Need to figure out rear facing speakers

[2kwik4u]

Got it "temp" installed this weekend. Have a few thoughts.

1. The Ultra 10 DOES NOT fit properly on the AR190 tower without additional brackets. The length of the soundbar is such that it lines up perfectly with the horizontal supports between tower tubes. You can't mount it "inline" with the tower. It either has to hang underneath, or over the top, Or you have to make additional mounts/brackets for it. I went ahead and bought the extra brackets ahead of time just in case. They have to be used. Once mounted it's nice and stable, and only took about 4" of headroom. What headroom it did take, has sharp corner unlike a set of traditional tower speakers. Not 100% certain I like this setup, but at 6'2" tall I'm unsure if I'll really LIKE any setup. It's a compromise for sound.

2. The electrical hookups are dead simple. 12v+, Ground, Aux cable for signal. With that said, I have a ground loop going somewhere in the system with the boat running. Not sure if this is because I cam straight off the batter, or if I need to tie the radio ground to the soundbar ground. Going to experiment with this later this week and see if I can't get that to go away.

3. There is NOT a hole drilled on the port side for wires to pass through between the tower and the hull. To get to this hole you either have to remove the tower to drill down (even my right angle drill was too large), OR measure damn good on the inside and drill up. I'll be waiting until winter to pull the tower off and drill the hull and fish the wires. Until then they are "ghetto rigged" with zip-ties to the tower. Looks like hammered dog crap, but works.

4. I'm mounting mine "upside down". The only real indication is that the logo is upside down on the unit. Otherwise it looks/works just fine. The power/signal wires all exit out of the starboard side if "right side up". Putting the unit "upside down" allows the wires to exit on the port side, and reach the battery without modification. I suspect I'll have to modify the power lead when I fish the wires, as the fuse won't fit through the tower, however I want to keep those to a minimum if possible.

5. Sound.......It's good. It's nice and loud. Plenty clear. it really throws the sound out behind the boat. They list a 40hz response at the low end, however with 4" speakers, it's exactly as you would expect, lousy. The low's are simply not there, and really, that's OK. We had a group of three boats out on saturday. I was able to turn the bar up a few clicks and we could easily hear the music 50-60ft behind the boat. It was loud and clear enough to hear easily, but not so loud as to interfere with conversations. We had my 4mo old on the pontoon beside our boat and it was still "quiet" enough for him to take a nap towards the bow of that boat. It was nice to not have the cockpit speakers cranked to 11 to get the sound out behind the boat. I think a set of dedicated tower speakers is an obvious upgrade. More surface area on the cones to move more air will give a much fuller sound. Case in point, the guys with the 24ft Centurion showed up for awhile. Full Roswell audio sound package with no less than 8 speakers on the tower, (2) 15in subs, and probably 8-10 8in drivers in the cockpit. At 1/2 volume he was able to quickly and easily drown out my boat. That's fine with me. I've got about 20% of the money wrapped up in mine.

OVERALL.......I think it's a solid device if you want a very simple and small way to get some sound behind the boat. Installation wasn't terribly difficult, the sound is acceptable for floating behind the boat, and the pricepoint is low ($550 for a refurb unit, $750 for brand new). If you're an "audiophile" then it's probably not for you as a stand alone device.

I only have one picture at this point. I keep forgetting to float a camera out on the water with me to get better pictures. It looks better in person with the wires "tied" up out of the way.

 

[2kwik4u]

Wanted to report back after a weekend of heavy use......Wife and I had an "adults weekend". Had about 14 couples on 4 boats. We were put in charge of music early on, and that is part of what precipitated my wife getting the soundbar in the first place. Spent about 10 hours on the water on Saturday, and about 4 hours on the water Sunday. Soundbar was going the majority of the time.

Overall system is pretty "tiny" by this boards standards, but I received compliments on it all weekend. Both for clarity and volume. Stock AR190 head unit and speakers. This is an MA200 unit (I think Clarion makes it?!?), with stock Marine Audio white speakers. They are nothing to write home about, and look inexpensive, as I'm sure they are. No amp on the 4 cockpit speakers. Soundbar is the Wetsounds Stealth 10 Ultra HD. It has an internal 200W amp I think, and like (8) 4" speakers, and (2) 1" tweeters.

It took some tuning to get the sound "balanced" and "even". Had to adjust the volume of the bar several times, as well as take out some bass from the overall system to get a good clean sound to it. Once we had it tuned in, we were able to crank the volume up and had ample sound behind the boat. We varied from 10-40ft or so behind the boat (had a tube on a 60ft rope that we never went past). Another person had one of those foam pads that we used as a float up bar most of the day. The music was clear, and load enough I had to actually turn it down a few times (until you got the obligatory "that's my song, turn it up" request). I'm pretty pleased with the volume and clarity at this point. Enough so that I don't think I'll be adding traditional speakers to the tower. It's not the loudest, or deepest system on the lake, but it sounded decent for what it is, and we had some quality music on the water all weekend. I'm gonna call it a win.

Next step for the sound system will be a remote of some sort, and a sub. Getting into the boat to adjust volume and track was a pain. I need something on the platform (or wireless) to adjust the stereo. The sub is an obvious move. The music had a decent fullness to it, but was still not as filled out as I would like. Those will most likely be next years audio upgrades though. Won't get to really exercise that level of stereo except for a few occasions a year anyway.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Wanted to report back after a weekend of heavy use......Wife and I had an "adults weekend". Had about 14 couples on 4 boats. We were put in charge of music early on, and that is part of what precipitated my wife getting the soundbar in the first place. Spent about 10 hours on the water on Saturday, and about 4 hours on the water Sunday. Soundbar was going the majority of the time.

Overall system is pretty "tiny" by this boards standards, but I received compliments on it all weekend. Both for clarity and volume. Stock AR190 head unit and speakers. This is an MA200 unit (I think Clarion makes it?!?), with stock Marine Audio white speakers. They are nothing to write home about, and look inexpensive, as I'm sure they are. No amp on the 4 cockpit speakers. Soundbar is the Wetsounds Stealth 10 Ultra HD. It has an internal 200W amp I think, and like (8) 4" speakers, and (2) 1" tweeters.

It took some tuning to get the sound "balanced" and "even". Had to adjust the volume of the bar several times, as well as take out some bass from the overall system to get a good clean sound to it. Once we had it tuned in, we were able to crank the volume up and had ample sound behind the boat. We varied from 10-40ft or so behind the boat (had a tube on a 60ft rope that we never went past). Another person had one of those foam pads that we used as a float up bar most of the day. The music was clear, and load enough I had to actually turn it down a few times (until you got the obligatory "that's my song, turn it up" request). I'm pretty pleased with the volume and clarity at this point. Enough so that I don't think I'll be adding traditional speakers to the tower. It's not the loudest, or deepest system on the lake, but it sounded decent for what it is, and we had some quality music on the water all weekend. I'm gonna call it a win.

Next step for the sound system will be a remote of some sort, and a sub. Getting into the boat to adjust volume and track was a pain. I need something on the platform (or wireless) to adjust the stereo. The sub is an obvious move. The music had a decent fullness to it, but was still not as filled out as I would like. Those will most likely be next years audio upgrades though. Won't get to really exercise that level of stereo except for a few occasions a year anyway.

Apple Watch for control.

Bluetooth your iPhone for music, and control volume/tracks through your watch. This will give you about about 330 feet of range to control the volume (in theory). I've been at about 100 feet and no issues.

 

[2kwik4u]

Apple Watch for control.

Bluetooth your iPhone for music, and control volume/tracks through your watch. This will give you about about 330 feet of range to control the volume (in theory). I've been at about 100 feet and no issues.

I'm an android guy, but I like where you're going with this. Hand't even considered using a watch for that. EXCELLENT idea.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I would do your research on the range of the watch. Typical bluetooth devices only offer about 30 feet.

 

[2kwik4u]

Wanted to report back after several months of usage.

The bar is working well, and we still use it every time we're out. It survived a 300+ mile tow in torrential downpours being completely exposed at 75+mph, so I would call it plenty well designed for the environment. It does collect bugs while towing. I've cleaned the fins out after every outing, but it's not difficult.

It whistles.....OM MY GOD it whistles.....any speed over about 60mph (which I rarely reach, except on the expressway) results in a VERY high pitched whistle from the tower. It's bad enough I had someone flag me down on the expressway during our Nashville trip and tell me I had a bearing going bad. It was just the speaker whistling. I haven't tested it much, but I suspect it's how I have it mounted so close to the tower. There is a TINY gap between the bar and the tower. I'm hoping a well placed pool noodle or similar can remedy the issue. It's seriously loud enough I can hear it in the cab of the truck if the radio isn't on.

I'm also having a hard time finding a suitable "volume" level for the bar. So the signal input for the bar comes a 3.5mm cord that I have running to the RCA's on the back of the head unit. Bought a cheap RCA to 3.5mm adapter and a long 3.5mm cord. I think there is a female-female barrel connector in there to make it all plug in appropriately as well. It's as if the sound bar volume is on a different scale than the head unit. It's defintely not a 1:1 ratio. If I turn the bar all the way down and then turn the HU up, the bar isn't loud enough, and likewise, if I start with the bar in the mid-point, it gets too loud. So there is a constant "fiddling" with the volume on the bar to get the sound balanced with the HU. Not a huge ordeal, but a nit-pick none-the-less.

I've bonked my head 13 times in 10 outings with it. Not nearly as bad as I expected, and 8 of those were the first day. I'm getting used to ducking as I walk/stand under it. Still bonk every now and then, but I'll learn eventually.

The installation is still in a 8/10's complete state. I'm going to have to pull the tower off to drill the gunwale under it for the wires to pass through. So for now, the wires are just zip-tied to the tower, and slipped under the seat. With any luck this won't be an issue and should be an easy evening fix/repair/finish. I'll be sure to post pics when I do that portion of the installation.

Overall, we're really pleased with the purchase. Neither of us want perfect sound reproduction, or extreme volume levels. This does really well as an integrated solution to provide sound to the back of the boat at anchor.

 

[JDRacing]

The only real indication is that the logo is upside down on the unit.

While I don't have the powered WS Sound Bar, the Core 10 (unpowered version) I believe allows one to flip the grill over (by removing the grill mounting screws) so it can be mounted with the leads on either side and the logo is facing the correct way. Perhaps you've already figured that out. And if that's not possible on the powered version, please set me straight on that. Thanks very much.

Jeff

 

[2kwik4u]

While I don't have the powered WS Sound Bar, the Core 10 (unpowered version) I believe allows one to flip the grill over (by removing the grill mounting screws) so it can be mounted with the leads on either side and the logo is facing the correct way. Perhaps you've already figured that out. And if that's not possible on the powered version, please set me straight on that. Thanks very much.

Jeff

I had no idea that was possible. I was mostly concerned with disturbing the water-tight nature of the device, so I didn't investigate it too far.

A Black Sharpie fixed the "upside down" logo for me. Otherwise, no problems running it the "wrong" way.