Not another subwoofer ? And stereo talk (sound video clips)

[jcyamaharider]

Core 10 facing forward for the win!! IMO.

Soon enough I will have the boat pulled out and get that audio clip for everyone walking around the boat.

 

[Jgorm]

Why not setup downward 6x9s off the tower?

 

[Jaylex]

I actually have seen someone do this before...here is a pic that clearly achieves this goal, lol think there are a total of 30 speakers and 5K watts on this boat

When I was entertaining this idea to put speakers in the bow, I believe both these locations were discussed on a previous thread, and @David Analog seemed to indicate the speakers in the walkway weren't his first choice. The soundbar is also and option but if I recall correctly he didn't seem to be a fan of those either., could have been something to do about the wind and such.

I am also looking to add more sound to the bow, and am likely going to go the route I previously mentioned to add sound high and facing towards the rear so the sound is traveling from front to back. I know the issues of hitting it has come up, but Im not so sure than it being low would eliminate this, I actually think it would be more likely to happen, and I for one was NOT impressed with the extra pair of speakers in the cabin, hence me opting to get some JL M880 towers.

If I go this route I think it would easily give off great sound (my buddy with a 212SS has a Polk 6.5 in this location and it sounds great), and I don't boat with a ton of people often (plus they know to be careful when on my boat) so I dont think its as likely to get beat up as if they were down low. I just dont think putting them down low is best @CraigAR so I would suggest putting them up higher, best of the two options. Although you mentioned being lower would help with the brightness some on the WS. I run JL and the tone is fine so up high is my preference.

Random, but if I do add the single MX770 in the center of the anchor locker, any suggestions on where to place the 2nd one? Wouldn't want to have an extra speaker and open channel on the new 600/6.

 

[adrianp89]

Hell just place them facing each other, the other into the engine bay lol.

Honestly though, I think you going to struggle to accomplish your goal. There is a point of diminishing returns. For examples that boat with 30 speakers, I bet I could build and design something with at least 1/3rd less speakers that would get just as loud (and sound better). This is a stupid trend in the car audio world, where people put 26 speakers in a door. Cancellation is a real thing, and it begins to take affect with all that non-sense.

This thread has been all over the place, what are your goals here?

 

[CraigAR]

@Jaylex I like the spot that you mentioned the more I think about it. When my order gets here Thursday I'm going to sit in the boat and try to figure out a location. My son and my wife both have Beat pill speakers so I may link them up and place them in different locations to try and get an idea of where I'm going to cut these in. I know that when I'm under way it will play a role in the sound projection but even when sitting in my driveway with the system on walking from the back of the boat to the bow i notice a huge difference in sound right when i get to the windshield. I believe the factory speaker location in the bow has to much "open space" and that's why the sound is lost. Back in the cabin, the sound is reflecting and bouncing around in the "tub". So that is my goal, to not lose the sound and I think this will be different for each brand of speaker you use. I will have my answer by this weekend.

 

[Jaylex]

@adrianp89 I agree....mostly...I dont think you need a ton of speakers, but I have heard there is no substitute for speaker surface, although to your point cancellation can be a factor.

What would be the struggle? Placing even a single driver in the location I circled would def add some sound and their shouldn't be any cancellation?

I believe the OP was looking for insight on adding a sub...somehow through all this it has also been about adding some sound in the bow which I believe a few of us are interested in. I'm just not to keen on adding speakers down low after my impressions of the pair I added in the cabin down low were not impressive. So a MX770 might be a good option, but need to fig out where to add that extra speaker, or it can just be a spare if need be.

@CraigAR I think that location will yield solid results...again my buddy has a 212SS and put a single polk 6.5 there and it sounds damn good.

Keep us posted with your decision.

 

[adrianp89]

The old adage is true - no replacement for displacement, but no matter where you apply it to, you get to a point of diminishing returns and science really comes into affect if you push it. Does your boat have speakers in bow already? Mine two there are enough to cancel wind noise while cruising. For just adding sound to the bow, it should work fine IMO. Looks like you could almost put a pair right next to each other right there.

 

[Jaylex]

Yes, I have a pair of MX650s up front, but can't hear them for ish when underway...even a little more sound would go a long way up there.

Not sure if I'll do 1 or 2, but def interested in more sound up front...so much so I bought a m600/6 and a pair of M880s, which when bridged leaves 2 open channels that will need to get used some how.....so the bow is my next challenge.

 

[FloJet]

Re: spot #1 - my only reservation would be that if you run at speed with the windshield closed it would do little to improve sound volume/quality in the bow compartment/front of the boat. And that is where the sound is really lacking, it is a hard problem to solve. I know that @jcyamaharider has tried to use his WS Stealth 10 re-directed there.
For most of us, i think most pretty much gave up on good sound up front. I think it's okay, I just call it a quiet corner - and sometimes separate guests based on their preference for music volume, lol.

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Yup. Def need a place you can chit chat at. Bow is a great place for that. But with the right power to the 6.5's, the bow area can be a very loud place too tho.

 

[adrianp89]

Yes, I have a pair of MX650s up front, but can't hear them for ish when underway...even a little more sound would go a long way up there.

Not sure if I'll do 1 or 2, but def interested in more sound up front...so much so I bought a m600/6 and a pair of M880s, which when bridged leaves 2 open channels that will need to get used some how.....so the bow is my next challenge.

So are you looking for more sound for people sitting in the bow, or for a stronger front stage presence from the helm?

 

[Jaylex]

I Think my goal would be to make sure the sound can be heard clearly while under way. The stock speaker locations are fine....had they been larger I prob would have went with the JL 7.7s to get max output.

It is nice to have a place to chill that itsnt super loud, but at the same time it's lame that people in the bow are left out when we're on a nice long ride and the sound sucks.

With that said before I make any final decisions I plan on trying out what I have first, I got the swivel mouts for my 880 towers so I could always fire one forwards to help but then you loose output to wind noise, hence the idea of adding a single speaker in the center of the anchor locker. I'll have 2 open channels and figure the bow is the only place I need more output.

 

[adrianp89]

I Think my goal would be to make sure the sound can be heard clearly while under way. The stock speaker locations are fine....had they been larger I prob would have went with the JL 7.7s to get max output.

It is nice to have a place to chill that itsnt super loud, but at the same time it's lame that people in the bow are left out when we're on a nice long ride and the sound sucks.

With that said before I make any final decisions I plan on trying out what I have first, I got the swivel mouts for my 880 towers so I could always fire one forwards to help but then you loose output to wind noise, hence the idea of adding a single speaker in the center of the anchor locker. I'll have 2 open channels and figure the bow is the only place I need more output.

Hmm. are your MX650s amped? Mine have no problem getting loud enough to block out wind noise and make conversation difficult in the bow. Of course I only top out at 42mph, maybe at 50 it's worse?

 

[Jaylex]

Yep, their all running off a 800/8 with their own channel per speaker....so now you got me thinking that some tuning might help....but i think others also have the same gripe in the 24ft series.

I'll know more once I get it all installed in the next few weeks.

 

[adrianp89]

Yeah definitely make sure you got the juice going to them, also make sure your source isn't weak. Maybe try setting the gains with a DMM to get you in the ballpark (if you haven't already) Pandora and SiriusXM and very quiet over bluetooth, but Apple Music plays normal volume.

 

[swatski]

Yeah definitely make sure you got the juice going to them, also make sure your source isn't weak. Maybe try setting the gains with a DMM to get you in the ballpark (if you haven't already) Pandora and SiriusXM and very quiet over bluetooth, but Apple Music plays normal volume.

How does Spotify rate in terms of BT performance? I'm using the Connext BT.
Just curious - that's what I ended up with, DJing to my kids.

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[adrianp89]

How does Spotify rate in terms of BT performance? I'm using the Connext BT.
Just curious - that's what I ended up with, DJing to my kids.

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Honestly no idea... it is the one msuic app I do not use lol.

 

[CraigAR]

Yeah definitely make sure you got the juice going to them, also make sure your source isn't weak. Maybe try setting the gains with a DMM to get you in the ballpark (if you haven't already) Pandora and SiriusXM and very quiet over bluetooth, but Apple Music plays normal volume.

Never even thought about my source, good call. I listen only to Pandora over BT. Do you think xm is better? In my Escalade xm is way louder than fm.

 

[adrianp89]

Never even thought about my source, good call. I listen only to Pandora over BT. Do you think xm is better? In my Escalade xm is way louder than fm.

SiriusXM from my iPhone is just as quiet as Pandora. It was a night and day difference from these sources to Apple Music. I plan on bringing a lightning cable with me next time to see if plugging it in helps. I cannot speak towards if you have an actual Sirius tuner on the boat.

 

[CraigAR]

The rest of my gear came in today! Man these revo 8 speakers look like subs. Looks like I'm going to be busy this weekend.

I'm running 4awg power and ground wire and splitting it with two distribution blocks into two 4awg amps (htx-6, m400-4) when I add this jl 600/6 I'm going to change the blocks to allow the 3 amps. Do you think im fine with the 4awg main wire. I would hate to change out 19' of wire it's exspensive.

When complete, I'll have:
(6) ws xs650's - htx-6 amp
(2) revo 8 speakers - m400-4 amp(bridged)

(2) rev 8 towers (4 channels bridged)
(1) jl m10w5 jl m600/6 (bridged)

I may be developing a problem lol.... wife said mid life crisis. I'm only 37!

 

[PEARCE]

How does Spotify rate in terms of BT performance? I'm using the Connext BT.
Just curious - that's what I ended up with, DJing to my kids.

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We play Spotify all the time. I don't have a new boat with Connext so I can't speak for that. I have a Bluetooth adaptor I use in the Yamaha and in our vehicles that we plug in the aux cable into and it works great. The stereo in our Sea Ray is original and doesn't have an aux cable input so I got a Bluetooth fm modulator adaptor and it'll get us by till I can upgrade the system when the funds allow. We play off of our phones for Spotify on all these systems and it sounds fine as long as we have a cell signal. To me, Bluetooth is the way to go to get music from our phones into a stereo system.