My AR240 upgrades and stereo build.

[rickd01]

as expected another clean install, wetsounds is getting $150 for a similar enclosure

 

[David Analog]

Classic! Nothings POPS like bright red pods on a brushed tower. My favorite contrasting combination.

 

[redthumper9]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

 

[redthumper9]

Still have to do some minor mounting adjustments, tune and take the two new ones to the paint shop......but man is this thing crazy!

 

[redthumper9]

So a summary of this winters mods.....

I swapped out the Polk db651's with JL mx650's and added a pair mid cabin. The Polks had reached the end of their life span. They were in my old boat a few years and we're moved to this boat where they spent the last year and a half. The JL'S do sound noticeably better and are VERY well built. The additional pair mid cabin makes a HUGE difference in the overall sound of the boat.

 

[redthumper9]

The Rockford marine amps I ran last year are very good for the price. Small footprint, class d, and big power.....but this winter I made the switch to Exile Audios new line of class D XM amps. The Javelin is a 5 channel driving the 6 in boats and the Rockford p3 12" sub. It is rated at 100 x 4 and 800 x 1. The tower speaker amp is their XM 30.2. It's rated at 300 x 2 into 4 ohm and 420 x 2 into 2 ohm (where I have it). Like I said, the Rockford's were really nice, but these are a whole new level. BIG power, small foot print and very efficient. Sorry, but the amp rack picture didn't take today. I'll snap another soon. I added two more Exile XM9'S on the tower and well.....with two more and twice the power.....you guessed it....a huge increase on what was already deafening. As far as the subwoofer goes, I had two marine Rockford 10's. They hit pretty hard, but I was looking for the lower lows. This time around, I went with the one 12" in a ported enclosure tuned to about 36 hz. It was what I was looking for. Deeper and more output than the last setup. Enclosure is coated in fiberglass resin inside and oit.

......oh yeah....plasti dipped my wheels too.

I bought two of the Abyss s1800 lights from @geiger41 and installed them both between the pumps.

 

[redcamel]

@redthumper9 , I'm a huge fan of the setup.....how does the ported box fit in under the seat. Which direction is the woofer facing, is the port lined up with your vent to the deck?

 

[redthumper9]

Thanks @redcamel .......the box slides all the way under the port side lounger seat. Only about 1.5" actually protrude into the opening when you remove the seat. The vent is nearly directly in front of the port, but part of the woofer can be seen through the vent as well. This set up is much more to my liking than the two 10"s that I had last year in a sealed enclosure. I love a sealed enclosure in a car, but I felt I needed the extra output from a ported enclosure for the boat.

 

[redthumper9]

Finally remembered to snap a couple of pics this weekend of the finished product. Still have yet to be out at night and try the new underwater led's.

 

[haknslash]

Wow I just went through the entire thread for the first time. Outstanding work. I used to do these kinds of hifi installs back in the day when I was an installer and know great work when I see it. Well done sir and your boat probably sounds as amazing as it looks

 

[PaulyB]

@redthumper9 does your sub match the intensity of your tower speakers? I have a Kicker 10 inch sub mounted by the door on my helm storage area, but it doesn't have enough low end to match the Wet Sounds Rev 8 tower speakers. I need to find a way to have more audio on the low end.

 

[redthumper9]

@haknslash ......thanks for the compliments. I am pretty happy with how it has turned out and it does sound great.

@PaulyB ......if you sound directly in the middle of the cabin area, the sub seems to keep up well (like shake your teeth with some music). If you are on the shore behind it, you still hear the low end and it sounds fairly balanced. You hear almost no bass if you are in the bow. I admit......I am a bass head so I wish I could get that skull crushing sound that I used to have in my Honda CRX many years ago, I just have come to the conclusion that it's not happening in a boat. If, (and that's a big if) I change anything next year, it may to a higher end woofer and an increase in power to the sub.

 

[JAUGA82]

Wow!! Looks amazing redthumper9. I literally just bought this exact same bought and I've got an endless list of mods. Do you know the color they used for your tower speakers? Also, what did you use for the mesh-like material on the speaker vent?

 

[GiddYupJoe]

No intent of hijacking this thread but @Josh Austin WELCOME and be sure to check out this oil cooler thread issue that is a known for the 2010 240/242's. Just wanted to point it out so you are aware if you have not already noticed through your research. Now back to stereos!

https://jetboaters.net/threads/another-oil-cooler-bolt-sheared.1282/

 

[jlcj7]

@redthumper9 looks great!

you need to post some more videos of Eastern NC. I love seeing them as it reminds me of when i lived there...

 

[farrelltravis]

My $45 chinese ebay steering wheel upgrade.View attachment 4989

I put one of these on last year. The red coloring in mine faded over the winter. Did yours hold up?

 

[JAUGA82]

Thanks GiddYupJoe for the heads up. Now I'm a bit freaked out. It's actually being serviced today so I'm going to call them and make sure they take a look. It's only got 68 hours. Hopefully it will be fine.

 

[redthumper9]

@Josh Austin .......the color is a Chrysler/Dodge color called PR4. I got the mesh material off of ebay. It looks great, but is a little thin. I went all summer last year with no problems, but while cleaning it up to put away last winter, my knee hit it and bent it slightly. @GiddYupJoe is correct.....check the oil coolers often. Mine had the issue at around 45 hours but it was corrected by the dealer under warranty with two new updated coolers.
@jlcj7 ......I haven't done as much recording this year, but Im sure I'll put one together before too long. My 10 year old is learning to wakeboard and I took a short clip of him Tuesday in the New River. I'll post it soon.

@farrelltravis ......the one that I bought last year faded terribly and I replaced it with another. If you can find one where the accent color (red in my case) is plastic instead of that PVC material, the color seems to hold up better. I'll try to get a pic of the new one.

 

[redthumper9]

@farrelltravis

 

[redthumper9]

So this is my 10 year old. His first time ever strapping the board to his feet was about 3 weeks ago. This is probably his 12-15th pull ever. Wish I was young again

Mason Wakeboarding: