Transom Swim Deck Speakers Test - Sound and Video

[Rideitout]

I put lots of time and effort into this mod so don't laugh. Here is a pic of the final install:













.....Just kidding. But the duct taped bluetooth player did allow me to see if sound would adequately come through.

Anyway,

Similar to others on the forum, we wanted to be able to hear the music while in the water or backed up to a beach without having to blare the music inside the boat.

I did what some other folks have done and installed speakers behind the swim deck seat cushions. The sound turned out better than I expected and suits our purpose well.

The boat is a 2014 AR210. I used two Polk db651 coaxials powered by a Rockford Prime 150x2 amplifier. They are getting 50 watts RMS each from the amp. An inline volume knob at the dash allows for adjustment of the speakers above or below the level of the in-boat speakers. I am not ready to commit to a location for mounting the knob and drilling a hole for the wires so I fed it through an already existing opening at the dash until the ideal location reveals itself in the future.

Here is the YouTube link for the sound test:

Enjoy!

 

[DCB-270]

That's cool. Does it muffle the sound at all ?

 

[msavold]

thanks @Rideitout - been mulling over where to put some rear speakers while goofing around on the beach and not crazy about cutting holes in the swim platform (even though many have done so successfully). Hesitation was/is sound quality but I'm thinking this is more than good enough for our purposes - yeah, it's clearly not as good as swim deck speakers would be but... And if I change my mind, I figure I can always abandon these and go with the other location. Going the other way is, um, a bit harder!

 

[Rideitout]

It is muffled if you're not in line with the openings below the seat cushions, like if your sitting on the swim deck with the opening down near your butt. But while swimming, when your head is lower, the highs come through good.
And I agree that it is good enough for the purpose of hanging out behind the boat.

 

[octavio3311]

@Rideitout - how come you didn't get some tower speakers?
Just curious!

 

[Rideitout]

@octavio3311
It was a combination of not wanting to do any drilling in the tower to run the wires, keeping the stock look and the harsher, less bassy sound of tower speakers. Although, I may at some point in the future if my kids begin wakeboarding.