Blue Yonder Stereo Upgrade

[txav8r]

I am talking with Odin at Earmark about my new stereo in the boat. @DawgDaze @Suchawittygal , not going to be the name, but I have to call it something until I come up with a name, for continuities sake.

I am thinking stock HU for now. If I do, Odin recommends line level control for volume in zones, if it will work. Then...
4 JL MX650 replace existing speakers. Add two MX650 in cockpit. 770's on the swim deck. JL M10iB5 sub. JL M700/5 or M800/8 amp.

Whattayathink?

 

[DawgDaze]

@txav8r Man I got a chill for a minute! That would be awesome but I know you won't name her that... The stereo mod sounds very impressive! The head unit seems pretty nice. How is it for power now ?

 

[octavio3311]

Hey Mel,

I'm using 3 of these for the 3 zones volume control. They work great!

 

[lashburn1]

Mel, my MC-X30 came with what looks like the Same Clarion Head unit as my 242LS...
But the Speakers , 4 in Boat , 4 on tower , and Sub were all JL , factor stock, I don't know models
They also put 2-JL amps in the boat at the Factory.
It's all wired at line legal to the amps and you can control the Tower and subs with fader levels..cool

It's not crazy loud, but it Sounds Awesome.... It does get way loader than anyone in our boat likes and is super clean always...

JL seem nice, I heard Wet Sounds are the gold standard if budget permits

 

[octavio3311]

Using the fader control is possible, but I found it to be a PITA to scroll thru the function menu to get to the fader. I wanted something easy right in front of me.

 

[lashburn1]

Using the fader control is possible, but I found it to be a PITA to scroll thru the function menu to get to the fader. I wanted something easy right in front of me.

I agree, but i have only adjusted once to match Tower , Boat and Subs to my liking....haven't touched it since.
Would be nice to have a kill switch for the Tower speakers

 

[octavio3311]

My wife is always lowering the volume, and me and the kids are always raising it - it's like a game. She does it at home, in the cars, and on the boat.
With the independent zone volume controls, we are now able to turn up the tower and turn down the inboats for her. The 3rd zone is the sub - it's nice to easily raise/lower the thump.

 

[txav8r]

JL Audio is the gold standard for IB subs and coaxial marine grade
Speakers. But wet sounds horns are the shit. I don't have a tower and won't
Play to the beach or at wake distance. My setup will be for near range sound.

Sounds like the level controls to have different sound levels in different zones is the ticket. Odin tells me we
Can do three zones with 6 channels. But still need a amp channel for the sub. I only ran 180 watts into my sub before. Maybe a little more this time if I go with a separate amp for it.

This may be getting out of hand! But y'all are going to love it too! Earmark Marine rocks!

 

[MikeyL]

Mel: If I might ...........
EXCELLENT recommendations ! Well done. Write out the check. Let us know how good she sounds when done.
Continued Best Wishes, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

 

[txav8r]

So now that I am not typing on a damn iphone...and have a keyboard, even if it is BTed to my ipad. I wanted to get a deeper take on this. Odin says he can control zones with the HD-RLC volumn controls, just like your picturing @octavio3311 , will take care of it cleanly. But each needs to control a pair of channels, so a 6 channel amp to run 3 zones. Zone 1 is the cockpit, which will be 2 pair of MX 650's. The bow is Zone 2, and can be either a pair of 770's or MX 650's too, the 650 is definitely a better reproduction for vocals and pair nicely in the same environment as the subwoofer. The bow is somewhat separated from the sub, so you could go 770's or 650's either way. But Zone 3, the transom speakers, well, those speakers need to carry their own weight in terms of bass, so the bigger 770 or 880 if there was room, back there.

Speaking of room, so we have all heard the discussion about wash up and over the swimdeck and how that can hammer the transom speakers, if they are exposed to it. I am wondering how high and what size speaker you can get on the face of the vertical wall between the two levels on the 240. The only other option is to remove the seatbacks and have them altered to allow for room. That shouldn't take even $100, but sure as shootin', it would be more. So I am considering the flat face between the decks.

Let me know what you guys think about amps, 1 or 2, and what you think about transom speaker placement.

 

[txav8r]

Mel: If I might ...........
EXCELLENT recommendations ! Well done. Write out the check. Let us know how good she sounds when done.
Continued Best Wishes, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA

I'm hoping it scares all the fish away Mikey...I don't want them getting my worm!!!

 

[Glassman]

Speaking of swim platform speakers....the "Classic" doesn't have much in the way of mounting surface, does anyone have a Jacuzzi with these pop-up speakers?





They make different kinds, round, one, two or three drivers. I'd like to know if they put out any decent sound. I don't need blasting - I have that in the boat and on the tower. I just want some music to chill to while lounging on the swim platform. I do that a lot - lounging, and yoga.

 

[Julian]

I just put in a pair of Fusions on the swim step ledge. They aren't that expensive....so if they didn't last years I was fine.....mine have been in 3 years now (I think) and I've had no issues.

 

[TechRider]

Mel, great point about wash back and speaker placement. It gets pretty wet back there.

Based on your setup as I understand it, is 6 speakers and 1 sub I think you need two amps. The M800/8V2 @ 4 ohms would not power your speakers at the levels I think you need with one amp. It's rated at 65 watts per channel at 4 ohms @ 12 v and that is the min on those speakers. The Sub will need more then 120. Plus the THD is a bit high on that amp. If you are considering Wet Sound amps I would recommend the HT6 for the speakers and for the sub I would do the Syn Micro Class H which puts out 250 watts mono.

If sticking with JL I would go with the M600 for your boat speakers and the M200 bridged for your sub.

 

[David Analog]

Specs smecks.
We are talking about a JL Audio conservatively rated amplifier here.
JL Audio provides you with specific output voltages to set your maximum amplifier gains. They know those levels are likely to be set at rest with a 12.7V supply maximum and they don't want the amplifier to clip suddenly as the supply changes. If you do the math you'll find that those voltage levels match the 14.4 power rating and you can safely achieve that with a 12.6 volt supply. That's just one of many reasons for the conservative JL rating.
There is no governing body to enforce specs, CEA-2006 specs, certified specs, and many amplifiers do not meet their published specs under real world conditions....just on a passive load resistor at one frequency at an unrealistic voltage supply on a test bench. You certainly cannot compare specs from brand to brand because these are essentially unqualified specs.

Take a look at the Pas Mag independent review on the JL Audio XD500/3, from the same series of amplifiers being discussed above.
The JL exceeded its 14.4V spec by 35%.
The JL exceeded its 14.4V spec even with a 12.6V supply where most amplifiers fall off by 25%.
The JL maintained over 97% of its rated power (1 kHz @ 14.4V) across the entire audio bandwidth where most amplifiers fall off another 15% at 20 to 20kHz, particularly at the low end.
We are talking about minute differences in an already low and friendly THD when your program material has gone through an AtoD and DtoA conversion with a crappy iphone/ipod chip to boot?
What is the difference between the 800/8 and the 600/6 + 200/2? All the output circuits of all channels are identical. I could perhaps see a difference in thermal performance with split chassis if the amplifier was loaded down to 2-ohms on all channels.

 

[txav8r]

Good poop David. All one has to do is stand in front of JL equipment and the construction and integrity difference is impressive. As far as the specs...that's why I have you!

 

[Geiger41]

Sounds like my setup !!!! I do have TWO of the subs though. And instead of rear deck speakers I have the 7.7 JL towers Check my sig for all the setup details !!!!

 

[txav8r]

No tower, so I have to do something on the transom. I have options at least! And for those that don't know, I did this mod on my 230, that I sold last August. But...I have a blank slate now!

 

[Geiger41]

Yeah my setup sounds ridiculous!!! Not like @totallysober's setup of course.. But def the best in my area without a doubt. Good luck on what you do !!

 

[txav8r]

I am not out to compete with anyone else. I just want a quality sound system that pleases me! I loved the setup I had before and all I can think of that I need to make that better, is two more cockpit speakers, and both David and Odin, of Earmark fame, confirm my suspicions. Even @bprender said it was the biggest improvement in his boat, by adding two more speakers in the cockpit.