Stereo upgrade on 2016 242 ls

[georgia8]

Looking to upgrade stereo on my 2016 242ls. Took the boat to local shop and was strongly suggested to go with DS18. It would be (8) speakrs, (2) 10” subs, (2) 8” tower speakers and (4) amps. I never heard of DS18 brand. It’s all marine grade. Need to hear from somebody who has/had experience with this DS18 brand. Good, bad and ugly. The shop swear by this brand. Tia.

 

[F.M.]

I've never used any of their audio products, just grills for my subs. They seem to get decent reviews on Amazon though.

 

[tdonoughue]

Know nothing of the brand, but that seems to be a lot of sound for that size boat. If that is your goal, awesome. If you are more like me and just want a 'reasonable' amount of sound, I think 6 speakers, 2 towers, 1 sub and then appropriate amps will probably get you there just as well and a bit cheaper. I have 1 amp, 1 sub, 4 speakers and am just now adding 2 towers (so we can hear out the back of the boat). Even with what I have, we can hear fine even at speed...

 

[vxooxv]

My guess is the shop gets a kickback for that brand. When their website forces you to spin a wheel for a discount and the damn wheel won't spin thus never letting you into their website (chrome & safari) I think I'll pass.

Wetsounds.

Rev10's on the tower. Done.

 

[anmut]

I'm going full JL on the system. 2x 8" on the tower, 12" in a marine grade box, 6x 6.5's, 800 or 1000w amp. But I'm going for some added value when I trade it in too.

 

[redthumper9]

I don't know anything about DS18, but if your budget will allow, I'd stick with JL Audio or Wetsounds. If you are looking for something a little more affordable, take a look at Rockford, Kicker or Polk. These have all been used for years in the marine industry and you'll find that most have had pretty good luck with these brands. That's a pretty large system you're looking into. I'd rather see someone do it in stages with high end equipment than sink a bunch into something that ends up not lasting. Not saying this would happen, but DS-18 doesn't have the proven marine presence that some of these other brands do.

 

[Ronnie]

Having gone econo in the past on stereo components I agree with what redthumper typed. That is, go for quality not quantity. I could not afford jl or wet sounds so I went with kicker amps and speakers instead. Roughly $500 for two 8”s and four 6.5”s plus another $800 for four amps to power the kicker speakers and alpine tweeters and subwoofer. The other big cost was the head unit but I didn’t see anything to indicate that you are replacing your stock unit. The miscellaneous costs are also something to be aware of, I unexpectedly bought hundreds of dollars in cable, distibution blocks, connectors, fuse holders, fuses, etc. If budget is your biggest criteria consider upgrading in chunks instead of all at once.

By the way my Pyle 6 channel marine grade econo amp worked great for the first season but deteriorated / lost functionality quickly thereafter. By the end of last summer it was only powering three of six channels before eventually overheating and shutting down. I Installed Pyle speakers in one of my previous boats, when the boat was stolen and stripped the thieves didn’t even bother to take the speakers. I should have known after that not to buy Pyle equipment (when even crooks won’t take it given the opportunity I shouldn’t be buying it at any cost).