Second Round - 2015 AR240 JL Audio Stereo Upgrades

[Drift Away]

@Benny Sibbitt I dont think I ever asked but how do you like the MX770s in the towers? Another shop I talked to today suggested the MX770's in the towers, skip them in the rears and that would be a solid compromise in sound and price. Additionally, he said because I have MX series in the cabin, that the towers would better match, specifically having the same tweeters. I'm not sure how much that really plays into it but I understand his thought process.

I'm now thinking that a really good compromise for sound + price may be that MX770's in the towers and call it a day. I could run a pair off of a MX280/4 which doesn't draw a ton of power which in turn wont "require" me to get another battery, for now. Sure I won't get the low down bass the 880's are said to produce but I really don't think I'll be one of the boats out there that's jamming away. I'm not really against it we're just more of a chill behind the boat, talk, and hang out bunch. However, when cruising, and something I never thought of, was the addition of towers (either set 770s or 880)'s could also benefit the system as a whole there.

From what I've read even JL says if you DIDNT have a sub and got the 880's you wouldn't really need one but adding one would be an epic system. From that perspective, I can't help but want to just buy the 880s and be done with it but I'm also no longer trying to be that guy who buys the "better" stuff simply because it's "better" if I don't think it's going to really serve my purpose. I've pissed away way too much money because of that, lol.

Price point wise here is what I'm seeing and if ANYONE has better please let me know =)

JL M880's, enclosure, swivel mount shipped - $1100-$1200
JL MX770's, same - $830-$850

Difference in $300-400 alone in that.

AMP required for 880's
MX4/400 NIB - $500
MX4/400 Refurbed - $330

AMP for MX770's
MX280/4 - $200

$130 to 300 savings there

Battery + cables for 880s
AGM/Deep Cycle 21 (?) - $200+/-
Cables to tie in new battery $50-100

Extra $300 just for that.

So I'm looking at roughly $1200 for MX770's installed by myself versus $1730 on the low end for the 880's or a delta of $530. When I think "only" $530 my pre-2019 self would say, YOLO and you can't take it with you, you work hard so splurge a bit. But I still want a full Seadek set (waiting on September group buy 100%) plus a ton of other crap.

If you want i can check with @wallacerb and see if he still has his 7.7 towers and mounts for sale

 

[Drift Away]

I've gotten catch up with you guys sooner than later. Next time you're out let me know I'm down in Oldsmar and need 1-hour or so to grab the boat and be at the docks.

We put in at Tarpon Springs Samas boat builder. Its right on the water with their own ramp and wash down station. We end up at Anclote or 3 Rooker most of the time.

 

[Benny Sibbitt]

@Benny Sibbitt I dont think I ever asked but how do you like the MX770s in the towers? Another shop I talked to today suggested the MX770's in the towers, skip them in the rears and that would be a solid compromise in sound and price. Additionally, he said because I have MX series in the cabin, that the towers would better match, specifically having the same tweeters. I'm not sure how much that really plays into it but I understand his thought process.

I'm now thinking that a really good compromise for sound + price may be that MX770's in the towers and call it a day. I could run a pair off of a MX280/4 which doesn't draw a ton of power which in turn wont "require" me to get another battery, for now. Sure I won't get the low down bass the 880's are said to produce but I really don't think I'll be one of the boats out there that's jamming away. I'm not really against it we're just more of a chill behind the boat, talk, and hang out bunch. However, when cruising, and something I never thought of, was the addition of towers (either set 770s or 880)'s could also benefit the system as a whole there.

From what I've read even JL says if you DIDNT have a sub and got the 880's you wouldn't really need one but adding one would be an epic system. From that perspective, I can't help but want to just buy the 880s and be done with it but I'm also no longer trying to be that guy who buys the "better" stuff simply because it's "better" if I don't think it's going to really serve my purpose. I've pissed away way too much money because of that, lol.

Price point wise here is what I'm seeing and if ANYONE has better please let me know =)

JL M880's, enclosure, swivel mount shipped - $1100-$1200
JL MX770's, same - $830-$850

Difference in $300-400 alone in that.

AMP required for 880's
MX4/400 NIB - $500
MX4/400 Refurbed - $330

AMP for MX770's
MX280/4 - $200

$130 to 300 savings there

Battery + cables for 880s
AGM/Deep Cycle 21 (?) - $200+/-
Cables to tie in new battery $50-100

Extra $300 just for that.

So I'm looking at roughly $1200 for MX770's installed by myself versus $1730 on the low end for the 880's or a delta of $530. When I think "only" $530 my pre-2019 self would say, YOLO and you can't take it with you, you work hard so splurge a bit. But I still want a full Seadek set (waiting on September group buy 100%) plus a ton of other crap.

Funny you mentioned this - I am actually thinking about switching out my towers and swim deck M770's for M series
When I turn it up loud, almost max loud, my highs don't sound as clear
I really would like the 1' tweeter
I first need to find out if the M770 will fit in my existing cans, if not I might just upgrade towers for M880's

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

@ralphsmithiii do you need the cans to swivel? These work great! But don't swivel

Krypt 7.7'' Wakeboard Speaker Cans

Krypt Towers quality polished aluminum 7.7' wakeboard tower speaker cans. These cans fit JL Audio M770 & MX770, MTX TM7702, DTI DS-77MR, and Bullet Hollow Point 770 Speakers. 7.7' Marine Boat Speakers give nearly 50% more cone area.

www.bulletlines.com

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

You in Tampa we are in Trarpon Springs. I am sure we all good meet up at 3 Rooker or Anclote and you can hear Robs 8.8s or my swim deck speaker and see what route you want to go. Might be as easy as putting a good tune in it. I am pretty conservative with my tune. I want it loud but clear. As a mater of fact i think Rob has a set of his 7.7 towers he was trying to get rid of.

Sounds like @Drift Away wants to plan a meet-N-great... we're in! When's the next time you're in town?

 

[Drift Away]

Sounds like @Drift Away wants to plan a meet-N-great... we're in! When's the next time you're in town?

I am flying back in thurs Apr 18th and fly out sun 21st. Looking at sat getting out on the water. We have been going out to 3 Rooker here lately. Nice calm water and not to packed.

 

[ralphsmithiii]

Welp, the deed is done. Placed the order today with Odin @Earmark Marine. Should have a set of M880 towers with swivel's coming, all new power and ground, M600/6 amp and a few small install items to make a couple of zones without adding in a WS-420 or similar, for now. Pretty exicted about it all and hopefully it rounds out the stereo system the way I intend it to. Maybe add one more 10" IB JL Sub (bought the M600/6 to support it) and then officially call it quits, lol. I'm curious to see what kind of bass the 8.8 towers produce as I've seen various posts and even JL's own video's that talk about possibly need needing more subs (blasphemy, right?) if you have a pair of these properly powered and tuned.

The goal is to get everything here and installed before we head down towards Key Largo next week but the AMP's where out of stock. If I can get the rest here and get the cables run, the amp panel mostly built and towers installed, then I'm hoping I'll have enough time to get the M600/6 hooked in and tuned before leaving early Friday morning.

 

[ralphsmithiii]

Updating this is thread.

Got all the new gear installed including:

JL M880 Tower Speakers and swivel mount mounts
JL M600/6 amp
Ran all new 2awg power and ground to an new 150 amp fuse.
Added two JL remote knobs - 1 being used to manage tower volume quickly although I could just fade to rear. The other may be used for sub control.
Rockford Fosgate DSR-1 31 band parametric eq.

Only have pics of the new amp board. Got it out on the water today to check everything and do some initial retuning. Taking it down south tomorrow for a few days with some friends to enjoy the water.

With that here are my initial observations:
Some said that if you had 8.8 towers you probably wouldn't need subs. I can't say thats true as they don't produce nearly the bass the IB 10" sub does. However, I'm still trying to find the sweet spot with them while tuning. I've read HP/80 and some have said HP/60. Havent tried anything less than 80 but 80 by themselves and the rear of the system muted they are loud and clear but if there's mid bass/bass there it's very subtle.

However, when sitting mid cabin and turning the towers to 50-75% power it really fills in the midbass which is most noticeable while cruising. Turing them up 100% shows more but then they overpower the ready of the cabin speakers. That could indicate I need to work on the crossovers (gains are all set via SMD DD1).

I was able to cut down some of the high vocals with the DSR-1 but there still some work to be done. 31 bands is way more than I'd need but being able to adjust the the crossovers from my phone or tablet is pretty sweet.

I'm 99% sure you can't use an RTA because of all of the extra noise but I may still try it to find the specific frequencies I want to cut down (IE some of the vocals are a bit too harsh with the 650 for me. That could also be the type of music I'm playing or the actual quality of music stored or being streamed.

 

[BrandonG]

I'm curious to see what kind of bass the 8.8 towers produce as I've seen various posts and even JL's own video's that talk about possibly need needing more subs (blasphemy, right?) if you have a pair of these properly powered and tuned.

I put a set of WS Rev 10 towers on my boat and was not impressed at all with the bass they produce. Don't get me wrong I love how they project sound perfectly for a VERY long distance which is what they are designed for. I will be adding a sub in the future.

 

[ralphsmithiii]

Another update:

Odin@earmark was able to get me another 10" IB sub that matches my first one since they are discontinued. I'll be adding the 2nd sub hopefully next week directly across from the current one, mounted into the starboard side storage compartment. I've got the channels on my M600/6 to run it, just need to setup the RCA's so I can run the DSP downstream to the amps in hopes it'll work as I expect. Also going to try a RJ-11 splitter (RJ-12 techically) to split the JL remote bass-knob and run it into the two amps. I'll planning on throwing the JL CL-RLC back in just to handle the towers since it has it's own knob and see how that goes.

 

[Julian]

Anyone know if you can fit the JL M3-770 speakers in here:

 

[jacoviii]

Depth yes. not sure on diameter. I would look up the specs and make a cardboard circle and try. I was going to put WS 8" but overall diameter was 9" and that's too big

 

[Drift Away]

Anyone know if you can fit the JL M3-770 speakers in here:
View attachment 120788

I am pretty sure @wallacerb put 7.7s there not sure if it was the M or MX