to control more than 3 zones like you mentioned. As far as tweeters, they actually sound good once you amp the other speakers and add a sub. From the factory they are just too much and overpower the other speakers.


Rear swim deck and cabin from factory. I would run new wires so each speaker has it's own channel.

 

[MattFX4]

@SierraWhiskey you should check out @Earmark Marine sale. Good time to buy amps, speakers, etc.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/time-for-black-friday-cyber-monday-sale.11916/

 

[SierraWhiskey]

You will probably have to go with 2 amps. First of all I recommend running additional speaker wires to swim deck and rear cabin. The swim deck speakers are wired in series with the rear cabin speakers from the factory. I recommend an 8 channel amp so all 8 speakers (6 factory + 2 additional you plan to add) have their own channel. Then you could probably get away with 1 more amp to power sub and tower speakers. I have a Wetsounds WS420 Equalizer that I haven't installed yet, but will give me zone control you mentioned. It will give me ability to control boat speakers, tower, and sub seperately. Not sure how to control more than 3 zones like you mentioned. As far as tweeters, they actually sound good once you amp the other speakers and add a sub. From the factory they are just too much and overpower the other speakers.


Rear swim deck and cabin from factory. I would run new wires so each speaker has it's own channel.

View attachment 48779

MattFx4, I really appreciate the information. Unfortunately I've been out of pocket for the last week so I didn't see this until this evening. 8-channel amps seem really expensive. Would it make more sense to have (2) 4-channel amps? Of course my dreams are much larger than my wallet, or my wife's tolerance, so I need to be somewhat reasonable. Any specific recommendations?

 

[craigm]

Here is my invoice for the upgrades in my 240.
Love the way it sounds and the control I have.
I put six speakers in boat and four Roswell speakers on tower I purchased for $400 the last day of boat show that year.

 

[SierraWhiskey]

Looks like a great system craigm

 

[Drift Away]

upgrading the stock speakers and adding 2 mid-cabin - JL MX650 blue LED
adding JL M800/8V2 amp and JL 10IB sub
still have speaker cables and a few other odds and ends on the way
this will be a slow project for me
View attachment 38111

upgrading the stock speakers and adding 2 mid-cabin - JL MX650 blue LED
adding JL M800/8V2 amp and JL 10IB sub
still have speaker cables and a few other odds and ends on the way
this will be a slow project for me
View attachment 38111

Looks like a whole weekend of fun. I had mine put it in a few months back looks like pretty much the exact same setup. I had the back cut out just like on the E Series to add more sound to the back. This winter I'm going to take the 6.5 out and add the 7.7 along with another 10 inch JL subwoofer.

 

[Drift Away]

upgrading the stock speakers and adding 2 mid-cabin - JL MX650 blue LED
adding JL M800/8V2 amp and JL 10IB sub
still have speaker cables and a few other odds and ends on the way
this will be a slow project for me
View attachment 38111

Here is where i added 2 JL 6 1/2 to the read deck on my SX240. Only the E series come with them but i needed more sounds out side of the boat when we are on the bech

 

[Benny Sibbitt]

View attachment 38273 View attachment 38274 View attachment 38275 I ended up using a jig saw for the sub. It wasn't that bad other than messy, the vacuum only does so much

Oh ok. Holes for the additional 6.5"s aren't bad. I used a 5" hole saw and it cut the holes perfectly. Trying to figure out how I want to cut the hole for sub now. Either I pay someone to do it, it tackle myself with a jigsaw.

did you get any chipping using a hole saw for the smaller speakers?

 

[yammiman]

Nice thread - I'm going to be upgrading my sound system this spring and have a few questions for you guys;

-is there an advantage or disadvantage to running one big amp for both speakers and sub over running one
amp for the speakers and one for the sub? - I realize it would cost more
-I want to add 4 tower speakers, I'm considering pointing 2 fore and 2 aft - has anyone tried this? - reason
I'm thinking about it, with the stock system, I don't seem to hear a lot of sound from the drivers seat - gets
even worse when you are cruising
-was also thinking of adding a sound bar and maybe facing it fore and face the 4 tower speakers aft - any
thoughts on that?

 

[Drift Away]

Nice thread - I'm going to be upgrading my sound system this spring and have a few questions for you guys;

-is there an advantage or disadvantage to running one big amp for both speakers and sub over running one
amp for the speakers and one for the sub? - I realize it would cost more
-I want to add 4 tower speakers, I'm considering pointing 2 fore and 2 aft - has anyone tried this? - reason
I'm thinking about it, with the stock system, I don't seem to hear a lot of sound from the drivers seat - gets
even worse when you are cruising
-was also thinking of adding a sound bar and maybe facing it fore and face the 4 tower speakers aft - any
thoughts on that?

I started with a 6 Channel JL audio amp and used up every channel i had leaving no room for the inevitable upgrades. Now i am adding another 6 channel amp, a pair of 7.7 and another 10" sub. I have to get with my audio shop to find out how they are gonna wire both amps up. I have read a few placed that JL amps dont like being ran off one large power wire into a spliter and it best to run 2 separate amp installation kits. Also by running 2 amos it will keep them from pushing at max capacity and prolong the life of the amo by keeping it nice and cool. @wallacerb has his tower speakersset up that way with 4 facing to the front and 4 to the rear. Sounds great if your in his boat but when i am infront or behind him i cant get to close or his towers will mix in with my music.