Guess the audio system cost...

[Bluewater272]

That MV800 looks way overkill. "reference grade" audio in an outdoor environment sounds like a joke to me, however some of the physical features on it are nice (tuning via PC instead of a screwdriver, speaker wire output design, etc).

That being said, there's a definite difference in performance between amps. I've had both the Rockville 8ch and now have the M800. The M800 is a clear winner. I don't think its worth $600 more than the Rockville, but the rockville kicked the bucket inside of a single season. The PITA factor for reinstalling an amp in cramped quarters is almost worth the price difference alone.

 

[Julian]

The M800 is a clear winner. I don't think its worth $600 more than the Rockville, but the rockville kicked the bucket inside of a single season. The PITA factor for reinstalling an amp in cramped quarters is almost worth the price difference alone.

Are you saying buy your 2nd amp first? LOL

 

[BigAbe75]

Yes....you get what you pay for. A cheap amp will produce much more distortion and will cook speakers more quickly at higher outputs. It will also consume much more power and sound worse. I only put the MV800 in as an extreme example. The M800 is $800 and a fine amp. My only point was it's hard to guess at a price without full specs.

Here’s a real thread for geeks.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/dsp-audio-tuning-for-audio-geeks.21157/

If I remember right, @Mainah started this project with a cheaper amp and in the end switched to an expensive one. But, I admit that I didn’t reread the thread just now. Lol

 

[Bluewater272]

Are you saying buy your 2nd amp first? LOL

Absolutely, LOL

 

[redthumper9]

Anxious to hear your thoughts.... Sounds like a good set up! Hope it's everything you want it to be.

 

[scokill]

That MV800 looks way overkill. "reference grade" audio in an outdoor environment sounds like a joke to me, however some of the physical features on it are nice (tuning via PC instead of a screwdriver, speaker wire output design, etc).

That being said, there's a definite difference in performance between amps. I've had both the Rockville 8ch and now have the M800. The M800 is a clear winner. I don't think its worth $600 more than the Rockville, but the rockville kicked the bucket inside of a single season. The PITA factor for reinstalling an amp in cramped quarters is almost worth the price difference alone.

I had cheaper Kicker...pretty solid amp, and now I have 2 JLs. The Kicker doubled as a hotplate and could fry an egg. The JLs are barely warm. I also like the way the they are sealed. MV800 is different on the sealing part.

 

[Mainah]

Here’s a real thread for geeks.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/dsp-audio-tuning-for-audio-geeks.21157/

If I remember right, @Mainah started this project with a cheaper amp and in the end switched to an expensive one. But, I admit that I didn’t reread the thread just now. Lol

Short Version -
If I had it to do all over again I would bust the budget and just go all in on JL or Wetsounds.

Long Version -
What I did over time is spread out through a few threads and I really should link them all in a signature as each contains useful pieces and as a single thread might be almost too much. With regards to the DSP I had selected a cheap amp that ended up having poor/non-existent crossover performance knowing that it could be a bust. Decided to add a cheap DSP and better tune everything anyway. The cheap DSP was a poorly engineered nightmare on the power supply end. Upgraded to a JL DSP that was not marine grade but I made it marine grade with high end conformal coating myself. End of the day I am happy with how it turned out. Cheap amps can work fine for subs because of the narrow bandwidth but must have a good built in crossover or you will need an external one. A DSP filtering out bandwidth before the amp is the best way. Being able to tweak the frequencies to each speaker to where it best performs and adjust the gain for each zone really helped balance everything out. I found that aggressive crossover slopes worked the best in a high gain requirement open environment to safely maximize the output of the speakers. I still recommend JL or Wetsounds amps for full range speakers ( I have JL amps for my full ranges) and only recommend cheap amps for subwoofers if you at least half way know what you are doing.

The class D marine rockville amps (RXM-T2) in my boat and truck powering subs are still going strong. Lots of stories of Rockville amps failing but have not personally seen any on this model and it is a different architecture than most of their amps ( I did take mine apart to see how it was built and was pleasantly surprised in a couple of ways). Lots of reports of the crossover issue though including with both of mine so must have a pre-amp crossover/DSP to use this model if that is still an issue. That tiny amp is so strong that when my son used far too much gain on the headunit in my truck ( I had told him the max but he ignored it) that it fried a 10inch Polk DB sub voice coil. I upgraded that sub when I replaced it to a MM with the built in fuses. That single sub in a sealed QTS matched box pounds harder than the off the shelf grade MTX preloaded box with 2 12s in his car trunk (it was a cheap kit that came with an amp as I did not want him ticking off folks around town).

So yes cheap amps can be used but I would recommend only for subs and only after the crossover is verified (YMMV). For full range applications less noise and more music in a wide bandwidth is good for the speakers and sound output so I recommend higher grade amps for that. Many folks get away with non-marine grade amps in their boats with no issues (I don't recommend it). JL has the best water/moisture proofing; period. Wetsound makes good stuff too with more watts per $ value but not built quite as well as JL when it comes to waterproofing. Both will handle the summer heat better than many cheaper amps and will have crossovers that actually work. Expensive amps are of course better than fine for subs and less likely to have issues down the road particularly from heat or moisture. Most amp brands are known to play games with their specs. When it comes to JL and WS you can trust them. Watts and THD/Noise are what I see fudged a lot by cheaper brands.

Speakers do make a difference too. I got an awesome deal on Polk mm's so that is what I went with and they do sound very good. The 6.5 inch full range polk mm's do lack just a bit of the the low end compared to the top class of 6.5 inch JL or wet sounds. The Polk MM subs required very significant work to get them to sound really good in my boat as not truly free air so I had to fiberglass boxes inside the hull and honestly not worth the effort compared to just buying a true free air subs from JL or Wet Sounds.

The $ cost savings for where I went cheaper was substantial. The significant extra time spent is something I enjoy but could easily be considered a cost. I got results that would please many for my initial self imposed budget of $1k which I posted in its own thread. I needed more sound behind the boat and more bass but $1k can net you some quality components and a big upgrade over factory boats with no amps. The end result after around $3k spent in components and lots of time over three total upgrades is likely just as good as an all JL system without the dedicated 8 channel JL DSP. Great sound and loud enough that we have to turn it down as it can make us start to feel ill after a while (we crank it near the max only for tow sports and avoid being rude to those who live on the lake or other boaters in a cove). If I had it to do all over again I would bust the budget and go all in on JL or Wetsounds.

 

[anmut]

I was 6100 out the door all said and done. Amps were 900 and a 400 watt. Wicked clean install, worth every penny. Btw these 8’s are LOUD.

 

[NickF]

Can you post some more pictures of the tower speakers and where they mounted them....from the above picture they look low, but with 8.8's not a lot of room for head space.

 

[Julian]

I was 6100 out the door all said and done. Amps were 900 and a 400 watt. Wicked clean install, worth every penny. Btw these 8’s are LOUD.

What brand of amps did they use?

 

[anmut]

Can you post some more pictures of the tower speakers and where they mounted them....from the above picture they look low, but with 8.8's not a lot of room for head space.

You bet.

 

[anmut]

What brand of amps did they use?

JL 900 and a 400

 

[Dixie Highway]

So do I get a prize or something? I was within $100!!!

 

[anmut]

So do I get a prize or something? I was within $100!!!

Swing on by for a winning boat ride & sound demo. Post ride hearing test not include.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Might find myself up that way this summer sometime. I'll look you up!!!

 

[biffdotorg]

I agree - but it will help a bit with resale down the road

Nice job! You will love it. But you can save that BS line for your significant other, as it will do nothing for resale value except to the buyer that recognizes what you put into it. We bought our 242 fully decked out like yours with JL everything. I appreciated the cost they put into it. So to me, yes, I knew what was spent. I would say it didn't add to the boat value, but it took all the dicker factor away when negotiating around an NADA book value. It helped "maintain" value. Take it for what it's worth. You will never, ever, get that value back that you put into it. That goes for nearly all third party add ons. It's only of value to the guy that plans on putting exactly that in after the fact anyway.

I am guilty of using that resale line with my wife as well. But after two boats with custom stereos, she truly appreciates the full JL system, but would never look for it by name if we were shopping. And never believe that it cost 5x what we spent on our first boat's stereo.

Enjoy!

 

[the MfM]

Are you saying buy your 2nd amp first? LOL

Swapping amps in 90* heat during Fourth of July week can be a fun hobby. I’ve done it the last two years.

 

[anmut]

Nice job! You will love it. But you can save that BS line for your significant other, as it will do nothing for resale value except to the buyer that recognizes what you put into it. We bought our 242 fully decked out like yours with JL everything. I appreciated the cost they put into it. So to me, yes, I knew what was spent. I would say it didn't add to the boat value, but it took all the dicker factor away when negotiating around an NADA book value. It helped "maintain" value. Take it for what it's worth. You will never, ever, get that value back that you put into it. That goes for nearly all third party add ons. It's only of value to the guy that plans on putting exactly that in after the fact anyway.

I am guilty of using that resale line with my wife as well. But after two boats with custom stereos, she truly appreciates the full JL system, but would never look for it by name if we were shopping. And never believe that it cost 5x what we spent on our first boat's stereo.

Enjoy!

I said "a bit" like in hundreds, not thousands. But yes, as long as the wife is fine with it...

 

[Jaylex]

Looks like a solid system, and you cant go wrong with JL Audio....their stuff is top notch.

To somone elses point, if you can start with JL you wont be disappointed!!

It is pricey, and you almost question if its worth it, but once your on the water and hear it you will be happy...

To that point I was out last weekend in Havasu and turned my system up (usually keep it at 60%) and was 6 boats tied up, and a few of them thought it was my buddies boat bc he was closer to them until he told them it was my system and they couldnt beleive how clear and loud it was since I was on the far end....came over just to see what I was using bc they were very impressed.

Id say after spending close to 10k on the system and install ( done in 3 phases) it totally worth it to me...and I can finally say Im content with my system..its only money,lol...

Worth noting that their control knobs work very nice...in case you want to adj the vol on the towers or subs.

 

[SCP1]

You bet.View attachment 117263View attachment 117264

Where are the subs?